Bhimsen Joshi - Daaswani - Kannada Bhajans
EMI India - ECSD 2899 - P.1982
Side A
A1 Bhaagyada Lakshmi Baaramma
A2 Tungateeradi Ninta Suyaivara - Pt.Bhimsen Joshi
A3 Kailasavaasa Gaurisha Isha
Side B
B1 Koruni So Ranga
B2 Yake Mukanandyo Guruve
B3 Yadav Nee Baa
During the 13th century, there arose in Karnataka a new religious-cum-literary movement called the Dasa Vangmaya or the Haridasa Sahitya. Through songs written in simple and quite often colloquial Kannada, it sought to bring to the people the message of the newly founded Vaishnava Bhakti School, the Dasakuta.
Through the songs started as a popular expression of the Bhagawata Dharma and the theistic Dwaita Siddhanta, they succeded in attaining a wider appeal not only because of their ethical and devotional content but also because of their penetrating and critical observations of human nature, its follies and foibles.
Pioneered by Shri Naraharitirtha and Sripadaraya, the movement reached great heights during the 16th century through the efforts of Shri Vyasatirtha and two of his most illustrious diciples, Purandaradasa and Kanakadasa.
Vadiraja, Raghavendratirtha, Vijayadasa, Prasanna Venkatedasa and Jagannathadasa are some of its later exponents. The theistic and mystical touches of their songs raised them to the stature of spiritual literature; while their music made them a rousing expression of devotional sentiments. The central theme of these songs is the realisation of the supreme nature of the god Narayana, or Shri Hari, through the twin routes of "Bhakti" and "Vairagya".
Purandaradasa, the most prominent among the deciples of Vyasatirtha was said to have been a greedy, miserly and mean-minded rich merchant before he became a Haridasa, and a member of the "Dasakuta". Vithala is the central deity of all his devotional songs, and forms a spiritual link between the Dasa Sahitya of Karnataka and the Sant Vani of Maharashtra.
It is to Purandaradasa that this new movement owes its most mature achievements. He pioneered "Carnatic Music" and was a major source of inspiration to the well known composer of the South — Thyagaraja.
Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, in his glorious voice fully recaptures here the spirit of this grand tradition of devotional songs. Through his highly evocative rendering of the worlds, which communicate more than their literal meaning, he brings to life the most endearing features of the Dasa Vangmaya — the intimate and affectionate terms in which God is addressed by the devotee, as also the unique equation that exists between the two.
Listening to these songs and their soul-stirring music is a profound experience.
One of the leading Kannada fiction writers, Yashwant Vithoba Chittal, born on August 3, 1928 in Hanehalli in Karnataka's North Kanara District.
Sri Vyasa Tirtha (1460-1539)
Purandaradasa - Srinivasa Nayaka (1484 - 1564)
"Father of Carnatic Music"
