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About Kerala

Sopanasangeetham

The Sopanasangeetham is sung in front of sopana or the steps in front of the sanctum sanctorum. It has a distinct style. Sopanasangeetham was influenced by the Bhakti movement in Kerala. Most of the asthapathi or lyrics are based on Jayadeva’s a 13th century poet's immortal work, ‘Geethagovindam’. The song varies depending upon the time of performance and the type of deity. Sopanasangeetham is recited only when the inner sanctum sanctorum of the temple is closed for customary ceremonial offerings to gods and goddesses. Only the ‘Maaraar’ and ‘Pothuval’ community had the privilege of doing this. It is customary to sing this song, from the time the inner sanctum sanctorum closes to the time it opens, in praise of the respective god or goddesses, the temple is dedicated to. The lyrics is either in Malayalam or Sanskrit. Musicians always stand on the left side of the sopana and the singing ceases when the shrine opens. The percussion instruments used are edakka and chengila. There are 24 songs in ‘Geethagovintham’, which is known to be India’s first light music composition. It was Njeralathu Raamapothuvaal who made the most important and notable contribution towards this genre of music. He rebelled against the beliefs, breaking Sopanasangeetham free from the shackles of customary rules and started performing anywhere he liked. This was done with the notion that he ardently believed that the ‘God is omnipresent’. And thus he instituted a version of the Sopaanasangeetham that he sang outside the temple as ‘Bhajanam’ or prayer and popularized it as the 'Janahitha Sopaanam' that is the sopaanam according to the interest of the public, of the masses and the common man. Today, Njeralathu Harigovindan, the sixth son of Njeralath Raamappothuvaal is the only singer of Sopaanasangeetham who adopts this method in Kerala. His brother Njeralath Aanandha Sivaraaman is the only person in Kerala who produces an Idaykka in its real structural and complete form.

Related Topics

Music
Pancharimelam
Pandimelam
Thayambakam
Panchavadyam

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