Ayyappan Pattu

Renowned musician Pukazhenthi once said not a single day goes without him listening to the song “Harivarasanam”, a lullaby for lord Ayyappa. A simple devotional song with eight stanzas of 32 lines, believed to be written by a 30-year-old housewife around 100 years ago, it still remains as one of the most beloved devotional songs in Malayalam.

It is believed that lord Ayyappa goes to sleep while listening to the song, which is sung and played when the doors of the Sabarimala shrine close for the night.

Recalling his days as the chief coordinator of Sabarimala, renowned lyricist and former bureaucrat K Jayakumar says it was a transcendental experience for him to listen to the soothing song as cold night descended around Sabarimala.

“As the hill folds are gradually engulfed by the fog, when we step into the dark night listening to the enticing song, an ethereal sensation which might as well be an irrational devotion takes hold of us and keeps us transfixed with its magic,” says Jayakumar.

It is believed that the song was penned by Purakkad Konnakath Janaki Amma in 1923. Janaki Amma was the daughter of Anantha Krishna Iyer, a Velichappadu –the oracle--of Sabarimala in the early 20th century. Singers of bhajans (devotional songs) at Purakkad Shiva Temple brought elements of music to the song for the first time, and later, it was popularized by other bhajan groups who were regular visitors to the Sabarimala.

The Panthalam royal family also agrees with the recent claim made by the family of Janaki Amma over the song lyrics. “It is almost established that Janaki Amma composed the lyrics. It was purely an offering to lord Ayyappa from an ardent devotee,” says Shashikumara Varma of the Panthalam royal family.

For many decades, it was believed that the song’s lyrics were composed by Kumbakudi Kulathur Sreenivasa Iyer but recently, in a book published in 1963 by Jayachandra Book Depot, it has been mentioned that Kulathur Iyer only compiled the song. “There was a dispute as to who wrote the song, Janaki Amma, or Iyer. The book makes it clear that Iyer only compiled it,” says Shashikumara Varma.

It is believed that an ardent devotee who regularly visited the shrine had a habit of singing the song after the athazha puja and since then it has become a ritual to sing the song every night to put Lord Ayyappa to sleep.

When Merryland Subramaniam decidedto produce the movie “Swami Ayyappan” in 1975, his son Karthikeyan, an Ayyappa devotee, suggested including the song in the movie. After the movie song, sung by KJ Yesudas and composed by G Devarajan, became hugely popular, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) authorities announced that the song would be played in the shrine through loudspeakers. Subsequently, the song was recorded again to be played at the shrine.

Renowned music critic Ravi Menon opines that the song, which has an “average lyrical quality” acquired the status of a classic after it was composed in Madhyamavathi raga by music composer Devarajan Master who retained the original version’s rhythm which was in a form of a bhajan. “Definitely, it was the magical touch by Devarajan and Yesudas that made the song a classic,” he says.

“We have no evidence to prove that Janaki Amma composed the lyrics, nor can we find out the period in which it was written. But the song, which has survived for decades, will remain as a classic in Malayalam forever,” he says. “It is not a normal thing. If a song still makes people emotional, even after 50 years of its composition, I think it is because of the legends, Devarajan and Yesudas,” says Jayakumar.

In 2017, TDB’s decision to re-record the song sparked a row, with a trust named after Devarajan registering its protest against the move. TDB president A Padmakumar said the authorities decided to bring out the song afresh to add a word that exists in its original text and to correct a pronunciation error. The word “swamy” figured in every line in the original lyrics and that it might have been omitted for the easiness of rendition when it was brought out in the musical format, he said.

There was a dispute over the ‘pronunciation error’ as well with scholars sharing different opinions on whether the word “Ari Vimardhanam” should be spelled together or separately. Ravi Menon says the dispute was unnecessary as it is almost impossible to sing the words “Ari” and “Vimardhanam” separately.
The song’s old version sung by Yesudas in the 70s was far better than the re-recorded version of the song, says Jayakumar. “It was an unnecessary and unfortunate decision by the authorities to re-record the song. The old song was composed under the supervision of a legendary musician, and we cannot expect the re-recorded version to be of the same quality. Yesudas sang the song in his golden age. It is indisputable that the new song will not match the old one which is etched in the mind of each one of us,” he says.

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