Abhinaya Alankara Divyanama Bhajan

In divyanama bhajans (bhajans that praise the holy names of the gods), a lighted lamp is kept in the middle of the dais and the lead deity is requested to be present in the form of light. Bhagavathars circumambulate the lighted lamp representing the deity singing His praise (deepa pradakshinam). Bhagavathars (sometimes children) appear in costumes of gods, such as Ramar, Murugar or Vinayakar, with suitable props on the stage from time to time. Songs related to the deity present on the stage are then sung. It is mainly done to enthuse the children to listen and watch the bhajans, for them to carry it well into next generations. With Srivanchiyam Ramachandra Bhagavathar’s (a legend in the bhajan circuit) arrival on the scene, MRK divyanama bhajan got a leap with the introduction of alankara abhinayam (dance movements in apt costume) by the specialist bhagavathars for the songs sung. Instead of simple presence of gods in costumes, those who do alankara abhinayam create a theme around which a song is sung with suitable dance movement; for example, a child appears as young Krishna, and another Bhagavathar appears as Yasodha, calling Krishna to cease his naughty acts and come home. The evolution from simple appearance of characters to re-enactment of incidents from the puranas (Holy Scriptures) or stories revolving around saints and gods, such as such as Meerabhai, Purandara das, Kabirdas, Thiruneelakandar, Gora Kumbhar, Pundareekan and Baktha Ramadas, was made possible by his group. This method of simplifying complex philosophical truths reached the devotees successfully. The young and the old alike are drawn to abinaya alankara divyanama bhajan in huge numbers. As the time went on, more innovations found their way into the MRK. In the later years, besides godly characters, interesting day-to-day characters appeared on stage to attract more devotees with their simple divine messages, for example, kudukudupai (soothsaying) and kurisollal (fortune-telling).