Local heroes : inspiring musical trail stories from Kerala

First batch of students getting their training in 'Idakka'

Njeralathu Rampoduval was a very pious man. He had devoted his life in the service of the Goddess in 'Tirumathaam Kunnu', and touched many lives through his melodious music. The depth in his singing, his mastery over the unique percussion instrument“Idakka” and the spirituality he evoked had hundreds of thousands of people in Kerala who listened to him, connect with their souls. It was no surprise then that when he passed away in 1996, Kerala wept as if it's soul was taken away.

His style of singing, a mellifluous blend of tribal, folk and classical styles, called 'Sopana Sangeetham' was traditionally restricted to being rendered within the temple sanctum sanctorum. Njeralathu made it his mission to bring this form of music to the common man and towards the end of his life, 'Sopana Sangeetham' was commonly heard outside the temple sanctum.

Hari Govindan was 17 years old when his father, Njeralathu died. Hari used to accompany his father occasionally during his travels and performances at various temples and public arenas in Kerala. Troubled that the “Idakka” that was his father’s life, lying unused after his death, Hari taught himself how to play the instrument to keep the memory of his father alive. Soon his mastery over the instrument and his renditions of the “Sopana Sangeetham” won him several fans. Six years ago, a group of Nila admirers who had gathered by the banks of the river, urged Hari to recite a few of his father's legendary compositions. I still remember Hari singing for the River Nila, with tears in his eyes into the night. He had composed one particular song about the river on his way while sitting in a bus!

MP Virendra Kumar (MD of Mathrubhumi) paying a visit at the temple with the Idakka. Kalyanikutti Amma is seen 4th from L, in the background is the house she stays and the land she donated

Two years ago, Hari started campaigning with the Government requesting them to provide funds or build a memorial for musicians like his father. It wasn’t uncommon to see talented exponents of traditional music dying in penury for want of patronage. Hari's idea was to record audio clips of these musicians while they were alive so that the new generation could also experience these rare voices and melodies, while giving them an opportunity to perform. He dreamt of a school where students from all segments of the society could come and learn traditional folk music and especially learn to play the Idakka, experience and spread this unique music and folk culture.

Frustrated with empty promises made by politicians and Government officials, a dejected Hari decided to auction the musical instrument of his father to raise funds to keep his memory and art form alive. The reaction from people across Kerala was extreme. Cultural stalwarts were shocked at his decision and accused him of selling art for money without really understanding his objective. But there were others who shared his anguish and deep desire of building a memorial for his musician father and providing an opportunity for similar musicians to have a place in society to be recognized. Many friends and admirers donated liberally and a wonderful campus was born where students from nearby villages come to learn traditional forms of music for free. Hari also built an impressive digital and non-digital archive of traditional music forms and musical instruments and an open-air theatre. The campus also boasts of a beautiful temple where the idol isn't just another stone sculpture, but the Idakka that his father used to play!

Crowd that gathered for the inauguration of the Kalashramam

This campus also has a small house in an obscure corner facing the hillock. This house belongs to Kalyanikutti Amma, a woman in her late 60s who helped Hari achieve his dream when the Government or the rich landlords in the region failed to do so. It was her generous donation of all her land to this cause that helped Hari build this unique memorial of art that is inspiring hundreds of youngsters today to keep traditional art forms alive. Hari didn't forget to renovate her old house within the campus for her comfortable stay.

In its own small way, The Blue Yonder worked in parallel to support Hari through bringing the attention of national and International media to his laudable initiative. David Stott, travel writer, photographer and editor of Foot Prints handbook for India inaugurated the campus, which got it a lot of well-deserved publicity. When James Newton of String Films, well known UK-based filmmaker visited the campus and saw public reaction to this initiative, he had only two words to describe it. "Mind boggling!"

'Njaralathu Kalasramam' (Kala = Art, Asramam = A learning campus), as the campus is called, is where The Blue Yonder organizes the musical trail for our travellers. In addition to experiencing musical styles of central Kerala, our travelers enjoy living in the beautiful campus as well. It gives us immense pleasure that we were part of the journey Hari started, a journey that proves that ordinary people can be the change makers, and accomplish extraordinary feats!

More on how Njaralathu Hari Govindan became part of The Blue Yonder in the upcoming blogs. Watch this space.

To forgive is human, too

Rev.Dr.William G.Sinkford has spoken extensively on Iraq war, marriage equality, immigrant rights, environmental justice and Darfur to name a few isues

A simple search #Koran /on twitter will reveal the amount of venom and hate that is spread online related to the unfortunate and provocative statements from Pastor Terry Jones. The first time I saw a google alert on attempt by the Pastor to burn Koran on 11 Sept, my heart sank. I felt concerned about the humanity. It takes ages and massive steps by leaders and common man to build trust after all those untoward incidents that happened over eons. Once you think slowly things might be getting back to normal, from the middle of nowhere, jokers like Terry Jones turn up to destroy harmony in the world.

The media was awash with stories of Terry Jones. Washington Post few hours ago featured a story on Supreme Court justice Stephen Breyer commenting that incidents like attempting to burn Koran to protest would "change the nature of what we can allow and protect." Closer to Sept 11, BBC News said, 'Koran burning would be a disaster.

Editor Vir Sanghvi in his tongue in cheek report in the Hindustan times wrote about 'small-town weirdo to global champion of redneck ignorance' . There were no dearth of news on hate, religous tension, clash civilisations etc. The very next day when the Pastor decided not to burn the Koran, I was invited by my host Joel to attend a Sunday service at the First Unitarian Church of Portland. For the small community of 1500 families, 12 Sept 2010 was special as it was the home coming of Rev. Dr. William J Sinkford .

In his soft but assertive voice, Rev Sinkford reminded the gathering about the importance of the month September. He said that the month was about forgiveness. Especially during the time of people like 'the pastor of a tiny church who decided to burn Koran'. He said, September is not only the month of forgiveness because of Sept 11, but also because this was the month of Ramadan as celebrated by Muslims.

I left the church with goose bumps after hearing the choir singing “Come, come, whoever you are,” words written by Rumi, a Muslim mystic. While the media is busy featuring the 'clash of civilisations', they care not to feature beautiful stories like people behind First Unitarian Church. These people pray everyday for all those people who died in war. They don't just pray for all the American soldiers who died in Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan. They pray for all. For all the human beings who were killed and wounded in the war. How religously some of the church associate peace groups were maintaining the statistics of Iraqi civilian deaths had to be seen to believe.

Mission statement of this distinguished church Portland reads they covenant :

To create a welcoming community of diverse individuals;
To promote love, reason, and freedom in religio;
To foster life long spiritual growth; and
To act for justice.

It's people like this that make the world a better place to live.