sadagopan

Smt. Padhma Veeraghavan, with the Rathnangi of Lord of Thiruvaheendrapuram, SrI DevanAthan

Srimathy Padmasani (Padma) Veeraraghavan was born in the dhivya dEsam of Oppiliappan Koil during the DheepAvaLi day few decades ago. Her parents were a pious couple, who were dedicated to performing Kaimkaryam to Sri Bhumi Devi Sametha Sri Oppiliappan. Her father, Poundarikapuram Bruhaspathi , Sri Varadachar Swamy , who will be celebrating his centennary of birth this year , was the key organizer of the ten day long annual KalyANa Uthsavam Musical Festival for Lord Oppiliappan and Bhumi Devi that takes place every year in the Month of October-November ( Tamil Month of Iyppasi ).

THIRUKKALYAANA UTHSAVAM AT OPPPILIAPPAN KOIL

Many leading Carnatic Musicians from all corners of Tamil Naadu , Kerala , Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka come to Oppiliappan Koil to offer their musical kaimkaryam to the Divine Cople and to receive Their anugraham for success in their chosen careers for the rest of the year. It is very important for the musicians to sing even half an hour before the Dhivya Dampathis during the annual KalyANa Uthsavam. For ten days, this small village of Oppiliappan Koil is flooded with the blissful waves of divine music emanating from great vocal artists.

During Sri Varadachar Swamy's tenure (40 years long), the leading musicians of his time ( Ariyakkudi RaamAnuja IyengAr , GNB , Semmangudi, Madhurai Mani and others ) , Instrumental music ( Flute T.R. Mahaalingam , Violinist Lalgudi JayarAman , Naadhasvaram T.N.Raajarahtnam PiLLai et al ) , VeeNai artists , Percussion Masters ( Palaghat Mani Iyer , Pazhani Subbudu , Ghatam VidhvAns, KonnakkOl Pakkiriya PiLlai ) offered their musical kaimkaryam to the dhivya dampathis of Oppiliappan Koil . Many of the visiting musicians were also family friends and they ate at our house ; my mother , Srimathy Alamelu AmmaaL prepared the delicacies that they enjoyed .

GROWTH OF MUSICAL TALENT

In this environment of divine music , the child Padma grew up and absorbed all aspects of music intensively . She learned music formally from a VidhwAn from Saint ThyagarAjA's paramparai , who came to her house to teach her . Padma had a beautiful voice and absorbed every thing that she learned from her teachers and excelled. She was married off at age sixteen as was the custom in thsoe days and moved on to Madras , where her husband worked at The Hindu News paper . Padma was very busy with raising three children and maintaining the household. She had managed however to find time to keep up with the cultivation of
Carnatic Music and her keen musical talent. As the wife in a strict Vaishnavite family , She did not have the freedom to leave her home and spend extended periods of time to learn from well known musicians . She began to tune instead various sthOthrams of AzhwArs and AchAryAs and taught them to the ladies , who came to her house . Her talent grew as She taught GodhA Sthuthi slOkams of Swamy Desikan tuned in 30 beautiful Raagams . Padma raised funds from the samarpaNams made by her disciples and used it for different kaimkaryams for ANDAL at Nanganallur , Sri Villiputthur and Oppilappan Koil. Meanwhile, She graduated from the Music College headed by Sangeetha Kalaanidhi Musiri Subramanya Iyer and Professor Sambhamurthy. She excelled in pedagogy and theory of Carnatic Music. She became equally gifted thus in Sangeetham and Saahithyam. Her Sruthi Suddham was one of her distinguishing features. Sangeetha Kalaanidhis Professors T.M.Thyagarajan and Sri K.V.Narayanaswamy taught her the additional fine points about the music of the divine krithis of
Sangeetha Thrimurthys and Raagam-Taanam-Pallavi format.

MASTERY OVER VEENAI & VISIT TO USA

In addition to her highly regarded vocal skills, she also mastered the playing of VeeNai and taught the art of playing that auspicious instrument to her students. Padma has a research mind and she has studied the construction of ancient stringed instruments and mastered the playing of such instruments. She was invited to USA to demonstrate the playing of these rare stringed instruments before expert audiences in the East Coast of USA. Padma who has never traveled until then beyond 150 miles of her home arrived in USA and delighted musical audiences there. She had a triumphant visit to USA which was followed later with visits to Singapore, New Zeeland and many parts of India , where she taught a lot of krithis that she has composed on Sri Bhumi Devi Sametha Sri Oppiliappan . She had a demanding schedule now in her music life. She composed more than 200 exquisite krithis in popular and diffiucult to handle (apoorva) raagams. She composed Varnams and ThillaanAs for Bharatha Naatyam dancers. She became an allrounder in the Carnatic Music field. In addition to her musical initiatives, Padma has been twice to Badrikasramam in the North , Dhwarakaa in the West , MalayAla dhivya dEsams in the South and most of the Sri VaishNava temples in the South celebrated by AzhwArs and AchAryAs .

COMPOSITION OF 72 MELA RAAGA KRITHIS

One of her major musical accomplishments is the composition/creation of the 72 Krithis on Lord Oppilappan in the 72 MeLakarthA Raagams. Very few composers have distinguished themselves by composing krithis in the 72 Mela Raagams . Padma Joined these rare and short list of composers ( MahA VaidhyanAtha Iyer , Koteeswara Iyer and Sri Balamurali Krishna ) , who have composed in every one of the 72 Mela Raagams . This is no ordinary task since one has to be an authority on the Raaga LakshaNams before daring to enter this rarified field. Padma's krithis in the MelakarthA Raagams , Neethimathi and VaguLAbharaNam are gems that dazzle the listener .

A MeLakarthA Raagam has the full set of Seven Swarams (Sa , Ri , Ga , Ma , Pa , Da , Ni , Sa ) . These notes have to be in the same order both in the aarOhaNam and avarOhaNam. The Notes Sa and Pa are fixed in all the MeLakarthA Raagams . These 72 MeLakarthAs are grouped in 12 chakrAs: Indhu , Nethra , Agni , Veda , BhANa , Ruthu , Rishi , Vasu , Brahma , Disi , Rudra and Adhithya . The first six chakrAs (36 MeLakarthAs) are known as the Poorva MeLams and have Suddha Madhyamam in common. The next six chakrAs ( 7-12 ) populated by the remaining 36 MeLakathAs are known as Utthara MeLams and have Prathimadhyamam in common . In other words, the Utthara MeLams are arranged in such a manner that they are exactly the same as the Corresponding Poorva MeLams except that the Prathi Madhyamam takes the place of Suddha Madhyamam. The rest of the SwarAs , Ri, Ga , Da and Ni have twelve permutations and combinations in the PoorvAnga SwarAs. The UttharAnga SwarAs Da and Ni have similarly six combinations (Suddha Dhaivatham , Chathushruthi Dhaivatham , Shat Shruthi Dhaivatham , Suddha NishAdham , Kaisiki NishAdham and Kaakali NishAdham). These sixteen SwarAs get established into 12 SwarasthAnams .

As Pavithra Srinivasan has commented: " These combinations occur in succession, so the PoorvAnga combinations change from chakra to chakra and the UttharAngA combinations change from Raaga to Raaga in each chakra . With these 6X6 combinations and the two MadhyamAs , the classification of MeLakarthA RaagAs is complete. The MeLakarthA Raaga scheme's great utility exists in the fact that once a MeLakartA RaagA's number is known, the characterestics of its swarAs can be determined easily ".

To be able to comprehend these unique SwarasthAnams for the 72 MeLakathA Raagams and feel confident to compose Krithis in these 72 MeLa Raagams is an extraordinary display of control and command of the divine Saasthram of Music . To blend the Bhaava Thrayams ( Sangeetha , Saahithya and Bhakthi Bhaavams) into these rare 72 MeLa Raaga Krithis is like climbing the peaks of HimAlayAs and we have to bow before these extraordinarily gifted Musicians cum composers with the rare skills blessed by the Dhivya Dampathis. Truly, VidhvAmsini Padma Veeraraghavan is one such human being , who has recieved in abundance, the paripoorNa anugraham of Sri BhUmi Devi SamEtha Sri Oppiliappan.

KAIMKARYA SRI

Padma spends every moment of her life serving AndAL and Sriman NaarAyaNan ; not only is She engaged in performing Kaimkaryam to them but She motivates all around her to take part in such kaimkaryams . The most recent kaimkaryam is the one to create a RathnAngi for Sri HemAbhjavalli SamEtha Sri DevanAtha PerumAL of Thiruvaheendhrapuram .

SPECIAL WEB PAGES FOR HER MUSICAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Sri Anil of Hyderabad has lovingly constructed special web pages for Srimathy PadmA VeerarAghavan and will be including audio files from her compositions as sung by herself and her disciples to illustrate her depth of talent and Bhagavath anugraham.

May we pray to Sri BhUmi Devi SamEtha SrI Oppiliappan to confer many years of happy , healthy life filled with the bliss of creating many more gems of Krithis as Naama KusumAnjali to Her Kula Dhaivam at Oppiliappan Koil !

NeevErA Kula Dhanamu , NeevErA Jeevanamu !

Sri Bhumi Devi SamEtha Sri Oppiliappan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam
Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan

Proceed to her musical compositions page