Sethu Parvathi Bayi

Moolam Thirunal Sethu Parvathi Bayi (1896-1983), better known as Amma Maharni, was the Junior Maharani (Queen) of Travancore as well as a promoter of Indian Classical music. She was the mother of Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the last King of Travancore.

Sethu Parvathi Bayi was distantly related, by birth, to the royal house of Travancore in the direct female line. In 1900, following the absence of heirs in the Travancore Royal Family, she along with her elder maternal cousin Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, were adopted by her maternal great-aunt, Senior Maharani Lakshmi Bayi. At the age of 5, she became the Junior Maharani of Travancore. Sethu Parvathi Bayi chose Sri Pooram Nal Ravi Varma Thampuran of the Kilimanoor Palace as her consort owing to his high educational qualities. Their wedding happened in the year of 1907. In 1912, after giving birth to the Heir-Apparent Sree Chithira Thirunal, at the age of 15, she became the Amma (mother) Maharani (queen), the Queen Mother of Travancore.

Sethu Parvathi Bayi was an accomplished Veena player, a famous promoter of Carnatic Music and other arts. She played a major role in bringing to light, the compositions of her ancestor Maharajah Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma of Travancore. ^{[1] [2]} She and cousin Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, were the grand daughters of renowned Indian artist, Raja Ravi Varma. ^[3]

Birth and adoption

Sethu Parvathi Bayi was born on November 7, 1896 as the daughter of Thiruvathira Nal Bhageerathi Bayi Uma Kochukunji Amma Thampuratty of the Utsavamadom branch of the Mavelikkara Royal House and Sri Thiruvonam Nal Kerala Varma Thampuran of Paliyakkara Eastern Palace. She had four brothers and three sisters. Two of her sisters, Srimathi Avittam Nal Bhawani Amma Thampuratty (artist and illustrator) and Srimathi Makayiram Nal Rajamma Amma Thampuratty (landscape artist under the name Amma Thampuran) were artists. Sethu Parvathi Bayi's grandmother belonged to the Kolathunad royal house in Travancore. Srimathi Makayiram Nal Rajamma Amma Thampuratty's grand daughter, Lekha Varma, too was adopted into the Travancore Royal house in 1996.^[4]

Sethu Parvathy Bayi was also the younger grand daughter of the world-renowned artist Sri Raja Ravi Varma of the Kilimanoor Palace. The Mavelikkara royal house was closely associated with the Travancore Royal Family as her great-aunts, the then Senior and Junior Queens of Travancore, had been adopted and installed into the Royal Family of Travancore in 1858. This adoption, which was the 6th in the Travancore Royal House, was without results as the Senior Queen Lakshmi Bayi, who was married to Kerala Varma Valiya Koil Thampuran, was childless while the Junior Queen Parvathi Bayi had only sons. As the Travancore Royal Family follows Matrilineal inheritance, the presence of females to continue the line and dynasty is crucial. With the death of the Junior Queen & her sons from 1893–95, the royal family came to consist solely of Maharajah Moolam Thirunal, Senior Queen Lakshmi Bayi and her two nephews. The Senior Queen decided to adopt the daughters of her nieces, Mahaprabha and Kochukunji of Mavelikara Utsavamadhom Palace, into the Travancore Royal Family.

In 1900 Maharani Lakshmi Bayi petitioned Maharajah Moolam Thirunal for the adoption of her grand nieces, to perpetuate the ruling line. Thus, she became "Princess Moolam Thirunal Sethu Parvathi Bayi", the First Princess of Travancore. The adoption itself was met with some opposition from other branches of the Kolathunad family who nominated females from their families as also objections from the First Prince Chathayam Thirunal Rama Varma, but these were overcome due to the insistence of the Senior Queen of Travancore. But after a year, in 1901, the Senior Queen Lakshmi Bayi died and the 5-year-old Sethu Parvathi Bayi was elevated to the position of H. H. Sree Padmanbhasevini Maharani Moolam Thirunal Sethu Parvathi Bayi, Junior Maharani of Attingal. Kerala Varma Valiya Koil Thampuran, consort of the late Senior Maharani (Queen) Lakshmi Bayi, was appointed the guardian of the 2 minor Queens and tutors were appointed to teach them.^[5]

Personal life

Sri Ravi Varma Koyi Thampuran - The consort of Moolam Thirunal Sethu Parvathi Bayi

At the age of 10, according to the prevalent tradition, alliances were sought for Sethu Parvathi Bayi's marriage. A select young men of high accomplishments were presented to her. She chose the 21-year-old graduate and Sanskrit scholar, Sri Pooram Nal Ravi Varma Thampuran of the Kilimanoor royal house, after being impressed by his erudition and high education (college graduates were a rarity in those days). Their wedding took place in 1907; and when she turned fourteen in 1911, their marriage was consummated. She gave birth to her eldest son, the then Crown Prince, Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the last ruling Maharajah (King) of Travancore in 1912. Thus she became the Queen Mother at the age of 15. Sethu Parvathi Bayi gave birth to three more children. Her second child, a baby girl, was still born. Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi in 1916 and Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma in 1922 are her other children.^[6]

Contributions

Sethu Parvathi Bayi was very interested in Carnatic Music and started learning music and Veena at a young age. According to musicologists and researchers, she made memorable contributions to Carnatic Music by organizing different music festivals, revamping Swathi Thirunal compositions, promoting musicians like Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Muthiah Bhagavathar etc. ^[7] She also took great effort to bring out compositions of Maharajah Swathi Thirunal back into prominence. She gave the task of revamping Swathi compositions to Muthiah Bhagavathar and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer assisted him in this task. Sethu Parvathi Bayi's eldest son and the then Maharajah of Travancore, Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma established the institution Swathi Thirunal College of Music in 1939, and Muthiah Bhagavathar became its first Principal. ^[8] Afterwards, the task was further done by legendary musician, Sri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer It was due to Sethu Parvathi Bayi's efforts the Navarathri Music Festival became a huge event from the 1930s. Previously only Mullamudu Bhagavathars were allowed to sing at the festival. She invited the likes of Muthiah Bhagavathar, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, M. D. Ramanathan etc. to sing there. ^{[9] [10] [11]}

T. Lakshmana Pillai in his research treatise Music And The Royal House Of Travancore says the following about Sethu Parvathi Bayi :

I cannot close this brief narrative about “ Music and the Royal House” , without making specific mention of Her Highness the present Junior Maharani whose knowledge of the theory and practice of music is simply astonishing. No one who has had the good fortune of listening to her conversation about music can fail to be struck with Her Highness high, keen and refined intelligence, her profundity of knowledge and the vast fund of her information on the subject of music. As a player on the Veena, Her Highness takes rank with the best artists in the field.

— quote

^[12]

Allegations and controversies

According to Lakshmi Raghunandan's book on her grandmother Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, the birth of her eldest son, Sree Chithira Thirunal, vastly changed Sethu Parvathi Bayi's position within the royal family as well as in Travancore as she became the Amma Maharani (Queen Mother) of Travancore at the age of 15. Raghunandan alleged that the constant injecting of hatred by Kochukunji Thampuratty (Sethu Parvathi Bayi's mother) inside her daughter's mind, led to the estrangement between former and her elder cousin, Sethu Lakshmi Bayi. Raghunandan also alleges that Sethu Parvathi Bayi resented the fact that, Sethu Lakshmi Bayi and not herself, was selected as the Regent for her minor son, Sree Chithira Thirunal who became the King (Maharajah) after the death of Sree Moolam Thirunal in 1924. Rama Varma Valiya Koyi Thampuran, the consort of Regent Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, prevented his wife from handing over the control of the financial allowance of the then Sree Chithira Thirunal to his mother Sethu Parvathi Bayi. There were also rumours of assassination attempt on the young Maharajah Chithira Thirunal, allegedly at the behest of Rama Varma Valiya Koyi Thampuran, the consort of Sethu Lakshmi Bayi. All these further fanned the enmity between the two Queens to a greater proportions. The heirs of Sethu Parvathi Bayi, and her other descendants have never commented on all these allegations by Sethu Lakshmi Bayi's family, so the other side of the incidents remain unknown.^[13]

References