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Re: A Tamil Krithi on Sriman NaarAyanan

From the Bhakti List Archives

sudarshan madabushi • March 8, 1999 


Dear members,

Sri.Madhavakannan wrote:
"And our Sri MK Susharshan's mother has contributed a lot by singing 
Desikan sthOthrams - sung in an exquisitely beautiful tunes with 
different rAgAs.....".

Sri.Madhavakannan got my name all wrong but he is right about my 
mother...!

Yes, she has set to tune many of Swami Desikan's stotrams on LPs and 
cassettes (AVM, Vani Cassettes etc.). Some of the most popular (and not 
so popular ones) "devotional" releases are :

(1) Goda stuti, SriStuti, Gopala vimshati,bhagavadh-dhyana sopanam
(2) Daya satakam, Dasavatara stotram
(3) Achyuta satakam (this rare one in the "prAkritam" original)
(4) Narayana Kavacham (in Sanskrit orginal and in a specially composed 
Tamil version) -- prefaced by "anugraha-bAshanam" from HH 44th 
Azhagiyasingar and HH Andavan Swami
(4) SriVenkateswara sahasranamam (TTD production)
(5) Tirupallandu, Tirupalleyyachi, Amalanadipiran, Neerattam
(6) Saundarya Lahari
(7) Lalitha sahasranamam
(8) Navagraha kritis of Mutthuswami Diskhitar

My own favourites are the ones on Desika Stotrams. The 1974 production 
of Goda Stuti and the 1975 one on Daya Satakam are indeed wonderful 
releases..... and I say this not because the artiste concerned happens 
to be my beloved mother! Both the cassettes brought Mrs.Mani 
Krishnaswami first into the limelight as a distinguished singer of 
devotional verse. Apart from the musical value of the cassettes it was 
her impeccable Sanskrit diction/enunciation that was lauded by by both 
layman and pundit. And her voice in those golden days was really silken 
smooth! 

In January early this year, on Vaikunta Ekadasi Day, I visited 
Kanchipuram. I visited Tuppul the birthplace of our AchAryan Swami 
Desikan. They had just installed a PA system there in the temple 
precincts. The Tuppul Trust officials to whom I was introduced there 
requested me to donate an entire set of my mother's Desika-stotra 
cassettes to them. I was overjoyed. Could there be a better way to pay 
my tributes to both my revered AchAryan and to my dear mother? I am in 
fact making arrangements now from Kuwait to do so. 

So the next time around any of you happen to be in the hallowed 
precincts of the Deepaprakasa temple, who knows, you might hear the 
music of "Mani" and the poetry of the "ghantAvatAra" Swami gently 
wafting across the skies! If you do, you might even remember me and 
thank me silently in your heart .... and say a prayer for me too, 
perhaps..yes?!

adiyEn, 
sudarshan

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