| Syama Sastri | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1762 Tiruvarur, Thiruvarur district, India |
| Died | 1827 (aged 65) |
| Occupation | composer |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Genres | Carnatic music |
Syama Sastri (శ్యామ శాస్త్రి ஸ்ரீ சியாமா சாஸ்திரி்) (also commonly transliterated as Shyama Shastri) (1762-1827) is one of the most renowned composers of Carnatic music. He is the oldest among the Trinity of Carnatic music, Tyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshitar being the other two. A major source for his biography is a chapter in P. Sambamoorthy's book, Great Composers, 69-94. (Madras: The Indian Music Publishing House).
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Syama Sastri was born in Tiruvarur in Thiruvarur district, into a scholarly and priestly Tamil speaking Smartha Vadama brahmin family.[1] His father Viswanatham was the hereditary priest responsible for the care and worship of the image of the goddess, Bangaru Kamakshi, whose temple is in Thanjavur. Syama Sastri's father was 25 at the time of his birth and his mother, Vengalakshmi, 20 years old. A family tradition holds that she had received a prophecy of his birth from a devout neighbour. The infant was named Venkatasubrahmanya, but came to be affectionately known as Syama Krishna.
The family was comfortably settled and maintained a long tradition as devoted priests and scholars, but there were no musicians before Syama Sastri. Sastri's father ensured that he attained scholarship in Telugu and Sanskrit at a young age; his maternal uncle gave him a basic music education. When he was 18 years old, he moved with his family to Thanjavur. A sannyasin (renunciate) known as Sangita Svami (i.e. music svami), a learned musician skilled in both music and dance, was the family's guest during the chaturmasya period one year. This is the rainy season when renunciates are expected to stay in one location and teach. Recognizing Syama's potential, he educated the young man on many advanced aspects of music during his four-month stay, and presented him several rare musical texts. He recommended that he listen to as many of the fine musicians of the area as possible, and suggested that he cultivate the friendship of the court musician Pachchimiriyam Adiyappayya.
Although Syama Sastri did not compose as many kriti-s as his two prolific contemporaries, his compositions are equally well known. It is said that he composed about three hundred pieces in all. He did not have many disciples to propagate his compositions, nor was the printing press an easy convenience during his time. More importantly, the scholarly nature of his compositions was not appealing to the layperson; they needed to be studied to be savoured. He composed in Telugu , Sanskrit and Tamil , mostly on goddess Kamakshi. He composed kritis, varnams and svarajatis with the ankita or mudra (signature) 'Syama Krishna'. He was probably the first to compose in a new form of the svarajati musical genre. Prior to this the svarajati was primarily a dance form, and was close in structure to the dance varnam (padavarNam). His set of three famous svarajatis are intended to be sung in concert rather than danced, and are sometimes referred to as "ratna traya" (three jewels). They are in ragas Bhairavi, Yadukulakamboji and Todi, and are called Kamakshi Anudhinamu, Kamakshi Padhayugame, and Raave Himagiri Kumari, respectively. The former two are set to Mishra Chapu Tala, while the third is set to Adi Tala. He was renowned for his ability to compose in the most complex of Talas. He was as adept in composing in rare ragas as he was in composing with the popular ones. He was widely revered for his voice and singing ability during his time.
Syama Sastri's son, the illustrious Subbaraya Sastri (1803–1862), had the unique privilege of learning under each of the trinity. His kritis with the signature 'Kumara' are known for encapsulating the entire structure of a raga in the space of a single composition. Syama Sastri's adopted grandson, Annasvami Shastri (1827–1900), was also a fine composer.
| Composition | Raga | Tala | Language | Description | Audio Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| kAmAkshI anudinamu maruvakanE | bhairavi | miSRa chApu | Telugu |
| Composition | Raga | Tala | Language | Description | Audio Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| birAna varAlicchhi brOvavE | kaLyANi | Adi - triSRa gati | Telugu | ||
| dEvI brOva samayamu | chintAmaNi | Telugu | |||
| himAdri sutE pAhimAm | kaLyANi | Adi | Telugu | ||
| kanaka Saila vihAriNI | punnAga varALi | Adi | Sanskrit |
Sowmya - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si6O245A4Xg |
|
| mAyammaA yani ne pilachite | Ahiri | Adi | Telugu |
TM Krishna - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYLwkYXmDKE |
|
| mari vErE gati evvarammA | Ananda bhairavi | miSRa ChApu | Telugu |
TN Seshagopalan - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9QAmXEZSmc |
|
| nannu brOvu lalitA | lalita | miSRa chApu | Telugu | ||
| O jagadambA nannu | Ananda bhairavi | Adi | Telugu | G Ravi Kiran - http://www.gravikiran.com/audio/01_o_jagadamba.mp3 | |
| pArvati ninu nE nera nammiti | kalgaDa | Telugu | Nityasree - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWiZEyLWUrI | ||
| Sankari samkuru chandra mukhi | sAvEri | Adi - triSRa gati | Telugu |
Ganesh & Kumaresh (Violin) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r74w3APOo9M |
|
| sarOjadaLa nEtri himagiri putri | sankarAbharaNam | Adi | Telugu | ||
| tallI ninu nera namminAnu vinavE | kaLyANi | miSRa chApu | Telugu |
TM Krishna - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44Zn1cBYPk4 |