Even if someone would have told me two days ago, that I would be writing about Bees as the Maharajas of Music, I would have not believed, though with my experience with Nature, I vouch "Bees are the Natural source of Music ". When I was listening to many random Musical videos on YouTube two days ago, One Showed about details of Sri Maharajapuram Santhanam, the Doyen of carnatic Music & his birthday is on 20th Day of May 1928.
The author of this article has a unique connection to this singer. Till 1992, Author didn't have any inclination towards Carnatic Music. He saw huge crowd gathered in every lane around the iconic Ayodhya Mandapam in West Mambalam. Till such time never seen a crowd gathered for Carnatic Music in this Film Fanatic crowds of Then Madras in Tamilnadu. This led to the curiosity to listen to the Singer. Ironically that was the last year of Physical existence of Sri Maharajapuram Santhanam.
Today when I sat to write about him, I got a message, May 20th is the World Bees Day, Being a Natural way Farmer, Bees are the true farmers & every Natural way farmer would have listened to the singing of Bees in their ears no of times. It is in fact the Bees, who made the Bamboo flutes in the world & they are the reason for the Natural music in every forest. So whenever I hear Maharajapuram sing " Gaana murthe" composition of saint Sri Thyagaraja, I hear the bee buzzing in my ears, may be because of lower octave or the Mantra Gati. So I could only correlate his voice as the closest to that of the Bees to whatever little Music I have heard so far.
Even in the song " Bruhad ambikayay" in Vasantha Raga https://youtu.be/lzUqHbgV3mo?si=aoMFLvetYjQu9yT8
, when Maharajapuram utters " Namaste Namaste " I get a vision of " Bhramar ambika " of Sri Sailam & Parvatha Malai, where the deity is worshipped in "THE BEE" form.
Though the western world has chosen May 20th as "World bees day" in honor of the Birthday of a Slovenian first Bee keeper, for me & may be for all the Carnatic Music Lovers, when it is happening on Sri Maharajapuram Santhanam's Birthday, it is very unique & special.
I have the privilege of tasting the raw wild honey & listen to Maharajapuram simultaneously.
Is he the only singer with uniqueness ? No every singer is Unique in their own style. But Nature gives some singers with unique talent that could stir others soul. A singer when he / she are singing on a stage, they are singing for the benefit of the Audience. It is a kind of service, Soul rejuvenating seva.
So in that aspect, I feel, this kind of divine performers, are sent to this beautiful world to elevate others to the plane of ecstasy. I wrote a piece on him as a story in Tamizh on 22nd June 2020 in reverence of his memory & today I am presenting it in English for the souls who can only read English or not familiar in reading in Tamil. I am trying to give my best in Translation as original in Tamil is more relatable as the story is set in a background happening in Tamilnadu with a local parlance.
| Bramar Ambika in Parvatha Malai, Tiruvannamlai District, Tamilnadu Sri sailam, Kurnool District, AP |
So, if you hear the bee in your ear, it is the divine blessings of "BRAMAR AMBIKA" who has chosen to come near through His Excellency, Sangita Sagara Samrajya Gana amrutha Varshi.
Disclaimer : All the characters as I have illustrated in the story is my pure imagination & referred real life personalities whom I venerate deeply in my soul, is out of deep admiration & not to cause any harm to anyone real or imaginary.
Here the Story begins :
The great Raghavendra came through the sky and landed at the Music Academy Hall in Alwarpet, Chennai.
While singing about him, he had come to bless all the Bhaktas. The sight he saw there surprised him.
Lord Rama was sitting on a large seat with a bow and arrows, and Thiruvaiyaru Tyagayyar and Arunachal Kavirayar on both sides. Thiruvarangan was lying on Kavirayar's lap.
On the other side, Kannan ( Lord Krishna ) was playing a flute and was swinging on a swing as if he was showing something to Uthukadu Venkatasubbaiyar. Radha and Rukmini were swinging the swing with the Gopis.
On another seat, Lord Akilandeswari from Thiruvanaikaa was cradling her son Thiru kumaran ( Lord Muruga ), who had come from Thirutani, on her lap. Muthuswamy Deekshtar is Fanning the hand fan at both of them.
At the same time, he sees Kanchi sage Shankaracharya, sitting at the feet of Kanchi Kamakshi and chanting.
Saint Raghavendra felt while we have come all the way to Alwarpet from mantralaya and had a thought that He can go to Mylapore and see Karpagambal and return. Then Lord Karpagambal ( Godddess in Peacock form in the Famous Kapaleeswarar Temple, Mylapore ) comes down to the academy like a peacock with her devotee Papanasam Sivan.
India's Greatest Poet Mahakavi Subramania Bharathi was shouting with ecstasy on seeing all these gods together. Gopala Krishna Bharathi and Kaviyogi Sudhananda Bharathi were comforting him.
Like every concert, our Big bellied Ganapati enters the concert hall 1st & brings along with him Swami Dayananda Saraswati. The Swamiji also took permission from Lord Shiva who had come from Kailash and went inside.
A majestic Gandharva voice began to sound, saying, “Mahaganapatim Manasasmarami.”
https://youtu.be/rsEYEyHMZzo?si=NUVbLLGM4YzjYP7s
Madras music fans had occupied Cathedral Road, Mowbrays Road, Gopala puram Road and the surrounding areas of Thiruvallikeni, Mylapore and Mambalam residents had also come on foot and occupied them. Screens were kept outside for them as well.
Pillayar ( Lord Ganesha )was dancing to the music in the minds of all the fans who were in a state of oblivion there.
After it was over, the music scholar, who had given a glimpse of the mood of his fans, got up with his son and Dikshitar saying “Akilandeswari Rakshamam”
https://youtu.be/pui-30NBzjA?si=PZqQkc68ovSaS9I3
Muthuswamy Dikshitar himself entered the singer and felt that he was singing in the same manner. While the mother was singing, he was ecstatic to see the handsome man on the mother’s lap and took the fans to the peak of ecstasy by singing
“Sri Valli Deva Senapathe” https://youtu.be/EDvq1j5uV5w?si=4QmpdyAy-XU3OWFm
Outside, Lord Rama got up from his seat and asked Arunachala Kavirayar to come. Kavirayar asked the sleeping Arangan ( Lord Ranganatha ) to get up. Seeing this, Tyagayyar also got up. Rama said, “Thyagaraja! Our devotee is more a slave to his fans than us. Since he has sung three Sanskrit songs, he will sing a Tamil song for the fans who do not know Sanskrit. Therefore, I am going with Arunachala Kavirayar”
Bhagavan Krishna stopped Thyagaraja Swami and said, “Come with me today, you always go with that Rama. Rukmini has also come to hear you sing about her.”
Inside the stage, the Vocal Pied piper started singing in “Mohanam” by saying “Tannana” and singing a long raga, dhanam, and pallavi (RTP of Carnatic Music ) “Een pallikkondir ayya” he bowed to the audience and described the Ramayana in song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyjkPjzGGuU
While the stage and the audience were in a state of ecstasy, Venugopal played the flute and danced very slowly with Rukmani. “Gaana moorthe,” Thyagaraja said, entering the singer’s heart and making him shiver. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvAq72wRWSM
The academy stood in silence inside and outside. The Lord Krishna did not fail to notice that even though Gopalan was reviled on the outside, the pseudo-atheists who worshipped him daily inside their house had also come in a different guise to erase whatever little doubt they had in their mind about the existence of God.
The fans were also filled with joy when Uthukadu Venkatasubbayyar called out “Alaipayuthe,” and everyone present was filled with joy. It took several minutes for the applause to subside. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKAVDdL3E_I
Guru Raghavendra, in his ecstasy of seeing many divine forms together, went to the mind of another devotee of his and made that VIP who wanted “solitude” ( Ekantham) come from his house in a different guise (so that he should not gather more people there) and wrote “Tunga Theera Virajam Bhaja Mana” on a piece of paper and sent it to the singer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8T3tyQt07A
Immediately, the singer also felt the fragrance of Brindavana Tulsi, and immediately booked tickets for all his fans through Bombay Mail and dropped them at Mantralayam Road Station and made them take a bath on the banks of the Tunga River and stop them in the presence of the saint. “Raghavendra !! Raghavendra !!!” As soon as he called out in a high tone Raghavendra blessed everyone by sprinkling water from the Tunga water with the Tulasi. Sri Ranga Natha had already soaked everyone in the Kaveri water, Now with Tunga too sprinkled on everyone & rasikas were shivering in the cold.
Again, he took return tickets for everyone and brought them to Mylapore and sang “Karpagame” as the voice of Papanasam Sivan. The mother danced and rejoiced as a peacock. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBBF2v8gxpg
Seeing that, Kannan also started dancing, and the great poet Subramania Bharathi described the ecstatic play of Radha and the Gopis as “Chinnanj Chiru Kiliye”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npG_tTbtUAc
Seeing the mother and uncle dancing, the peacock borne Lord Muruga also started dancing, and our scholar sang his own creation with emotion, “Vel Vel Veeramuruganin Vel”. https://youtu.be/fiJVvMiv3m8?si=VsL2p2vX-5nXl6E5
All the dancing gods had danced, and as if he felt that his fans were yearning to see the king of dance, he immediately placed Gopala Krishna Bharathi in his mind and traveled to “Jonpuri” & asked "Yeppo varuvaaroo " and made his fans anxiously awaiting for Lord Siva
. He immediately became immersed in Suddha ananda and as Suddhananda Bharathi, he told his fans what he saw in his heart, “The god is coming to dance with me and enjoying himself.” "Thedi Vandu Enudan"
https://youtu.be/Z97hULlzhXA?si=GutM9iwLKcsJNKxd
Kanchi Mamunivar, who had been deeply immersed in penance until now, ordered him to “I taught you to sing the song of Ambal, why don't you sing Sage Agasthiyar's song “Sri Chakraraja Simmasaneswari,” and Kamakshi’s dance began, and the auditorium shook with applause.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24_-83-n7CU
As the dance of Ambal did not stop in that Ragamaliga, he immediately started singing a Thillana “Basant Bahar” ragam according to her Jatis (beats). “Kaliyugam thannil kaNN kanda deivamai,” the Maharaja prayed to him to stop his restless mind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl88yWv34-E
Nritya Natesa , ( the lord of Dance ) who did not want to stop, called Dayananda Saraswati Swamiji and made him sing his ecstasy dance “Bho Sambo Shiva Sambo Swayambo” It proved that Mylai ( Mylapore ) had become the Kailai ( Mount Kailash ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYFRP0Ki1rw
Originally planned as a The three-hour concert, went on for four and a half hours, and all the fans were stuck in a traffic jam without knowing the way home. “Thikku theriyatha kaattil” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V4Me6iFj_k When the fans were struggling, Mahakavi Bharathi was showing the way to many people by saying, “If you are going to Thiruvallikeni, come with me and I will show you the way to the Parthasarathy temple.”
By this time, an agreement was forming between the gods and the saints who had gathered there. The great Raghavendra said, “Swami! This musician calls us with such a soulful singing that we have to come to all the places to wherever he sings. After listening to his music, a black boy from Velachery came to Mantralaya and asked where is the Tulsi forest in Brindavan, where is the sacredness mentioned in that song, where is the water in the Tunga, and whether we can allow granite stones to be installed in your Brindavan etc... If this continues, people may become holy by listening to his songs and become deprived of the opportunity of Kali yuga. If Kali’s dance is to take place, people must still feel the evil of darkness. “
“ Yes, we have also sent this heavenly Gandharva to the earth for many years. We also have to come to the earth often to listen to his music. Therefore, we will call him back. When the darkness spreads again, we will end this birth of his in that speeding car, “ said Krishna Paramatma.
“We need some humans to live in the age that will come after Kali Yuga, so we will bless them with the technology to listen to his songs and develop them,” said Lord Shiva.
Not realizing the decision of the gods & happy that the concert went so wonderfully, the Maharaja of Carnatic Music asked his car to be driven to Dasa prakash Hotel to eat idlis to satisfy his hunger caused by the incessant singing of the Maharaja along with his children & accompanists.
Note:
Even though he only physically passed away 33 years ago, Shri. Maharajapuram Santhanam still reigns in the hearts of countless fans like me. In the picture above, Santhanam’s picture is shown as a shadow in black and white and the pictures of the poets who wrote his favorite songs have been put in different colors, which is an expression of Maharajapuram’s philosophy of success. The secret to his continued survival in the minds of many fans is that he has imprinted the singers' songs in the minds of the fans and transported them to the era of the songwriter.
This BEE like the insect Bees shall ring in the ears of every Rasika ( Fans ) forever.
Those who still want to read in Tamizh here is the link :
https://sakis-story.blogspot.com/2020/06/sangita-sagara-samrajya-santhanam.html
sakis story
Sakritease
20 May 2025

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