Certain things in our life are unforgettable.
And this applies more to things which happened during
our childhood. What happens during this period remains firmly etched in our
memory and even the loss of cells in the brain will not affect this memory. One
of the reasons could be the freshness
of the brain during our childhood,
but most importantly it could also be because of our tendency and proclivity to
enjoy nostalgia.
I am saying all this now not without a reason. When I
was a child, I studied in a school which was part of an Institution known for respecting our culture. Every day during
lunch hour, we were asked to repeat a small sloka.
At the end of it, the teacher would sound the bell and only then were we allowed to open the lunch box.
Now, let me clarify a couple of things. By ‘respecting
culture’, I do not mean any religion
or ideology. The person who
established the Institution, was known for her syncretic views.
Though the sloka was in Sanskrit on a particular Hindu deity, it was recited by one and
all-including the students from other faiths- without any reservations. During
the assembly, representatives of 3 major religions would say the prayer on his/her God and all of us repeated it. I remember these prayers too just like how I remember the ‘Lunch Prayer’.
That Lunch Prayer was on a deity called AnnapoorNa,
who is supposed to be the Goddess of Nourishment.
It was composed by Adi Shankara as
part of the ‘AnnapoorNa ashtakam’ ‘Anna’ in Sanskrit means ‘Food’ and ‘PoorNa’
is complete (or ‘whole’). The 2-line sloka,
prays to Her for giving not just food but also knowledge, wisdom and will
power. I would repeat that sloka
during our dinner time at home and also imitate the sound of the bell before
laying my hands on what was prepared by my mother.
After many years, I still remember the sloka with the intonation and the sound
of the bell and whenever I recite it to myself (not necessarily during
breakfast/lunch/dinner) it gives me nourishment spiritually, mentally and emotionally.
In fact, the purpose of any recitation or even prayer to any icon is
this- to make us feel better.
All these are symbolic
and carry a lot of value. Unfortunately, we have (by ‘we’, I mean the people
propagating certain ideologies and are bent on ‘constructing temples’)
forgotten the purpose and objective behind each icon and have assumed that the purpose
of a religion is to assert our superiority over people following other
religions, hardly realising that the Divine
is one and each has his/her own way of approaching it. And that is the reason
for mindless ‘discourses’ done with an eye on the vote bank.
Going back to AnnapoorNa
, what the icon-which has a golden
ladle on the right hand and a pot full of porridge on the left hand- indicate
are ‘Fullness’, ‘Nourishment’, ‘Wisdom’
‘Truth’ and ‘Supreme Welfare’.
It also symbolises ‘Shakti’ or the
‘Universal Energy’.
No other film song has depicted AnnapooraNi as majestic and melodic as ‘InnaruL Tharum AnnapooraNi’
(Athma- 1993) has done and reasons
are not far to seek.
First and foremost, it is based on the Raag Durga. As many of you know, Durga is a form of Shakti and I am sure the composer
tuned it in this raag not without a
purpose (of course, he does not break his head on the tune or on the raga to be used and this too must have
occurred to him spontaneously like ‘Lalita’
in Rudra VeeNa/Unnaal Mudiyum Thambi.
Secondly, it is rendered by a carnatic music legend. Though Shri.T.N.Seshagopalan
did sing before in a movie in which he played the major role (an experience he
would ‘like to forget’- as told by
him), this one is unique. It is not uncommon for classical musicians to sing in movies but the fact that a musician of the stature of Shri.T.N.S., agreed to sing a song in a commercial movie in which he played no
role one, shows the respect and admiration he had for Raaja sir.
The very first piece in sitar gives the sketch of the raag.
The violin expands it and we see the
charming silhouettes that seem delightfully fresh.
The energy continues to flow in the Pallavi with the dholak and the tabla
sounding in rupakam (it can be ‘tisram’ too but I am more comfortable
with a 6 - beat cycle in this
composition). The subtle sound of the jaalra makes it livelier.
The sitar
plays lustrously with vigour and vitality while the flute plays with an evocative grandeur in the first interlude.
The major attraction of the second interlude is the shehnai.
It is soft, buoyant, intense and sparkling. When it touches the higher octave ‘ma’, it seems as if it has discovered the Divine.
And the ‘akaaram’
of Shri.T.N.S. in the second charaNam seems to confirm this..
After all, where is the Divine- In Mandir? In Masjid? In Church?
Let the Divine
give us the wisdom of seeking the Truth, so that we find the answer ourselves.
Jnaana
Vairagya Siddhyartam Bhiksham Dehi...
