The last two weeks of December 2013 should
count as one of the high points of our lives.
We made a trip to Varanasi (Kashi), combining a personal family yatra, a
Dikshitar pilgrimage with some of our students, and a few concerts which sprung
up out of nowhere, just as though they were destined to happen.
Bump into anyone in Varanasi and get
talking, they will tell you “Ved and Sangeeth are the two eyes of Bhagwan Shiv,
and since Kashi Vishwanathji resides here, there is music and veda chanting
everywhere.” Seriously, any lane you walk through around the ghats, you can
hear some mantra ghosham. The fact that there is music in the air everywhere is
exemplified by this one incident which blew us off. We were just walking up the stairs on the
banks of the Shivala Ghat after a holy dip in the Ganges. We were shivering due
to the cold weather, and were in a rush to head back to the mutt to finish our
puja. We heard in the background some superlative vocal music, the raag
shankara being sung to perfection. We couldn’t
move an inch, mesmerized as we were with the notes floating in the air, the
sight of the river on a chill winter morning with the sun trying to peep out,
all adding to the divinity of the atmosphere.
We thought it must be one of those lucky classical musicians getting to
do his riyaz on the banks of the Ganges early in the morning, but no! The local
accompanying us told us that he was a boatman and would randomly compose on Lord
Shiva and sing everyday in this manner. Our jaws dropped!
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| Sarnath, Burmese Buddha Temple |
Rabdi, doodh, kachori, jalebi,
masala chai, litti chokha, chaats, yum! Kshirsagar mithai shop was our daily
destination. Not to forget the Banarasi
paan. There are as many cows and
buffaloes in the streets as there are people. Rickshaws, fresh vegetables and
fruits heaped on thela gadis, cars – you name the brand and the model – it is
there, rows and rows of shops displaying Banarasi sarees, and temples in each
and every micro and mini lane are some of the unforgettable sights of Kashi.
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| Roadside chat shop! |
The first couple of days were spent focusing on our personal task at hand in Kashi. We then caught up on our agenda and first visited the Triveni Sangam. The boat ride was great. You can actually make out the difference in colours of the Ganges and Yamuna when you reach the Sangam spot, as also the difference in their turbulence. There is a very nice sahasralinga temple established by the Kanchi Mutt at the entrance to the Sangam. There is also the temple of Hanumanji in a sleeping position in the Sangam, probably the only one in this pose. We also visited Sarnath and some of the Buddhist temples therein
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| Benaras Hindu University, Dept of Performing Arts |
The subsequent day was spent in singing
of the Kritis Dikshitar has composed in the sanctum sanctorum of the deities in
Kashi, i.e., Kalabhairav, Visalakshi and Annapoorni. Sri Dikshitar’s song Gange Mam Pahi was sung
by us when we were on the boat on the way to the Dasashwamedha Ghat to witness
the magnificent Ganga Arti. While on the Ghat, we sang our Paramaguru
Ananthakrishna Iyer’s composition Sheethalambam Sada Bhajeham in praise of the
deity Sheethala situated on the banks of the Dashashwamedha Ghat.
There was more to come….
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| Dashashwamedha Ghat, Sheetala Temple is the Red Building |
We had carried our portable veenas from
Chennai just to practice during our free time in the hotel room. The panditji
who was in charge of doing all the pujas for us came to know that we had
brought our veenas and asked us if we could perform at the Kashi Vishwanath
Temple if he did manage to arrange a concert. Our joy knew no bounds. To play
seated in front of Lord Vishweshwar, what more could one ask for? The security
arrangements in the Vishwanathji mandir are very, very strict. They do not even
allow a pen inside. But as a special case by the grace of God we were allowed
in, and played a concert for an hour and a half. It appears there has never
been a music concert inside the Vishwanathji temple! It has not yet sunk in that
we are the first to have had the privilege. We silently bowed down our heads
and thanked our Gurus and parents who have made us what we are, and all our
wellwishers for keeping us in their thoughts. We had a Darshan of the Lord from
up close and did abhishekam of rose water and honey especially carried from
Chennai for this purpose, and also gave vastram to the Lord. We sang the kriti “Shri
Vishwanatham” of Sri Muthuswamy Dikshitar in the raga Bhavani, as we performed
the abhishekam. We were also honoured to perform a concert at the
Chakralingeshwar Temple in Hanuman Ghat, where the Samadhi of Chidambaranatha
Yogi, the guru of Muthuswamy Dikshitar himself, is located. The other concert
we played was at the Sri Dattatreya Prasad Ashram, that of a Mauni Baba who we believe
had not uttered a word for 40 years, for the welfare of this earth.
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| Performing at Chakralingeshwar Temple |
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| Chakraligeshwar, Samadhi of Chidanandanath Yogi |
Varanasi to the onlooker would not
be visually a very clean place, far from it in fact! It would really help for
the administration to work on this aspect. But, talk about it being spiritually
uplifting, it is like no other place in the world. The sight of the expansive
Ganges and the strains of Indian Classical Music and the Vedas are enough to
take you to a different plane altogether.
It
is said –
“ Darsanaat
Abhrasadasi , Jananaat Kamalalaye, Kasyantu Maraananu Muktih, Smaranaat
Arunachale.”
'To
see Chidamabaram, to be born in Tiruvarur, to die in Kasi, or merely to think
of Arunachala is to be assured of liberation.
