The Anu Vayu Stuti

The Sri Hari Vayu Stuti is one of the most famous stuti or poem composed by Trivikrama Panditacharya.

This beautiful composition is in praise of Madhwacharya.

The Stuti, which has 41 paragraphs, has been composed recognising the three avatras of Hanuma, Bheema and Madhwacharya. It is, therefore, a mantra as well as a stotra. Women are, therefore,  forbidden from reciting it. However, they can recite the Anu Vyau Stuti as well as the Laghu Vayu Stuti.

The Laghu Vayu Stuti is composed by Kalyani Devi, sister of Trivikrama Panditacharya.

There is another Kalyani Devi and she is the sister of Madhwacharya. She too has written a Laghu Vayu Stuti.

Here are the Kannada and Sanskrit lyrics of Anu Vayu Stuti.

ಅಣುವಾಯುಸ್ತುತಿ

ಚಂದ್ರವಿಭೂಷಣ ಚಂದ್ರಪುರೋಗೈಃ
ವಂದ್ಯಪದಾಂಬುರುಹಂ ಪವಮಾನಮ್|
ಆನಂದತೀರ್ಥ ಮಹಾಮುನಿರಾಜಂ ಗೋವಿಂದಭಕ್ತಶಿಖಾಮಣಿಮೀಡೇ        ||೧||

ಪ್ರಾಣಗಣಾಧಿಪತಿಂ ಭುವಿವಾಣೀ
ಪ್ರಾಣಸಮಂ ದಯಯಾ ಹ್ಯವತೀರ್ಣಮ್|
ಆನಂದತೀರ್ಥ ಮಹಾಮುನಿರಾಜಂ ಗೋವಿಂದಭಕ್ತಶಿಖಾಮಣಿಮೀಡೇ        ||೨||

ಶ್ರೀಹನುಮಂತಮನಂತಭುಜಿಷ್ಯಂ
ಲಂಘಿತಸಿಂಧು ಮುದಸ್ತಮಹೀಧ್ರಮ್|
ಆನಂದತೀರ್ಥ ಮಹಾಮುನಿರಾಜಂ ಗೋವಿಂದಭಕ್ತಶಿಖಾಮಣಿಮೀಡೇ        ||೩||

ಭೀಷಣದುಷ್ಟಕುಲಾಂತಕಭೀಮಂ
ಭೀಮಮಭೀತಿದಮಿಷ್ಟಜನಾನಾಮ್|
ಆನಂದತೀರ್ಥ ಮಹಾಮುನಿರಾಜಂ ಗೋವಿಂದಭಕ್ತಶಿಖಾಮಣಿಮೀಡೇ        ||೪||

ಶಾಂತಮನಂತನಿಶಾಂತಸಮಾಹ್ವೇ|
ಶಾಂತಕುಲೇಖಕುಲೇ ಕಿಲ ಜಾತಮ್ |
ಆನಂದತೀರ್ಥ ಮಹಾಮುನಿರಾಜಂ ಗೋವಿಂದಭಕ್ತಶಿಖಾಮಣಿಮೀಡೇ        ||೫||

The Anu Vayu Stuti in Sanskrit.

अणुवायुस्तुति

चंद्रविभूषण चंद्रपुरॊगैः
वंद्यपदांबुरुहं पवमानम्।
आनंदतीर्थ महामुनिराजं गॊविंदभक्तशिखामणिमीडॆ        ॥१॥

प्राणगणाधिपतिं भुविवाणी
प्राणसमं दयया ह्यवतीर्णम्।
आनंदतीर्थ महामुनिराजं गॊविंदभक्तशिखामणिमीडॆ        ॥२॥

श्रीहनुमंतमनंतभुजिष्यं
लंघितसिंधु मुदस्तमहीध्रम्।
आनंदतीर्थ महामुनिराजं गॊविंदभक्तशिखामणिमीडॆ        ॥३॥

भीषणदुष्टकुलांतकभीमं
भीममभीतिदमिष्टजनानाम्।
आनंदतीर्थ महामुनिराजं गॊविंदभक्तशिखामणिमीडॆ        ॥४॥

शांतमनंतनिशांतसमाह्वॆ।
शांतकुलॆखकुलॆ किल जातम् ।
आनंदतीर्थ महामुनिराजं गॊविंदभक्तशिखामणिमीडॆ        ॥५॥

The Anu Vayu Stuti is a short composition-hence the name Anu which in Kannada means small-wherein Vayu and his three incarnations of Hanuma, Bheema and Madhwacharya-are addressed.  

We can see that the second line of  each of the verse has a single or constant refrain or line and this is “AnandatIrtha mahAmunirAjam Govinda bhakta shikhAmaNimIDe”.

Here, Ananda Theertha or Madhwacharya is reckoned to be the King of ascetics and a jewel among the devotees of Govinda or Krishna.

The first verse celebrates the moola roopa of Vayu who is addressed a Pavamana.  

The second verse tell us how Vayu enters the body and becomes Prana Devaru or Mukya Prana. Here Prana means any sensory organ.    

The third verse makes overt and covert references to the Monkey God or Hanuma, the first avatar, who lifted the Sanjeeveni parvata, and played a major role in the Ramayana. There is a reference to Lord Rama (Govinda here is Rama) too whose doota was Hanuman.

The fourth verse is about the magnificent Bheema, the second avatar. Here Govinda refers to Krishna and Veda Vyasa to the one who organised the Vedas.

The fifth verse celebrates Ananda Theertha or Madhwacharya, the third and final avatar. Govinda here means Veda Vyasa whom Madhwacharya saw in Badari. However, Govinda can also mean Rama and Krishna whom Madhwacharya worshipped.

The verse subtly says Madhwacharya took birth to uphold Dwaitha and silence all other wrong doctrines.

The Haridasis of Karnataka

Talk of Women Haridasas or rather Haridasis and the first name that comes to out mind is Helavanakatte Giriamma and  Harapannahalli Bheemavva.

What many tend to forget is that apart from these two Haridasis-yes they should be called so if the men can be called Haridasas-there are a host of others who are credited with more than 7,000 compositions.

A majority of these women writers were Haridasis and Vaggeyakara.

One of the first Haridasi was Galgali Avva who wrote under Ankita Rama. She lived from 1670 to 1760 and her compositions on the Pandavas are unique and distinguish her from others of her ilk.

She had an apt disciple, Bhagamma who was also called Prayagavva.

Harapanahalli Bheemavva (1823-1903) was introduced to Dasa Sahitya by her grandfather who always sang Dasara Padagalu for her. She was given the Ankita Bheemesh Krishna by Narada.

She has many compositions on Hari, Krishna, Prana Devaru. She is famous even today for her Harati Hadagalu.

One of  her best works is on the Dasavathara and it is called Stuthi Mallike. Many of her compositions are on Madhwa philosophy. In one of her compositions, while describing Krishna’s Rasa Leela, she speaks of more than 70 types of saris, including, Uppada, Kornad, Benares, Chanderi and varieties of Paithani.

Yadugiriamma (1828-1908) was another Vaishnava poetess. Her collection of songs was brought out in 2003 under the title. “Yadugiriammanavara Krutigalu”.

She was a versatile writer and she knew Sanskrit apart from Kannada, Telugu and Tamil. She visited several pilgrim places and wrote about them. Her compositions on  Melkote, Tirupati, Srirangam are evocative. She gives us a visual description of  the various festivals of the Srirangam temple and Ranganatha.

She was a master of composition and this is shown when she gives the gist of the Ramayana in 100 stanzas of two lines each. This is the Ramayana Mangalam. It is a composition in 55 stanzas and it is classified as one of her 52 dheerga kritis or long compositions.

Yadugiriamma’s compositions are similar to the Neeraattam pasurams that we see in the Divya Prabandham. Her compositions on Andal are superb.

Yadaugiriamma’s Ankita was Venkata or Venkatakrishna.

Another outstanding poetess is Nanjangud Thirumalamba (1889-1982). She was married, as was the custom during those times, at the age of 10 and was widowed at the age of 14. She then educated herself and learnt to read and write Kannada, Telugu and Tamil all by herself.

A doughty woman, she began a journal in 1916. She published 28 books in 20 years. One of her stories became controversial. Here, the housewife reforms her philandering husband, who apologises to her. This story incensed Masti Venkatesha Iyengar who objected to the idea of a husband apologising to his wife. He then wrote an essay criticising Thriumalamba’s story and this can be seen in  Vimarse, Volume IV, a collection of Masti’s critical writings.

Masti’s trenchant criticism led to Thirumalamba being ostracised by the literary world until the late 1970s. Thirumalamba died in 1982 at the ripe age of 93.

Helavanakatte Giriyamma (1691-1725) is perhaps the most famous among all of the Haridasa poetess of Karnataka. She was born in Ranebennur. Her Ankitha was Helavanakatte Ranga.

Her Udhalikana Kathe has 448 charanas and Chandrahasana Kathe has 355 charanas. The Kannada Adhyayana Aamsthe (Institute of Kannada Studies, University of Mysore) has published a book on her called “Helevankatte Giriammana Hadagalu in 1987. It was edited by T. K. Indubaayi.

Udupi Yashodamma was popularly known as Bhajane Yashodamma as she was regularly performing bhajans in temples n and around Udupi for four decades. She was a well-known Harikatha, bhajan and harmonium artiste.

There are several other women poetess or Haridasis. Some of them include, Turadagi Timmamma (Her ankita was Hoohoor Esha), Orevaayi Lakshmidevamma who wrote under the pen name  Narasimhavithala, Tulasabai who was also called sunadarabai and her Ankita was Shreevenkatesh.

Other Haridasis are: Nadigara Shantibai (Her pen name was  Shanti), Radhabai (Venkatavitala Raghavendra), Sarasabai ( Ramavallabhavittala), Namagiriyamma (Guru Prasanna Venkata Vittala), Rangamma (Balakrishna), Gundamma ( Rukmaneeshavittala), Amabai (Gopalakrishna Vittala)

Kalasada Sundaramma (Kalimardana Krishna), Nidaguruki Jeevubai (1897-1983- Kamalanabhavithala), Venkatasubbamma ( Venkatasubbi), Kalasada Sundaramma (Mookambike), Chechamma (Sheshakka) Maruti Odeya, Kamalabai  (Gurujayesha Vittala), Saraswati Bai (Sri Srinivasa), Saraswati Raajawade ( Giribale), Padmavati Kolara (Krishnaveni), Sarpaadi Ganagamma (Ganagajanaka), Rukmini Bai Rotti (Rukminikrishna), Maniyamma (Venugopala), Doddi Sudhabai (Kapila), Lakshmibai Badasheshi (Koppara Narasimha), Shanatabai Maski (Venkatavittala), Lakshmibai Bannigola (Lakumipriya), Chandoobai (Giri Venkatesh).

Many of these poetess wrote about common things of life just as Purandara Dasa did. All of them were devotees of  Hari and their compositions are as evergreen today as they were when composed. 

The story of human pyramids and Govindas

It was initially a stronghold of men and it was classified as among the most dangerous sports. Falls were frequent and breaking bones, bleeding injuries, damaged skulls and fractures were as frequent as they could be. Yet, this sport never lost its popularity.

On the other hand, the advent of television, Internet and mass media gave a new meaning and thrust to the sport and today it is no longer confined to one city of the country but is popular among the masses all over.

This is one sport where everybody is an equal Servant and masters and today middle aged men, youth and even children join hands to celebrate the sport and the prize money now runs into lakhs and sometime even on crores.

Politicians, cricket players, sports persons, film actors and even academicians play the sport for the sheer thrill it gives and the adrenaline its sets flowing.

The sport virtually brings life to a standstill. No wonder it has gained national and international recognition and today, legislators are debating whether to officially accord sport tag to the event so that participants can take benefits that are given to persons participating in other sports such as cricket, hockey and football.

This is the spectacular Dahi Handi of Mumbai. Dahi Handi means forming a human chain or a pyramid and breaking a matka or pot and it is closely associated with the legend of Lord Krishna and his childhood prank of stealing butter and ghee from pots tied high up in kitchens of people.

The sport is generally played out on Krishnaastami or Gokulastami and it virtually brings life in Mumbai to a grinding halt. People of all ages, caste, community and even foreigners enthusiastically take part in the sport.

Make no mistake. It is a dangerous sport as the pots are tied and hung several hundred feet high above the ground or roads. People form human pyramids, clambering one upon the other and the smallest and less weight of them stands on top and breaks the pot to a roar from the crowd gathered.

Falls are frequent and injuries common to Govindas. People who are part of the human chain are called Govindas and this year 99 Govindas were injured across Mumbai.        

The Govindas clamber upon each other even as the crowds yell Ala Re Ala, Govinda Ala. Some in the crowds throw water on the Govindas so as to make climbing more difficult.

This year, actor Shahrukh Khan was seen at the dahi handi organised by MNS MLA Ram Kadam in Ghatkopar.
A cash reward of Rs 50 lakh had been announced for Govinda mandal which manages to break the pot by forming a nine-layer pyramid.
Ddahi handis with lucrative cash prizes are common in Thane and one of the most prominent is the one organised by Sangharsh Mandal of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Jitendra Awhad who has annopubnced a prize of Rs. 1.11 crores. Another NCP leader Sachin Ahir’s NGO Dahi Handi in Jambooree Maidan at Worli has a prize money close to Rs 1 crore. He is also the Maharashtar Minister of Housing.
Shiv Sena leader from Sion, Ajay Dadgujar, has announced a prize money of Rs1 crore for the Handi in the Bandra Kurla Complex.
The BJP this year distributed masks and T-shirts bearing the image of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, to 30,000 Govinda teams, apparently to project him as the party's prime ministerial candidate.
Women Govindas too are now taking to this sport and they too have their own teams. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s Kishor Shinde organised an all-girls' dahi handi for the third consecutive year in Kothrud. There are a lot of mahila govindas in Navi Mumbai who have come to the forefront to participate in breaking of the pots. And this not only includes adults, but also small girls in the age group of seven to 12.

Organisers of the Suvarnayug Mandal decided to donate Rs1 lakh to the family of martyr Kundalik Mane, one of the five soldiers of the Indian Army, killed by the Pakistani troops in Poonch recently.
Though Dahi Handi is popular across Maharashtra, it is in Mumbai and Thane that the celebrations are considered to be special. At the latest count, there were more than 500 mandals from these two areas participating in the sport.
The Dahi Handis are attracting political attention. The Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar distributed insurance policies to around 350 mandals. As many as 30,000 members of dahi handi teams have been given insurance policies with a cover of Rs 1.5 lakh per person.

Two years ago, ten people from Mumbai had visited Spain while five Spaniards had come to city to watch the human pyramid festival and share the experience.

A similar festival in Spain is held annually in Castelle.  A castell (Catalan pronunciation) is a human tower built traditionally in festivals at many locations within Catalonia. At these festivals, several colles castelleres or teams often succeed in building and dismantling a tower's structure. On November 16, 2010, castells were declared by UNESCO to be amongst the Masterpieces of  the oral and intangible heritage of humanity..

The Maharashtra State Tourism Board has invited 250 Spanish castellers and 150 homegrown govindas from Thane for a dahi handi competition at the Gateway.

With politicians jumping bi time into Dahi Handis, legislators and mandals (associations) are demanding inclusion of Dahi Handi in the state sports policy. If so declared, it will help youth get jobs in government and banking sectors under the sports quota.

Incidentally, the Dahi Handi has been covered by the BBC in 2010. The origin of the sport,  Govinda, goes back to the eighteenth century in Girgaum where it was essentially a  religious ceremony. It was started by the community of Pathare Prabhus and slowly it spread to other communities and other areas. The sport has proved so popular that a business management school in Mumbai has prescribed Govinda as a lesson in their training course.