TIRUMALIRUMSOLAIMALAI AZHAGAR KIRTANANGAL by Sengamalavalli. In Tamil. The Royal Printing Works, Madras. 1932. 56 pages.

Priced at six annas, this book was printed at The Royal Printing Works, Mount Road, Madras. On the front cover, the composer Sengamalavalli is described as the “bhaaryaa” (wife) of A.K. Srinivasa Aiyyangar, Tamil lecturer at the Mannargudi Findlay College. In the Preface, she mentions that the fount of inspiration for the songs was the Azhagar festival that she witnessed in its entirety.

A list of 54 songs is given in the Contents — what is interesting is that the songs have been serialised in alphabetical order with the page numbers given alongside. In the following pages, the raga and tala are indicated for each composition, without notation. According to Sriram V in his article in The Hindu (See link below), “Most songs carry a reference to well-known Carnatic compositions for the tune. The remaining songs are accompanied by a basic swara pattern only for the Pallavi.” This is indicated in the Note following the Contents. There is also an Errata with a few entries.

A handy book of Tamil devotional songs.

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