“Thus did the great architect of Carnatic music realize the self”: These are not usually the words you expect to hear from children about Purandara Dasa. Not at least from children brought up into western culture, and develop a chasm to our culture. It was refreshing, nay heart warming to hear so many children, talk about, sing verses, and play compositions of the great saint. In a devotion filled evening, adults and children alike rendered soul-searching Dasa krithi’s.

New England Kannada Koota (NEKK) organized Purandara Dasara Aradhane last month. This was an attempt at launching an offbeat program whose success purged any jitterbugs about the community’s response to the atypical. The organizers, participants, and audience can all be proud of this successful celebration. One hopes that the local Kannada community has dug a corner stone for such musical and lyrical presentations.

Tara Anand’s students rendered an interesting relay version of Ksheerabhdi Kannike, a moving composition extolling the virtues of the Goddess bride. Students of Durga Krishnan played this and other songs beautifully on the Veena. There was also a stunning vocal performance from Sandhya Sridhar’s students. Amrita Mangalat’s rendition of Govinda Ninna naama was stirring. A multi-talented girl who plays the Veena and performs Bhratanatyam with equal aplomb, I found her voice fresh and dulcet. My favorite was little, Akshara Satyaprasad, who sang Raagi Tandeera with such passion! Her mother, Suma, has the voice of tinkling glass, clear, resonant, and effortless. Her rendition of Harinaama Daragini was peerless.

All through these moving renditions, one cannot miss the simple yet sublime lyrics. With a few effortless words woven into mystical melody, Purandara Dasa teaches us true Bhakti. This was a man who saw little else than material comforts. He was Srinivasa Nayaka, a parsimonious jeweler with a legendary tight fist. His wife, ironically, was the one who perpetrated his change of heart when she magnanimously gifted her diamond nose stud to a poor Brahmin to aid his daughter’s wedding. The Brahmin turns out to be Lord Vishnu, who indeed goes to Nayaka’s store to pawn the jewel. An enraged Nayaka confronts his wife and demands that she produce the diamond. In desperation, she prepares to consume poison when a replica of her nose ring drops into the cup of venom. This produced; Nayaka realizes his folly and gives up his worldly possessions to become a Dasa or the servant of Vittala.

The Aradhane gives us an opportunity to reflect not just on our culture, but on the turbulent times where, but for these pioneers of Bhakti throughout India, an ancient and prevailing religion would not subsist. One hopes that future events like this would delve more deeply into the Bhakti movement and its significance to modern life. The NEKK Sahitya Sangha could discuss the various interpretations of some of Purandara Dasa's more popular poems. Bhakti poetry is not always examined beyond the love and adoration so apparent in them. The social, cultural circumstances that drive a poet towards self realization is always hidden in the lyrics and it would be interesting to understand the thought behind the words for the layperson.

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