Evangelical Christians, who have been appropriating Hindu religious symbols, practices, traditions and even Hindu Gods in some cases for quite some time are at it again. This time, they have bootlegged ‘Harivarasanam’, a famous lullaby sung for Swami Ayyappan.
‘Harivarasanam’ also known as ‘Hariharatmaja Ashtakam’ is sung every day in Sabarimala temple to put Swami Ayyappan to sleep. The song is not only in popular in Kerala but across south India and wherever Ayyappan devotees are present.
There are many stories about the origin of the song which is written in the style of an ashtapadi (hymn comprising of eight couplets). While Harivarasanam is said to have reached the Sabarimala temple in the 1920s, it was in 1955 that it gained popularity in the voice of Swami Vimochananda (according to the Travancore Devaswom Board).It has been the urakka paattu (lullaby) for the deity since then.
The song is said to have been written by Kambakudi Kulathur Srinivasa Iyer, who is supposed to have submitted it before the deity after the athazha puja. One Swami Vimochananda is said to have first sung it before the deity.
Another story that goes with the song is that it was penned by Konnakathu Janaki Amma over eight decades back, the descendants of whom came forward with a few handwritten notes to prove it. According Janaki Amma’s daughter Balamani Amma, her mother is said to have given the song to to her father Ananthakrishna Iyer, who served at the temple. He is said to have submitted it before the deity in Sabarimala.
The original version of the song is sung only inside of temple during the daily temple closing ceremony. However, the popular version of the song sung by noted singer K.J. Yesudas is from the original and is sung in the keerthanam format. The song was part of the 1975 film Swami Iyappan, composed by Devarajan and voiced by Yesudas.
Now, this song has been appropriated by one Dr. Francis Nampiaparambil, a Malayali Christian pastor in USA (supposedly a well known singer and composer) who has turned it into a song in praise of Jesus.
The song, which was uploaded on YouTube last November, is currently causing a stir on social media.
This is not just a copyright violation but is also seen as an attempt by Christian missionaries to invade the Hindu faith and convert the followers of the native religion to Christianity.
But there is also a twist. While Hindus especially Ayyappan devotees are angry for misappropriating the song, some of the Christians too are angry for the same reason but with a different emotion. Here is what some of the Christians upset with the song had to say:
The song has earned both bouquets and brickbats from a section of the Hindus and Christians. It is said that the presence of the Sabarimala Temple remains a major hurdle for evangelical Christians to convert the Hindus of the region to Christianity and that such appropriation attempts are undertaken to draw the crowd into their religion.