Resurrection of the Catholicate Anthem  “Vara Guna Gana” – Reprise

September 12, 2015 - Articles

Poet_C_P_Chandy

The Rebirth of the Golden Days by Dr. Meledath Kurian Thomas

വരഗുണ വാരിധി വാഴുക നെടുനാൾ വൈദിക ദിവ്യ പിതാവേ….
നിതാന്ത വന്ദ്യ പരിശുദ്ധ ശുഭശ്രീ ശ്രേഷ്ഠ പുരോഹിത മൌലി
ധന്ന്യ മഹാശയ ഭുവനത്യാഗി ഉന്നത സുപരിത യോഗീ..
സുവിമല കാതോലിക്കാ പദ പരിശോഭിത ബാവാ…
തെജോ മയജയ ശാലീ ….
വരഗുണ വാരിധി വാഴുക നെടുനാൾ വൈദിക ദിവ്യ പിതാവേ….
നെടുനാൾ നെടുനാൾ നെടുനാൾ ഭുവിസുഖമോടു നെടുനാൾ
വാഴുക ദിവ്യ പിതാവേ…..

varaguna

Dr. Meledath Kurian Thomas

United Arab Emirates: Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church is going to witness an historic event, the resurrection of the Catholicate Anthem of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church which was abandoned for about quarter a century. On 14 September 2015, AD 52 ANTHEM, a team of 14 youngsters from the UAE, will re-launch the Catholicate Anthem which begins as ‘Vara Guna Gana’ in connection with the anniversary of the establishment of the Catholicate in India.

The Catholicate anthem has an interesting story. From 1925 onwards it was a custom to chant a Catholica Mangala Ganam, a sort of poetic citation, during the receptions and public meetings attended by the Catholicos of the East. But it was not with any uniformed format. Mostly, it was just a poetic composition by some local hands in any one of the Syriac or Malayalam tunes. Such compositions never survived beyond one or two functions.

In 1951, C. P. Chandy, later honoured as Sabha Kavi – the poet of the Church –  wrote a Catholica Mangalapatra Ganam by the inspiration and assistance of Rev. Pathamuttom M. C. Kuriakose Remban. It was in the tune of the Syriac liturgical chant “Thurod Sinai” with seven stanzas beginning with “Catholica, Simhasana Vedi…“. It was first used in a great Catholicate public meeting held at Kottayam on 31 Kanni, 1951.

In 1952 Rev. Pathamuttom M. C. Kuriakose Remban published this Catholica Mangalapatra Ganam in his book titled ‘Prasanga Yoga Mitram’. The uprising of the ‘Catholicate Sprit’ in 1950’s among the Malankara Nazranis along with this book popularised this composition and it was used universally in honour of the Catholicate.

Even though this composition was not in a format of an anthem, its popular tune and inspiration of its content made it so accepted that even the common people memorised it. Beyond the description of the greatness of the Catholicate in India, it also carried the personal description of the then Catholicos H. H. Baselios Geevarghese II, like his deep sound, physical characters and pastoral nature. Without considering the logic, it was used as the Catholicate Anthem, even after his demise in 1965 for further a decade.

In October 1975, H. H. Baselios Marthoma Mathews I was enthroned as the Catholicos of the East. He instructed Sabha Kavi Shri. C. P. Chandy, with whom the former composed almost all of the liturgical texts in Malayalam, to write a brief but powerful Catholicate Anthem. In 1976, C. P. Chandy created the beautiful composition of “Vara Guna Gana” in the tune of India’s National Anthem. It was published in the official hand book for the Catholicate Day celebrations, which falls on the 36th day of the Great Lent annually, starting 1977. Its punch, because of the simplicity of its tune with the spirit of patriotism, made it a household fame within no time. It became a custom to chant this Catholicate Anthem whenever the Catholicate flag was hoisted and at the conclusion of public meetings attended by the Catholicos of East.

“Vara Guna Gana” was chanted for more than a decade. The ‘Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act’, an Act of the Indian Parliament which prohibits desecration of or insult to the country’s national symbols, including the National Flag, The Constitution, and the National Anthem. On this context, the Holy Episcopal Synod of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church was forced to think about an alternative. Instead of considering any modifications over the so popular “Vara Guna Gana” to overcome the legal barrier, the Church adopted “Marthoma Simhasanathil…” composed by Shri. Abraham Padinjarathalakkel in 1987 as the “Catholica Mangala Ganam”, initially written as an OVBS song. It became official since 1989.

Even though “Marthoma Simhasanathil…” is a beautiful poem composed elegantly, it had a lot of hindrances that never made it popular.  Apart from its long duration, it is not at all composite to suits the standards of any anthem that raises the pride of the Catholicate. Marthoma Simhasanathil… can be well chanted only by a well trained choir. The chanting of Catholicate Anthem has now become namesake as it is cut short at times and use of varied melodies by different choirs.

Team “AD 52 Anthem” have re-composed the legendary “Vara Guna Gana…” in a new style by retaining its old charm and vigour beyond all legal barriers. The team AD 52 ANTHEM under the leadership of Sam Thomas, a musician who hails from Delhi with a team of 8 Singers will re-launch “Vara Guna Gana…” on 14 September 2015. I am sure this new creation from these fervent youngsters will reach out to ignite the “Spirit of Catholicate” in the Malankara. Let it will bring back the golden days when “Vara Guna Gana…” was chanted at every occasion. This initiative is a tribute to H. H. Catholicos Baselios Marthoma Mathews I, the great and Sabha Kavi C. P. Chandy of blessed memory.

 

Response from a Reader

Dear Sir,

A part of the article titled ‘Resurrection of the Catholicate Anthem “Vara Guna Gana” – Reprise’ by Dr. Meledath Kurian Thomas published in ‘Malankara Orthodox TV reads as follows.

Quote-

In October 1975, H. H. Baselios Marthoma Mathews I was enthroned as the Catholicos of the East. He instructed Sabha Kavi Shri. C. P. Chandy, with whom the former composed almost all of the liturgical texts in Malayalam, to write a brief but powerful Catholicate Anthem. In 1976, C. P. Chandy created the beautiful composition of “Vara Guna Gana” in the tune of India’s National Anthem.

                                                                                                -Unquote

I am writing this to point out a major factual error in the above statement.
The ‘Catholicate Anthem’ or ‘കാതോലിക്ക മംഗളം’ as it was called then, and goes like
“വര ഗുണ ഗണ നിധി വാഴുക നെടുനാള്‍
വൈദിക ദിവ്യ പിതാവേ …
നിദാന്ത വന്ദ്യ പരിശുദ്ധ ശുഭ ശ്രീ
ശ്രേഷ്ഠ പുരോഹിത മൌലീ …… etc.”   was neither written in 1976, nor on the instruction of, H. H. Baselios Marthoma Mathews I,  as Dr. Meledath Kurian Thomas states in his article. He may be right in his statement that it was published in the official hand book for the Catholicate Day celebrations, in 1977.  But the song itself was written at least twelve years before 1977, in 1965. I can state this with conviction for the reason that follows.  It might be right to state that the church accepted it and gave it the official status of ‘Catholicate Anthem’ in 1977 at the time of H.H. Baselios Marthoma Mathews I, but I am not certain about those facts.
I used to attend annual conference of the Orthodox students Movement (the fore runner of the present MGOCSM) even as a high school student. I got first prize for ‘Light Music’ in 1962 (or 63?) at the competitions held at the annual conference conducted at Parumala Seminary and received prize from H.H. Baselios Geevarghese II. It was a memorable day of my life and makes me very happy and proud even at this age and time.  I again attended the annual conference as a ‘Pre University class’ student in 1965. The conference was held at Catholicate College Pathanamthitta. The period was after the era of the notorious court cases, and the church was remaining a united one. These conferences were attended by many bishops who were on the two warring factions before. I cherish the memories of those peaceful days and the experiences at the students’ conferences of the united church, where as a young boy I could meet and speak to many of these bishops who were held in high esteem. I consider myself lucky and blessed to be able to meet and talk to great souls like H.H. Baselios Geevarghese II, H.H. Augen I and H G Pathrose Mar Ostatios.   At the conference held at Catholicate College also I won the first prize for light music (solo). The final day of the conferences were invariably attended by the Catholicose and the prize winners for the various competitions received prizes from the Bava. The conference at Catholicate College was attended by the ‘Sabha Kavi’  C.P. Chandi also. Chandi sir wrote a song to be sung as the last and concluding item of the final day’s programme, which would be attended by the Bava, H.H. Augen I.  Chandi sir wanted me to sing that new song he had written during those days at Catholicate College Pathanamthitta. He gave me the song to sing at the function. It was an easy one, as it was written to the exact tune of our National anthem which everyone was familiar with. And that song was nothing but the “വര ഗുണ ഗണ നിധിവാഴുക നെടുനാള്‍….”.  Though Chandi sir planned it as a solo one, someone made a reasonable suggestion that it would be better  if it were sung by a small group. So ultimately I along with three others sung the song for the first time in a public function held at Catholicate College Pathanamthitta for the annual students’ conference in 1965.  Sorry, I do not remember the names of those who were my co- singers at the function.
Hope the above information would be of interest to you and to correct a factual error in the article.
One obvious drawback of the song was its tune, which was that of the National Anthem. Probably that was one (or sole) reason why it was substituted with the present one written and composed by Mr. P.G. Abraham.  Incidentally that song was sung for the first time by a group (the choir of Palarivattom church) consisting of my sister also.
Best Regards.

Mammen M.Oommen.
Reply from Dr. Kurian Thomas

The response of Mammen M. Oommen to my article, Resurrection of the Catholicate Anthem – “Vara Guna Gana” – Reprise, worth an explanation. There is no factual error in my said article. But I do agree that it lack some information which I never knew.

Regarding the role of Baselius Marthoma Mathews I in the birth of “Vara Guna Gana” as the Catholicate anthem, I stated in my article as … In October 1975, H. H. Baselios Marthoma Mathews I was enthroned as the Catholicos of the East. He instructed Sabha Kavi Shri. C. P. Chandy, with whom the former composed almost all of the liturgical texts in Malayalam, to write a brief but powerful Catholicate Anthem. I never claimed that Holy Father had any creative contribution in its creation as in the case of 1951 Catholica Mangalaganam composed by Sabha Kavi C. P. Chandy. There was a creative contribution of Fr. M. C. Kuriakose Remban in 1951 Catholica Mangalaganam as I mentioned. Hence, an earlier date of composition of “Vara Guna Gana” made no factual error in my article.

It is a fact that Holy Father instructed C. P. Chandy in 1976 to write a powerful Catholicate anthem. Perhaps the later draw Holy Father’s attention to his earlier composition, as you said, “Vara Guna Gana” instead of writing a fresh one. Probably realizing the strength of it, Baselios Marthoma Mathews I accepted it as the Catholicate anthem without any change.

The point is, until 1976, “Vara Guna Gana” was just a song among many composed by C. P. Chandy. Perhaps it was never used again until 1976 after the Pathanamthitta Conference of 1965 you mentioned. “Vara Guna Gana” becomes the Catholicate anthem only in 1977 after the initiative taken by Holy Father. Without his initiative, it would never be the Catholicate anthem. Even if it was written in 1965, the real birth of the Catholicate Anthem took place only in 1976. This itinerary justifies my argument.

I omitted one piece of information in my above stated article. In fact, Sabha Kavi C. P. Chandy wrote a Catholica Mangalaganam for H. H. Baselius Augen I too. But it was seldom used and never accepted officially. It was in the tune Eanono Nuhro. I remember only a few lines of it. They are … Karthavin thiru avatharatal, punyam petta palstheenil, palavattom nivasippan bhagyam, kittiya vandhya mahacharya… That too was with such personal descriptions. The strength of “Vara Guna Gana” lies in its non-personal nature. Acceptance of such a universal anthem instead of a personal Mangalaganam shows the vision of Baselios Marthoma Mathews I, the great. 

Even though there are no factual errors in my article, thanks to Mammen M. Ommen since his response provides an opportunity to make it clearer.        

Dr. Meledath Kurian Thomas

 

Dear Sir,
This has reference to comments by Dr. Meledath Kurian Thomas to the observations I made regarding his article. Dr. Meledath Kurian Thomas insists that there are no ‘factual errors’ in his article.    My observations regarding the article were limited to the part of the article I quotedREGARDING THE ORIGIN of the song, “Vara Guna Gana”, and were only the following.
1.      Sabha Kavi Shri. C. P. Chandy,  DID NOT CREATE THE SONG IN 1976 as stated in the article, BUT HE WROTE IT IN 1965.
2.      It was NOT WRITTEN ON THE INSTRUCTIONS H. H. BASELIOS MARTHOMA MATHEWS I, as stated in the article, but Shri. C. P. Chandy wrote it to be sung as ‘Catholica Mangalam’ on the concluding day of the Students’ conference in 1965, which was to be blessed by H. H. Baselius Augen I by his presence.
If the idea conveyed in the above or in the words I wrote in my first message does not amount to FACTUAL ERRORS in the article, I suppose one could rephrase the sentence choosing some other words to describe the condition, but it will not change the meaning.
 
I have not commented anything on the ‘creative contributions’ of Baselios Marthoma Mathews I, the absence of it, or on any such thing Dr. Meledath Kurian Thomas wrote about.
In Para 4 it is stated that “Vara Guna Gana” was just a song until 1976 after the Pathanamthitta Conference of 1965 and it becomes the Catholicate anthem only in 1977. Dr. Meledath Kurian Thomas’s own words states “In 1976, C. P. Chandy created the beautiful composition of “Vara Guna Gana” .
 
So if 1976 (the year of creation of the song) do not refer to the year of writing the song, but its transformation to “Catholicate Anthem”, then it also conveys the meaning that the transformation of the song to an anthem was accomplished in 1976 by Shri C.P.Chandy.  Everyone knows that that Shri C.P.Chandy could not have transformed “Vara Guna Gana”  or any of his other song to a “Catholicate Anthem”, and it could have been done only by or with the approval of the Head of the church (As Dr. Meledath Kurian Thomas himself states). To cut a long story short, anyone who passed his basic high school English who reads the sentence “In 1976,(the poet)C. P. Chandy created the beautiful composition of “Vara Guna Gana”  understands its meaning as  “C.P.Chandy, (who was a poet) WROTE the song  “Vara Guna Gana” in 1976” , whatever Dr. Meledath Kurian Thomas may say now.
When I wrote my earlier note I have not seen the videos attached with it. The title of the video gives the credit of ‘Project Guidance’ to Dr. M. Kurien Thomas along with another name. The narration in Malayalam of the promo video goes like this:  “……1976 ല്‍ അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്‍റെ കാവ്യ ഭാവനയിലൂടെ സഭയുടെ പാരമ്പര്യവും അതിനെ നയിക്കുന്ന പരിശുദ്ധ പിതാവിന്‍റെ അതിധന്യവും  പരിശുദ്ധമായ സ്ഥാനവും പരിശുദ്ധ കാതോലിക്കാ സ്ഥാപനത്തെയും  പവിത്ര സുന്ദരമായി ചിത്രീകരിച്ചു കൊണ്ട് ഒരു മംഗള ഗാനം രചിക്കുകയുണ്ടായി. …….”
 
ഒരു അര്‍ത്ഥ ശങ്കക്കും ഇടമില്ലാതെ “1976 ല്‍….രചിക്കുകയുണ്ടായി “  എന്നുതന്നെയാണ് പറഞ്ഞിരിക്കുന്നത്. ഒരു പക്ഷേ എനിക്കു മലയാളവും വശമില്ലെങ്കിലെ അതിന്‍റെ  അര്‍ത്ഥം മറ്റൊരു തരത്തില്‍ മനസ്സിലാക്കേണ്ടതുള്ളൂ. 
 
After the said conference in 1965, I have not kept a track of the song and it was not necessary for me. Church related matters and research on such subjects is not my field of work. And I do not pose any threat to anyone who is involved or specialized in such subjects.
 
If Dr. Meledath Kurian Thomas had gracefully accepted the mistake he made in his article (and in his guidance to the project) at least when someone points it out, and if he had confined his comments only to the last sentence in the first para, which reads
“… I do agree that it lack some information which I never knew.” 
And also to the second para
“It is a fact ………etc …. without any change.” ,     then I would not have written this note. He chose to insist in vain that there are no mistakes in whatever he wrote and tried to justify it with arguments which are unconvincing to anyone who understands simple English (or Malayalam).
 
I have been reading various articles written by Dr Kurien Thomas. Coming from someone who is supposed to be an expert, I have been trusting his various statements and findings on the church history and related matters as authentic, without an iota of doubt. After my personal experience and noticing his reluctance in admitting his mistakes, I have realized that such things coming from him should only be taken with a pinch of salt.  
 
When I wrote my fist note I was not aware that it would be appearing on the pages of ‘Malankara Orthodox.tv’ as a comment. But now I do hope that this note will be finding a place along with the article, and will not be suppressed.  
Best Regards.

Mammen M.Oommen