Case 1 – The story of Vedanayagam Sastri
There is much talk involving religion and caste in the field
of Carnatic music these days, we read about musicians boycotting festivals, of
musicians getting castigated for collaborating with other religions, and of the
sole book which airs some of these issues. At the center of it all, is the
person who wrote the book, a book which I enjoyed reading, the writer being TM
Krishna and the book being ‘Sebastian and Sons’.
A music enthusiast will demur about the sad state of affairs
and take objection to a certain religion trying to corner a tradition to its
side, due to its interconnection to Bhakti, which they say you have to
experience. I am in no way qualified to argue on such matters, and I can only take
you to a period – some 200 years in the past, when a matter of caste came up
and was hotly discussed for months in Madras and Tanjore. It involved a person
who is once again in the news for the wrong reasons (plagiarism and comparison
with Tyagaraja), an interesting man named Vedanayagam Sastri. I think you
should all get to know this person, if only to get a feel of Tanjore in those
days, united in music, and hugely cosmopolitan. There were Christians, Muslims,
Mahrattas, Tamilians, and Telugu... just to name a few, who were brought
together by music and a titular king interested in arts and science. Some years
ago, V Sriram wrote a lovely article in The Hindu about that period of musical collaboration,
and that is the period we will go to.
It was the time when the British were in power, with Tanjore
having been ceded to the British, after the deposition of Amar Singh. Serfoji
II (1777-1832), a great patron of arts was on the throne and his court and the
local temple sabhas were buzzing with the prolific output of many a musical
stalwart – Tyagaraja (1767-1847), the Tanjavur Quartet (Chinnayya (1802–1856),
Ponnayya (1804-1864), Sivanandam (1808-1863), and Vadivelu (1810–1847),
Muttuswami Diksitar (1775-1835), Syama Sastrigal (1762-1827), etc. CF Schwarz,
the protestant missionary, and a common factor (1726-1798) was around too, and
so many others. I had previously mentioned the Tanjore
dance scene, and how Carnatic music found a home there, in
an earlier article.
The Hindu poets and composers of Tanjore composed mostly in
Telugu or Sanskrit and performed either at the court or at their favorite
temples with the attendance of mostly upper-class Hindu communities.
Considering that Sanskrit education was imparted mainly to the upper classes,
or the rich, the audience who savored the many songs sung in devotion were
mainly those classes. The products, i.e. the musical compositions were neither
printed nor transmitted to the public through any printed media, they were only
consumed orally. Note therefore that until recently, musical compositions did not
extend to a wider audience, and could only be gleaned by attending specific
performances or listening to the experiences of those who attended.
For most performers during the medieval, an invitation to
the king’s court was the ultimate honor, following which the benevolent patron
sometimes gave them gifts of gold, land, or property or even a regular position
as a court musician. For some stalwarts such as Tyagaraja, these things did not
matter, his music was conversational between him and his lord – Rama. The Tanjore
quartet and the Tanjore trinity were eulogized much later, and their fame
spread after the musical scene shifted to Madras, a topic eminently explained
by Lakshmi Subramaniam in her seminal work on the subject. During subsequent
musical festivals and seasons, the compositions of the trinity and many others
such as Swati Tirunal were discussed, disseminated, and performed by students. Today
their names and works are well known, their fame is widespread, and naturally,
we have many a book and experts on the field.
But at the same time, and during the same period, there was another
poet and composer, whose work, albeit much smaller in volume, was written in a
language understood by the masses – i.e., Tamil and performed in the Christian
Church. His works were spread around not only through oral means but were also
printed and published by the Protestant missionaries. That was Vedanayagam
Sastri, a Vellala Christian. Now, here is the twist – while most know the story
only until this point, it took an entirely different turn, due to caste
politics and that is what we will get to, today. It will demonstrate how
politics strived to stall a creative genius and muddy the waters of that
collaborative period which we started with. I write this with the hope that we
do not do these things again and stifle free creativity.
The well-known Tyagaraja composed many “Kirtanas” that
stressed Bhakti Rasa, as well as many a perfect three-part Kriti (with a Pallavi
(opening line and refrain), an Anupallavi (sub refrain, elaborating on the
opening), and several Charanams (stanzas)) with intricate tala structures and
exquisite raga bhava, leaving much scope for elaboration. In the final Charanam,
it is usual to find Tyagaraja’s signature or mudra which means
"seal," incorporated into the lyric. There are many opinions on whether
Tyagaraja penned his many thousand compositions if only in conversation between
himself and his lord Rama, in intense private prayer, while undergoing many a
personal travail, ensconced in his partitioned home as is often mentioned, or
if it was also for performance, sharing and public dissemination. That his
music would be used for public consumption was clear to Tyagaraja, due to the inclusion
of his personal Mudra (Tyagaraja) in his work, to make sure his work was tagged
to him, protected, and labeled as his creation.
Let’s now look at the life trajectory of a contemporary of
Tyagaraja to study how caste was brought into the equation, at that time,
keeping in mind that irrespective of religion, caste was integral to it, be it
Hinduism, Christianity, or Islam, especially in South India. While many of the
readers interested in Carnatic music may recall Tyagaraja’s contemporary
Vedanayagam Sastri, very few will know of the complicated life he led or the
multifaced personality he had. One must also make a note that while music was
important to Devanayagam, it was not a passion. For this person, it was a
vehicle to introduce and convey the teachings of his Lord Jesus, the Christu
Bhakti, and at times, small lessons of science.
Vedanayagam Sastri
Arunachalam (and his siblings) converted to Catholicism at
the age of 25, in 1760 and took the name Devasahayam, retaining the Pillai
surname, later marrying Jnanappu Ammal, a Catholic Chetti convert. Devasahayam was
then employed by the Tirunelveli church as a minor cleric and retained his hair
and beard. Vedanayagan (original name Vedapotagam) Pillai was born into this Catholic
Vellala family in 1774 and received schooling in Puliyangudi. Some years later,
a new priest of the church forced a colleague of Devasahayam, named Nonti
Jniani to shave off his beard reiterating that only the main priest had a right
to wear one. This coercion was against Devasahayam’s Vellala culture and when
he spoke up in support of his friend, Devasahayam was excommunicated from the Catholic
church. He then drifted off work for the Evangelist protestants at
Palayankottai and in 1785, Pillai converted to the Protestant faith and was
sent off to the mission school in Tanjore with the celebrated missionary CF
Schwarz.
When Schwarz visited Palayankottai four months later, he met
and took back the 12-year-old footloose Vedanayagam with him to Tanjore.
Devasahayam continued preaching at Palayankottai using his musical compositions,
a trait that his son had acquired. Interestingly Vedanayagam was to one of the
three foster sons of Scharwz, the other two being Serfoji a young king and
Schwarz’s ward, and JC Kohloff.
By 1789, Vedanayagam was moved to the theological seminary
at Tanquebar, where he mastered in addition to theology, astronomy, science, anatomy,
and math. In 1792, the 18-year-old Vedanayagam moved to Tanjore, where
Tyagaraja now aged 25 was already a master of his musical craft. Vedanayagam too
had composed a few of his musical works based on the bible, following his
father’s footsteps.
By the age of 20 (1794), he became the headmaster of the school
of scripture at Tanjore and taught young catechists the above sciences, a
position he held until 1829. He continued to be a prolific writer (they had a
printing press in-house), and completed several texts, an arithmetic textbook
in Tamil, and many poetic works, mainly to assist his catechists and young
students. At 21 he married his paternal cousin Viyakammal, but she died soon
after their marriage, in 1796. In 1798, CFG Schwarz passed away and in 1799,
his father Devasahayam too passed on. In 1798 Prince Serfoji, with whom he had
studied, ascended the Tanjore throne as Serfoji II, who then ruled under the
administrative authority of the British East India Company until he died in
1832. Before Schwartz died, he had asked the ‘German Malabarian’, J. C.
Kohlhoff to keep an eye on Vedanayagam, as an older brother. In 1801
Vedanayagam married again, a maternal cousin named Mikelu Muttammal.
Most notably, he wrote about many a hundred Christian
devotional hymns and prayer-poems. Many of them were set in the classical
Carnatic style, using the then-extant raga and tala combinations. Not only were
they devotional, but also instructive since he incorporated astronomical and
science elements, at times, into his poetry. Experts opine that he may have
borrowed from the works of Tyagaraja and others, but it is not all certain, and
it also becomes apparent that there was no real issue in freely borrowing tunes
and styles or getting inspired by other’s works, in those times.
These songs and works were narrated, spread around, and
became very popular earning Vedanayagam many a title and honor. It was in 1808
that he got formally titled as a Sastri, for his literary excellence. Other
honors followed and before long he was bestowed with the honor of ‘the
evangelical king of poets’ and was even invited to Madras for bigger honors
from both the Vepry church and the Nawab of Arcot living at Triplicane (the
Amir Mahal which I often mention about – I lived beside that while working in Madras).
This was how he got the Islamic Kulah cap and after that, he always performed
looking like a Sufi, wearing whites, and a red cap. In 1815, aged 41 he received
his last title - Veda Shastri. Thenceforth, Vedanayagam Pillai signed his name
Vedanayagam Sastri.
Appreciation for his method of teaching the gospel through
poetic means stood shoulder to shoulder with the Hindu Kirtana Parampara. Schools
he served, supported by Rajas of Thanjavur, Shivaganga, and Ramnad, became so
famous that Company directors subsidized them, and were quite popular.
Without getting into too many details, we can surmise that
Vedanayagam created his Christian hymns in praise of Jesus, closely aligned to
the Kirtanas in vogue, using similar lyrics, ragas, and talas, quite a few very
close to some of the Tygaraja Kriti’s. He also incorporated the popular styles
of Kuruvanci, the Kummi, and so on into his works. Whether he discussed these compositions
with Tyagaraja, who was living just a few miles away, or not, is unclear. I
would assume so, otherwise Tyagaraja who implanted his Mudras into his
compositions with deliberation, or perhaps his ardent and vocal disciples, could
have complained of plagiarism. It is also said that Vedanayagam produced works
along the line of minor literary compositions, has also composed many songs
based on Tevara melodies and Tirupukazh rhymes. He was attracted by Tayumanavar
and has composed some of his songs in his style. These are found in his work
‘Jepamalai’. His confessional songs of are based on the confessional models
used by many saints of Tamil Nadu.
Sriram explains - Besides this, he used the songs of his
contemporary Carnatic composer Tyagaraja (1767-1847) and wrote Christian lyrics
for the same tunes. Some of the ragas used by Vedanayagam Sastry are
Shankarabharanam, Mohanam, Ananda Bhairavi, Kamboji, Kalyani, Neelambari, Surykantam,
Chakravakam, Yadukulakamboji, Senjurutti, Senavati, Saindhavi, Jingala and
Dwijavanti. He used talas (cycle of beats) such as Adi, Tisra Ekam, Rupakam,
and Chapu. In all his compositions, like Tyagaraja, he included his name as a
signature.
Meanwhile, he adopted his niece Jnanadipa Ammal, who later
helped translate his work into English, a language Vedanayagam was never
comfortable with. He then spent a while in Jaffna, where his name had spread. In
1813, a son named Jnanasikhamani was born to him and Mikelu, and by 1814, he
was training pupils on music at his home, a practice which continued till his
death in 1863.
The issue of caste
The reader must note here that the times we are talking
about were quite different from today. As Robert Eric Frykenberg explains - The
terms ‘Hindu’, ‘Hinduism’, and ‘Hindutva’ (‘Hinduness’) are modern.
Non-religious denotations for things Hindu long antedated confessional
meanings. In the early days of the Company, to be Hindu meant simply to be
native to Hindustan. Terms like ‘Hindu Muslim’ and ‘Hindu Christian’ were not
uncommon. The Empire was thus Hindu. The emergence of modem Hinduism owed much
to late eighteenth-and nineteenth-century collaboration. It was neither a
British nor a missionary invention. Contributions made by high-caste, mainly
Brahman, pandits played as decisive a part as anything done by scholars from
the West.
It was also a time when fervent evangelism was frowned upon
- Company authorities stood ready to summarily expel any missionary, and
to punish any overly zealous officer whose tactless actions provoked social
unrest. Anyone disparaging Hindu and Muslim practices as ‘devilish’ or
‘heathen’ could be admonished or even deported. But as we will see, it was
not to be.
All this was to create never ending problems for the poetic evangelist, who was by now known as ‘The Tanjore Poet’. It all started when new decrees were passed against caste segregation and the singing of hymns in styles reminiscent of other religions and set in the bhakti style using ragas connected to temple singing. Also at the heart of it was the use of the bulk of hymns authored by Vedanayagam with his mudra. It would be interesting to look at the attacks on the Tanjore Poet, by the Madras establishment.
It all started with Rhenius, a fiery Prussian evangelist,
who had been deputed to Trunelveli. This firebrand, as Robert Eric Frykenberg
explains - exhorted, encouraged, instructed, trained, translated, and held
dramatic public debates. His disciples, known as pilgrims, fanned out;
thousands, again whole villages, turned Christian. The community doubled and
trebled in size each decade thereafter. As congregations proliferated, so did
chapel schools and self-help societies, with missions for the homeless, widows,
and orphans. High schools, colleges, seminaries, and hospitals sprang into
existence as Tirunelveli society was transformed.
Until the third decade of the 19th century, the
upper caste converts (e.g. vellalas) and lower caste converts (parayas) were
seated separately in churches and this was accepted by Bishop R Huber who said
it was like British and American Churches where the gentry and servants were
always separated. Another related issue was that the front-row seated Vellalans
received bread and wine first and then came the parayas. If this was disturbed,
the upper caste vellala would eat the Ecchil of the lower caste, a deeply
offensive tradition! Sastri wrote in 1824 - those new missionaries, led by
C. T. E. Rhenius, had tried to force ‘all the castes or nations of this country
to be of one caste to make them eat and drink together and to have those of
higher and lower classes connected with each other in marriage. This was very offensive to his upper
caste sensibility.
Bishop Wilson upset the status quo when he insisted that
they all sit together, resulting in large protests and walkouts by Vellalas.
The enraged bishop ordered the district magistrate of Tanjore to flog those who
insisted on caste segregation. Sastri argued saying that it was not yet time
for such radical moves and it should only be brought in gradually.
Vedanayakam Sastri argued that - At the ‘Lord’s Table’ divergent
beings could only ‘sit together separately’. They could still enjoy ‘spiritual
unity’ within contexts of social diversity where divergent peoples lived
differently and separately, enjoying divergent status, wealth, and wisdom.
Christians should be free to organize themselves according to earthbound
resources and distinctions, whether of caste (India) or class (Europe). As it
looked, after a century of independence, Tamil evangelical Christians found
themselves being forced to read strange words, sing strange songs, and recite
strange chants from an unknown Book of Common Prayer. It was a difficult
period for him, as for some unknown reason, his wife left him and moved on to
Tirunelveli. He married Varodaya Ammal in 1829 and had three children with her.
Sastri and King Serfoji II had a fallout as well, due to the former’s efforts
at converting the lay public to Christianity.
It was in 1829, that Vedanayakam Sastri and other Vellalans
who supported him were formally dismissed and expelled from the Church. The
outraged community, complaining to the Governor of Madras, accused the new
missionaries of committing four cruelties: (1) tampering with Tamil Scripture
by replacing old versions with their own; (2) forcing integration of all
Christians into one caste and excommunicating from the Eucharist all who
refused to comply; (3) prohibiting flowers for festivals, weddings, and
funerals; and (4) removing Tamil lyrics and Tamil music from worship.
The next argument was that when devotees sing in the
presence of God, there is no need for any man’s name to be mentioned. Sastri
has used in the last lines of some songs, his mudra Vedanayagam, and this was
found objectionable.
Sastri himself quit his post as headmaster of the seminary
Schwartz had founded. Rev Pope harassed the family after that, they were
prevented from singing in the church, or in the compound. Sastri’s songs were
removed from the books, the family was insulted in public, being given
communion last, despite their high standing, His younger son's marriage was
branded as heathen, on grounds that he had failed to visit the Pope's house
after the ceremony. Sastri stopped attending communion at the Church, nevertheless
conducting ceremonies honoring Schwarz in front of his house, annually, ever
after.
At the King’s court
Several discussions between the King and the poet relating
to their respective faiths can be seen in the records. There is an account of
Sastri refusing to compose a Kurvanchi (Kuravanchis, similar to operas, are
performed as dance dramas by Bharatanatyam troupes, and Sastri had composed the
famous Bethlehem Kuruvanchi previously) in the praise of Siva, as it would
offend his Christian faith and insult his teacher Schwarz. When asked if he
could at least compose a single verse of invocation praising Ganesa, Sastri refused
again, even after Serfoji stated that he the King would compose a Kriti
honoring Jesus. An irritated Serfoji resorted to a threat, upon which Sastri
told the king that he should not consider or treat the poet as his servant.
Serfoji finally gave in and did not press him ever again, on the issue. After
Serfoji passed away in 1832, Sivaji who took over dispensed with his services.
Sastri lived on with donations from Devasikhamani Pillai, a palace officer, and
others, tuition monies received by teaching Tamil to new missionaries and a
stipend for assisting Surveyor-General Mackenzie collect vernacular writings
about Indian culture and history. Symonds who met him on his tour through
Tanjore in 1848 said 'the Tanjore poet is quite a character in the mission. He
has a fine tall figure and is without exception the most intellectual native I
have ever met.’
The Tanjore poet, Vedanayagam Sastri, died 24th January 1864,
aged 90.
An epilogue mentions that his descendants ended the fight
with the church, and some worked for the church as well as gifted land to them.
The Church also relaxed their rules a bit - Immediately after the Benediction,
following a custom observed on the New Year's Day service at the Fort church,
the son of the old Tanjore poet, and his family started singing one of the old
poet's lyrics, accompanied by explanations…
What can we learn from all this? A poet who rose to great
heights, followed his ideals and a chosen path, but allowed age-old traditions
and caste prejudice to derail his life. He refused to accept the changed situation
and eked out the rest of his life as a simple poet and composer in pain and penury.
The spirit of that poet lives on, though hardly anyone remembers him.
Interestingly, this mirrors in some ways the situation where the Malabar rites
of Syrian Catholics in Kerala (among others) were targeted by the Portuguese
Catholics, in the 16th century. They maintained that the Saint
Thomas Christian community of Kerala were "Hindu in culture, Christian in
religion, and Oriental in worship”.
I had thought that the caste issues had all died down long
ago. I don’t know how it is in South Indian Christian churches, but it is
rearing its ugly head once again on the Hindu side, at Chennai. It is so strange
that we have so many editions of the Ramayana, including a Chinese and Muslim
Ramayana, and yet we are arguing that Carnatic music and its bhakti tradition
belong only to Hindus, despite the clear fact that during the golden period of
the Tanjore trinity, and as you read above, it was shared for Christian hymns
too! That was as Sriram explained, true collaboration.
We will continue with this discussion using a second
example, from the Hindu side, in the next article.
References
Protestant origins in India - Tamil Evangelical Christians,
1706-1835 - D. Dennis Hudson
Between Print & Performance - The Tamil Christian Poems
of Vedanayaka Sastri and the Literary cultures of 19th-century South India –
Indira Viswanathan Peterson
'The Lutheran Aggression Controversy': Caste and Class
Conflict of Christians in 19th Century South India - Robert Eric Frykenherg
Christian Missions and the Raj (Missions and Empire, edited
by Norman Etherington) - Robert Eric Frykenberg
'Purified' Carnatic Music and Impure People: Contemporary
Debates - P U Mythri
Tyagaraja – Life & Lyrics – William J Jackson
Great Composers Thyagaraja – P Sambamoorthy
A
Chronicle of Collaboration (The Hindu) – Sriram V
Related articles
Part 1 Caste
ingress into the Musical Realm, The story of Vedanayagam Sastri
Part 2 Caste
conflicts – Carnatic Music, Brahmins and Carnatic music
Part 3 The
Music of the Melakkar - The Melakkar and the breach of the Isai Vellalar
borders.
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