“I was in Mumbai when I heard the sudden passing away of our beloved Guruji. Gopala Sundaram, who translated Tiruppugazh hymns into English, said he was shocked at hearing the news of the demise of Guruji.
#VARAI TADAM TIRUPPUGAZH SERIAL#
His popular serial in Kalki was ‘Thalam Thorum Thamizh Kadavull’ and he covered many temples of Lord Muruga in this serial. She took interest when he began singing the hymns and for over thirty years she was singing with him,” adds Chithra Murthy. “Guruji’s wife Janaki Mami is also well versed in Tiruppugazh.
He tuned not only Tiruppugazh, but also Kandar Anubhuti, Kandar Alankaram, Kandar Andhadhi, Vel-Mayil-Seval Viruthangal, Thiruvaguppu and Thiru Ezhu-k-kootrirukkai. His participation in Padi Vizha and Sashti Bajanai in Chennai elevated the events to an ecstatic level. That was why he was happy when people called him ‘Tiruppugazh Thondan.’ “We feel he was the incarnation of the sage, Arunagiri. “He was a pathfinder for all of us,” says Uma Balasubramaniam, daughter of the well known Tamil scholar and orator Ki.Va. The longer ones would go up to 108 songs! It was Kalyani Ramasamy, who followed Guruji Bhani here and his style of singing was established throughout.”Ī self-effacing Guruji, however, did not want to take credit for tuning the songs and attributed everything to the grace of ‘Senthil Aandavan.’ “His short bhajan sessions would last for about two hours and cover 20 hymns. This is the achievement of Guruji Raghavan!” says Chithra Murthy, a propagator of Tiruppugazh through her discourses. “It was an amazing fete to tune 503 songs of Arunagiri in over 110 ragas. Sivalinga Nadar, a native vaidya and an ardent devotee of Lord Muruga, trained him to run from Thundugai Vinayaka temple to Shanmukha Vilasam in Tiruchendur in the sands and the defect was gone! Afflicted with polio, the young Raghavan could not walk easily. Thyagarajan now heads the Chennai Region of Tiruppugazh Anbargal Sangam.īorn on September 4, 1928, to Subbaiah and Ramalakshmi, in Thoothukudi, he was brought up in Arumugamangalam, a small town on the way to Tiruchendur. I started attending his classes regularly and found them to be rewarding,” he says. “I was at once drawn to his melodious singing and his elucidation of the hymns. Thyagarajan, financial advisor and an active member of Tiruppugazh Anbargal Sangam, attended Guruji Raghavan’s class in 1991 after his retirement, in New Delhi. He began learning the hymns to teach them in an informal class. A ‘B’ grade artist of AIR in Mumbai, Raghavan had never sung Tiruppugazh in his concerts. They had heard the former sing in a concert in Delhi, where he had moved for employment.
Two gentlemen – Narayana Iyengar and Mahalingam – requested Guruji Raghavan to set music to Tiruppugazh. While Paramacharya honoured him with the title ‘Tiruppugazh Gaana Ratnam,’ the pontiff of Sringeri Math declared that Guruji Raghavan was very close to his heart. “Guruji Raghavan’s contribution to the propagation of Tiruppugazh is unparalleled,” say his admirers in one voice.
Courtesy:Sri.Anand Vasudevan Peerless propagator
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