On the birth day of SRI RAMA…

( A special article dedicated to the lotus feet of Maryadha Purushothama Sri Ramachandra-ENN)

Sree Raama Raama Raamethi
Rame Raame Manorame |
Sahasra Naama Thatthulyam
Raama Naama Varaanane ||

Rama Navami is one of the important Hindu festivals of India, celebrated with great fanfare. The festival falls on the ninth day of the Chaitra month of Hindu lunar year in ‘Shukla paksha’ or waxing moon. The festival commemorates the birthday of Lord Rama, when Lord Vishnu was incarnated as Rama on this day.

Lord Rama is called Maryaada-Purushottama – the great one who never deviated from the norms set by Dharma. In the eyes of the Hindu, the touchstone of human excellence is Dharma. Devotion to Dharma came first in Rama’s life and considerations of his personal joys and sorrows came last.

He upheld the supremacy of Dharma in every one of his human relationships and hence became an ideal son, an ideal brother, an ideal husband, an ideal disciple, an ideal friend, an ideal kind and even an ideal foe.

Ayodhya, the birthplace of Sri Rama, a big fair is held on this day. This festival is celebrated for nine days starting from Chaitra sudda Padyami and ends with Navami day, the Jayanti of Lord Rama. During these nine days, Sri Rama Parayanam is recited and Rama Nama is recited in temples and Sri Rama mandirs.

According to ancient texts, Sri Rama Navami is celebrated at noon. This festival is being celebrated in different ways across the country. In Maharastra, the celebration begin right from the morning 9 AM and proceed till 12 noon. People keep a fast throughout the day, breaking it only at midnight with fruit.

In South India people normally perform Kalyanotsavam (marriage celebration) with small deities murtis of Rama and Sita.   In Northern India, an event that draws popular participation is the Rama Navami procession, also called Ratha Yatra.  In Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, public gatherings called satsangs are organised to commemorate the birth of Rama. Excerpts from the Ramacharitamanas, extolling the glory of Rama, are recited.

In Karnataka Sri Ramnavami Utsavam is celebrated for nine days with great fervour and devotion. During this day, we clean our house, place a photo of Sri Ramar Pattabhishekam on top of a wooden plate. Decorate the photo with various flowers.

Normally Ramanavami falls in the month of April-May. It is hot summer and people distribute buttermilk and lemon juice (panakam) to mark Ramanavami.

Music festival:

In Karnataka and several parts of South India music festivals will be organized to commemorate Sri Ramanavami.  Saint Thyagaraja the most celebrated music composer of Karnatic music was a devotee of Sri Ram. Most of his compositions are in praise of Sri Rama.

Musicians and classical singer consider it an honor to perform in Ramanavami festival celebration. In Bangalore Ramanavami music festivals organized at Kote High School premises at Chamarajpet and Sheshadripuram are very famous.

Special report from Mysore:

SRI BIDARAMA KRISHNAPPA’S PRASANNA SITARAMA MANDIARA –  96th Year Sri Rama Navami Music concerts

Even though the Sri Ramanavai festival will be held across the city along with classical music festivals   organized by various institutions,  a specialty when it comes to a music festival organized at Sri Bidaram Krishnappa’s Prasanna Sitarama Mandira. So much so that the temple, which is also the venue for the concerts, is recognized as a heritage center and has drawn artistes from across the country since the last 96 years.

The temple has an interesting history associated with renowned musician Bidaram Krishnappa, who was instrumental in constructing it with the objective of developing it as a cultural center to promote classical music.

While the temple was completed in 1928, music concerts have been a regular feature on the premises since 1918. Legendary artistes, including Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Patnam Subramanya Iyer, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, M.S. Subbulakshmi, S. Ramanathan, Namagiri Krishnan, M.D. Ramanathan, T. Chowdaiah, Mysore Vasudevacharya, Doreswamy Iyengar and Veene Seshanna have performed here regularly during Ramanavmi.

Reckoned to provide a spiritual ambience for the artistes, the hall where concerts are held is adorned with nearly 40 portraits of musical greats of yesteryears besides a painting depicting Sri Rama Pattabhisheka.

These paintings are part of the city’s heritage and were restored only  few  years ago.

Over the last few decades the music festival has grown in size and is held for nearly two weeks. And this year, the Ramanavami music festival, which commenced today.

The likes of Aryakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Patnam Subramanya Iyer, Mahavaidyanathan Bhagavatar, Semmangudi Sreenivasa Iyer, G.N. Balasubramniam, M.S. Subbulakshmi, S. Ramanathan, Namagiri Krishnan, M.D. Ramanathan, T. Chowdaiah, Mysore Vasudevacharya, Doreswamy Iyengar, Veene Seshanna, Veene Venkatagiriyappa and Veene Subbanna have all regaled music lovers with their enchanting voice at the auditorium.

The music festival dates back to 1918 when Mysore Vasudevacharya and Bidaram Krishnappa took the initiative to organise the festival, which has been followed without a break till date.

A protégé of the erstwhile Maharaja of Mysore, who learnt music in the Mysore Palace, Bidaram Krishnappa was a noted musician of the time.

His dreams of constructing a temple dedicated to the service of music and music lovers took many years. After having exhausted all his lifetime earnings, Krishnappa raised money for the temple through public donations. He even sold his wife’s jewellery to complete the work on the temple that has now come to symbolise the Sri Ramanavami music festival in Mysore. ENN (Published on April 19, 2013)