Oothukaadu venkata subbaiyer lived in the early 18th century and was a devout krishna bhakta. This song is about Gopikas complaining about Krishna's antics to Yashodha.

This song is set in the Thiru ezhu kootrirukkai pattern which falls under the Chithrakavi way of writing poems. words strung in such a way that an image is formed. it is said singing this or listening to this one thiruppugazh is equivalent to singing all 16000 thiruppugazh!

i am so fortunate I decided to take this up, a song I learnt more than 15 years ago.

Thedi unnai Saranadainthen is one of my favorite songs written by Bharathiyar. A story goes that when asked why Bharathiyar chose kavadi chinthu tunes for his patriotic pieces he said he wanted every one from all echelons of society to sing his songs. And that even a layman should be able to sing it. Such is his unifying vision. In this video I have narrated the background story and rendered the song.

I would say this is perhaps the only song I know that captures the essence of karma yoga and surrender

"Mudi ondri moovulagangalum" is from "Periyazhvar's thirumozhi".

Tamil nadu back then must have been a highly devotional place so much so that bhakti had pervaded even games! Unthi paraththal is a common game kids play even today. Back then, kids used to take turns while swaying and sing in praise of their favorite god. In these verses the girls sing about rama and krishna!

This was written by Ilango Adigal in Silappadhigaaram in a style called Aaichiyar kuravai.

Nenjukku needhiyum tholuku vaalum, my next rendition. Pl check the Igtv version for the full song.

This happens to be one of my favorites too. Whenever I listen to it, I feel super energised and ready to conquer the world! Such is the energy called for!

Rendition of Ayye Metha Kadinam, a beautiful ragamalika. I have also explained the context.

As you may notice i have not replaced the word parayan in the last stanza with aezhai. Singers these days have started using aezhai in their rendition, which i personally think misses the point in the context Sri Gopalakrishna Bharathi uses it. I think the word is key to understanding the intensity of his devotion.

The Bhakti movement helped keep Sanatana Dharma flowing. I prostrate before these punya aatmas and wish for the Bhakti movement to rise again.

PS i just realised Instagram has only added the first one minute of my video explaining the context! Just added an IGTV video at https://www.instagram.com/tv/CP-Fy2NHPRv/?utm_medium=copy_link

#gopalakrishnabharathi #nandanaar #nandanaarcharithram #nayanmars #ayyemethakadinam #bhakti #songsinacontext #thamizhsongs #carnaticmusic #southindianclassicalmusic #periyapuranam #history