Pancha Ratna Kritis of Saint Thyagaraja

Pancha Ratna Kritis’ of Saint Thyagaraja, as the title indicates is the piece-de-resistance of St. Thyagaraja, who lived two centuries and a quarter ago at Thiruvaiyaru a district of Tanjavoor of Tamil Nadu, South India. The book traces the origin of Indian music, Karnatak music and its place in the world of music. It deals with major Ragas and Talas. Life, philosophy and diction form a major part of Part I along with devotional aspect. The Part II gives the song, its meaning in detail, poetic form in English and notation–all in English; but following the Indian system of ‘notation’ along with Tamil version. This along with the three songs added, makes for a complete picture of one of the greatest works of our time. The enriching quality of such devotional music in its pristine glory, combine to give beauty and significance which inspired an intuitive art of music and poetry in music; having melodic excellence, that can create an ideal reverberation in the listener, when sung in proper rhythm. They produce a feeling of the supra-conscious and link human consciousness with the supreme reality. The author Smt. Tara Balagopal has examined all these aspects clearly and added her own personal charm in the poetic section. The book is intended for all music lovers, scholars, and devotees of ‘Rama’ and Thyagaraja.