In this kriti, Tyagaraja questions the Lord why He has no compassion on him and give a darshan, when He would give liberation to an elephant (Gajendra motcham), appear before a boy ('Dhruva / Prahlada), and even bless someone who broke promises (Sugriva).
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-- Carnatic Music for Tamil's & Everyone - Ep 19 -
- "Appreciating non-Tamil kritis through lyrical videos with Tamil translations"
Episode 19 - Mari mari ninne (Saramati) || Tyagaraja
Background
Saint Tyagaraja (1767-1847) is one of the most famous of Carnatic composers and widely considered the greatest of the Carnatic music trinity. His numerous kritis are characterised by beautiful rAgam, bhAvam and tALam, with lovely lyrics, music, and devotion.
The kriti ‘mari mari ninne’ was relatively lesser known until the 80’s. It became very popular after the super-hit movie ‘Sindhu bairavi’. The movie uses a Saramathi version (tuned by Ilaiyaraja), whereas Tyagaraja was known to have originally composed it in Kamboji raga. There is no change in the lyrics though.
Gist of the kriti
In this kriti, Tyagaraja pleads with (actually ‘demands’) the Lord to have compassion on him and give a darshan soon. He sings “I entreat You repeatedly, but You wouldn’t have mercy. However, what is the reason for You to proceed immediately on hearing the entreaty of gajEndra? I also heard the story of Your appearing before dhruva mercifully. What about the tidings of Your becoming man-lion for the sake of prahlAda? Pray tell me too about the greatness of protecting sugrIva who had forgotten (his promises). It is not any longer in my capacity (to bear this grief of not having Your mercy); I shall not listen (to any of Your excuses)!”
He alludes to the fact that the Lord is so generous and He would bless any soul that truly believes and surrenders - be it an animal, a boy, or a seemingly bad person. It’s just maya that His actions look ironical. He is sarvAntaryAmi - the inner-controller of everything!
Please watch and enjoy!
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26 сен 2024
