A Warning Bell

Al Gore was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the year 2007, for supporting the cause of the environment. His film “An Inconvenient Truth” has won an Academy award as well. I got to watch this movie a few months ago. This is a real eye-opener. If you get an opportunity to watch this, do not miss!

What is this ‘Inconvenient Truth’? It is something that most of us know, but not willing to acknowledge. Our tendency is to push the mess under the carpet, unseen until it gets so big, and can not be concealed anymore. Well, the unpleasant, inconvenient truth is that the global warming caused by human activity has harmed the earth’s environment in the last 4 decades, probably more than what had happened in the previous forty centuries. And worse, we are turning a blind eye to that even after knowing the consequences of global warming.

The harm done to the environment is nowhere more visible than in the melting ice sheets and the receding glaciers. Over the years, glaciers are receding, and ice sheets in the Arctic and the Antarctic are melting away. In the last 25 years almost 20-30% of the arctic ice sheet has melted. Between 1850 and 1980 the glaciers in Europe have lost about a third of their landmass. Parts of the Arctic Ocean and the Antarctic Ocean are actually warming up at a rate twice or thrice that of the other regions in the world. The ice cover in Greenland has about 10% of the world’s supply of fresh water, and if all that melts, the sea level will increase by about 20 feet. In The frozen continent of Antarctica has about 99% of the land covered in thick ice sheets. If this would melt, the sea level would increase by about 200 feet. Overall, the sea level has increased by about 6 inches in the 20th century. This may further increase by about a foot in the 21st century. Considering a large population of the mankind lives on or near the coastal regions, any impairment would be of great consequence.

Glaciers on all the 6 continents have been receding and melting away. The glaciers on the Kilimanjaro in equatorial Africa have receded to less than 60% of what was there in 1975. In Glacier National part in Montana, more than 40 of the 137 glaciers have disappeared in the 20th century. In Greenland, new islands are breaking away from the mainland due to melting ice. Several pacific and Indian ocean islanders are always living is fear of being overtaken by the sea.

I know many people who visited the town of Gangothri in Uttaranchal, expecting the headwaters of the river Ganga to be there and being surprised to find a free-flowing river instead. The headwaters are actually at Gomukh, several kilometers up the river at the terminus of the Gangothri glacier. The Gangothri glacier, source of river Ganga, is receding averaging to an alarming 83 feet every year. Gomukh is getting farther off from Gangothri every year, and it is 3 kilometers farther away from Gangothri than it was a century ago.

In general, the glaciers in the Himalayas are found to be drying up faster than those in the rest of the world. In case of Gangothri glacier, the rate of receding has been shown to be much higher in the last 3 decades. NASA pictures have shown that Gangothri glacier has receded about 850 meters in the last 25 years. If the same rate of depletion continues, it is feared that the glacier may totally disappear by the end of the 21st century.

If Gangothri glacier melts away, it will affect more than 1.5 billion people in India and Bangladesh directly. How does that affect others? The financial meltdown of 2008 has shown that in the current world economic scenario, no country is shielded from the events happening elsewhere. Billions of more people around the world will be affected by a slow catastrophic event of this nature. When the glaciers recede, the oceans will swell and cities and mangroves near the coast will face the threat of getting submerged.

So, should we care about climate change? Yes, we should! Every one of us can, and has to do something to slow the negative impact on the environment. In Kannada there is a saying “ಹನಿ ಹನಿಗೂಡಿದರೆ ಹಳ್ಳ” – “Water drops gather together to form a stream”. Even if individually small, collectively we can achieve large goals. Here are some things that we can do as individuals to reduce our impact on the environment.

Mother Earth has been so kind to us. Isn’t time for us to be kind to her?

-neelanjana

(Posting a modified version of an earlier post I made in 2008 – For the Blog Action Day -2009)

44444

Few days ago, when the hit counter was at this magic number, I was around to take a screen capture.

Picture Says All!

-neelanjana

A South Karnataka Slideshow

I did not know making a slide show with Picasa was that easy, until I created this one using pictures from our visit to Karnataka.

The pictures are from several places in southern Karnataka – Bengaluru, Srirangapattana, Ramanagara, Halebidu, Beluru, Kowshika, Sravana Belagola and Mavinakere – not listed in any specific order -
and show creations all the way from the 11th century, to the 21st century .

Here is a map of this part of Karnataka.

A Map of Southern Karnataka

-neelanjana

Two years of ’ಅಲ್ಲಿದೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆ’

Time moves very fast.

Really? Not true, since we know that the earth is revolving around the Sun at a steady rate (for all practical purposes, that is!). So it is all in our perception of time.

Whatever the facts are, one more year has passed really fast for ‘ಅಲ್ಲಿದೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆ’. Today, ’ಅಲ್ಲಿದೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆ’ is stepping into the third year after finishing two years. I can still recall me writing the very first post on this weblog, and the post when the blog turned one year, as if it happened yesterday!

It’s been a good year for ’ಅಲ್ಲಿದೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆ’ so far. The very first image at the top of this blog was from the navaranga, inside the temple in Halebeedu, I thought it would be apt to change the image to another view of the Hoysaleshwara temple on it’s second birthday too.

Thanks for coming by ’ಅಲ್ಲಿದೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆ’!

-neelanjana

ಮೌಂಟ್ ಮಡೋನ ಮೇಲಿನ ಸಂಕಟ ಮೋಚನ

ಮೊನ್ನೆ ಮೊನ್ನೆ ತನಕ ನಾನು ಸಂಕಟಮೋಚನ ಹನುಮಂತನ ಗುಡಿಯ ವಿಷಯ ಕೇಳೇ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಈಚೆಗೆ ಇಬ್ಬರು ಮೂವರು ಜಾಗ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿದೆ ಅಂತ ಹೇಳಿದ್ದು ಕೇಳಿಬಂತು. ಇಲ್ಲೇ ಹತ್ತಿರದಲ್ಲೇ ಇದೆಯಲ್ಲ, ಒಂದು ಸಲ ಯಾಕೆ ಹೋಗಿ ಬರಬಾರದು ಅಂತ ಹೊರಟಿದ್ದಾಯಿತು. ವೆಬ್ ಸೈಟ್ ನಲ್ಲೆ ಎಚ್ಚರಿಗೆ ಹಾಕಿದ್ದರು – ಯಾಹೂ ಮ್ಯಾಪ್ಸ್ ಹಿಡಿದ್ರೆ ಎತ್ಲಾಗೋ ತೊಗೊಂಡು ಎಲ್ಲಿಗೋ ಕಳಿಸ್ಬಿಡಬಹುದು. ಇನ್ನು ಜಿಪಿಎಸ್ ನೂ ನಂಬ್ಲೇ ಬೇಡಿ ಅಂತ. ಸರಿ ಅಂತ ದಾರಿಯನ್ನೇನೋ ಒಂದ್ ಚೀಟಿ ಮೇಲೆ ಗುರುತು ಹಾಕ್ಕೊಂಡಾಯ್ತು.

ಇನ್ನೇನು ಹೊರಟೇ ಆಯ್ತು ಅನ್ನೋ ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೆ ನೋಡ್ದ್ರೆ ಭಾನುವಾರ ಬರ್ಲೇಬೇಡಿ ಅಂತ ಹಾಕ್ಬಿಟ್ಟಿದಾರೆ! ಸರಿ. ಬುತ್ತಿಗೆ ಅಂತ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದೂಟವನ್ನ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲೇ ತಿಂದಿದ್ದಾಯ್ತು.

ಪುಣ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ, ಈ ವಾರ ಲೇಬರ್ ಡೇ ಅಂತ ಸೋಮವಾರ ಕೂಡ ರಜಾ ಇತ್ತಲ್ಲ ಹೊಸದಾಗಿ ಬುತ್ತಿ ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೊರಟ್ವಿ.

ಒಂದು-ಒಂದೂಕಾಲು ಗಂಟೆ ಪ್ರಯಾಣ ಸುಮಾರು ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೇ ಇಂದ. ಗಿಲ್ರಾಯ್ ದಾಟಿ ಹೆಕರ್ಸ್ ಪಾಸ್ ಹೈವೇನಲ್ಲಿ ಪಶ್ಚಿಮಕ್ಕೆ ತಿರುಗಿ ಹೋಗ್ತಿದ್ರೆ, ಎರಡೂ ಕಡೆ ದ್ರಾಕ್ಷಿ ತೋಟಗಳ, ದ್ರಾಕ್ಷಾರಸ ತಯಾರ್ಸೋ ವೈನರಿಗಳದ್ದೇ ಕಾರುಬಾರು.

ದ್ರಾಕ್ಷಿಯ ತೋಟ

ಒಂದೊಂದು ಗಿಡದಲ್ಲೂ ಜೊಂಪೆ ಜೊಂಪೆಯಾಗಿ ನೇತಾಡ್ತಿರೋ ಕರೀ ದ್ರಾಕ್ಷಿ.  ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಹತ್ತಿರ ನೋಡೋಣ ಅಂತ ಹೋಗಿ ಹಣ್ಣಿನ ರುಚಿ ನೋಡಿದ್ದೂ ಆಯ್ತು.

ದೂರದ ಬೆಟ್ಟಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಇನ್ನೂ ಹೇಮಂತ ಋತು ಬರ್ದೇ ಇದ್ರೂ, ಆಗಲೆ ಅಲ್ಲಲ್ಲಿ ಬಣ್ಣ ಕಾಣ್ತಾ ಇದೆ.

ಕೊನೇ ಹತ್ತು ಹದಿನೈದು ಮೈಲಿ ಬೆಟ್ಟಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ.  ಸುತ್ತ ರೆಡ್ ವುಡ್ ಮರಗಳ ಕಾಡು. ಪುಣ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ರಸ್ತೆ ಕಡಿದಾಗಿದ್ರೂ, ತಲೆ ತಿರ್ಗೋ ಹಾಗಿಲ್ಲ ಸದ್ಯ. ಅಷ್ಟರಲ್ಲಿ ಮೌಂಟ್ ಮಡೋನ ಕೌಂಟಿ ಪಾರ್ಕ್ ಅನ್ನೋ ಗುರುತು ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಬಿತ್ತು.

ಒಳಕ್ಕೆ ತಿರಿಗಿಕೊಂಡ ಮೇಲೆ, ರಸ್ತೆ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಇನ್ನೂ  ಚಿಕ್ಕದಾಯಿತು. ಕಾಡು ಮತ್ತೂ ದಟ್ಟ.  ಅದೇ ರಸ್ತೆಯಲ್ಲೇ ಕೆಲವು ಮೈಲಿ ಮುಂದೆ ಹೋದ ಮೇಲೆ ಮೌಂಟ್ ಮಡೋನ  ಸೆಂಟರ್ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿತು.  ಹೋಗಿ  ವಾಹನ ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸಿದರೆ, ಪ್ರಶಾಂತವಾದ ಜಾಗ.

ಒಂದು ಕಡೆ ನೋಡಲು ಪಹಾರೊ ನದಿಯ ಬಯಲು.

ಪಹಾರೊ ನದಿ ಬಯಲು

ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಕಡೆ ಕೆಲವು ಮೆಟ್ಟಲನ್ನೇರಿದರೆ ಸಂಕಟ ಮೋಚನ ಹನುಮಂತನ ಮಂದಿರ.

ಸಂಕಟ ಮೋಚನ ಹನುಮಂತನ ಗುಡಿ

ಪುಟ್ಟ ಗುಡಿಯೊಳಗೆ ಬೆಟ್ಟ ವನ್ನು ಹೊತ್ತಿರುವ ಹನುಮಾನ್.

ಹನುಮಾನ್

ನಂತರ ಅಲ್ಲೇ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಸುತ್ತಾಡಿದ ನಂತರ ಆಸರೆಗೆ ಏನಾದರೂ ಸಿಗುವುದೋ ಅಂತ ಹೋಗಿ ನೋಡಲು ಸಿಕ್ಕಿದ್ದು ಆಂಜನೇಯಾಸ್ ವರ್ಲ್ಡ್ ಕೆಫೆ. ಆದ್ರೆ ನಾವು ಹೋದಾಗ ಮುಚ್ಚಿತ್ತು.

ವರ್ಲ್ಡ್ ಕ್ಲಾಸ್ ಕೆಫೆ

ವರ್ಲ್ಡ್ ಕ್ಲಾಸ್ ಮೆನು

ಸರಿ. ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆ ಹನುಮಂತನಿಗೆ ಕೈಮುಗಿದು ಹೊರಟಿದ್ದಾಯ್ತು. ದಾರೀಲಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕ ರೆಡ್ ವುಡ್ ತೋಪಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಬುತ್ತಿ ಊಟ ಮುಗಿಸಿದ್ದೂ ಆಯ್ತು. ನಂತರ ಎತ್ತರದ ಮರಗಳ ತಣ್ಣೆಳಲಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಸುತ್ತಾಟ.

ಎಲ್ಲಾ  ಆದ್ಮೇಲೆ ಇನ್ನೇನು? ಮತ್ತೆ ಇನ್ನೊಮ್ಮೆ ಬರಬೇಕು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಅನ್ನುವ ಮಾತುಗಳೊಡನೆ ಮನೆಗೆ ಪಯಣ!

-ನೀಲಾಂಜನ

Ranga of Mavina Kere

The name ‘Ranga’ may bring several things to your mind. At least it does to my mind! If you are a fan of Dr Rajkumar, you’d definitely know this song from one of his movies in the 1980s.

Although the movie is from the 1980s, the song predates it by a few centuries. This is a composition of Purandara dasa, and the tune used in the film pretty much sticks to how it has been sung traditionally, in shankarabharana raaga.

Ranganatha @Srirangam

If you are a history buff, I bet you’d think of Sriranga pattana – The capital of Tippu Sultan. The town takes its name from the the temple of the presiding deity Ranganatha. Sriranga Pattana is an island in the river Kaveri. In fact there are three such places where the river branches off into two parts creating a large island. There is a temple dedicated to Ranganatha at each of these places – Sriranga Pattana and Shivana Samudra in Karnataka, and Srirangam in Tamil Nadu.

In all these three places, Ranganatha is depicted in a reclining position on his serpent bed, the seven- hooded Adishesha.

Ranganatha Temple, Mavinakere

However Sriranga Pattana or Srirangam is not the first place that comes to my mind when I hear that name Ranga, but instead it takes me to memories of Mavina Kere. Perched atop a hill in southern Karnataka, a little temple houses the deity well known to locals as “Mavina Kere Ranga” or the “Ranga @Mavina Kere”. The view from the top of the hill is very nice, showing the countryside.

Steps up the hill

I’ve visited Mavina Kere several times. In fact one of my early memories is of a trip to Mavinakere which I did not make! I was probably 4 years old then. I was really looking forward to going to the hill with all my cousins, during one of the yearly summer gatherings. But as luck would have it, I did not wake up in time. Rather than trying to wake me up, the party had left me home, with a few others who could not climb the hill for health reasons!

At every visit, I have enjoyed climbing the hill at Mavinakere. During my latest visit a few weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised to see a road to the top. However, not to miss the joy of climbing the hill, I climbed down and went up again . Back in those days, the path up the hill was patchy. Now, there are nice steps all along.

Unlike the Ranga at Srirangapatna, and Sriranga, the Ranga of Mavina Kere is not in a sleeping position. Actually, he is not even depicted in a human form. Instead, a saligrama represents him. The inscription in the temple calls him ‘TiruvengaLa natha’ – another name for Venkateshwara (The master of Venkata hills). The floral decorations done around the saligrama also support this name.

Mavinakere Ranga

I’m not sure how the name Ranga caught up with Tiruvengalanatha. In general it is said that during the time of Hyder Ali’s and Tippu Sultan’s rule over Mysore, devotees often called their temples by the name of Ranganatha, to save it from any possible attack or damage. I too thought that was a very reasonable explanation, till I came across this song of Purandara Dasa.

ರಂಗನ ನೋಡಿರೆ ರಾಜಕುವರ ನರ-
ಸಿಂಗದೇವ ನಮ್ಮ ದೇವಕಿ ಸುತನ ||ಪ ||

ಹಮ್ಮಿನ ತಾಯಿತ ತೋಳ ಬಾಪುರಿಯೊ
ಘಮ್ಮನೆ ಘಲ್ಲೆಂಬ ಗೆಜ್ಜೆಯ ಧ್ವನಿಯೊ
ಸುಮ್ಮಹಿಮನ ಕಿವಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಚೌಕುಲಿಯೊ
ತಿಮ್ಮರಾಯನಿಟ್ಟ ಸೊಬಗಿನ ಬಗೆಯೊ ||

ಶುಕ್ಕುರವಾರದ ಪೂಜೆಗೊಂಬುವನ
ಸಕ್ಕರೆ ಪಾಲ್ ಮೊಸರು ಬೆಣ್ಣೆ ಮೆಲ್ಲುವನ
ಘಕ್ಕನೆ ಸುರರಿಗೆ ಅಮೃತವಿತ್ತವನ
ರಕ್ಕಸಕುಲವೈರಿ ರಾವಣಾಂತಕನ ||

ಪಾಪವಿನಾಶಿನಿ ಸ್ನಾನವ ಮಾಡಿ
ಪಾಪಗಳೆಲ್ಲವು ಬೇಗ ಬಿಟ್ಟೋಡಿ
ಈ ಪರಿ ದಿನ ದಿನ ಮೂರುತಿ ನೋಡಿ
ಶ್ರೀಪತಿ ಪುರಂದರವಿಠಲನ ಪಾಡಿ ||

Here the references to Papanashini and the name Timmaraya, clearly indicate that the song is about the deity at Tirumala (Tirupati) – However, at the same breath, Purandara Dasa calls the deity at Tirupati as Ranga too!

So, that makes me come back to thinking the validity of any theories involving Tippu Sultan, and Lord Ranganatha!

-neelanjana

The Tale of Two Bulls

I could even have called this post ‘The Tale of Two Brothers”, only displaced in time, that is “:)

The ‘older’ brother – is the Nandi, in front of Hoysaleswara temple in Halebeedu.The temple was built during the reign of King Vishnuvardhana (1121 AD).

It is a duet temple, and has two shrines to Shiva – one in the name of the king – Hoysaleshwara, and one in the name of his queen Shantala – Shantaleshwara. Two huge Nandis face the shrines.

Here is one of those Nandis – which I call “ಅಣ್ಣ” – Older brother

The Nandi below is another famed bull from Karnataka – This is in Chamundi hill near Mysore. The statue seems to be from sometime during Mysore’s Odeyars rule – definitely a creation from a time later than the 15th century.

I call this one “ತಮ್ಮ” – Younger brother . If you go to Chamundi hill, do not miss to pay him a visit.

The ‘brothers’ may be centuries old, but remain as  charming as when they were sculpted!

According to the Wikipedia, both these are among the largest 7 Nandis in India.

Picture courtesy: My camera.

-neelanjana

ಒಲಿದೆ ಯಾತಕಮ್ಮ ಲಕುಮಿ ವಾಸುದೇವಗೆ?

I had the good fortune of witnessing the Kalyanotsava (Wedding celebration) of Lakshmi and Keshava at the Lakshmikeshava temple in Kowshika a few weeks ago. I could not help remember this song when the wedding of the divine couple was going on:

ಒಲಿದೆ ಯಾತಕಮ್ಮಾ ಲಕುಮಿ ವಾಸುದೇವಗೆ?

ಹಲವಂಗದವನ ಹವಣೆ ತಿಳಿದೂ ತಿಳಿದೂ ತಿಳಿಯದ ಹಾಗೆ!

|| ಒಲಿದೆ ಯಾತಕಮ್ಮಾ ಲಕುಮಿ?||

ಕಮಲಗಂಧಿ ಕೋಮಲಾಂಗಿ ಸುಂದರಾಬ್ಜವದನೆ ನೀನು
ರಮಣ ಮತ್ಸ್ಯ ಕಠಿಣಕಾಯ ಸೂಕರಾಸ್ಯನು
ರಮಣೀಯ ಸ್ವರೂಪಿ ನೀನು ಅಮಿತಘೋರ ರೂಪನವನು
ನಮಿಪರಿಷ್ಟದಾನಿ ನೀನು ದಾನವ ಬೇಡುವವನಿಗೆ

|| ಒಲಿದೆ ಯಾತಕಮ್ಮಾ ಲಕುಮಿ?||

ಲಲಿತೆ ಚಾರುಶೀಲೆ ನೀನು ಕಲ್ಕಿ ಕಲಹಪ್ರಿಯನವನು
ಕುಲದ ಕುರುಹು ಇಲ್ಲ ಗುಣದ ನೆಲೆಯು ಕಂಡಿಲ್ಲ
ಹಲವು ಕಾಲದವನು ಅವನ ಬಂಧು ಬಳಗ ನಿಷ್ಕಿಂಚನರು
ಜಲಧಿ ಆಲದೆಲೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಮಲಗಿ ಬೆರಳ ಚೀಪುವವನಿಗೆ

|| ಒಲಿದೆ ಯಾತಕಮ್ಮಾ ಲಕುಮಿ?||

ಸ್ವರತಾನಪೇಕ್ಷಾಕಾಮಿ ನಿದ್ರಾಹೀನ ಅನಶನಿಯು
ಪರುಷರೂಪ ವಾಚ್ಯ ಶಬ್ದ ಅಮಿತ ಭೋಕ್ತನು
ಗುರುಗೋಪಾಲ ವಿಠ್ಠಲನು ನಿರುತ ತನ್ನ ವಕ್ಷದೊಳು
ಅರಮನೆಯ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡು ಮರುಳು ಮಾಡಿದ ಮಾಯಾವಿಗೆ

||ಒಲಿದೆ ಯಾತಕಮ್ಮಾ ಲಕುಮಿ||

In this song, the composer Dasappa Dasa asks Lakshmi – “Why did you fall for this man called Vasudeva? Weren’t you aware of the deeds done by this fellow”? and then he goes on contrasting between Lakshmi and Narayana and tells how mismatched they are as a couple. While the beautiful Lakshmi is gentle, and smells of lotus flowers, her beau is fish-smelly, tough skinny, and looks like a pig! While her beauty is without bounds, he is ferocious like a lion. As the Goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, she gives to anyone who asks , but he goes around begging for alms.”  He further goes on with other aspects of different incarnations of Vishnu, and finally wonders may be Lakshmi settled for the fact that Narayana made Lakshmi a home in his heart! May

But if you ask me, Narayana may not be all that lucky, and Lakshmi did not get a bad deal at all! Didn’t some author say that women are very intelligent by nature, and can’t be taken for a ride so easily?

In fact, the following song of Purandara dAsa would have been the perfect reply to the previous song, had it not been Purandara Dasa preceding Dasappa dasa by a few centuries.

Anyway, here is the song, addressed to Lakshmi once again, in this case praising her for taking her husband for a ride !

ಮರುಳು ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡೆಯಲ್ಲ ಮಾಯಾದೇವಿಯೆ |
ಇರುಳು ಹಗಲು ಏಕವಾಗಿ ಹರಿಯು ನಿನ್ನ ಬಿಡದಿಪ್ಪಂತೆ || ಪಲ್ಲವಿ||

ಜ್ಞಾನಿಗಳು ನಿತ್ಯ ಪಾನಾದಿಗಳನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು
ನಾನಾ ವಿಧ ತಪವಿದ್ದರು ಧ್ಯಾನಕ್ಕೆ ಸಿಲುಕದವನ|| ಮರುಳು ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡೆಯಲ್ಲ||

ಸರ್ವ ಸಂಗವನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಸನ್ಯಾಸಿಯಾದ ಕಾಲಕ್ಕು
ಸರ್ವದಾ ತನ್ನೆದೆಯಮೇಲೇ ಬಿಡದೆ ನಿನ್ನ ಧರಿಸಿಪ್ಪಂತೆ ||ಮರುಳು ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡೆಯಲ್ಲ||

ಪ್ರಳಯ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಆಲದೆಲೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಮಲಗಿದ್ದಾಗ
ಹಲವು ಆಭರಣಗಳು ಜಲವು ಆಗಿ ಜಾಣತನದಿ ||ಮರುಳು ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡೆಯಲ್ಲ||

ರಂಗನು ಭೂಲೋಕದಿ ಭುಜಂಗ ಗಿರಿಯೊಳಲಮೇಲು-
ಮನ್ಗಪತಿಯಾಗಿ ನಿನ್ನ ಅಂಗೀಕರಿಸುವಂತೆ ||ಮರುಳು ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡೆಯಲ್ಲ||

ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಪಡೆದರೆ ನಿನ್ನ ಚೊಕ್ಕತನವು ಪೋಪುದೆಂದು
ಪೊಕ್ಕುಳೊಳು ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಪಡೆದು ಕಕ್ಕುಲಾತಿ ಪಡುವಂತೆ ||ಮರುಳು ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡೆಯಲ್ಲ||

ಎಡಕೆ ಭೂಮಿ ಬಲಕೆ ಶ್ರೀಯು ಎದುರಲ್ಲಿ ದುರ್ಗಾದೇವಿ
ತೊಡೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಲಕುಮಿಯಾಗಿ ಬಿಡದೆ ಮುದ್ದಾಡಿಸುವಂತೆ ||ಮರುಳು ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡೆಯಲ್ಲ||

ಎಂದೆಂದಿಗೂ ಮರೆಯ ನಿನ್ನಾನಂದದಿ ಜನರಿಗೆಲ್ಲ
ತಂದು ತೋರೆ ಸ್ವಾಧೀನ ಪುರಂದರ ವಿಟ್ಠಲರಾಯನ ||ಮರುಳು ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡೆಯಲ್ಲ||

Here Purandara Dasa is praising the ingenuity of Lakshmi in casting a spell to making Hari her own, never letting him waver in his thoughts! Lakshmi intelligently made herself stay in Narayana’s heart, so that even if he left the entire creation, he can’t just be alone!  When Narayana came to the earth, Lakshmi did not leave him alone, but made him marry her once again, my taking the form of Alamelumanga.

So bewitching is the spell on Narayana is , Purandara dasa says,  that Lakshmi was successful in making him bear a child from his navel, and thus got herself out of all the troubles of childbirth!

Lakshmi-Keshava of Kowshika during Kalyanotsava

So no wonder Purandara Dasa addresses Lakshmi as “Maya Devi” – The Goddess of Illusion

नमस्तेस्तु महामाये !

-neelanjana

(p.s: I had written about one of the two songs mentioned here in this article in my Kannada blog sometime ago – “Why do men listen to their wives?” )

Veena Rajarao Birth Centenary Celebrations

Program Details:

-neelanjana

ರಂಗನ ಹಳ್ಳಿಯ ರಾಮ

No!  This post is not about the famous story ರಂಗನ ಹಳ್ಳಿಯ ರಾಮ by Masti Venkatesha Ayyangar!  Masti is one of the finest short story writers Kannada has seen. May be I will talk about Masti some other time – but today, I will sing a totally different tune

Sometime ago, I was listening to a talk show on the radio, where Papanasam Ashok Ramani was talking about different composers from Tamizh Nadu.

Arunachala Kavi (Birth:1711AD), and his well-known  “En PallikonDIrayya”  was one of the compositions he spoke about.

Click here to listen to ‘yEn paLLikkonDeer ayya’ sung by N C Vasantakokilam  – On Sangeethapriya

Bird’s Eye View of Srirangam Temple (Courtesy: Google Maps)

Watch Neiveli Santhanagopalan singing  this composition:

Here is my translation (of the mOhana section) of the song in Kannada. My Tamizh vocabulary  is not in line for this  composition of 18th century, and so no wonder I had to take the help of the lyrics and meanings of this song posted on  www.karnatik.com to do this translation!

ಏಕೆ ನೀ ಪವಡಿಸಿದೆಯೋ ಶ್ರೀ ರಂಗನಾಥಾ
ಏಕೆ ನೀ ಪವಡಿಸಿಹೆಯೋ? || ಏಕೆ ನೀ ಪವಡಿಸಿಹೆಯೋ? ||

ಅರಳಿದ ಕಮಲದ ಕೊಳದ ಬದಿಯಲಿ
ಹರಿಯುವೆರಡು ಹೊಳೆಯ ನಡುವೆ ||ಏಕೆ ನೀ ಪವಡಿಸಿಹೆಯೋ? ||

ಕೌಶಿಕನ ಆಣತಿಯನಾಲಿಸಿದಕೋ? ಕಡು
ರಾಕ್ಷಸಿಯ ಅಂಬಿನಲಿ ಕೊಂದುದಕೋ?
ಈಶನ ಬಿಲ್ಲನು ಮುರಿದುದಕೋ?
ಪರಶುರಾಮನ ಗರುವವನಳಿಸಿದಕೋ? || ಏಕೆ ನೀ ಪವಡಿಸಿಹೆಯೋ? ||

ಜನಕ ಸುತೆಯೊಡನೆ ಕಾಡುದಾರಿಯ ಸವೆಸಿದಕೋ?
ದೋಷವಿರದ ಗುಹನೊಡನೆ ಗಂಗೆಯ ದಾಟಿದಕೋ?
ಚಿತ್ರಕೂಟ ಮಲೆಯಲಿ ನೆಲೆ ನಿಂದುದಕೋ? ಮಾರು
ವೇಷದ ಮಾರೀಚನ ಬೆನ್ನಟ್ಟಿದುದಕೋ? ||ಏಕೆ ನೀ ಪವಡಿಸಿಹೆಯೋ? ||

ಮಡದಿಯ ಎಲ್ಲೆಡೆಯೂ ಹುಡುಕಿದಕೋ? ಏಳು
ಗಿಡಗಳನೊಂದೇ ಬಾಣದಿ ಬೀಳಿಸಿದುದಕೊ?
ಕಡಲಿಗೆ ಸೇತುವೆ ಕಟ್ಟಿ ದಾಟಿದುದಕೋ? ಲಂಕಾ
ಕೆಡಹಿ ಲಂಕೆಯ ರಾವಣನ ಸದೆಬಡಿದುದಕೋ? || ಏಕೆ ನೀ ಪವಡಿಸಿಹೆಯೋ ||

(The song is about Sri Ranganatha in Srirangam  and it could as well apply to Ranagatha at Sriranga pattana – Both temples are located on islands in river Kaveri)

The moment I set up translating ‘En paLLikondeerayya’, I could not help noticing  the striking similarity with a song of Purandara Dasa (Birth – 1485 AD).

Vitthala of Pandharpur

(Image taken from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Syayambhuvithoba.jpg)

This song ponders on why Vitthala in Pandarapur, on the banks of river Bheema,  is left standing with his hands on his waist. He wonders, if it is becuase he is too tired after playing with friends; Or tired running around homes of gopikas to steal butter at their homes or is it due to the fatigue after killing wicked demons. The list goes on.

Listen to Vidyabhushana sing kaTiyalli karaviTTanu:

ಕಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕರವಿಟ್ಟನೊ ಪಂಢರಿರಾಯ ಕಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕರವಿಟ್ಟನೊ ||ಪಲ್ಲವಿ||

ಗೊಲ್ಲ ಬಾಲಕರೊಡಗೂಡಿ ತಾ ಬಂದು
ಗೊಲ್ಲತಿಯರ ಮನೆ ಕದ್ದು ಬೆಣ್ಣೆಯ ತಿಂದು
ಬಲ್ಲಿದ ತೃಣಾವರ್ತ ಮೊದಲಾದ ಅಸುರರ
ಮೆಲ್ಲನೆ ಕೊಂದಾಯಾಸದಿಂದಲೋ ?

ಮುದದಿಂದ ವ್ರಜದ ಹದಿನಾರು ಸಾವಿರ
ಸುದತಿಯರಾಳಿದ ಮದದಿಂದಲೊ
ಮದಗಜಗಮನೆಯರ ಮದದಂತಕ ಕೃಷ್ಣ
ಒದಗಿ ಮಾವನ ಕೊಂದ ಆಯಾಸದಿಂದಲೊ?

ರಾಜಸೂಯಯಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ ರಾಜೇಶ್ವರ
ರಾಜರು ಮೊದಲಾದ ಸುರರೆಲ್ಲರು
ಭೋಜನವನು ಮಾಡಿದೆಂಜಲು ಮೊದಲಾದ್ದು
ರಾಜೀವಾಕ್ಷನು ಎತ್ತಿದಾಯಾಸದಿಂದಲೋ ?

ಸುರಪ ತನಯಗೆ ಸಾರಥ್ಯವ ತಾ ಮಾಡಿ
ಭರದಿಂದ ಚಕ್ರವ ಹಿಡಿದುದರಿಂದಲೋ
ಪರಿಪರಿ ವಿಧದಿಂದ ಕುದುರೆಗಳ ತಾ ತೊಳೆದು
ಪರಿಪರಿ ಕೆಲಸದಿಂದಾಯಾಸದಿಂದಲೋ ?

ಪ್ರೇಮದಿಂದಲಿ ಬಂದ ಭಕ್ತರು ತನ್ನ ಚರಣ
ಕಮಲಯುಗ್ಮವ ಮುಟ್ಟಿ ಭಜಿಸುತಿರೆ
ಮಮತೆಯಿಂದಲಿ ಅವರ ಭವವ ಕಳೆವೆನೆಂದು
ಕಮಲನಾಭ ಶ್ರೀ ಪುರಂದರ ವಿಠಲನು ||

While Purandara dasa came in couple of centuries before Arunachala Kavi, here is another song which came in after Arunachala Kavi, but sharing the same theme.

Yes, I am refering to ‘ElAvatAramettitivo’  of  Tyagaraja (Birth- 1747 AD). In this composition, Tyagaraja wonders why Rama might have taken an incarnation, and took birth as a human.

Listen to Ariakudi Ramanuja I singing this composition on Music India Online:

Here is my attempt in translating  this song to Kannada:

ಏಕೆಂದವತಾರವನೆತ್ತಿದೆಯೋ?
ಏನದು ಕಾರಣವೋ? ರಾಮನೆಂ||ದೇಕವತಾರವನೆತ್ತಿದೆಯೋ?||

ಕಾಳಗವನು ಮಾಡಲಿಕೋ? ಅಯೋಧ್ಯಾ
ಪಾಲನವ ಮಾಡಲಿಕೋ? ರಾಘವ ನೀ ||ನೇತಕವತಾರವನೆತ್ತಿದೆಯೋ?||

ಯೋಗಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಕಾಣಿಸಲಿಕೋ? ಭವ
ರೋಗಗಳ ದೂಡಲಿಕೋ? ಶತ
ರಾಗ ರತ್ನ ಮಾಲಿಕೆಯ ರಚಿಸಿದ ತ್ಯಾಗ
ರಾಜನಿಗೆ ವರವೀಯಲಿಕೋ ನೀ || ನೇತಕವತಾರವನೆತ್ತಿದೆಯೋ?||

These three composers were separated in space, and time – but the commonality of the theme is definitely striking.

This post started off with a song on Ranga, and ended with a song on Rama – making the title quite apt What do you think?

-neelanjana