#03 (Thyagaraja) The Saint's Early Life Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

The Saint was born
In the family known
For their inborn aesthetic
In the field of music.

Does any mother fish
Teach her kid, born fresh,
How to swim or float?
No, she only guides it

Likewise, his mother did
In acting as his guide.
Thus he learnt every basic
Step in the art of music.

Seeing his musical talent,
One day, his father went
And at the King’s Court
*Chief musician he met.

(*Sonti Venkataramanayya)

At the age of sixteen
He mastered one by one
All the musical lessons
Taught by this musician.

From the age of seventeen,
Though young, he was keen
To compose Telugu music,
In a style called “carnatic.”

His first song in Raga Desikatodi
Came as a surprise to everybody,
And prominently in his house
He inscribed it on the walls.

Thus began his musical career
Dictated by a divine order.
Songs in thousands, he composed,
The most popular ones in the world.