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Kavi Kunjara Bharathi

Who is this stranger?

Source for kavithai: Ref. # 1 (see below)

Meaning:
Pallavi: Who is this, my friend? He does not look familiar, I don’t know anything about him, my friend!

Anupallavi: He is wearing a brilliant sparkling jewel and is in a glamorous procession riding a chariot.

CaraNam: He has a dame at his foot, a dame by his side and one in his chest which sports a cool garland of tuLasi*. Why is he wearing all these? Is he my Lord? Did he show up just to reward my penance? 

* tuLasi is the holy basil known by its botanical name Ocimum sanctum.

General comments:
This song is a padam, “a rhapsody for revelry in music and dance recitals”, and a product of ca. 18th century. The rulers in south India encouraged its growth. Padams in general are light, lively and pleasing. They are usually love songs elaborating an emotion associated with a visit of the nayaka (hero) with nayaki (heroine) or the absence of it and the resulting despair. In this particular padam, the nayaki is asking her friend about the identity of the nayaka who seems to appear in front of her.

The heroine here is in love with Lord Vishnu. She is always thinking about Him while awake as well as when asleep. When she is awake and in the company of her female friend, her Lord seems to appear in front of her. She could not believe it. Hence she is asking her friend about the identity of the image that appears to her. She sees the Lord wearing sparkling jewels and riding a chariot. She also recognises a dame at his foot (a reference to bhudEvi, known as nilamagaL in Thamizh), a dame by his side (identified as nILA devi, known as nappinnai in Thamizh VaishNavite liturgy), and one (sridEvi, also known as alaimagaL or Lakshmi) in his chest which is adorned with a holy tuLasi garland. Despite seeing three other dames with her Lord, she is not jealous. She thanks her good fortune and revels in seeing Him.

The author, Kavi Kunjara Bharathi (KKB), is known for his scholarship in Thamizh and this particular song (the author’s signature is not seen in this song) forms part of his dance drama called ‘azhagar kuRavanjci’ incorporating the three constituents of mutthamizh, viz., iyal, isai, and nAtakam. The drama blends devotion and love including both classical and folk music as to be enjoyed by all folks. The love that young dames hold for divine heroes such as Murugan, Krishna, or Shiva is treated with adoration and respect since in the religious thinking it is considered as the yearning of the human (jeevAtmA) to (re)join the divine (paramAtmA).

Composer’s bio:

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Kavi Kunjara Bharathi (1810-1896) was born in Perungarai, a village in Ramanathapuram district. The name Bharathi is a family name. He was named after his grandfather (Koteeswara Bharathi). At age 12 he composed padams and keertanais. At age 18 he composed a dance drama titled, ‘azhagar kuRavanjci’. The Sivaganga king, Gowri Vallabha, was impressed and conferred the title of ‘kavi kunjaram’ on him and appointed him the court vidwan. The Ramnad king too appointed him his ‘AsthAna vidwAn’. In addition to this dance drama, KKB’s other works include ‘Shri Kanda Purana Keerthanai’ and ‘Perinba Keerthanaigal’. He also composed several songs on Goddess Meenakshi of Madurai and the Lord of Thirupati. KKB’s grandson, again named after him, was Koteeswara Iyer (who identified himself as kavi kunjara dasan) and was groomed by KKB. Koteeswara Iyer himself turned out to be an excellent scholar composer.

Some of the songs of Kavi Kunjara Bharathi that are popular are: elloraiyum pOlavE (sudda sAvEri)), ennaDi peNNE unakku (bEgada), singAra vElanai (dhanyAsi), pittan avan (Ananda bhairavi), sannidhi kaNDu (mOhanam). 

References:
1. http://www.geocities.com/promiserani2/c1220.html 
2. http://www.geocities.com/promiserani2/co1067.html 
3. http://www.saigan.com/heritage/music/garlandk.htm

Sethuraman Subramanian
subramaniansethu@hotmail.com

Published on 7^th Jan, 2004