Gayaka Sikhamani - Life History (contd...)

Before continuing Muthiah Bhagavathar's life history, let me present a conversation that took place between Mysore Vasudevacharya (MV) and Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar (HMB) during their stay at Thiruvaiyar.

MV: "Where do you have your bath?"
HMB: "There is the river, by God's grace. Three dips in it and my bath is over. I need neither a boiler nor any fuel!"

MV: "What about your food?"
HMB: "It is enough if I get a few morsels of rice from a couple of houses. I am a brahmachari, my Upanayana having been already performed. If I ask for alms, some kind-hearted woman gives me food. Each day I have a different sort of food and a different relish!"

MV: "You bathe in the river, you get your alms, it need hardly be said that you must be living in some choultry."
HMB: "Your guess is right. Right from my twelfth year, this dharmachatra has been my home. What else do I need?"

This was the very first conversation between Muthiah Bhagavathar and Mysore Vasudevarcharya, after which they became close friends.

This gives a good picture of Muthiah Bhagavathar’s simplicity and greatness.


Recognition in Kerala and life at Tanjore

Muthiah Bhagavathar made his debut concert at Tuticorin at the age of seventeen and was presented with a tambura in recognition of his vidwat. His brother, Hariharan too got trained in music and joined him in Harikatha performances in later years. Bhagavathar’s fame spread all over Tamilnadu and soon reached Kerala. He was specially invited to the Travancore State in 1897, and the ruler Moolam Tirunal made him Asthana Vidwan. He was respected and treated very well in Kerala. But a few musicians who were jealous of Muthiah Bhagavathar’s growth used tantric methods, as a result of which Bhagavathar faced problems with his voice.

In 1902 he met his uncle Lakshmana Suri who was working as a Sanskrit professor in Tanjore, and stayed there until 1907. During this period, Muthiah Bhagavathar learnt advanced lessons in Sanskrit from his uncle. Apart from Sanskrit and Tamil he also attained proficiency in languages like Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. During his stay at Tanjore he assisted Abraham Pandithar in his work “Karunamruthasaagaram”, which helped Bhagavathar to deepen his knowledge of music theory. Abraham Pandithar was awarded the title ‘Rao Sahib’ by the British Government for his work.

Muthiah Bhagavathar had the opportunity to listen to the concerts of many stalwarts and Kallidaikurichi Vedantha Bhagavathar’s discourses in Tanjore. Soon Muthiah Bhagavathar became very much interested in Harikatha.

Shifting to Harikatha

In 1904, there was a turning point in Muthiah Bhagavathar’s professional career. Muthiah Bhagavathar decided to switch over to Harikatha. He had good scholarship in Sanskrit, fluency of speech, excellent knowledge of music and a rich voice. No wonder his Harikatha became popular within a short while. Due to his great personality and captivating musical skill, his reputation as a Harikatha performer over-shadowed his role as a vocalist.

In one of the editions in THE HINDU my guru had said the following: “The most common reason cited for Muthiah Bhagavathar’s shift to Harikatha is that his voice lost its timbre. But I prefer to look at the positive side. Bhagavathar had five attributes most essential for a Harikatha performer. He had knowledge of the sastras, was well-versed in music, had a captivating stage presence, could keep the audience enraptured and above all had a voice that could reach a large audience, so important in those mike-less days.”

Muthiah Bhagavathar learnt Harikatha Paddati from Sri Shankaranarayana Sastri. He also learnt traditional Marathi songs from Sri Krishna Bhatt who belonged to Maharashtra and included those musical forms in his harikatha.

His scholarship in Sanskrit and Tamil, his wit and humor, mellifluous speech in Tamil, crisp and entertaining digressions and innate musical talents soon carried him to the pinnacle of glory.

Coming soon…
Bhagavathar’s role as a teacher, his life in Mysore and Chennai


[Note: The conversation at the beginning of the post is from
http://www.carnaticcorner.com/articles/muthiah.txt]