THRISSUR: When one thinks of Carnatic music maestro Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar, the first song that comes into the mind of any music lover and Guruvayurappan devotee is ‘Karuna Cheyvan Enthu Thamasam Krishna’. A song which he never missed out in any of his concerts and also the final song he sang at Poozhikkunnu temple, before breathing his last on October 16, 1974.
The Chembai Sangeetolsavam, which was begun in 1974 as a tribute to Bhagavathar, will turn 50 this year with participation of thousands of singers and 15 days of non-stop music concert.
Ahead of the music festival, that will commence on Tuesday, Guruvayur Devaswom has decided to celebrate the special occasion with a year-long action plan as a tribute to Bhagavathar. Playback singer P Jayachandran inaugurated a seminar on Carnatic music on Sunday. In addition, a procession carrying the ‘thamburu’ used by Bhagavathar will start from his ancestral home at Chembai in Palakkad to Guruvayur Sree Krishna temple on Monday.
An ardent devotee of Guruvayurappan, Chembai believed that when he lost his voice in 1952, it was the blessing of Lord Krishna that helped him regain it. Following this incident, Bhagavathar started to donate a major portion of his income from music concerts to the Guruvayur Sree Krishna temple.
“In his lifetime, he would have offered at least 40 udayasthamana pooja at the Guruvayur temple. He also inspired prominent singers like Semmangudi Sreenivasa Iyyer and M S Subbalakshmi to offer udayasthamana pooja at the temple,” shared Parameswaran Iyyer, former manager in Devaswom.
Every year for Ekadashi, Bhagavathar used to conduct a music concert at the Guruvayur temple. Acclaimed musicians like K G Jayan and K G Vijayan used to accompany Bhagavathar to perform at the temple. Back then, the concert used to happen inside the temple near the Bhagavathy temple.
“In 1973, devotees and music fraternity under the leadership of Anjam Madhavan Namboothiri conferred him the title ‘Abhinava Thyagabrahmam’ at Guruvayur. As a part of it, he performed the ‘pancharatna keerthanam’. This was a historical moment when it came to music in Kerala as it was first time such a thing happened in the state. Gradually, singing the ‘pancharatna keerthanam’ became a part of the Ekadashi celebrations at Guruvayur. Now, more temples have now adopted it,” shared Iyyer.
In 1974, his disciples organised the music festival as a tribute to the blessed musician. Following this, the Guruvayur Devaswom took up the responsibility of organising the festival every year. The festival, which used to be a three-day affair earlier, is now conducted for 15 days. At least 3,000 musicians, including instrumentalists, from various parts of the state perform in front of Guruvayurappan every year.
Violinist Kanyakumari to be honoured
Ahead of the music festival, prominent violinist A Kanyakumari will be presented with the Sree Guruvayoorappan Chembai Puraskaram on November 26. Following this, Kanyakumari will also be performing at the event. On December 6, noted vocalist T M Krishna will hold a concert at the Chembai Sangeetolsavam at 7pm.