Sparkling with messages

THERE IS no doubt that among the cities of India, Chennai ranks number one in providing a platform for religious discourses. Just peruse the engagements column and you will be surprised to see, on any given day, at least a dozen such events.

In the olden days, in places such as Thanjavur, Madurai and other temple towns, discourses were held in the outer courtyard of the temple. Whether it was art or entertainment, the temple had it all, where people could enjoy the evening breeze, exchange gossip, and of course, pray.

In the city, apart from a few temples, schools, community centres, mutts and sabhas are often venues for discourses. Bureaucrats, executives in private firms and retired officials, all well versed in language, music, mythology, and philosophy, often comprise the audience that is predominantly older men.

Those days, when the dynamic Mukkur Lakshmi Narasimhachariar spoke, one felt the vibrations of an extraordinary being, who was ordained to communicate the message of the Divine.

In recent times two personalities, very different from each other, have enthralled the audience with their discourse.

One of the most popular and erudite speakers is Sri Sundar Kumar. People thronged the precincts of the Rathnagireeswarar temple to hear him talk on the Mahabharata. Self-effacing in demeanour, he carries himself with a graceful humility. What is interesting is that, keeping his contemporary audience in mind; he sprinkles his speech with English phrases and words. This, in no way, diminishes the message he conveys through the stories he tells. He is related to the legendary Sengalipuram Anantharama Dikshitar, and in more ways than one, he has inherited the grand old man's legacy.

Surprised to see a friend who is by no means an ``elder", I discovered that he had been following Sri Sundar Kumar for the past two months from one venue to the other, relishing his Ramayana and now the Bharatham. What I found gripping about the art of Sundar Kumar, if at all one can refer to it as art, is his approach to well known episodes in mythology and Purana. The interest of the listener is kept alive by similes, analogies and beautiful descriptions. Ultimately there is a message for everyone... a message from our scriptures, which is both profound and at the same time simple enough to understand.

Many scholars who give discourses are not merely scholars. They have taken on this task, as a call of the Divine. Sri Sundar Kumar is one such. He does not wish to talk about himself... he shuns publicity. He believes that he is involved in something so deeply spiritual that it would be inappropriate to project himself.

He travels the length and breath of the country regaling his listeners with his pithy comments, and rendering Sanskrit verses. Echoes of the Sengalipuram technique of chanting engulf the listener, helping him to momentarily forget his mundane cares.

One could perceive that his knowledge of the Puranas and poetic literature is extensive. What is particularly impressive is that he does not draw our attention to the texts he has read... he merely elaborates on the story and it's message, making passing references to texts, as if he had not worked hard to cull out the references and minute details.

Quite different in approach and technique is the discourse of Jaya Srinivasan. She lectures in English or Tamil liberally sprinkled with English, as the occasion demands. One could see that her preparation is thorough and that she enjoys her research.

Speaking of Hanuman, she marvels at the great writers who paint elaborate word pictures of this greatest bhakta of Rama. With quick cross-references, she brings together a spectrum of images that complete the totality of Hanuman. She explains how Hanuman grew to be a god now widely worshipped, while characters far bigger in stature, like Bhishma, never attained that position.

Jaya Srinivasan quotes from diverse Ramayanas, and the Bhagavatham and has an easy way of communicating the most complex issues to her listeners. She whets their appetite for reading the texts. And when she quotes from Kamban, her listeners, understanding each precious word, join her in appreciating the poet's fertile imagination.

Without inhibitions, Jaya breaks into songs... reminding her listeners of Tyagaraja's insightful approach to the Ramayana. His bhakthi is the most well known aspect of his music... many do not realise his scholarship which pervades his songs with surprising subtlety.

A busy schedule keeps Jaya Srinivasan on the move. She enjoys her chosen vocation, and endears herself to modern listeners. She provokes them to take a deeper look at the great storehouse of literature.

Grandmothers may not be a plenty telling children tales. But we have erudite scholars ready to share their knowledge with us. The stories they tell are spiritual, which we cannot ignore, particularly in the present age when there is so much confusion about the real values of life.

LAKSHMI VISWANATHAN

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