AlberthaPickard at 07:54, 12 March 2026

2026-03-12T07:54:33Z

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{{Short description|Tamil poet and Carnatic music composer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2020}}
{{refimprove|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Gopalakrishna Bharati
| native_name = கோபாலகிருஷ்ண பாரதி
| birth_date = 1811
| birth_place = Narimanam, Tamil Nadu, India
| death_date = 1881
| occupation = {{hlist|[[Composer]]|[[Poet]]}}
| notable_works = ''Nandanar Charitram'',<br> ''Sabhapatikku Veru Daivam''
| known_for = Composing devotional Tamil kritis
}}
'''Gopalakrishna Bharathi''' ({{langx|ta|கோபாலகிருஷ்ண பாரதி}}) (1811–1881) was a Tamil poet and a composer of [[Carnatic music]]. He composed the ''Kathakalakshepam'' ({{langx|ta|கதாகாலக்ஷேபம் }}) Nandanar Charitram, two other works in this genre, and many independent ''kritis''.

Bharathi was a contemporary of [[Thyagaraja]] whom he is said to have met, and who asked him whether he had composed anything in the ''raga [[Abhogi|Ābhōgi]].'' Bharathi composed overnight one of his most popular ''kritis'' in ''Rupaka Tala, Sabhapatikku Veru''. The great Tamil literary figure, [[U. V. Swaminatha Iyer]] wrote two sources for Bhaarati's life: a biography of the composer and his own autobiography, which contains references to Bharathi, who was his ''guru'' in music.

An annual music festival dedicated to the composer Gopalakrishna Bharathi is held every year at the Vallalar–Medha Dakshinamurthy Temple in Mayiladuthurai, featuring performances of his compositions.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |title=When Mayiladuthurai resonates with songs |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/music/when-mayiladuthurai-resonates-with-songs/article66653208.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323133509/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/music/when-mayiladuthurai-resonates-with-songs/article66653208.ece |archive-date=2023-03-23 |access-date=2026-03-12 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news |title=Remembering Gopalakrishna Bharathi |url=http://thehindu.com/entertainment/music/remembering-gopalakrishna-bharathi/article65077526.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224005735/thehindu.com/entertainment/music/remembering-gopalakrishna-bharathi/article65077526.ece |archive-date=2022-02-24 |access-date=2026-03-12 |language=en}}</ref>

==Early life==

Gopalakrishna Bharathi was born at Narimanam, near [[Nagapattinam]]. He spent his early days in [[Mudikondan]], near [[Thiruvarur]]. A few years later he moved to [[Anandathandavapuram]] village, near Mayavaram alos know as [[Mayiladuthurai]] where he lived almost his entire life.<ref name=":0" /> His father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all [[veena]] exponents and scholars in Sanskrit. After losing his parents at an early age, he worked as a cook in a temple. He then met Govinda Yati, who taught him Hindu scripture, and then the musician Ramdas, who taught him Hindustani music. Gopalakrishna started his professional career after finding a patron named Annu Iyer.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Mahabharati |first=Sangit |encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopaedia of the Music of India, Vol. 1 |title=Gopālakriṣhṇa Bhārati |year=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New Delhi |isbn=978-0-19-565098-3 |editor=Late Pandit Nikhil Ghosh |page=375}}</ref>

==Compositions==

Gopalakrishna Bharathi composed several ''[[Kriti (music)|kritis]]'' on the principles of ''advaita''. Gopalakrishna Bharathi's ''kritis'', portraying several musical facades, were extremely well received by the public and were sung in a number of concerts during his lifetime. This prompted several musicians to approach Gopalakrishna Bharathi. The musicians would express his vision for a new kirtana and Bharathi would always oblige and compose a song to fit the musician's requirement.<ref name=":0" />

The [[Nandanar]] Caritram is a ''Kathakalakshepam'', a genre of religious story-telling with music that was popular in Tamil Nadu in the 19th and early 20th centuries before the advent of film, especially the [[Sound film|talkies]]. ''[[Nandanar]] Caritiram'' was based on the story of a ''paraiyAr'' (''dalit'' or 'untouchable'), [[Nandanar]] known also as Tirunallaipovar Nayanar. A great devotee of [[Shiva|Siva]], he yearned to visit Chidambaram the greatest of Siva temples. He greatly feared that caste prejudice would prevent him from entering the temple, but his devotion overcame this obstacle, and he obtained his desire, becoming physically merged with Siva in a blaze of light. Bharati's version of ''[[Nandanar]] Carittiram'' is a masterly development of the story narrated in Sekkizhar's ''Periya Puranam''. He included many forms of Tamil regional music and is praised for his ability to capture dialect and popular expression. The eminent Tamil literary scholar, Meenakshisundaram Pillai, however, criticised him for deviating from historical facts of the story, and for grammatical lapses.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |title=R. Suryaprakash sings paeans to Gopalakrishna Bharathi with an evocative song line up |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/music/r-suryaprakash-sings-paeans-to-gopalakrishna-bharathi-with-an-evocative-song-line-up/article67070915.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230715034136/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/music/r-suryaprakash-sings-paeans-to-gopalakrishna-bharathi-with-an-evocative-song-line-up/article67070915.ece |archive-date=2023-07-15 |access-date=2026-03-12 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

Gopalakrishna Bharati used the ''[[Mudra (music)|mudra]]'' (signature) ''Gopalakrishna'' in his compositions. These include famous [[Kriti (music)|Kriti]]s like ''Varugalamo'' (''raga manji''), ''Varuvaro'' (''sama'') and ''Enneramum'' (''raga [[Devagandhari#In Carnatic music|Devagandhari]]'').

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
|+
! ''Composition'' !! ''[[Raga]]'' !! ''[[Tala (music)|Tala]]'' !! ''Type'' !! ''Language'' !! Notes !! ''Audio Links''
|-
| ''eppo varuvAro'' || ''[[Jaunpuri (raga)|Jonpuri]]'' || ''[[Adi tala|Adi]]'' || ''[[Kriti (music)|Kriti]]'' || ''[[Tamil language|Tamil]]'' || || ''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH_PpWONQ20/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/AH_PpWONQ20 |archive-date=2021-12-19 |url-status=live|title=eppo varuvAro - Snehakottai Hari & Party}}{{cbignore}}</ref>''
|-
| ''guruvaruLum tiruvaruLum'' || ''[[Abhogi]]'' || ''[[Khanda Chapu]]'' || ''[[Kriti (musical composition)|Kriti]]'' || ''[[Tamil language|Tamil]]'' || '' Though listed as a composition of Bharati, this is commonly attributed [[Gowri Shankara Stapathi]].''|| ''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duGRZss9dPw/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202141304/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duGRZss9dPw |archive-date=2017-02-02 |url-status=dead|title=guruvaruLum tiruvaruLum - Nityasree Mahadevan}}</ref>''
|-
| ''sabhApatikku vEru deivam samAnamAgumA'' || ''[[Abhogi]]'' || ''[[Rupaka]]'' || ''[[Kriti (musical composition)|Kriti]]'' || ''[[Tamil language|Tamil]]'' || ||
<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsJHszN41A0/|title=sabhApatikku vEre daivam samAnamAgumA - MS Subbulakshmi}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhrHjd-UwSE/|title=sabhApatikku vEre daivam samAnamAgumA - OS Thyagarajan}}</ref>
|-
|''Innamum sandeha padalamo'' || ''[[Keeravani]]'' || ''[[Misrachapu]]'' || ''[[Kriti (musical composition)|Kriti]]'' || ''[[Tamil language|Tamil]]'' || ||
|-
|Tha Thai Endraduvar
|[[Sindhu Bhairavi (raga)|Sindu Bhairavi]]
|[[Adi tala|Adi]]
|Kriti
|Tamil
|''Part of the Nandanar Caritram.''
|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGEOV5BCvcA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/UGEOV5BCvcA |archive-date=2021-12-19 |url-status=live| title=Thaa Thai Endraduvar}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
|}

==Performance history==

''Nandan Caritiram'', as performed by Bharathi, proved very popular and he published it in his lifetime. The highly regarded Thanjavur Krishna Bhagavatar, who developed the art of ''kathakalakshepam'' by introducing elements from Marathi performance practice and elements of dance, made it one of his masterpieces. Many adaptations appeared, including stage plays and three film versions. Individual songs of Gopalakrishna Bharathi became popular with Carnatic musicians. Later, Bharata Natyam dancers, including T. [[Balasaraswati]], took up select pieces for interpretation as ''abhinaya''. The album of the film version starring the singer [[Dandapani Desikar|M. M. Dandapani Desikar]] as Nandanar (with music direction by Papanasam Sivan) remains popular.

The story of Nandanar, as Bharati developed it, had considerable resonance with the Nationalist movement in India. Nandanar was an untouchable (''dalit''), and M. K. Gandhi, among others, saw his story as expressing the plight and aspirations of India's ''dalit''s. Others argue that Nandanar, with his burning desire to see [[Shiva]] at [[Chidambaram]], captured the mood and paralleled the aspirations of Indian nationalists yearning for independence from Britain.

==Publication==
Bharati's ''kathakalakshepams'' were so popular in Karaikal that several government officials would sleep at work after spending the whole night listening to his performances. Karaikal was then a French colony and the official Cisse decided to conduct an inquiry into the reason behind the inefficiency of his employees. His investigations led him to conclude that the cause was in fact Bharathi. Curious, he decided to pay a visit personally to one of Bharathi's concerts. Cisse was so impressed by Bharathi's performance that he decided to help him publish his work as a book. This eventually led to the publication of ''Nandanar Charithram'', one of Bharati's most popular works.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/sleeping-employees-a-french-official-the-saga-of-a-tamil-opera/article5490461.ece |title=Sleeping Employees,a French official:The saga of a Tamil opera | location=Chennai, India | work=The Hindu |first=B. |last=Kolappan |date=23 December 2013}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of Carnatic composers]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://carnatica.net/composer/gopalakrishnabharati.htm Carnatica.net]
* Carnatic Music Krithi Audio Archive: http://www.ecse.rpi.edu/Homepages/shivkuma/music/index.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211051428/http://www.ecse.rpi.edu/Homepages/shivkuma/music/index.html |date=11 December 2007 }}
* Carnatic music notation for few Tamil, Telugu, English songs at VK's website: http://www.keylessonline.com/
* Palem Gopalakrishna Carnatic music section with notations for Telugu songs: http://gopalakrishna.palem.in/music.html
* CFugue C++ API for Carnatic Music Programming: http://gopalakrishna.palem.in/CFugue.html
* CarMusTy Carnatic Music Typesetting Environment: http://gopalakrishna.palem.in/CarMusTy.html
* Carnatic music notation page links at Musically Urs's website: https://www.angelfire.com/musicals/musically_urs/notation_link.html

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bharathi, Gopalakrishna}}
[[Category:Carnatic composers]]
[[Category:1810 births]]
[[Category:1896 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Nagapattinam district]]
[[Category:19th-century classical composers]]
[[Category:Musicians from British India]]
[[Category:People from Mayiladuthurai district]]

Gopalakrishna Bharati - Revision history

AlberthaPickard at 07:54, 12 March 2026