Our study tour to Srirangam was not only across spaces but also across time. I had to take the troupe to travel towards that past ethos with all that I had learned till then. People who were perched in the present cares had to feel the past responsibilities in all their total bearing to the future. I was not only accessing the past by way of study but also entering the future by way of interpretation and actually, all these happening thru creative imagination in the present. I taught my troupe, learned with them, and knew from them. What I taught to them was philosophical, what I learned with them was cultural and what I knew from them was reactional, in the sense, how the text is received by the current pocket of active listeners, no matter if they are not previously exposed.
I feel even now in vivid fibre the pristine occasion of my friend, Mr. T. Ramesh, one day announcing to me that the whole set of Bhagavath Vishayam, the 5- fold commentaries with ancient notes to the greatest of the 5 commentaries, viz., Idu, recorded by Vadakkuththiruveethip Pillai with no loss of even a syllable, whatever he was hearing from his master Nambillai expounding on the 1000 songs of ThiruvAimozhi, by NammAzhvAr --- was available as a free gift to me from his paternal aunt, who is the daughter-in-law of Mr. Ethirajulu Chettiar. I became impatient of the passing half an hour till we reached her house in Saidapet. She was so joyous to meet me, for the reason that she was thankful that I was able to link back Ramesh to the cherished heritage, kept up so fondly by Mr. Ethirajulu Chettiar, who was a disciple of Sri U. Ve. P.B. Annangarachariyar of Kancheepuram. They perhaps saw the Chettiyar alive again in my friend. To see such occasions of homecoming, psychologically and culturally and maybe ideologically gives unique instances of joy, with great flux of currents passing across generation gaps, eventing comradaries across times.
Now, what are these?, commentaries, Nammaalvaar, Bhagavath Vishayam, and such peculiar sounding names may be to your ears and a whole culture that has evolved around a text and sustains itself by active hermeneutics of the same even now. I will explain all these in another entry on ensuing occasions. Till then let it suffice that the picture shows the frontispage of the sthalapurana of Alwarthirunagari or Thirukkurukoor, in the Thirunelveli Dt, renowned as the birthplace of Nammaalvaar.
Tuesday, April 26, 2022
Study Tours to Srirangam -- II
Our study tour to Srirangam was not only across spaces but also across time. I had to take the troupe to travel towards that past ethos with all that I had learned till then. People who were perched in the present cares had to feel the past responsibilities in all their total bearing to the future. I was not only accessing the past by way of study but also entering the future by way of interpretation and actually, all these happening thru creative imagination in the present. I taught my troupe, learned with them, and knew from them. What I taught to them was philosophical, what I learned with them was cultural and what I knew from them was reactional, in the sense, how the text is received by the current pocket of active listeners, no matter if they are not previously exposed.
I feel even now in vivid fibre the pristine occasion of my friend, Mr. T. Ramesh, one day announcing to me that the whole set of Bhagavath Vishayam, the 5- fold commentaries with ancient notes to the greatest of the 5 commentaries, viz., Idu, recorded by Vadakkuththiruveethip Pillai with no loss of even a syllable, whatever he was hearing from his master Nambillai expounding on the 1000 songs of ThiruvAimozhi, by NammAzhvAr --- was available as a free gift to me from his paternal aunt, who is the daughter-in-law of Mr. Ethirajulu Chettiar. I became impatient of the passing half an hour till we reached her house in Saidapet. She was so joyous to meet me, for the reason that she was thankful that I was able to link back Ramesh to the cherished heritage, kept up so fondly by Mr. Ethirajulu Chettiar, who was a disciple of Sri U. Ve. P.B. Annangarachariyar of Kancheepuram. They perhaps saw the Chettiyar alive again in my friend. To see such occasions of homecoming, psychologically and culturally and maybe ideologically gives unique instances of joy, with great flux of currents passing across generation gaps, eventing comradaries across times.
Now, what are these?, commentaries, Nammaalvaar, Bhagavath Vishayam, and such peculiar sounding names may be to your ears and a whole culture that has evolved around a text and sustains itself by active hermeneutics of the same even now. I will explain all these in another entry on ensuing occasions. Till then let it suffice that the picture shows the frontispage of the sthalapurana of Alwarthirunagari or Thirukkurukoor, in the Thirunelveli Dt, renowned as the birthplace of Nammaalvaar.
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