The world can’t get over the treasure that tumbled out of the vaults of the Ananta Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Tiruvanantapuram. The world media currently ogles over this recently unearthed glittering heritage. A leading French newspaper likened this to an Indiana Jones adventure, another called it an “El dorado”; people are shocked by the discovery that lay contented for so long in the forgotten cellars of the temple.
While the world is raving about the temple’s newly found assets, I feel the urge to talk about the other treasure that the sanctum has inspired for generations — phenomenal wealth in terms of music.
Like all temples in the South, musical renderings are a constant offering to the deity at this magnificent shrine. From the morning song of awakening to the bedtime lullaby, music is intrinsically linked to temple culture. The greatest scion of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple of course was Maharaja Swati Tirunal, the king and prolific composer. Hundreds of compositions by this 19th century polyglot ruler enriched the world of music — pieces in Sanskrit, Malayalam, Telugu, Manipravalam, Hindi — on myriad themes, of different genres — from the lyrical to the rhythmic. He was the very epitome of the monarch as patron of the arts. Swati’s court was a haven for poets, musicians, artistes. The treasure vaults holding known and yet much unknown mysteries are silent repositories of the abundance of music that thrived with royal patronage. It was here that the Tanjore Quartette composers thrived, composed and created an undying edifice for dance music.
I was introduced young to the beauty of Swati’s compositions. One of the earliest songs I learnt from my mother was Smaramanasa Padmanabha Charanam in darbar. It seemed to be the family’s unexplained favourite and still is. Darbar, as a raga added to the soft dignity of the song. This song won me the first prize in a singing competition at the age of eleven organised by the now defunct association of Mumbai, the Swati Tirunal Kalakshetram. The objective was to popularise the compositions of Swati. The songs, almost wholly in devout praise of the reclining deity of Tiruvanantapuram, Ananta Padmanabha, have captivated musicians, dancers and art lovers. Some years later, my mother fondly and painstakingly researched to compile a list of compositions for a dance repertoire I performed entirely on Swati Tirunal. My grandfather provided the detailed meaning of the Sanskrit songs with utter sincerity. My guru Mahalingam Pillai skillfully and patiently choreographed these numbers. “Imagine the glory of the Lord stretched on the serpent. Visualise!” he would urge me, especially at the lines Divya murte, Shri Pankajanabha. My mother’s special voice singing the pathos of this Varnam Ha Hanta in danyasi is still fresh in my memory. Swati’s sway over dancers is forever. Chitra Visweswaran’s dance drama on the Ramayana based on Swati’s magnum opus Bhavayami Raghuramam was a lavish treat for me when I was in my teens. My daughter also grew up on Swati Tirunal-Bhavayami being the daily cradle song my father reserved for her. Almost all my concerts have at least one composition of Swati Tirunal. I don’t plan it that way, it just happens.
While visiting the Ananta Padmanabhaswamy Temple with my parents in my childhood, we met the legendary Carnatic singer, the late Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer at the shrine. The maestro safeguarded the Travancore tradition in many editions of carefully notated Swati Tirunal compositions. Dancers and musicians gather at the many festivals in and around Tiruvanantapuram celebrating the artistic traditions throughout the year. The unique Navaratri festival is one of them.
I had the wonderful opportunity of often meeting and engaging in discussions with the late Pandit K.G. Ginde, Hindustani singer and scholar. He had a special liking for Carnatic music. He shared with me how Swati Tirunal’s Hindustani ragas and songs in Hindi had touched a chord with his guru Pandit Ratanjhankar, who penned the notation for many such compositions for the benefit of Hindustani musicians.
Recently, a few years ago, I was working on a multimedia research production entitled Stree Gaanam on the contribution of women composers in South Indian music. One of these women was Rukmini Bai Tamburatti, sister of Swati Tirunal. Groomed in royal traditions of learning, the princess, though much in shadow, was a loyal contributor to the Travancore musical tradition. Irayamman Thampi created the famous lullabyOmana Tingal on Swati Tirunal’s birth. His daughter Kutti Kunju Thangachi continued the legacy. But even way ahead, between the sixth and ninth centuries, Nammalvar, virtuouso amongst the poet-saint-philosophers of Tamil Nadu, had dedicated several immortal musical verses to the Vishnu of Tiruvanantapuram.
If I think of it, many of my most preferred musicians hail from Kerala. Who would forget the melodious, unparalled voice of K.V. Narayanaswamy? He immortalised several Swati Tirunal compositions.
One eternal favourite of mine is the padam Aliveni in elusive Kurunji, describing the woes of the heroine with tresses as black as the bee, awaiting the lotus-eyed Padmanabha. He would tease the words into melody and Kurinji dealt by him was without compare. Just unforgettable! Another such musician is M.D. Ramanathan, on whom I wrote a tribute in this column earlier. I cannot move away without mentioning K.S. Gopalakrishnan or KSG. Who? Some would very well ask. One of our finest flautists, self-effacing, away from the limelight, Kerala could not have produced a more genteel and prodigious musician. It is unfortunate that we hear so little of him and his music.
Speculators are driving themselves into frenzy over the find at the Ananta Padmanabha Temple. Can this priceless heritage be given a tag in mere monetary terms? It stands as testimony of the material and artistic wealth of a bygone era, of craftsmanship nonpareil. Along with the music of the region, it can only be termed as a gift of the past connecting the present with the future and which needs to be guarded zealously. By whom? The media is screaming. By everyone, just simply.

Vasumathi Badrinathan
is an eminent Carnatic vocalist based in Mumbai. She can be contacted on vasu@vasumathi.net