Thanks to Smt Srividya Ganesan for the share.
On the auspicious occasion of Sri Brahmendral Aradhana, with the blessings of the holy saint & other revered Acharyas a CD containing songs written by Sri Meesu Krishna Iyer (singing the glory of Sri Sadasiva Brahmendral – a very rare collection of songs) & sung by Smt. Srividya is being released at Nerur.
A flyer with the list of songs is also enclosed.
Anybody interested to have a copy of the same can send message to CA R. Viswanathan on 9841150855 or 9840117592 or mail to atmarpanam@gmail.com and obtain copies for a donation of ₹200.
The 2 key objectives of the AtmArpaNam Trust which had brought out this CD, are a) on the music side- to bring out rare and unknown kritis of composers and b) on the literary side – to conduct critical studies of granthas/ philosophical works of great saints and bring them to publication with or without elucidations.
With the blessings of Mahaperiyava and guidance of Sri Vidya Sankara Saraswati Swamigal of Nerur, this humble offering of compositions by Sri Meesu Krishna Iyer (1872-1940 ) is placed at the lotus feet of śri sadāśiva!
While, not much appears to formally chronicled about this composer, a little is learnt from anecdotal references while the compositions themselves provide some insights. Known to have been born in Kallal, ‘Meesu’ was the family title given to them. Inferences from the compositions indicate:
- Autobiographical references – He appears to hail from Jeevantipura (probably in Andhrapradesh; jīvantipura viṭṭalātmaja), his family appears to have been a beneficiary of kingly grants at Tirunelveli (śālivāṭīpura śāsakarūpita vasudhā bhogitara)
- Utmost faith and total surrender onto his guru, śri sadāśiva, as the ultimate succor for redemption from the miseries of life and death. (pada seva pāvanamu, pāpa haramu, nī pada sārasamu bhajana phalamu bhava tārakamu, pāpa jālamulan bhava tāpa ghana bhakta mocaka!, pāda bhajaname bhāgyamu, pādaśritavarada sujanahita bodhātmaka, nī pāda darśanamu nikhila pāpa karṣaṇamu, nannu brova mañci samayamide)
- Evocative- extolling the munificence of śri sadāśiva in bestowing ātma jñāna, upon His devotees (dayāpayonidhe māmpāhi, karuṇārasajaladhe kalaye, sadgatidāni jūpu jagadguru)
- Advaitic philosophical insights (haṃsaḥ ahaṃ saḥ; haṃsaḥ saḥ aham, māyā bhaveya māyatama dhyāye hṛdaye vimalātmaka, praṇavamayātmaka prakaṭita rāgam)
Surprisingly, there are no references to the popular accounts of śri sadāśiva’s yogic prowess in any of these compositions except for one reference to dīpāmbālpuram, that too in a generic way.
In his compositions, which are in Sanskrit, Telugu and Tamil, Sri Meesu Krishna Iyer has sung on minor deities like Garuda, Nandi, Rukmini, Chandikeswara & Hidimba besides other deities like Shanmukha and Narasimha. Sri Meesu Krishna Iyer appears to have been closely associated with the bhajana sampradaya, especially of the Pudukkottai lineage, who have also published many of his compositions in various parts of their books.
It is known is that most of his compositions have been set to tune by Alathur Sri Venkatesa Iyer; invariably with elaborate chittaswarams.
Srividya has been fortunate to learn most of the songs presented herein, among others, from doyens like Shri S.V.Parthasarathy (a contemporary of Alathur brothers) and Chinglepet Shri Ranganathan (a direct disciple of Alathur brothers).
