Wishing you all a Happy Sankranti (Pongal). Many Iyers and Iyengars who were working with Thanjavur Palace were flourished and patronised by Maratha Kings and Princes.

Kapaleshwara temple on the evening of Pongal. #Boomerang

Posted on 15/1/2020

Photo duration: 1960s

Photo description: My great grandfather, H.H Prince Pratapa simha Rajah Bhosle with his grand childrens. Seated next to H.H on left is Ram Patankar kaka Raje from Kolhapur, he owns the famous ‘Hotel Tourist’, which is told to be one of the oldest hotel in Kolhapur; seated on right is Vijay sinh Maloji Raje Bhosle from Pune; beside him on right is Shree Sambhaji Kaka Raje, my father’s own younger brother; behind standing is my atya Raje, Saveeta Amar sinh Raje Deshmukh from Amravati., B.Com, M.Com, L.L.B, LLM etc is her graduation; Standing behind Ram Patankar Kaka Raje is Veerandra Kaka Raje, my father’s own younger brother; next to him, i.e behind my great grandfather, a man standing is Krishna Iyengar. He was the P.A and accountant of my great grandfather. He was gifted lands from my great grandfather’s share for his work and sincerity.Many Iyers and Iyengars who were working with Thanjavur palace were flourished and patronised by Maratha Kings and Princes.

Posted on 16/1/2020

Facebook screenshot.

There are some set of people- because of their ill-treatment or Discrimation towards others, we consider or think that their whole caste or race is casteist or racist.

In today’s generation, people or youngsters are not aware or don’t know anything about their past history, roots or lineage. Only few are left who are still grateful for the patronage, their ancestors or community has been benefited from erstwhile Kings or Noble sardars.

In 21st century, some so called intelligents or politicians who had come to fame by licking their leader’s feet, ask for proof to prove Royal’s identity. But such so called intellects or politicians may not have any proofs of who their forefathers were nor anything about their lineage.

Even Mahatma Gandhi- who is called the father of our nation, didn’t asked for proof from any royals to confirm their identity because he knewed the history and lineage of royal families of India nor he compared himself to any eminent King.

In today’s time period, where majority are a ‘tree without roots’ – there are also few people left who are very grateful for the history or patronage that are associated with/for/to their community or caste from erstwhile Kings or patrons. Even we are grateful to them for not forgetting the past and for the bond they have with us 🙏🙏.

No one can be compared to our god on this earth. He is one and only. Paid or intentionally motivated writers should have adequate knowledge and sense before comparing Shivaray to someone in this world.

Jai Bhavani, Jai Shivaray, Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ki Jai.

My blog turns 3 on the auspicious day of Makar Sankranti (14/1/2020) 🥰🤩😊☺️

Wishing you all a happy Makar Sankranti (Pongal).

Today is the three anniversary of my WordPress blog and 97 articles has been posted so far.

Last year on its second anniversary, i took a resolution that i will reach 100 posts before its third anniversary. But unfortunately target missed and i was too close to reach a century.

Writing is an art. A writer has to expand his/her network, travel, talk and interact with people of different backgrounds, participate, explore, come out of his/her comfort zone to get ideas or content on the subject that he/she wanted or is suppose to write.

Early morning exercises like running, walking etc is enough for improving your skills for writing.It helps to generate your creativity and innovative ideas. Good writers can change the odds in the society. Encourage writing, that can benefit our society and an individual. Ignore and do not encourage or motivate writings that are negative, spreading hatred or criticizing/mocking someone. These are just an entertainment that never last long, it will not benefit others or to the society. Writing informative or your experience is always the best that can educate or benefit others. Do not expect anything in return for sharing your knowledge or experience. You will get what is deserved for you in right time ☺️😊.

May you be blessed with good health,good luck, peace, Joy, happiness and prosperity.

Regards,

Prataprpb.wordpress.com

Do visit my blog, read my articles and post your valuable comment/feedback if any.

Tanjore painting at Chennai international airport. #Mobile_Photography

Panoramic view of renovated Dev Ghar [Marathi word]/pooja room of Sadar Mahal Palace, Thanjavur. This Dev ghar is more than 200 years old.

Padma Shri Narthaki Natraj and Dakshina Vaidyanathan’s bharatanatyam recital at Madras Music Academy.

Posted on 8/1/20

I saw ‘Padma Shri’ Narthaki Nataraj mam’s performance for the first time.

Before I tell about her performance, you have to know about her. She is the disciple of late Guru Kittappa Pillai, a direct descendent of the Tanjore quartet, who were flourished during the Maratha rule in Thanjavur and had composed many songs on Thanjavur Maratha Kings and Brihadeshwara. The house of Kittappa Pillai in Thanjavur west main street was gifted to his ancestor by King Tulaja II.

Narthaki Natraj has received prestigious Sangeet natak Academi award, Padma shri from the Government of India and Kalaimamani award from the Government of Tamilnadu.She is expert in Tanjore style of bharatanatyam dance and also one of the senior most guru/trainer in Chennai for Tanjore style which is told to be the traditional gurukula style.

Yesterday she performed on the compositions of Tanjore quartet, one on Shyama sastri, Ramalinga adigalar, Thayumana swamigal, Arunagirinathar etc. They were all unique compositions. Those soulful music and songs rendered by the orchestra moved me to the tears of joy. By seeing her performance, I got a feeling of how artists performed in front of a King in Darbar or God in temple on those days. She conquered the stage and dazzled everyone with her expressive abhinaya and won loud applause from the audience. Indeed it was her first performance in Madras music academy after receiving the prestigious Padma Shri award from the Rashtrapati. I was elated and overwhelmed with joy after her performance.

Thank you so much for inviting me mam, you rocked 😊☺️.

She even told me that “if my ancestors might not been, this art form might not been developed or seen to this level which we see today”, It is all because of them and their blessings where i am today to this position in my career and profession.

A glimpse from Mangalam. Song: Pooranam, vocalist: KP Nandini sai giridhar👇

Posted on 9/1/20

On 7th Jan 2020 morning at 10 a.m, Dakshina akka performed at the Madras Music Academy. She started her recital with salam daru- on composition of King Serfoji II, which pays homage to Maisasura Mardini.

Thanjavur maratha King Serfoji II wrote that composition for the Devadasis to perform for the goddess Maisasura Mardini.

I use to watch Dakshina akka’s bharatanatyam recitals since 2016. I never missed any of her solo performances in Chennai. I always use to call her the ‘Queen of Abinaya‘ because of her natural and graceful expressions which are wonderfully mobile and eloquent. Every gesture is perfectly timed and legible.

I enjoyed her recital at the Music Academy and it was a treat for the audience. Witnessing her recitals with soulful music and songs, brings great happiness to the rasikas and artists.

This time I have decided to pay tribute to her in a very different and special way. Yess…. I have made a video for her. Posting a photo has become common and i have already posted multiple photos with akka on facebook and instagram. So this time i am posting a video and i dedicate this video to Dakshina akka and Rama aunty who had taken efforts to perform for the compositions on/of my ancestors for the 2019- 20 Margazhi season.

Rama aunty was the conveyor for last year’s Natya Kala Conference and had encouraged artists/scholars to perform or give lecture/presentations on Thanjavur Maratha King’s literary works/compositions.

P.S: The song in the video is on Lord krishna sang by Sudha Raghuraman.

Posted on 11/1/20

I was not able to attend his bharatanatyam recital at Madras Music academy. Atleast I was able to meet him, before he left Chennai.

Meet Praveen Kumar annan, a senior and reputed bharatanatyam dancer from Bangalore. For the past several years, he performs for The Madras Music Academy’s dance festival and also for other renowned sabhas in India for Margazhi and different occasions.

He has also choreographed a thematic bharatanatyam presentation on Pandharpur Vithala and had performed across various places in our country.

They are the gem, who are the reason for spreading the richness of our culture and pride through art to others. It was an honor meeting you anna and thanks for the Hershey’s dark chocolate.

Krishna gana sabha.

His thematic bharatanatyam presentation on Pandharpur Vithala is on 8th February 2020 at Mangalore.

Click the below link to know about him in detail 👇

Know about Praveen Kumar

Relevant Post 👇

Panduranga temple in Thiruvaiyaru and Thanjavur

Well spent Sunday at Music Academy, Chennai

Yesterday from morning till evening, I was at Madras Music Academy for their Margazhi dance festival 2020. Witnessed amazing Bharatanatyam recital of Meera Sreenarayanan chechi. She performed for the composition on Thanjavur Maratha King Pratap Singh. Last year she performed on ‘Danike’ which praises Thanjavur Maratha King Shivaji the second. I missed her performance last year. Yesterday, all her performances received rousing applause, the most appropriate acknowledgement of the wonderful performance.

After her recital it was Anwesha akka’s Bharatanatyam recital.

Anwesha akka after her stunning bharatanatyam performance.

A dream of every artist is to perform at Madras Music academy atleast once in their life time. The hard work, efforts they take to reach their goal cannot be compared to anything or anyone in this universe. Well trained classical dancers have ability to dance continuously for more than one hour in their programs and the stamina and energy that they have for it is really commendable. An artist puts ten times the amount of effort and energy in his/her work or task as compared to a normal or common human being. Imagine who can dance or do their work/task continuously for minimum one hour these days. We get tired and take breaks often after doing something for minimum 20 to 30 minutes.

An artist is been made. He/she is trained vigriously to perform on stage for hours continuously. They undergo continuous practice and diets to achieve sufficient stamina and energy. The process of becoming an artist undergoes many sacrifices (may be for some), vigrious trainings, being punctual to class, disciplined and right attitude towards art and for the classical dance form they practice, being obdient to their teachers etc. There is a saying ‘A strict teacher produces a good number of disciplined and well trained artists’.

Hatsoff and salute to the Gurus and Artists for their struggles, efforts, sacrifices, pains they had gone through and achieved their goals. I would also like to add that many senior classical dancers had gone through surgeries of heel spur/bone, spine, knees etc because of the injuries caused due to regular or frequent practice. Some are advised by the doctors not to practice Bharatanatyam again and also some practice after decades or years, after getting cured. Most of the classical dancers never give up. They try their Best to get back to the form and continue their practice regularly. This shows their devotion, dedication, passion and love towards the classical dance form they practice. We do give up things or tasks that we are not able to do or that harms or injures us. We have to learn from such dedicated and passionate artists that we should never give up things that we are really fond of or passionate about. Difficulties do come, but the fruit which we get after succeeding and crossing such difficult hurdles, will satisfy u and gives a feeling of pride, honor and being top of the world.

I enjoyed padam and tillana alot in Anwesha akka’s Bharatanatyam recital. She started with a Mayura, Alarippu – Kanda chapu, then Varnam – Swamiyai azhaitodi va – ragamalika, Yarukagilum bhayama, Tottu tottu (padam) and Kalinga Narthana (thilana). The audience were stunned and impressed by her performance. ‘She came, she performed, she conquered’.Her performance received a standing ovation from artists and rasikas. She is from Seattle, Washington and a disciple of Urmila Sathyanarayan . My Best wishes for your future and success akka 🙏.

In evening, it was Rama Vaidyanathan aunty’s Bharatanatyam recital. She performed on Lord Murugan. One piece among others that she performed was probably told to be on the composition of Thanjavur Maratha King Shahaji.

Snippet from Rama aunty’s Bharatanatyam performance for the recital that was probably told to be on the composition of Thanjavur maratha King Shahaji.

After her recital, the most awaited moment came. Yes… Non other than meeting Padma shri Narthaki Nataraj mam and Chithra Madhavan mam., historian- whom I admire alot.

Finally….. Met one of the most renowned dancer who has inspired many classical dancers- Padma shri, Kalaimamani Narthaki Nataraj mam.

Inspiring video on Narthaki Nataraj mam.

Thanks to meera chechi and Anwesha akka for inviting me and making this weekend very special.

With Padma shri Datuk Ramli Ibrahim at music academy, Chennai.

Margazhi 2019- Natya Kala Conference

Posted on 28/12/2019

Ancient restored mural of King Tulaja 1 alias Tukkoji at Brihadeshwara temple, Thanjavur.

Click the below link to know about King Tulaja 1 and his accomplishments 👇

http://serfojimemorialhall.com/maharajah-tukkoji.html

Today at Natya Kala Conference, there was a presentation on King Tulaja’s ‘Sangeetha Saramirutam’ – a standard work on the theory and practice of classical Carnatic music. The session started by 9:20 am and ended by 10:30 am. Unfortunately, due to certain circumstances, I reached Krishna Gana Sabha by 10:45 am 😔. Missed the session and I regretted alot for that 😔😌.

I would like to thank Rama Vaidyanathan aunty from the bottom of my heart for arranging this presentation, that was on my ancestor’s work and also to Uma Sathya Narayanan akka and Lakshmi Parthasarthy akka. I believe that they might had been given their full efforts for the justice to the topic they delivered on. There are so many works on classical art and music done by the Thanjavur Maratha Kings. I would appeal scholar artists to do research on those works and bring in out in the form of seminars or presentations in conferences. So that art students, dancers will be aware on those precious works, that might even be beneficial for them and at the same time those works would be alive rather than been forgetted or unknown to the world.

With dancers from Pune. Sucheta Chapekar Tai and group.

I was so happy to meet known artists after a long Gap. Was so happy to meet Jeetendra anna, who does works on compositions of Thanjavur quartet and compositions on Thanjavur Maratha Kings. Recently he had brought out a very rare composition named ‘Danike’ which was on King Shivaji II of Thanjavur via his blog. Met ‘Thanjavur Nrutya Prabhanda’ team, classical dancers from Pune headed by one of my favorite senior bharatanatyam artist Sucheeta Chapekar ji. Yesterday they performed on the compositions of King Serfoji II and Shahaji II for the Natya Kala conference. Unfortunately I too missed that yesterday 😔, but I had already seen that program in Pune 🙂. But such awesome programs/thematic presentations will not be enough though how much ever you watch or witness 🥰.

Was so glad to meet artists from Maharashtra- Sachidanand, hrishikesh, Vrushali, Meera chechi from Kerala who never ever forgets to invite me for her programs since 2016 and Janani srinivasan mam- editor of Sruti magazine, Kali- a very famous dancer from kalashestra, Aravinth, Mohanapriya Annan. I felt lucky that they both (Aravinth, Mohanapriya) recognised this simple soul. I thought they might had forgot me . The saddest thing was, I missed Narthaki Nataraj mam. She is an admirer to many artists. I wish we should meet definitely on the next occasion 🙏.

Long live our King’s work and artistic intelligence.

With Janaki Srinivasan, editor of Sruti magazine and Kali Virabadran, very famous dancer from Kalashestra. He was the contestant in dance Jodi dance 2.0, which gets telecast on Zee Tamil. He belongs to the Fisher community. Very hard working and had gone through lots of struggles in his life. His life and work has inspired many that a short film has been made on him and a book on him has been written.

Posted on 30/12/2019

With Rama Vaidyanathan aunty.

She was the conveyor of this year’s Natya Kala conference. A multifaceted artist, a good administrator, multi talented, was impressed with her managing and leadership skills . There are many things to learn from you aunty. Thank you for inviting me and it is always my pleasure to help you out with the literary or classical works that are related with/to Thanjavur Maratha Kings. Next year looking forward for two sessions i.e talk/presentation that would be associated with the compositions and choreographies of Maratha King Serfoji II and King Shahaji II.

With Col.Madan Mohan sir. He serves as Colonel in Indian army. He is an ardent Rasika of Indian classical art.

click here to see this video on Facebook

A glimpse from ‘Anjasa’ – a bharatanatyam production, showing the beauty of Buddhist monuments.

The Singapore based Apsaras arts dance company headed by Aravinth kumarasamy annan did a bharatanatyam production in the year 2017 on Thanjavur and titled it as “Tanjore – the golden age of Bharatanatyam“. The role of Kamakshi Bai- the last Maratha queen of Thanjavur, was played by dance doyen Lakshmi Vishwanathan ji. I can still remember that performance. The history of Thanjavur was well narrated. The choreography, classical songs (mostly of tanjore quartet) and narration was mind-blowing. This bharatanatyam production on Thanjavur should also be performed in various parts of Maharashtra, India especially in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi etc . That production took us back to the glorious days of Thanjavur under various rulers. The team deserves credit for patients and time they took for understanding and knowing our history and for bringing it out via classical dance form. Hats off to the entire time of Apsaras arts for their innovative productions, dedication and also for their Passion and commitment to the interest they show in our Indian history.

A glimpse from ‘Nokkam’ – a bharatanatyam production by Leela Samson.

Mobile photography.

On the day 5 of Natya Kala Conference.

Happy 98th Birthday to the legendary K.Anbazhagan

Happy 98th Birthday to the legendary K.Anbazhagan.He is the General Secretary of DMK and a close confidant of the DMK founder C. N. Annadurai. These photographs were taken in the year 1990, when the then Maharashtra Chief Minister, Shri Sharad Pawar visited Thanjavur, Tamilnadu. He received Sharad Pawar ji officially to Tamilnadu. They visited our Palace & were accompanied by my grandfather. In the last picture, my grandfather H.H Prince Tulajendra Rajah P. Bhosle addressing in a program where they were invited as chief guest for the birth anniversary celebration of King Serfoji II in Sangeeta Mahal. Prince Tulajendra Rajah P. Bhosle was the then life member in the board of Thanjavur Maharaja Serfoji’s Sarasvati Mahal Library (TMSSML). These photographs are from our archives.

Today is my favourite day

Inspiring book. Well written. From this book I can judge how Siddharth Shirole Dada saheb is optimist in his real day to day life. Dada saheb had shared his personal experience and observations which are very inspiring.

Today Siddharth dada saheb is in a very high commanding position.But before coming to that position… Earlier, he had gone through difficulties, struggles, worst days, pain and agony etc. At a very young age, in 20s, he was under medical treatment for the complication he had related to slipped disc and doctors told it was difficult to get it cured. Dada saheb didn’t lose hope. He challenged it and came out through that complication. If he might been in a negative mindset or a pessimist, it would be very difficult to come out from that complication/health problem. This shows the power of OPTIMISM and being an optimist one can cross the hurdles how difficult it might be.

He had stated in his book that ‘What we become in life is determined by the people that we are mostly surrounded by’. From the above lines itself it is clear that, to lead a successful life we have to keep our surroundings healthy with good people. Our surroundings become healthy when there is positivity and to an individual to become positive, he has to be optimist. In our society, we run behind our enemies or those who harmed us to take revenge. We make problems and issues complicated and end ourselves getting into trouble. In the book Dada saheb had mentioned.. ‘Often conflicts are temporary in nature; with time,the set of circumstances that led to the confict changes,the thought processes of people change.

Instead of focusing on troubles, we have to focus on the solutions that will make us to come out from that trouble.

Our attitude creates our destiny. The output and attention we get is based on how we treat others. In the book Dada saheb has stated that ‘The meaning of karma is in the intention; the intention behind action is what matters. You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction.

Failures, rejections, humiliations etc are part of life in one’s journey. Accept defeats. In the book Dada saheb has mentioned that “Accept that not all battles can be won. If you accept that, you Just might win too.

We need quick success and money. And we too also apply shortcuts.Dada saheb has stated in the book that ‘Always climb step by step in life,one stair at a time. Similarly, if you have to come down, do so one or two steps each time. If you use the lift,it will take you to the top faster,but also get you down equally fast’.

My Best wishes to Dada and my prayers for his well being.

Be optimist, Be positive.

Our Museum has been featured on Sahapedia official Page.

Our Museum ‘Maharajah Serfoji 2 memorial hall museum, sadar mahal palace Thanjavur’ has been featured on Sahapedia official facebook and instagram page. It was one of my most important initiative after taking independent charge as Social media manager of our museum. Thank you so much to Sahapedia team 🙏🙏.

Visit Thanjavur.

Visit our official website, serfojimemorialhall.com

Click the below link to read about our Museum on ‘Museums of India‘ official website 👇

Museums of India

Relevant post

Instagram page.

Facebook page.

Technology has gone so advanced 🤣😂

TECHNOLOGY has gone so advanced. Oops sorry, BRAHMANISM has gone so advanced.

These days tinder app is also been used for finding matches of same caste, race, community and religion 😂🤣. If the tinder founder comes to know about it, he will definitely be holding a poster like Twitter CEO saying ‘Smash Discrimination against Caste, Community, Religion and Race in India’.😅

One request, you may have priorities and its your personal. But do not publicly reveal it or on any social media platforms openly. Those who mention such nonsense doesn’t knew the difference between casteism, racism and discrimination, and most shocking is, they try to justify and prove there is nothing wrong in it. We understand that you are well educated, intellect or may be in higher position in your profession; but what is the use of revealing about your mentality or orthodox soch (thinking) in 21st century on social media platforms, that make others to judge you. Certain things in an individual never change nor they want to change, such like mentality, soch (thinking) etc, so try to hide it rather than revealing or showing it.☺️😊

When you want to explore, you have to leave behind your background, comfort zone or community, religion etc for a short period of time. If you want to explore evolving your caste, religion, background etc, then exploring is not really meant for you.

Photo courtesy: Source cannot be revealed.

Tips to stay fresh and energized throughout the day

Yaahhh….!!! My article got published, circulated among colleagues and was pinned on notice board at my workplace. Thank you to HR team.

Last week there was an activity in my workplace where participants were given a topic and on spot were told to write 500 words in 30 minutes.

I wrote the below article from the knowledge i had on that topic without preferring google.

Do read the article and share your valuable feedback if any ☺️.

We are in the world where we don’t get time to relax or to take rest. Being a professional or employee it is our duty to take care of our health and also to spend some quality time on our health and with our family. We ignore or neglect to go to doctor or clinic for small health issues and in future, the same issue becomes big and causes very serious impact that result in getting admitted in hospital and paying huge bill amounts. There is a proverb ‘Prevention is better than cure‘. We have to take preventive measures before becoming a victim of sickness. When you are in a hygiene and clean environment, you will stay healthy.

Waking up early morning and doing some exercises will help you to stay fresh. Jogging, walking in garden early morning where you can intake fresh and pure form of oxygen while you breathe in, is enough for staying fresh and active throughout the day.

There are some yoga exercises that can help you to keep fit and energetic. ‘Pranayam‘ is very essential for all to maintain good physical and mental health. ‘Pranayam’ is an exercise of breathing. You can do that anywhere and anytime. But doing it early morning is mostly preferable.

According to studies and research, a person who has a routine of sleeping earlier at night and waking up early in morning and maintains his schedules, like having his meals on time, exercising early morning and cycling are considered to stay energetic and active throughout the day. Drinking more water throughout the day has good health benefits, like it helps to maintain blood pressure, flushes body waste etc. So drink more water to stay fit and healthy.

Have positive attitude towards everyone. Being positive plays an important role in everyone’s life. Negativity is a root cause for all your problems and troubles. Avoid from being Negative and stay far from Negativity. There is a saying ‘Being Positive will lead you to a healthy life and lifestyle‘. What may be your situation, try to handle it in a very positive and optimistic manner. Sometimes burden, stress, tension can also makes us sick. The art of tackling such in a very positive manner will helps us to stay far from illness and getting sick.

Avoid energy drinks that has chemical added favors. Do not consume it for keeping yourself energetic or active throughout the day. These added favored chemicals can sometimes ruin your health. If you feel sleepy or inactive while doing your work, take a ten minutes break, go for a walk or chat with your colleagues or drink tea or fresh juice. That will make you to come back on track.

Drinking lemon, pineapple juice daily or coconut water is preferred by doctors to all employees who work for eight hours daily. Drinking lemon juice helps to promote hydration, it supports weight loss, improves skin quality, aids digestion, freshens breath, prevent kidney stones etc.

Drink lemon juice and practice ‘Pranayam’ daily to keep yourself fit and healthy.

Thank you.

Pratap Sinh.