Celebrating the music of Tyagaraj & Mirabai

Tyagaraja and Mirabai – Though born in different centuries, in different milieus, these great individuals devoted almost their entire lives to creating songs that are the ultimate expression of spirituality and devotion. Both Tyagaraja and Mirabai renounced every other wordly pleasure to create music for their “Lord”. Their untarnished and complete faith shines through in their compositions and have inspired generations of musicians as well as devotees around the world. Their compositions are an integral part of kutcheris, musical performances and competitions that feature Indian music. Their works have an ethereal quality and universal appeal which has resulted in   translations in many world languages.

Tyagaraja is one of the trio of exemplary composer-musicians of Carnatic music in the 18th century, known as the Trinity of Carnatic Music. He is revered as a highly influential figure who played a key role in the development of the Carnatic Music tradition. Tyagaraja’s 700 plus compositions, including the famous Pancharatna Kritis are an expression of his ardent devotion for Lord Rama. As a follower of the namasiddhanta tradition in which the repetitive recitation of the name of God is seen as a path to enlightenment, he is believed to have uttered Lord Rama’s name more than 960 million times during his life time. His unadulterated devotion is believed to have rewarded him with visions of his beloved God and his kritis are said to have been spontaneous creations in his ecstatic state.

Born a princess, Mira Bai relinquished the luxuries of her palace and her family to spend her time singing songs to her beloved Sri Krishna. Her single-minded devotion to the “Lord” and the power of her words and thoughts has resulted in gems of poetry that shine with the purest form of love. Her bhajans are immensely popular and have been translated into many Indian and world languages. Her volume of work includes more than 1,300 pads or poems. Her poetry wraps you with a special thrill and burns in you the lamp of spiritual fervour:

“I am mad with love
And no one understands my plight.
Only the wounded
Understand the agonies of the wounded,
When the fire rages in the heart.
Only the jeweller knows the value of the jewel,
Not the one who lets it go.”

The Hare Rama, Hare Krishna Contest    

The Shankar Mahadevan Academy believes that these legends and their music have the power to communicate even to our generation and their musical compositions should be celebrated. The Hare Rame Hare Krishna Contest is an endeavor to reward exceptional talent that can carry on our musical traditions and lend new life to the musical treasures we have inherited. We are excited by the overwhelming response we are getting to this contest. Here are the prizes to inspire you a little more:

Winning Prizes:

The Grand Winner of the contest gets:

o  An opportunity to perform in SANGAM 2015, the annual global meet of the academy in front of Shankar Mahadevan and the audience

o Two free Instructor-led courses (6 months) of learning from the academy in either Carnatic or Hindustani worth 24.000 INR
o A certificate with Shankar’s Signature.

1st and 2nd runner up gets:
o Free entry to SANGAM 2015
o A self-study course from SMA, “HMS Super pack” worth 4500 INR
o A certificate with Shankar’s Signature

· Top 10 participants will get a certificate with Shankar’s signature

       For more details on the contest, visit http://www.shankarmahadevanacademy.com/contest/hrhk15/?htb=1