Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

MUSIC

landmark in the history of Indian music. Apart from the beauty of language, it is a sublime mystic composition. “The sky is clouded; and the wood resembles The sky, thick-arched with black Tamala boughs; O Radha, Radha! take this soul, that trembles In life's deep midnight, to thy golden house. So Nanda spoke-and, led by Radha's spirit The feet of Krishna found the road aright Wherefore, in bliss which all high hearts inherit, Together taste they Love's divine delight. ” Geeta Govinda This poetical work deals with the Radha Krishna theme. It contains 12 chapters, com- prising 24 ashtapadis interspersed with slokas (verses). It depicts the separation of Radha (devotee) from the Adored (Krishna) due to ignorance. The guru (sakhi)‘dispels the igno- rance of Radha, invokes the blessings of the Lord and brings about the union of the two. The work uses erotic symbolism, though it is deeply moving and beautiful. There is nothing obscene or vulgar. The mutual love of Radha and Krishna is intense but delicate - - madhura bhakti, the essence of Vaishnavite adoration. This work is used as a theme in many important Indian dances — Odissi, Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam, Kathakali etc. ' His greatness as a singer was recognised early and he was conferred the honorific title "Tansen" by Raja Vikramjit, the ruler of Gwalior. He later came under the patronage of Raja Ramachandra Baghela of Rewa. The Moghul emperor Akbar hearing about the musical genius of Tansen, asked Raja Rama- chandra Baghela to surrender Tansen to him. Tansen entered the sevices of Emperor Akbar in 1562 A.D. and became famous as one of the "nine gems" of the Moghul court. He is credited with thousands of dhru- pads. Three works - Sangat Sar, Rag Mala and Sri Ganesa Stotra — are attributed to him. He is traditionally accepted as the creator of new ragas which bear the prefix Miyan : Miyanki Todi, Miyanki Sarana, Miyanki Mal- har etc. Raga Darbari Kanada is his contribu- tion to the music of North India. Tansen died in 1595 at Gwalior.

JAYADEVA

He lived in the 12th-13thC. Not much is known about his place of birth. He was left an orphan even when he was a child. He did not seem to have any worldly desires and took to wandering like a mendicant with the name of Hari on his lips. Eventually he reached Puri in Orissa. Here he married Padmavathi, the daughter of a Brahmin. The couple had an extremely happy married life. Jayadeva was recognised as a great poet. He was made the court poet by Raja Lakshmana Sena (1178- 1205 A.D.) of Nabadweep, Bengal. His San- skrit poem, Geeta Govinda is an important

TANSEN

His father was a Hindu priest living in a village close to Gwalior. He was born in 1492 after his father had sought the blessings of a famous Muslim saint of Gwalior, Mo- hammad Ghouse. He was named Ramtanu. He was also called Tanna Misra, later known to the world as Tansen. According to tradition he was a disciple of Swami Haridas of Brindavan. According to other sources Ramtanu's early musical education was under Raja Man Singh of Gwalior. He is also believed to have gone to Bengal to study music under Mohammad Shah Adil, the last king of the Suri dynasty. Later he returned to Rewa to become the court musician of Raja Ramachandra. It is believed that Ramtanu (Tanna Misra) became a Muslim in order to marry a girl of that religion. From then on he came to be called Ata Ali Khan.