Oothukkadu Venkata Kavi

Early life

Venkata Kavi, named as Venkata Subramanian, was born as the eldest of five children to the Tamil Smartha couple of Subbu Kutti Iyer and Venkamma, according to the family records in the possession the descendants of his brother Ramachandra Vathoola's family. Though his ancestors had resided in various villages in South Indian around the temple towns of Mannargudi (about 200 miles from Chennai), Venkata Kavi moved into the village of Oothukadu (referred to as "Dhenushwasapuram" in Sanskrit), near Kumbhakonam. One of his nephews, Kattu Krishna Iyer was a musician in the royal court of the Thanjavur Maratha King Pratapa Simha Bhonsale in the later part of the 18th century.

According to family sources, Venkata Kavi was passionate about music but could not find a Guru of his choice in that area, which prompted him to appeal to the God Krishna himself, in the Kalinga Nartana Temple in Oothukadu. He is believed to have received initiation from the Lord himself, as asserted in one of his Tamil compositions, Guru paadaravindam komalamu - in the raga Abhogi, he declares: "I have never studied the scriptures or yoga nor pretended to have done so. I received the fortune of knowledge in the benevolent glance of my guru."

Guru Krtis

Venkata Kavi composed at least 14-15 pieces extolling the greatness of his Guru Krishna. A few of them suggest that he may also have had another human guru, at least for spiritual purposes. According to sources from that area, this guru was Bhaskara Raya, the acclaimed authority of Devi worship of his times. This is further augmented by the immense scholarship seen in Venkata Kavi's Kamakshi Navavarana krtis dealing with the intricate details of avarana pooja (Srividya worship).

Musicianship

The greatest evidence of his musical pedigree is his compositions. There are several references to good musical approach, practices and even technical terms of ornamentation like aahatam and pratyaagatam. Venkata Kavi believed that music had to be blended with spirituality (bhakti) in order to shine. His philosophy, bhakti yoga sangeeta margame paramapavana mahume ("Devotion though music is the path to salvation") is also resonated by Tyagaraja (1767-1847) sangeeta gnanamu bhakti vina sanmargamu galade.

Ragas vision

Venkata Kavi had a vast knowledge of music and musical nuances. He used a wide variety of ragas ranging from the well known such as Todi, Kalyani, Kharaharapriya, Sahana, through minor ones like Kannadagowla, Jayantashri, Malavi, Umabharanam and also a few that are seldom used today like Balahamsa and Rasamanjari. In some instances, his works are the first or only ones to be available in a given raga such as Sri Shivanayike in Lalitagandharvam and Padasevanam in Deeparam. His approach of even common ragas like Sahana, Paras, Nadanamakriya and Arabhi are distinctive and refreshing.

His vision of the raga and melody as a whole is considerable and can be seen in the number of different styles in which he composed various krtis in the same raga. For instance, his krtis in Madhyamavathi – Shankari Sri Rajarajeshwari, Sundara nandakumara and Aadadu ashangadu vaa Kanna - bring out different facets of this beautiful raga. He also employed attractive swaraksharas – a technique where the lyrics match the solfa notes of the tune. He has also incorporated raga mudra (mentioning the names of ragas of the composition) in several krtis. Examples: Shuddha Saveri, Navarasakannada. Several other compositions contain names of many other ragas mentioned in some other contexts.

Sophisticated rhythm

Venkata Kavi ventured into scarcely attempted talas like Khanda Dhruvam (17 units per cycle), Sankeerna Mathyam (20) and Mishra Atam (18). He effortlessly employed complex eduppus (take-off or landing points of various sections of a composition) without affecting the flow of the music or the lyrics. He could change the gati (gait) with ease, enhancing the multi-dimensional aesthetic capabilities of a composition. He was probably the only composer to have not only handled chaturashra (4/4) time-signatures but also tishram (3/4 or 6/4) as well as khandam (5/4 or 5/8) etc in his compositions such as Neerada sama (Jayantashree), Natavara taruni (Kannadagowla), Vitasama vara (Vasanta) & Uruhaada manam (Todi).

Lyrical variations

Sangatis are pre-composed variations in a composition and rendered in a disciplined manner (as opposed to variations born from free improvisation). Usually, variations are melodic in nature while the lyrics remain constant. Several of Venkata Kavi’s pieces have such sangatis but he also showcased a rarely seen concept of lyrical variations. For instance, in the pallavi of his Abhogi piece, Mahashaya hrdaya, he has composed three variations in the madhyamakala passage as given below:

1. madhukara champaka vana vihara manamohana Madhusoodana navabhooshana
2. madhukara champaka vana vihara nava pallava padakara madana gambheera
3. madhukara champaka vana vihara govardhana dhara bhujaga nartana charana

Similar examples can be seen in pieces like Aganita mahima (Gowla).

In the Gowla composition, the composer has also used innovative structuring by inserting medium fast passages between two slower cycles, investing the section with a singular charm.

Emphatic finales

Venkata Kavi was a master of finishes. In several songs, his endings are in interesting rhythmic patterns. For example, Bhuvanamoha in Dhanyasi, where he has capped off the charanam with a pattern of 6 repeated 11 times, which is a wonderful way to get to half a beat landing (which is the commencing point of the pallavi) from the beat after 2 cycles of Adi tala. The words are superbly woven in lilting Sanskrit:

There are many other instances of similar endings in krtis like Alavadennalo in Paras (5th charanam) and Mummada vezhamugattu Vinayakan in Nattai.

Multi-lingual felicity

Venkata Kavi had deep scholarship in Sanskrit and Tamil. His fluency in Sanskrit rivalled that of his command in Tamil, a commentary not only on his erudition but also a pointer to a period when Sanskrit was used more conversationally than merely as an academic language. His vocabulary was immense - words such as kalamba (arrow), charatha (wandering), shileemukha (bee) are just a few examples out of hundreds seen in his works, which are especially unique in Carnatic literature. He had the ability of use common words like 'bhaja', 'chandra' in uncommon contexts.

Imagination

Venkata Kavi's vivid imagination and eye for details have been matched by very few Carnatic composers. His poetic ability to create unique scenarios or give singular twists to even common stories is seen in hundreds of songs such as Taye yashoda in raga Todi, where the gopikas are complaining to Yashoda about her son Lord Krishna. This song has eight charanams (stanzas) and each one describes the pranks of Krishna very humorously. Not so well known is the reply by Krishna to every one of these charges in another piece, Illai illai in Mohanam, also with eight charanams. This quality sets him apart even in his general compositions such as Chindittavar nenjil iruppadu (Nattai). Ennadan inbam kandayo (Devagandhari) and Gajamukhaanujam (Kedaram).

Compositions

Venkata Kavi has composed on a wide range of themes. The most popular of his songs are on Lord Krishna but he has composed on a number of other deities as well, such as Vinayaka, Radha, Tyagaraja of Tiruvarur, Kamakshi, Rama, Kartikeya, Narasimha, Anjaneya, Ranganatha, and also on Surya and other mythological characters. He has composed on great sages such as Shuka Brahma Rishi, Jayadeva and Valmiki. Besides, he has composed several songs on the greatness of Guru, and general philosophy and approach to God. His works contain references to Azhwars, Nayanmars, Ramanuja, Tulasidas and many other revealing his knowledge of their works and contributions and his reverence towards them.

Operas

As of 2007, no other composer in India has created as many musical operas as Venkata Kavi has.

The most well known is "Krishna Ganam" based on Bhagavatam, which narrates Krishna’s birth and colourful childhood, beginning from Devaki-Vasudeva’s wedding and Kamsa’s curse and ending with Krishna’s wedding with Rukmini. It is now well known that many popular songs on Krishna like Taye yashoda, Alaippayude kanna, Pal vadiyum mukham, Parvai onre podume and Pullai piravi tara venum are part of this opera.

Venkata Kavi also composed an entire group of pieces covering Krishna's wedding with Radha. His other operas include:

Several songs from Ramayana and Mahabharata are missing but even the few songs which have been found showcase "his skills in giving original treatment of known episodes" as dancer Dr Vyjayantimala Bali states.

The composer also penned abridged versions of Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavatam.

Group compositions

Venkata Kavi has also composed several group krtis like Saptaratnas, Kamakshi Navavaranam and Anjaneya ratnas. He has also composed several shlokas like Madhava panchakam, Nrsimha panchakam, Ranganatha Panchakam and so on.

His Saptaratnas (seven gems = seven songs) are similar in style to Tyagaraja’s pancharatnas (five gems) in their musical structure consisting of the main refrain (pallavi), a contrasting section (anupallavi) and a series of other sections (charana) in medium tempo (madhyama kala) that can be rendered as swara and sahitya. The saptaratnas are:

1. Bhajanamrta – Nattai
2. Aganita mahima – Gowla
3. Madhava hrdi khelini – Kalyani
4. Balasarasa murali – Keeravani
5. Jatadara – Todi
6. Alavadennalo – Paras
7. Sundara nandakumara – Madhyamavathi

Besides, he composed the Anjaneya Saptaratna krtis, eulogizing Hanuman and this entire set is in Sanskrit. These are:

Of these, the last two were not published which led to a wrong categorization in some quarters. However, these have been subsequently located in the possession of the NKB's family and disciples.

Navavaranams

Venkata Kavi also composed Navavarnams (nine varnams) on the goddess Srividya to be sung during Dasara. Apart from the main nine songs for the nine nights, he has also composed Vinayaka stuti, Dhyana stuti and a Phala stuti. There are several similarities (and differences) between his Navavaranams and that of Muthuswami Dikshitar but both reveal the composers’ scholarship in the various aspects of Devi worship. These are:

While the pieces showcase the composer's high caliber approach to melody, lyric, poetry and culture, they stand out for his masterly handling of intricate time measures of 9, 17 and 20 units per cycle in the 4th, 5th and 6th avarana kris respectively. This 8th avaranam has been set in alternate time-signatures within the same tala – chaturashram (4/4) and tishram (3/4).

Dance compositions

Venkata Kavi's works have been automatic choices for hundreds of dancers for the scope they offer for visual interpretation, dance-specific jatis (syllables), dramatic appeal and creative content. Leading dancers of Bharatanatyam, Kuchippudi, Kathak and Odissi such as Dr Vyjayantimala Bali, Kamala Lakshman, Pt Birju Maharaj & Saswati Sen, Dr Padma Subramaniam, Dr Vempatti Chinna Satyam, Chitra Vishweshwaran, Sanchita Bhattacharya and others have choreographed the poet's works over decades. However, there are innumerable compositions such as Nalladella enru sholladi (Shankarabharanam), Bhuvana moha (Dhanyashi), Neela malar (Vasanta), Ettanai kettalum (Bhairavi) and operas like Pranavopadesham which are yet to be explored in the dance field.

Works suited for other platforms

Venkata Kavi's works have been extensively cited in Harikatha (musical discourses) by leading exponents like Shri Krishna Premi Anna ,Guru Haridass Giri, Shri Muraleedhara Swami and others. Needamangalam Krishnamurthy Bhagavatar (descendant of the poet's brother's family) was known for his matchless renditions of the composer's unique works like Kalinga Nartana Natangam and Krishna Padaadi Keshaanta varnanam.

Several of Venkata Kavi's compositions are part of Bhagavata Bhajana Sampradaya (devotional music) repertoire as well. The brilliant shlokas (devotional poetry) like Madhava Panchakam, Ranganatha Panchakam, Nrsimha Panchakam and Shiva Tandava strotram are eminently suited for daily household worship as well as concert rendition.