Purandardas- The Father of Carnatic Music- Dr. G Ramesh Babu

Part I

Introduction

Purandardas (1484-1564 AD) is synony-mous with the Carnatic music. He is also known for his Dasa Sahityam through which he propagated Bhakti movement during 16th century. While Purandardas dedicated himself to Vishnu cult, Basaveswara confined to Siva cult. Both of them enriched Kannada Sahityam with their devotional songs.

Strictly speaking one should accept that the modern period of Carnatic music has begun with the saint-poet Purandardas and that is why he is popularly referred to as ‘Karnataka Sangeetha Pitamaha’ i.e., the Father of Carnatic music. He was the pioneer who blended the rich musical streams of Dravidian and Aryan styles into a single stream called Carnatic music. This synthesis of different cultures has not only enriched the tradition but also opened new vistas to the wonderland of melody. The Aryan system was more prevalent in princely courts, the Dravidian system was prevalent in the South Indian temples whereas the Carnatic system was prevalent among the common people and that has made Purandardas the darling of masses. No doubt, he was committed to Vishnu cult but never neglected the human values. His ideology of Bhakti and Seva (Devotion and Service) to the God and mankind is unparallel. He expressed crystal clear in a number of his songs that without loving the fellow-beings, animals and nature; worshipping the God, day and night, would merely be a wasteful exercise. He believed service was more beautiful than anything else in the nature. He also aptly said that the service should be heartful with all dedication and commitment. Thus, Purandardas seems to have been established a blend of devotion and service, probably, a novel way of social reformation.

(To be continued in September, 2007 issue)

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