இலண்டன் சைவ மாநாடு (சிறப்புமலர்)

7வது சைவ மாநாடு இலண்டன் 2004 MUSICOLOGY OF THEVARAM AND TIRUPPUGAZH N. Murugesa Mudaliar The science of music in Thevaram and Tiruppugazh is gratifyingly under greater appreciation in recent times. Thevaram being regarded as Saivamarai must be sung in conformity with the panns just as Vedas have to conform to Sahal etc. The following are brief extracts om discussion on the subjects at the music conferences in Madras City in December 1971. Extract from the Hindu dated 25-12-71 Influecne of Thevaram on Compositions A suggestion that Thevaram should be sung strictly according to traditions and in their original Panns without setting them to new tunes was made by speakers at the pann Research meeting of the Tamil Isai festival. The Oduvars, who still keep them in their pristine purity, were particularly urged not to deviate from the original form. The discussion on Thevaram followed a paper on its contribution to the construction of musical compositions, presented by Mr. K.C. Thyagarajan, who traced and demonstrated the similarities in the ancient hymns and later-day- songs. Even as a song is made of a Pallavi an anupallavi and a charanam, the four lines of each Thevaram corresponded to this set-up. The first part of the charanam is akin to pallavi, the latter portion to anupallavi. Mr. Thyagarajan illustrated the occurrence of Swaraksharas in some of the psalms and in "Balagopala" of Dikshitar. The practice of accelerating the pace of the words in a composition's later portion is also noticed in the Thevaram where all the three speeds have been included. The Thevaram has also incorporated Akaras and Ukaras as found in "kathalagi," and they are found in the Purandaradasar's simple pieces for beginners. The Viloma chittaiswaram used by Dikshitar is available in Tirugna nasambandar's Malai Matru Pathigam composed about 1,300 years ago. Likewise the Gopucha (thinning) and Srothovaka (widening) yatis have been handled by Dikshitar in his "Thyagaraja Vaibhavam" where words are gradually eliminated or also taken in. The later style is noticeable in the Thevaram "Siraiyarum." 162 Dr. M. Varadarajan wanted a study to be made about the influence of Thevaram on the folk songs like Kavadi chindu, Themmangu and Kilikkanni which are also devotion -soaked. Mantras in Tamil Hymns An exposition followed by practical illustration. of the Mantras (incarntations) which help a person in God-realisation, embedded in Tamil devotional hymns, respectively by Sri M.P. Somasundaram and Sri M.M. Dandapani Desikar was made at the Pann Research Conference of the Tamil Isai Festival to-day. Sri Somasundaram explained how the recitation these mantras in Tamil, like the Vedic chants, called for exacting apprenticeship and initiation. These mantras had been laid extremely deep in some of the psalms. There were rules governing the general frame-work, their pronounciation, the metre to be adopted, how and when they should be rendered. In some cases, a specified mantra had been suitably interpolated in the running stanza. He instanced the occurrence of these mystical secrets, in Tirumoolar's