Memoirs of this year’s Varamahalakshmi habba @ home….

Last Friday (31st July) was the major festival of my household, the Varamahalakshmi vrata. I’d taken a leave from office for the occasion and was eagerly awaiting the celebrations to begin.

The pooja began at about 11.00 am in the morning, with mum and dad in the lead and the newly wedded couple of our family, my cousin bro and sis-in-law!! The pooja went on very well and as usual like every year, till it was time for naivedya. The cooks informed us that there would be a delay of about 10 minutes to get the specially cooked preparations ready. While we were waiting, my music teacher Sharadha ma’am began with “Hiranmayim Lakshmi” and suddenly there was pindrop silence in the hall. It was as if Goddess Lakshmi wanted a complete Sangeetha Seva that day. Sharadha ma’am sang a Purandara dasara devara nama on Naivedya (the cooks brought them in then) after the Mutthuswami Deekshitar’s composition and while the pooja continued, the music renditions went on in the background.

My cousin’s wife Suchitra is a trained singer, dancer and theatre artist at Suchitra Society Banashankari. She gave a concert (almost!) after Sharadha ma’am stopped. The audience was (music having grabbed a greater foothold, I’m using the word “audience”) in tears listening to her rendition of “Keshava Naama” and swayed by her fantastic voice when she sang Purandara Dasara “Enu dhanyaLo Lakumi” and “Bhagyada Lakshmi baaramma”.

By then, it was time for Aarthi when suddenly someone pointed out that I hadn’t sung at all. I promptly started with “Shree Varalakshmi namasthubhyam”, by Deekshitar again. It is a common favorite in the family and everyone including the grand folks, my aunts, uncles and even my father joined me in the chorus. A truly fitting aarthi for the Goddess, it seemed!! :)

Sharadha ma’am gently chided me on singing a normal kriti when there were compositions meant for aarti and sang one. She was impressed by the musical genius that runs in the family and asked me to learn that particular Aarthi kriti so that I could teach all my musically talented and inclined family members. She is a true teacher after all!! All my “attheyaru” assented, what more..

It was almost 2.00 pm by then and the first batch of people went for lunch. A few aunts retained me downstairs and asked me to sing. The concert had barely ended when it began, all over again. While I finished singing Mysore Vasudevaacharya’s “Devi Rame Maamavaabdhi tanaye amba”, my sis-in-law was asked to sing (on public demand I must add, she is the newest addition to our family). Two of my aunts, few cousins and their spouses sang one after the other while I was made to act like a breather, singing while they decide who should sing next I mean.

Sharadha ma’am, who was actually unhappy with me for not attending classes lately, was happy after she heard me sing. She approved when I admitted that I’m out of practice due to genuine time constraint and ordered me to attend classes from the coming week which I’m happily going to oblige.. :D
This impromptu singing paused only late in the evening when the guests started leaving after taking thamboola. Sharadha madam’s favorite student and our musical role model Manjula aunty came home then. She has been an icon like, to Anjana and me since we were barely ten and a close family friend since. She got to know about the unplanned Sangeetha Seva that was going on since morning and was elated. When she sang Mysore Vasudevaachaarya’s “Varalakshmi Namosthuthe” in Gowri manohari and Purandara Dasara “Enu dhanyaLo Lakumi”, those people who were sitting there were in tears and those who were planning to leave came back instead.

An instant after Manjula aunty left, my friend Anjana and her mother arrived. Anjana and I began our music lessons together at the ages of seven and six, respectively. We have performed together at innumerable occasions and have shared a great compatibility, both on stage and off it. And both of us have been regretfully irregular at music since 2003 and sincerely wish to undo the situation soon. Anyways, it had been ages since the last time we sang together and our parents wished to find out if we still complimented each other like before. “Devi Rame” (second time rendition since morning) showed that the spark was very much there. She sang two dasa padas after that, of which one was encored. As usual, our folks reproved us for our sloth and disinterest in music when we are blessed to have such an encouraging musical ambience at home, supporting family members and a guru like Sharadha ma’am who is unlike ordinary music teachers and considered us to be one of the torch bearers of her legacy, like Manjula aunty. It gets embarrassing at times, but that is something we cannot help. Not until we set right the issue at least.

It ended with Purandara dasara “Jayathu Kodanda Raama” which is a beautiful mangala kriti set in the soulful and forgiving Madhyamavathi. This is a personal favorite to everyone who has heard it and speaks of His glory in His ten incarnations.

It was almost 10.30 pm when this “Sangeetha Seva” ended and somehow, everyone who witnessed the turns and events of the whole day agreed that this year’s celebration was, unlike previous years, grander, blessing and of course, entirely musical!!