Recollections

Palakkad Sri M R Ramachandran is the grandson of the great exponent of Kathakali Padams, Sri Venkatakrishna Bhagavatar. He recalls the life of Sri Rama Bhagavatar and Sri Venkatakrishna Bhagavatar - their struggles as they pursued to excel in their respective endeavors. They lived in a time when one meal a day was difficult. Every day they used to walk miles to learn from their Gurus. Through their insatiable desire to learn and perfect their chosen art, they became masters in music. They led simple lives, gave away what they learned for free, and desired very little for themselves. It should be our duty to remember the sacrifices of such great souls.

Recollections by Sri K N Lakshminarayanan - Sri K N Lakshminarayanan author of "From Cauvery to Neela - A History of the Tamil Agraharams of Palakkad" who has lived most of his life in Kalpathy reminiscences the life of Palghat Rama Bhagavatar and the genesis of the Kalpathy Thyagaraja Aradhana.

Many in this generation may not know Palghat Sri Rama Bhagavatar. He lived from 1888 to 1957.  Amongst the greats of yesteryears, he shied limelight and always wanted to be close to Lakshminarayana Swamy and Kasi Viswanatha Swamy in Kalpathy and his family. His final Kutchery was at the Kasi Viswanatha Temple in Kalpathy.  He and a few co-musicians of Kalpathy, in 1924, started the Thyagaraja Aradhana at the Rama Dhyana Matom. We are looking at 100 years of nonstop Aradhana celebrations in the Kalpathy Agraharam which is a significant milestone in itself. In 2024 January Palghat Ramabhagavatar's family called the Guruprasad family after the name of his home in the Agraharam, has plans to celebrate the Centenary year of the Kalpathy Thyagaraja Aradhana.

In this video, the recollections of Smt.Kanakam, a daughter. of Rama Bhagavatar 

Recently SPICMacay (Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth) did a two hour program in their national channel on my Palghat Sri Rama Bhagavatar. Mr Sriram, a grandson of Palghat Sri Rama Bhagavatar recalls what he had learned about his paternal grandfather from his family and friends.

Fifth in the series of videos - Recollections by Sri LVK

There are very few elders in our Agraharams who can inspire us with their deep memories past their 90's. One such is Sri LVK mama. Today I had the blessing to jog his memory about the Kalpathy Thyagaraja Aradhana of yesteryears and his recollections of my Grandpa Palghat Sri Rama Bhagavatar. The 20-minute-long video has many interesting recollections.

I am moved to hear him recall how my Tatha used to save a bit of his small income into a box and use it up for the annual Aradhana. One cannot live a more frugal and effulgent life. Watch him play on the mrithangam with the enthusiasm of a youth. I look forward to LVK mama playing on his mrithangam during the 2024 Kalpathy Thyagaraja Aradhana. May we all have the blessings of our "Grama Deivams" to hear him play for many more years.

Sixth in the series of videos - Recollections by Smt Subbalakshmi - Disciple of Rama Bhagavatar

Only during the 2023 Kalpathy Ratholsavam I came to know there lived a sishya of my grandpa Sri Rama Bhagavatar right inside the agraharam. And today when I reached out to Smt Subbalakshmi Narayan, I was blown away by the deep memory she had about the agraharam, her Guru and the music she learnt from him.

She lives with her daughter Mrs Sujatha, in a beautifully maintained authentic agraharam home which looks like heaven. The low mittham gave me memories of my grandparents home which are now lost to time. If you live in Kalpathy and have not seen the place, I recommend you do it ASAP. The temperature inside the home is considerably lower and all the period furniture, granite, wood, brass and copper makes me long for the old times.

The video with Subbulakshmi mami may be long, but fully worth the 18 minutes. I requested her to sing a number of songs she learnt from my Grandpa.

There are several elders in the Agraharam whose memory could be jogged for gems from the past. It is our duty to record them for posterity and keep learning from their high thinking and simple lives.