Simha roopanade - Kambhoji - Purandaradasa - M Balamuralikrishna - Annavarapu - S S Rao : AIR 1986

Purandara Dāsa (1484-1564) was a vāggéyakāra (composer-performer), a lakshañakāra (musicologist), and the one who established musical pedagogy that is still followed. Only 700 of his compositions (kīrtanā or pada), believed to be in thousands, are available today. The original music (notations) composed by him are also lost. Many maestros popularized Purandara Däsa’s songs with their own music and so did Dr Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna (BMK) as a tunesmith but with the distinct stamp of Muralīgānam. BMK may have been singing to popularize Purandara Dāsa’s compositions like he championed the compositions of many other well and less well known composers long before the first feature film in 1964 on Purandara Dāsa in Kannada, titled “Navakóti Nārāyaña.” The success of the 10 songs that included the “Pillarigīté – SrīGañanāthā” in the rāga Malahari led him to sing in the second movie in 1967-- Sri Purandara Dāsaru. BMK’s idiom of presentation attracted more film makers to include Purandara Dāsa compositions in many movies and each song was a great hit. Some movies did not make it to the silver screen but the songs became hits. BMK has written music for many compositions of the various masters of yore. He brought to bear his stature as a renowned vāggéyakāra and a remarkable tunesmith through his ability and mastery to mirror the times and the mood of the composer and combining with the necessary melody. He did not foist contemporary trends on the compositions merely to sound catchy. His singing with perfect diction and a measured intonation lead the listeners to experience what the original composer contemplated when the composition was created. BMK as a poet was an ambassador of Purandara Dāsa. His translation of Purandara Dāsa compositions into Telugu and the practice of singing them in tandem with the original songs has helped the audience to appreciate the content, the lyrical beauty, the social context, and the relevance of Purandara Dāsa’s compositions. Here is an excerpt from AIR’s national programme of music in which BMK presents the song “Simharūpanādé” as the main item of this 1986 broadcast. Sri. Annavarapu Ramaswamy (Violin) and Sri. Srimushanam Raja Rao (Mridangam) are the accompanying artistes. The composition succinctly captures the essence of Prahlāda charitra (the story of Prahlāda) through a powerful synopsis of the incarnation of Lord Vishnu as Narasimha (half man and half lion). The potential power of the words in the lyrics attains full dynamism, thanks to the sensitivity of the tunesmith BMK, thus enabling the listeners to effortlessly visualize the events. Purandara Dāsa says “O Lord Vishnu! Shrī Hari, you have taken the form of Narasimha because of your love for your devout Prahlāda. Seeing your fierce and frightful form all the devotees except Prahlāda ran away fearing you. On the advice of the celestial sage Nārada, the gods in the firmament invited your consort Lakhsmi who sat on your lap to pacify you. The celestials then showered flowers for the peace that prevailed”. BMK presents an unhurried and a captivating Kāmbhóji rāgālāpana and essentially brings the shānta-rasa (the aesthetics of peace) rather than the aesthetics of fury (rowdra-rasa). To complement the narrative style adopted to portray the briskness to match the way the celestials showered flowers on Narasimha and Lakshmi, BMK adopts the speed of ‘madhyama-kāla’ and each syllable sung by him powerfully paints the picture before our eyes. Acknowledgements: My sincere thanks and appreciation to Sri. S L Murthy for gracefully accepting the task of initiating a beautiful narration. Also, my grateful thanks and appreciation to Sri. T K Ramkumar for making the narration to reflect our collective ideas.