We invite you to celebrate all that is embodied by the mother, on Mother’s day by listening to this track KAMALASANA VANDITA from the album ‘Vismaya (Wonder!) – An Indo Celtic Musical Journey’. This song (and others in this album) are original Sanskrit compositions of the legendary composer and singer, Sri Muthusvami Dikshitar.
Based on a playful dance tune of European origin called ‘galopede’, this tune arrived in India in the late 1700s. Muthusvami Dikshitar, listened to this tune and wrote lyrics in sanskrit in praise of Kamalamba of Tiruvarur set to this tune.
Every line of the song ends in three claps and the lyrics clearly match this structure. This composition /song cannot be categorized as Indian or Western, and at the same time must be thought of as both.
Like the other pieces in the album Vismaya, this song is a unique presentation of Dikshitar’s svarasahityas where he uniquely wrote powerful/meaningful lyrics in Sanskrit to Celtic and other folk tunes that had then made their way to India, making them accessible to a wide populace, especially young children. The song and the album are rich in rhythm and lyrical alliteration.
Please also see the older post describing the lyrics of this composition.
Tags: British Raj, Dikshitar, Galopede, Kamalasana vandita, nottuswara
September 28, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Thank you Kanniks for this wonderful compilation. As a mother Im very delighted to report that my 19 month old son Aditya loves this CD – infact he asks for it to be played almost everyday and dances to the tunes animatedly! I’ve found it very effective to calm him when he is agitated – I guess Vidita’s voice has that quality! Looking forward to Part-II of this series.