TM Krishna at Gayan Samaj (31st Oct 2010)

While I sit to write this, the smell of TM Krishna’s mellifluous voice is still unsullied. Look at this, my senses seem to be lulled – I smell voice:). Well, just back from Vid. TMK’s concert at Gayan Samaj, what more do you expect from me! This isn’t intended to be a concert review, but is a sincere exposition of what I, as an audience experienced there.

Everyone knows TMK as a man of surprises. One just cannot go and sit in his concert and exclaim, “I guessed TMK would sing this”. The concert opener was one such. “Devadeva kalayami” in mayamalavagowla, the raga often suggested for beginners was handled with “old hands”. What grandeur in rendition! The first brisk krithi in place of the accustomed varnam with a detailed neraval at “Jaatharupa nibhachela” followed by swarakalpana set the concert stage to degree of effervescence. TMK did announce that the concert was dedicated to his Guru Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, so “Deva deva” should have ideally not surprised the audience. The second piece was an atypical composition by Sri Thyagaraja, “Sanaathana paramapaavana ghanaaghana varna kaamadahana” in raga phalamanjari; quite a redolent raga – guess its kharaharapriya’s janyam. Thanks to TMK for introducing such exceptional compositions; every concert becomes a room of learning for upcoming musicians and music students.

A detailed alaapana in Natai trailed. “Jagadaanandakaaraka”  - Thyagaraja’s pancharatna krithi needs no prologue. This was rendered with majesty. Marvelous involvement and an outstanding clarity of diction were exhibited. Surprise element did creep in here too – neraval at “Omkara panjara-kira purahara saroja bhava keshava”.( A sparkling kamach in TMK's style, or SSI’s Kshinamai(mukhari) or Sriranjini(marubalka) was probably what the musical audience looked for.)

Music has come a long way from our learned ancestors. We see a strapping change.  The young artistes have lineage-d the knowledge and skill from our early masters and are seen deploying them with style yet traditionally. If we see the 3 compositions spoken of till now, we will notice that one composition embraced swarakalpana, another - a simple krithi rendition, yet another - alapana and neraval . The various departments of Carnatic system are exhibited with grace and with a difference, each in a separate raga.  

Dikshitar’s “Narasimha aagachcha” in mohanam followed. Crisp clean diction reflected textual understanding, vowel pronunciation, and tonal color. The raga of veera rasa, mohanam was levered with vigor. No show, an undemanding krithi rendition in all its simplicity wedged the audience to their seats.

The main piece began half-way through the concert - an elaborate Natakuranji. After a pancharatna kriti, I was tempted to try a “pattern-find” for the main composition and expected the Navgraha kriti, Budhamaashrayami to commence. Shyamashastry’s “Mayamma nannu brovavamma” was a surprise, extremely pleasant. Natakuranji is a raga which probably goes incomplete if mandara sthayi(lower octave) prayogas are missed out. Krishna demonstrated this aesthetically by reaching down to taggusthayi (taggu = madara = lower octave) nishada and even shadja. What a voice texture!  His voice just listens to his finger movements; as he takes his fingers/hands down, his voice follows like a slave to his command. Can’t imagine the mid-night oil (or should I say early-morning oil :) ) he would have burnt and the energy he would have scalded over the years to master this. The audience were reminded of the masters of the by-gone era for the patient rendition of the vilamba krithi Mayamma. I am tempted to talk about the patterns played-around-with in the kalpanaswara section - the time tested “g3-m1-p-g3-r2-s”, salient use of “m1-g3-r2-s”, natakranji stamp “m1-g3-s-n2-d2-n2-s” or the clever “s-n2-d2-n2-p-d2-n2-s”; sorry (to the non-musical readers) about my indulgence into the technical details, I shall leave it here. But before moving on, the piece was a clear message for the music students on the handling of kampita swaras, exploit of the voice range, and vilamba kriti rendition. 

An impeccable tani by Vid. Shrimushnam Raja Rao and Vid. Ramanujam set in. Sri Raja Rao’s illustrious musical background, his musical voyage speaks for his onstage presence. His scintillating strokes kept the audience seated (there were a few walk-outs during tani, negligible though). His soft and deft strokes were cajoling against the very nature of the instrument. Having performed all over India and the world with leading musicians, he continues to foster his rich heritage and shyli through his numerous students. Vid. G S Ramanujam on ghatam was entertaining and showed his zest and merit while remaining an upa-pakkavadya through the rest of the concert. The masterly duo visually presented the intricacies of laya to the audience consisting of both knowledgeable group and laymen.

 

No filler after this main piece and before the colossal RTP. Expected a thodi, but Shubhapantuvarali was quite welcoming. An intricate aalapana contouring Tarastayi Nishada, shadja with even traces of rishabha(athi-tarastayi) and atimandara stayi sancharams was the pick of the concert. We often get to hear – “it’s the limitation of voice and its range; that’s where an instrument surpasses the vocal instrument.”. Krishna proved this wrong. His sancharams in various octaves looked so much free-of-strain, am still bamboozled.( Should take it up with him sometime over mail if he obliges. )The violin Vid. Sri H.K.Venkatram modestly proclaimed that he needed a 7 or 8 stringed violin to match Krishna’s range. A crisp tanam followed. Pallavi was  a clever-make. It looked custom made for the Bangalore audience “Neere nee kare tare mara sundarana” in chatusra jampa talam(2 aksharam(in 2^nd kala) edupu). His unsophisticated expressions had universality, captured audience of all age groups. The ragamalika section of pallavi revealed an artiste at work, proved that carnatic music is a form that gets structured, chiseled by the musician on stage, a transparent edifice. We heard begada, sri and nalinakanthi in the neraval segment (interesting was the steering-back-to-shubhapanthuvarali part) and a host of different ragams – Kaanada, Hamirkalyani and kapi for swaraprastara. Kapi was outstanding. He exploited the 2 gandharams, 2 daivathas and 2 nishadas of kapi with grace. (Thani thaniya poova thodukaramadri paadi kaamichar). It was precisely a tour de force.

The thukuda section( I understand thukuda is a wrong term, none of our artistes take any composition so light that we can call it a thukuda. anyway….) set in with a beautiful sloka “mounam ganga shasahankam karacharanatale” – a dedication to TMK’s guru SSI. This was set to ragas Aanandabhairavi, sahana , dhanyasi and sindhubhairavi followed by SwathiTirunal Maharaja’s well celebrated Vishvishwar darshan. TMK’s taala jnana is so amazing, he s never seen to tap his lap to keep the calculations unlike some concerts where we see the musician in the center stage vigorously tapping to exhibit the talam (Am not condemnatory, saying TMK is right and the rest are wrong or otherwise; this is just an observation from the concert)

Ka va vaa kanda va vaa in varali was the pre-mangala rendition. It was past 3 hours since Krishna started the concert and the stage looked as if the kutcheri had just begun, there was so much freshness and life in his voice. 

Vid H K Venkatram was never too judgmental or nosey. His rich experience with the instrument never showed up in his attitude but did beautifully screen-up in his playing. His rendition of shubhapanthuvarali was soulful.      

Thanks to Vid. TM Krishna for the brilliant concert.

Concert picks: TMK’s range, his ease of handling daatus(daatu swaras), lucid voice, humorous interludes setting in a homely atmosphere on stage, his warm and witty personality, Sri RajaRao’s speaking mridangam( language is indeed a barrier – I wish to say, avaroda mridhangam pesardhu).

Sanjay Subramaniam at Gayan Samaj (26th oct 2010)

Heaven isn’t different :) I am sure people who attended Vid. Sanjay Subramaniam's concert yesterday at Gayan Samaj would agree with me.

If there is anything called "bliss", "blissful harmony", then it is this!

Do I talk about the soulful madhyamavathi or Sanjay's ever mukhari or the elaborate simhendramadhyamam? Do I talk about his spontaneity in swara prasthara or his creativity in the ragaalapana? His varieties in thanam or the sahitya handling in neraval? Each time I come out of Sanjay's concert, I exclaim that that’s the best ever and so did I yesterday too.

Each piece was unique. Every piece was a master piece.

The concert took off with atta tala varnam, guess that was in kedaragowla. Can’t understand where does he dig deep to get such rare collections. The second piece surprised the crowd. A crisp varali in place of usual natai or hamsadwani, "eti janmamidi". It was crisp and deft yet deep. Varali was followed by a slightly elaborate Marga hindolam."Chalamelara saketharama" – a definite brand for this raga was executed with a detailed alapana and swara kalpana margining the nuances of the raga skillfully. I could hear the crowd murmuring "saramathi" during the alapana of marga hindolam; I would definitely say it was more because of non-expectation of marga hindolam at this juncture, and in this elaborate fashion that even the learned folks were little off-key. Sanjay convoluted on a raga which people don’t even use as a concert filler these days. Kudos Sanjay!

“Bagu meera” in shankarabharanam was lucid and evocative. Shankarabharanam -the old-world charm was handled in its entirety. Mukhari succeeded this. “Shivakama sundari” – I have always associated Mukhari with Sanjay, even after hearing mukhari from several other veterans. No elaborations, no extravaganza, simple krithi rendition; it was out of the world, Sublime!

A detailed madhyamavathi followed this. “Palinchu kamakshi” - What an expansive alapana, a majestic neraval at “kanthamagu peru pondhithivi karunyamoorthivai jagamu kapadina talli” and a vibrant swara prasthara. Madyamavathi was aesthetically rendered, no modern day gimmicks, the traditional raga was given its best due.

Swathi Tirunal’s celebrated krithi in kuntalavarali “Bhogindra shayinam” came next. The Devanagari piece had the needed sahitya shuddhathe(clean pronunciation and rendition).

Next came the main section - RTP in Simhendramadyama . He handled a detailed alaapana, not leaving any bit unturned; Simhendramadhyama raga on its own is quite captivating; Sanjay added to the aesthetics of it giving it his stamp, unexpected brugas, with his head nodding swiftly to match up the pace of his singing. It was a sight to capture, a musical feast to hold on to! Thanam was masterly, reflecting the conventional tanam varieties; Shankha thanam needs a special mention here; Words fall short to explain. By the time he started with Pallavi, in misra chapu the auditorium was completely energized. There was a smell and spell of simhendramadhyama in the ether all around. There was a skillful portrayal of khanda nadai . His manodharma saw no bounds; it seemed as if the notes were dancing to his command. The Pallavi was set to ragamalika. Sahana, mohanam and anandabhairavi were handled briefly; natakuranji, hindolam, kedara, kapi , behag and suruti though gave a swift peek, left an aesthetic presence.
There were few walk-outs during the tani-avarthanam phase, but this no little diluted the pace and the vibrance of tani. Vid Neyveli Venkatesh and Vid Guruprasanna complimented each other gracefully throughout the tani and displayed their mastery over their instruments; Through the reminder of the concert, the layam blended seamlessly with the compositions. There were a plenty of offerings by the violinist Vid Varadarajan in addition to an attentive support to the main artiste. His swara kalpana in madhyamavathi stood apart; manodharma and krithi handling were commendable.

Dasara nindisabeda in Desh and Vishweswar darshankar in sindhubhairavi pleasantly decorated the thukudas section.

Its 15-16 hrs past the concert now and I am still in a state of trance. Sanjay took us through a musical dimension. The audience sat dumbfounded for whole 3 hrs or more.The concert showed remarkable maturity and poise. There was speed when needed, but nothing was compromised for it.
A genuine sensation, a power packed performance , total mastery, a rage of finesse..... Yesterday was a witness to all these!

Experiencing the Navagraha krithis

Cannot thank enough for the wonderful Navagraha krithis’ get-together yesterday at Guru’s place. What a commemoration to the closure of Navaratri! He always has a special and musical way of celebrating occasions.

Thanks to the Musical Guru Dikshitar for making Navagraha homa possible and easy for everyone who is committed to the divine art - MUSIC. It is said that reciting Dikshitar’s 9 compositions on the 9 planets yields the palan(result) of a detailed Navagraha pooja. If I say we experienced, for an hour and half, the direct effect of vibrational energy while singing the navagraha krithis yesterday, it wouldn’t be an overstatement. People who doubt the vibrational medicine should be part of such gatherings to comprehend the experience.

Let me utilize this blog post to heave in details on Navagraha krithis from my other blog (is now obsolete).

Dikshitar was a musical genius. His compositions encompassed every realm of learning - Mythology, Devotion, Divinity, Vedanta, Astrology. In every composition, the lyrics are seen to subtly weave with the talam employed, making it a majestic temple complex. Navagraha krithis are Dikshitar's compositions on 9 planets (grahas). It is believed that "Brihaspathe" in raga "atana" was first of the 9 krithis to be composed. The story(a version known to me, pardon me if there are better and more genuine versions of this narration) behind this great proceed goes like this:

A villager, Thambiappan once suffered from stomach ailment and no Doctor or medicine could come to his help. He approached Sri Mutthuswami Dikshitar, learned man in the neighborhood. On knowing Thambiappan’s ailment, Dikshitar jotted the birth chart of Thambiappan-His horoscope. From the chart, he inferred that Brihaspathi-Jupiter was not in a position much favored and that his ailment could see cure only if the Grahadhipathi of Jupitor, Brihaspathi was pleased. He proposed few rituals to appease Brihaspathi, but a commoner like him would find such rituals difficult to understand and hence to perform.
This enthused Dikshitar to wrap these compound rituals in a package accessible to all. He then composed “Brihaspate” in Atana ragam to propiate the planet Jupiter and prescribed this divine medicine to Thambiappan. As ordained, his ailment was cured in a week. After this incident, Dikshitar composed krithis on all the nine planets.

Salient traits to be observed here are the choice of raga and tala for each krithi. Talas, out of suladhi sapta thalas are carefully chosen to match each planet’s rotary motion. Tala, like the planetary movements, is a measure of time. The astrological periods of time are mapped with the musical intervals - talas.

Sampoorna-bhashanga ragas are chosen for these exceptional krithis. “Sampoorna” ragas musically indicate the complete mastery(independence) of each Grahadhyaksha/Grahadhipathi on that particular planet. The free unfettered movement of the grahas is mirrored by bhashanga ragas which do not get disturbed by shackles of janaka ragas, but freely imbibe anya swaras.
1. Suryamurthe Namosthuthe -Saurashtra Raga, Chaturasra Druva Tala
2. Chandram Bhaja Manasa -Asaveri Raga, Chaturasra Matya Tala
3. Angarakam Ashrayamyaham - Surati Raga, Rupaka Tala
4. Budham Ashrayami - Nattakurunji Raga, Misra Jhampa Tala
5. Brihaspathe Tarapathe -Atana Raga, Tisra Triputa Tala
6. Sri Sukhra Bhagavantham -Paraj Raga, Khanda Atta Tala
7. Divakaratanujam Shanaishcharam -Yadukulakamboji Raga, Chaturasra Eka Tala
8. Smaramyaham Sadarahum -Ramapriya Raga, Rupaka Tala
9. Mahasuram Ketumaham -Shanmukhapriya Raga, Rupaka Tala

Navagraha krithis are known for their musical and lyrical brilliance. (Singing) These compositions shield us with divine power; leave us with an out of world experience. It feels as if everything is still, yet active; asleep yet awake; These masterpieces take us to a trance.

Carnatic maestro Vid. Madurai Mani Iyer yet again proved the gratified essence of these compositions by being an example himself. (http://maduraimani.tripod.com/id11.html)
Our musical ancestors knew and showed that music heals, ages back, and we are still contemplating!

Ref:journal of guruguha gana vidyalaya - Dr.Gauri Kuppuswamy and Dr.M.Hariharan
Wikipage for Navagraha krithis

Carnatic music - Is it only for a few ? - A random thought

People claim that Carnatic music is more popular among the aged population than the trendy ones. They shore up their tirade by quoting that Carnatic music is mostly based on divinity and religion and that says it all. This puts up a question - Can an atheist enjoy Carnatic music? Is Carnatic music meant only for a creamy class of people? Is it meant for the matured and the aged minds alone?

The forefathers of Carnatic music undoubtedly took to the path of Music to realize God. While God realization was the ultimate goal, they enjoyed the trail as much as the destination. Music (singing as an exercise) encompasses Holistic breathing and chakra stabilization - Healthy mind, healthy body and Healthy body, healthy mind. This lit their journey driven by a body, pink in health and a white peaceful mind. Religion and divinity were then the two topics aspected to a good living. Any new venture was then to either embrace or oppose these. The musical ancestors combined the elements of Bhakthi and Music passionately. The initial endeavors paid off well. More people were attracted towards this artistic form. This heralded a new era to the preachers of other dimensions like philosophy, jingoism etc. Capturing the underlying rule, the raga and the bhava, on the whole the medium – MUSIC imprisoned the crowd-following and not the orientation, be it spiritual, patriotic or religion. Music then was taken as a podium to unite people for a single cause. Carnatic music can hence be said to have originated from the spiritual and religious milieu. But it dint stagnate there, it gradually crossed the boundaries.

It’s the strengths that makes Carnatic music, Music oriented and not situation bound.
Simple and expressive, intricate and challenging: The range of melodic and rhythmic ideas that Carnatic music offers can be employed in a simple, appealing way or in a subtle structure as well. Saint Thyagaraja’s early compositions, Divya nama sankeerthanams make easier meal compared to Dikshithar’s Navagraha, Navavarana krithis. While that serves the religious and theist populace, lighter compositions like the javalis, challenging nadais in thillanas and Pallavi(RTP) have the ability to hold tight the younger generation.

Carnatic music thus offers a wide scope to quench the desire for expansion, be it in the lyrical, melodic or the rhythmic direction. Ragas and swaras are bound to no God, no religion. They just belong to the language of music, the religion of music. A phrase with no words absolutely can be remarkably intellectual compared to a composition laden with words.

Why is it then people still associate Music to God and divinity? In my idea, the depth of expression and directness that Carnatic music offers can probably be not compared to anything mortal or easily known. Carnatic music dwells in the soul, lights the inward journey and hands an easy path to converse with the mind.

Bhakthi, divinity, devotion, theism are topics not comfortable for many these days owing to the growing diverse tastes, beliefs and rationales of people. The contemporary ideas could probably make the younger crowd stay away from core Carnatic music and embrace new-fangled music. Let the ideas of philosophy and religion not dilute the traditional art forms. Human life wouldn’t be complete if the aesthetic angle is ignored and the young minds have to be exposed to such beautiful artistic forms early in life. Spirituality and religion can be late comers but not art.

A fitting conclusion to this post would be to recollect Sri TM Krishna's words from one of his Marghazhi utsavam's concert. He said Music is divine, and anything that’s being sung is divine and slopes on Bhakthi, with Bhakthi meaning deep focus on a theme, not necessarily God. And if he sings a composition on love or even just about a stone, its all in the name of BHAKTHI.

PS: Do not mind my bias to this art form. Intention is not to neglect the rest.

Articles published in Whiteline journal(Bombay)

Whiteline journal:

http://issuu.com/sasidharannair/docs/wl_eng-june2010 (pg 43)
http://issuu.com/malayalabhumi/docs/whiteline_journal_may_2010_issue (pg 34)
http://issuu.com/sasidharannair/docs/wl-eng-july (pg 38)
http://issuu.com/premlal/docs/wl-eng-sept_ (pg 40)

Carnatic Ragas

This post shall be updated as and when new ragas are posted on Kamalakeerthana website:

Vagadeeshwari : http://www.kamalakeertana.org/Vaagadeeshwari.php

Reethigowla : http://www.kamalakeertana.org/Reethigowla.php

Shubhapanthuvarali : http://www.kamalakeertana.org/Shubhapanthuvarali.php

Hamsanandi : http://www.kamalakeertana.org/Hamsanandi.php

Gowrimanohari : http://www.kamalakeertana.org/Gowrimanohari.php

Lathangi : http://www.kamalakeertana.org/Lathangi.php

Kamalamanohari : http://www.kamalakeertana.org/Kamalamanohari.php

Kalyanavasantha : http://www.kamalakeertana.org/Kalyana_Vasantha.php

Svanubhava 2010

True to the name Svanubhava, it is indeed an experience.
I missed out on programs of Svanubhava over the last years. Thanks to Sri TMK’s mail on the program and schedule. Big thanks to their use of Technology, they created virtual reality.

A podium where one could see tradition and technology, both together and to their core-Svanubhava. Tradition was preserved in every event... I feel small to talk about the depth of convention and custom, be it in Vidushi N Rajam's performance and her explanation of Carnatic and Hindustani concepts, Shashank’s venugaanam or Malavika’s graceful natyam. Never to forget the “Sriram” duo. There is an inherent tradition - musicians shouldn’t be sent empty handed and this was by and large followed, by rewarding even the school kids who sang some 2 or 3 compositions, as a token of appreciation.

To the technology part now...amazing streaming and buffering. Despite TMK's email, I had missed the first few days of this music fest, "music feast" would be a better expression. This morning (Aug 6th) I tried linking to the program online and faced some problem with streaming...All I had to do was send a mail to TMK and it worked amazingly fast, I do not know if it was a coincidence or he really got it to work after my mail. Then was an issue with buffering and a mail yet again fixed it. TMK and his technology crew are just remarkable. I fall short on words. Do I appreciate music or technology? Each is better than the other. What an event and immense organizing; I just could watch rest of the program since then from office, home from anywhere and everywhere. I could remain connected till the end. My personal take away from the day’s program was more from the last event –“Vid. Sriram Parashuram and Vid. Anooradha Sriram on their Guru Dr. T Viswanathan”. One could see obedience and reverence in the two stalwarts’ eyes when they were talking about their Guru – Towering examples of Guru bhakthi! Just loved Sriram’s elucidation of jaru and kampitha gamaka paddathis. Anooradha’s exhibition of the use of single swaram as sounding different(based on its orientation with the adjacent swara)was one of its only kind.
Few points that reached me deeply were:
-Empowering a composition by adding beauty to the words that make up the musical piece.
-Importance to aesthetics while singing, every line to be sung with grace.
-Knowing the syntax of the language while singing non-tongue compositions
-Importance of learning an instrument for a vocalist - imposing the facets of violin, flute -and other instruments in the vocal instrument
-Singing based on the essence of the kriti and not just on raga...2 songs of same raga would carry different personality depending on their context.
That was quite an invigorating session.

(Added on 7th aug)
It was a feast to see Vid. Soumya and Vid. Nityashree together on stage. The debate session on “Gender bias in music and dance art forms” was thought-provoking with an entertaining moderation by Sri R K Sriramkumar followed by the on-going(3:52 pm now on aug 7th) Varakari Sampradaya by Tukaram Ganapathi Maharaj. The single stage embraced ample of varieties.
Many audiences including me would have thought that there wouldn't be enough time for such many special sessions over a span of 6 days, 9 am – 4 pm each day. The program proved me wrong. I followed only 2 days of the 6-day festival and Svanubhava has been so informative and revealing that I have piled up bits and pieces for later digestion. If one thought Carnatic music and programs of Svanubhava kind are confined only to Chennai, NO, TMK, Bombay Jayashree and their crew streamed music to every house, every part of the world.
I shall not get into deeper musical details of the program for I write about music in almost every other post. I would like to retain this blog post to appreciate the whole team of Svanubhava for such an event. Am sure the once termed “struggling-to-exist” classical art forms will flourish with efforts of this kind. This is an interesting event to prove technology can positively contribute to not just keeping alive of tradition but promote it. As TMK rightly says Svanubhava is not a corporate event with advertisements and banners. Its an event purely driven by passionate people. Using technology rethinking on tradition is the way I would term this!!!

Kudos! Its difficult to wait for a year for similar soul-stirring experience!Special thanks to Sri TMK.

Layers of creative allegories

How could I miss this beautiful composition? I was long acquainted with this piece but overlooked the niceties in it. I have always been a great fan of “Godavari” which should have made a bigger hit than it really did make. 've been waiting to have a similar holiday as in this movie, a perfect blend of nature and divinity, both at their best. The lyrics are unsurpassed. I could understand the framework to a degree on first hearing but a closer understanding (Thanks to amma) sent a sense of excitement thro’ my spine that there could be no different heaven; Never better!

Rama chakkani Seethaki from the telugu movie Godhavari is poignant in my thoughts for the last few weeks. This one is a magical alchemy of the best lyrics and melody.

raama chakkani seetaki aracheta gorinta
inta chakkani chukkaki inkevaru mogudanta

udata veepuna velu vidichina pudami alludu raamude
edama chetanu Sivuni villunu ettina aa raamude
ettagalada seeta jadanu taali katte vaelalo

raama chakkani seetaki

erra jaabili cheyyi gilli raamudaedani adugutunte
choodalaedani pedavi cheppe cheppalaemani kanulu cheppe
nalla poosainadu devudu nallani raghuraamude

raama chakkani seetaki

chukkanadigaa dikkunadigaa chamma gillina choopunadigaa
neeru pongina kanulalona neeti teralae addu niliche
choopukomani manasu telipe manasu maatalu kaadhuga

raama chakkani seetaki arachetha gorinta
inta chakkani chukkaki inkevaru mogudanta
raama chakkani seetaki

The transliteration in English goes as below:(Map the colors to map the translation)

"Prettify Rama’s much-loved Seetha’s palm with mehendi (gorinta). Who else other than Rama could be this star’s companion?"

"Rama is the son by law to Earth (Seetha s the daughter of mother Earth) and he is the one who left his fingerprints on the body of the squirrel giving that tiny animal a divine stature. He hauled up Lord Shiva’s bow in one hand, the left hand. Can this brave man lift Seetha’ plaited hair to knot the mangalsutra(taali) during wedding ritual?"

"All going good, Rama is not to be seen anywhere. The rising moon, (articulated as) red moon asks for Rama, pinching Seetha’s hand. While Seetha’s lips signal that they haven’t see Him, her eyes utter that they can’t reply. Our black hued Rama has become the sanctified black beads(kari mani/ nallapusu) of divine Seetha Devi."

"I asked the stars, I questioned the directions, and I asked the tears that filled the eyes. The tears are themselves acting as barriers preventing them from running down the eyes. My heart is pushing me to express myself, but do I listen to my heart?"

What a masterpiece!!!!!!!!!!!

My heart raced for a brief second. I could almost envisage the twosome wedded in a divine knot.Our composer fast-forwards in time and visualizes complete Ramayana and comes back to get Rama married to Seetha. The episode of the squirrel comes during the edifice of the bridge to reach Lanka. Rama is the super hero. He is praised beyond words, but Seetha Devi is lauded beyond Rama. What a composition!!!

The lyricist(Veturi Sundara Ramamurthy) has brilliantly expressed Seetha’s wariness and her eloquent beauty. Seetha is being painted as an angel in human cloak.->(While Seetha’s lips signal that they haven’t see Him, her eyes utter that they can’t reply. )

The lyrics took me on a musical experience! So light on the ears, yet heavy on heart!
I have been lucky enough to have grown up reading and listening to tales from our epics. But this kind of lyrics never appears custom though they revolve around the same central theme. Layers of creative allegories mark this composition. Phrase it as divinely romantic or romantically divine. I am enjoying it every bit, more with each time I listen!

Revathi Sridharan

A peek into Prahladha Bhakthi Vijaya

Very happy with the response the book "A peek into Prahladha Bhakthi Vijaya" got. What audience numbers! Undeniably I dint expect it, Jan 24th being a lazy Sunday, least I expected was the auditorium to be half full. Though not even half the people I invited turned up, Sri Jayarama Seva Mandali looked packed :)

Mysore Vasudevaachar’s grandson Sangeetha Kalarathna Sri S. Krishna Murthy(S.K.M), Retd. Station Director, AIR, Bangalore graced the ceremony and released the book. What more do I expect? This is a blessing in itself.

“The book though slim in volume is a complete work and gives an uninterrupted import of Saint Thyagaraja’s original play. It encompasses not just the transliteration, but also a simple, yet beautiful narration of Prahladha’s story through the compositions” said Sri S.K.M sharply analyzing the various acts of the play as traded in the book. “The book is an eye-opener for music students to appreciate the context and the background in which these krithis would have taken their form” he opined in the lines of Music Therapist Dr. T.V. Sairam’s foreword. His words of encouragement and direction for the next such work will keep me going. Guru Vid Sri D. V. Nagarajan’s gesture of blessing his student’s work by taking to publisher’s role isn’t something easy or ordinary.

Words fail - the acknowledgment I owe to the many behind this work is mighty. I wish and pray for their continued support- emotional, physical and moral for my next book- not a slim volume, a complete huge one :)

Charukeshi

I had no topic to blog till a friend shared a "Charukeshi" piece sung by Unnikrishnan. I am any day biased to Unni’s renditions, but keeping that aside too it is indeed a beautiful presentation.

Can’t believe one can elaborate on such a raga to this vast extent. Charukeshi, the 26th ragam of “Carnatic Sampoorna melakartha” scheme is a recent import to Hindustani music.
Chatushruthi rishabham, anthara gandharam, shuddha madhyamam, shuddha dhaivatham, kaishiki nishadham frame its scale.
(Aa: S R2 G3 M1 P D1 N2 S ,Av:S N2 D1 P M1 G3 R2 S)
Uttaraanga(first 4 notes S,R,G,M) is Shankarabharana’s import . Madhyama, panchama and Daivatha are accorded dominant notes in Charukeshi.

A ragam which is known to incite emotions of grief and devotion is handled with vigor in the kalpana swara sancharam by Unni. A 35 minute rendition of "Adamodi galadhe" is a brilliant package of the needed Nidhanam in aalapanai, expected vegham in swara kalpana and a clear, placid rendition of the krithi.
The alapanai gliding through the notes gives a sorrow appeal which is the emotion of the Raga. In the krithi section he displays the virtuosity but within the boundary of Thyagaraja’s composed work. Swarakalpana in “Chaduvulanni” is as gleaming as it could be. The final swara hides in it a variety of combinations,tisra sancharams, janti-swara usages,a beautiful korapu and a simple yet powerful mukthaya. The swara sancharam in 3 octaves , reaching daivatha in the higher octave takes us to a musical crescendo and only speaks for Unni’s unswerving dedication .

It’s impossible for such a rendition without mental and emotional commitment. The sophisticated patterns leave behind an unsophisticated expression - soothing to the ears.

One needn't get into the intricacies and technical complications of the theory of the ragam or lyrics. It is true music beyond the precincts of words and technicalities.

Must listen for any mind that craves for true music:
http://www.sangeethamshare.org/manjunath/Carnatic/Audio/032-UnnikrishNan-VOcal-Augusta_GA-2007/

Revathi Sridharan

Music – a background score to academic focus

Foreword

We accept without conjecturing a tad that belting out songs in the shower makes us feel good. Strumming out a few chords, humming a lively song or even karaoke night does give man a certain kick out of life be it to de-stress, feel good or just celebrate a good occasion. Insentience, we have already adapted to music in different surroundings like gyms, spas (I wouldn’t be surprised if music will keep us company in elevators too in little time), public events, poojas and even in our own homes.
Egging on music at all epochs, in all chairs, we still fall short in giving it an academic credit. The music festivals and concerts are fortuitous reminders that music continues to be a way of life, a main stream for a section of people as against the customary consideration of music being a past time, part time or just a background score.

We brag of having an affluent musical ethnicity. We allege that in India, Music as a concept is long recognized and patronized. It’s high time we wake up to realize that while winning a couple of Oscars is a hail mark, the need of the hour is to herald a steadfast model of Music education and evolve a milieu to facilitate music academics and degrees in India (than letting students fly to the far States for a music degree and research - though this fraction is so meager to deserve a mention).

What is holding us back?

The problem is solely one of logistics, priorities, economic necessity, attitude and support. What we emphasize on our broods is a comprehension of a few bar-tested subjects, test-taking skills and a meritorious certificate to place them in a celebrated communal firm. Chase the trend - “the no. of Google hits”. Hearting on our state’s statistics, the number of music colleges in Karnataka in 2009 will print us a figure less than 10(I am austerely referring to the ones that offer a valid degree in music).On the flipside, the state embraces 141 engineering colleges and 33 medical colleges. 20,000 Engineering students per year mark off from Bangalore alone contributing a huge might to the 3-4 lakhs assortment in India. Not a surprise, we have a fine cut of people unwaged consequential to the H1 Visas. One can be “yet another” graduate Engineer running from pillar to post in this spell of recession, but shouldn’t be a Music graduate. Fighting against the odds, wading against the whims of others who try to hold him back and finally making it into a music college would brand him an average kid!

Have an untailored natter with a person working in R&D; he would convince you that he is all set to devise technology. Why Technology? To seek solutions to deal with problems caused by the rapid pace and to cater to a more comfortable living .Call on a student of medicine, he would aspect his medical research to people’s comfort and to keep the populace away from diseases and mental worries. Why is an exception to music? Why can’t music be seen as a quarter of medicine (we are not ignorant of its therapeutic side), as a technology-skill placating people; as something more than just a backdrop score, medium of leisure, a material of fame/name/money. Given an academic status to music, we can possibly anticipate more schools and colleges in this roadway. More parents would be convinced to prop up their wards to take music as main stream .It is our biased mind that accepts only a certain academic tributaries as scholastic and ignores the rest. As a support to our prejudiced minds, no enough schools to nourish the uncared talents, no adequate encouragement from family/society and finally the little lot who choose the path less traveled are branded dull heads.

Our world offers a plentiful and rich reward for traders of Engineering and medicine; there is an equally rich attempt to distinguish other professions from their counterparts. The takings that a Doctor, an Engineer, a Government employee is grossed when offered to a Musician, it would tweet a revolution. Music is a passion for many .But what drives people? More importantly, why? Money and confidence to earn a living. Money bestows buoyancy; self-assurance leads to identity. It’s about making a difference, self-discovery till we breathe last. When music is given a stature of a dependable career, more people will dare a bold step; drive music from passion to profession; make it a way of life; esteem it more than a vocation and venture further into its research.

Way forward

We should begin by vetting it like a standard entrepreneurial undertaking. "Music is not different from any other business” (The knack is to be with the operative world while maintaining the passion). We should first resolve a souk for it, and then we will see the profit from it. From passion to profession, from a hobby to business, from entertainment to research; from a background score to therapy and from mundane possessions to bliss – Music needs to trek this long journey.

To wrap up, I admit a bias in my approach. I have a clear preference for music over other arts; Part of my preference is personal than evaluation. This appeal however stands spot on with all art forms left unattended and not given a deserving status that they naturally demand.

Revathi Sridharan

A Covet to keep-up classicism in Music

Foreword
“Nabhi-Hruth-Khanta-Rasana-naasaadhula-entho-shobhillu-saptaswara” - preached our musical Guru Saint Thyagaraja meaning “Praise/Sing the divine forms of the musical notes which radiate in the navel (“naabhi”), heart (“hruth”), neck (“kanTha”), tongue (“rasana”) and nose (“naasaadhula”) of the human body.” Those were the days when music was regarded divine; when music was considered to descend from mind and heart; music was then meant to be expressed by the soul and fulfilled through the heart. But today we are in the “synth” musical era. Do we call it a breakthrough or disgrace?

Film music model
There used to be a time when songs like Alaipaayude Kanna, Jagadhoddharana were purred by each kid in every house in contrast to the "hale paatre", "kaadal pisaasu", "tale baachkolo bai muchkolo" of these days. Charity begins at home, so does the taste or choice of music. I am not here to attest - Film Music is bad and anything else is good! Songs like Manasa sancharare, Bhagyada lakshmi baramma, Brochevaarevarura have been popularized through films and are a great hit of their times. Many oeuvres that have shown up in movies though not full-core classical, have been extremely soulful, melodious like “naguva nayana madhura mouna”,“Surmayee Ankhiyon Mein”(Sadma),songs featured in “Amruthavarshini” and oodles more. I am just frenzy about the jarring music, contemptible lyrics, tuneless pieces, prose-like libretto, and the synth-music - all that make up most of the movie music this day. This brand of music is swaying now to a degree that we have forgotten the very roots of music – “Classical music”.I sincerely wish the term remains familiar atleast. And when I state “Classical music”, I am referring to the mainstream music rooted in the tradition; not being predisposed to any one kind -South Indian classical (Carnatic), Western classical, Hindustani or Jazz.

New-fangled and synthetic music styles make most of the film music these days and the very concept of music has become so faint under the modern shield that such a transgression from the divine music to the now-music has passed by almost unobserved. Music, to the new generation is what comes in movies. I often see myself spending more time with people explaining how Classical music is different from film music...so to say, Film music has become a yardstick to which other musical forms are matched up to. Ragas are identified not with their names or their association to a familiar kriti but their similarity with a filmi number. Doesn’t it sound similar to "malare mounama" would be the question instead of isn’t this in raga “darbari kanada”. Does a musical piece get qualified only if it finds a place in a movie or is coupled to a video album? It’s a drift these days that film actors compose and sing their own songs. They shall be unconditionally accepted if they are genuinely multitalented .Does it appear so? Do we not just accept them because they are more acknowledged through the media than the less-known commendable musicians?

Music- an art of articulation
The meaning a musical piece attempts to convey is undeniably a personal expression of the composer's artistic intent; Music composing through synthesizers has made composers’ life easy; but does this music emote the expected expressions? The music of these days is more oriented towards celebrity. Anything that captivates the audience is music today – Does this music slope classically? Does it sound lyrically acceptable? Is it soulful? Is it emotionally strapping? Is it technically MUSIC? - Are these areas attended to? Film music need not be all the time classical music. It would be a sweeping statement to say film music should share ideas of language, emotionality, structure and format with concert music. It isn’t quite possible incessantly, for music in films is more context based. My rationale in bringing together the two topics – classical music and films is with a selfish drive; to make use of the charisma of films to popularize classical music under its banner. Classical music is definitely an art which has survived centuries and doesn’t need films to come for its rescue; but there is unquestionably a distinction between just surviving and being widely understood, accepted and acknowledged.

Music and Film industry
These days, watching films has become a passionate chore, so it would be easier to promote and grant a fine exposure to classical music if it can be accommodated in films. It is to be accepted that classical music demands musically tuned minds; let us at the least get a chance to tune the minds. It wouldn’t be as easy a meal to digest as some simple lyrical forms that we see in most movies. But what we need is a means to reach people and educate them what real music is about. Once they get a grab and perceptive, they will start asking for more. Don’t we find searing item numbers in every movie these days? No serious film maker can resist them. Every filmmaker slivers-in an item number, even if doesn’t fit in the flow of the film and this has become a whim in the film industry .When we can situate item numbers well in movies, why do we fail proffering a place for classical numbers? We have seen trends changing over years- musical trends, choreography tones and filmmaking styles. Film music is aired on TV channels and always gets its share of audiences’response. Can’t we make use of this changing trend to introduce classical music in a phased manner? It may take time to get acknowledged though.

Of classical music and musicians
We have had examples of Classical musicians playing excerpts from film music including our violin maestro Kunnakudi Vaidhyanathan. Why not we chase this approach; introduce one classical piece in every film .Thus classical music will be more revealed; Non-film music makers/composers also will get the needed recognition. It is a pity that Classical music artists receive very little appreciation and reward as against their Film counterparts. A playback singer who would have sung 5 songs in films would be more well-known than a classical artiste even after performing hundreds of stage concerts. The classical artists revel in the admiration of the crowd when their concert is on. And once the applause dies down, the curtains are lowered and the reality many classical musicians face is a struggle to make a living. Doesn’t our culture demand us to encourage and reward the worthy deserving Musical talents and help maintain our Classical music, the music of our roots?

Lessons from the past and the way forward
Movie Shankarabharanam led to the revival of Indian classical music in cinemas. The movie opens with the tag-line "Sisurvetti pasurvetti, vetti gana rasam phanihi” meaning Music is enjoyed equally by babies, animals and even snakes. The making of the movie was with an expectation that the audience would appreciate the effort in reaching to them the essence of Indian classical music. The success of this film was paramount that it triggered a sequence of other music-based movies like Thyagayya ,Meghasandesam, aanandabhairavi, sindhu-bhairavi, Saagara Sangamam, Sruthi Layalu, Swarna Kamalam, Swathi Kiranam.
The trend continues. People across ages will accept classical music and such movies even in these days of pop-music provided the movie-makers feature such class-movies without much discontinuity - you don't think about something when you no longer see it.... To top it, if such movies can be cast with public favored hero-ins and heroes, they cannot miss being monster hits; Annamayya featuring Sneha and Nagarjun is a must mention in this context. On repeatedly creating such movies, people with no or little taste of classicism will start appreciating and advocating such ventures. Acceptance is the end product of any repeated act; believing in optimism!

On a concluding note
Many musicians these days can create imperative music. They can create exhilaration and enhance the film sequence. But it is not mere excitement but the soulful stirring that frames true music. Soulful music awakens the heart. Such soulful music cannot be composed by lifeless computers, synthesizers. Good music making is a long-winded struggle that not many can easily master.

We are evolving…But what are we doing in the name of evolution? There's certainly a case for us being more intelligent, but what we're really doing is judging against what our musical ancestors have specialized in. Today’s music is quick music - written with computer skills, composed through synthesizers in contrast to the long-schooled, theory-footed, experience-driven music learnt over years of training. I’ve always reflected any form of art is trickier than we think.

At the end, the truth, of course, is people respond differently to different music. Nobody would cry their tears out listening to a so-called item number. But, when the classical musicians come out calling with a Raga at its depth, whether the emotion they induce is joy or pain, one can be rest assured to not just get a taste of it, but experience the emotions blossoming hundred-fold.

It will do good if this article is read as an ingenuous crave to preserve classicism in Music than a blue murder.

Revathi Sridharan

The unheard ,yet heard

There have been enough forums, discussions, elaborate documentations on the vital aspects of Carnatic music viz raga, shruthi, laya, bhava etc .But nowhere do we see a mention of “silence”. Forget the mention; people don’t even recognize silence as a compelling musical parameter. Some people may even laugh at this whole concept as to what is there to speak about something which is universally measured void of any sound.

Let us see the common connotation and role of silence and later get to musical silence .Silence between words can help the other party to comprehend, appreciate; take a moment to think and reflect. Silence is dangerously contagious and can hush people. Silence at work is appreciated as it gives peace of mind and personal space.
Unforeseen silence (when we expect response from somebody) could be very loud. When there is earsplitting atmosphere, an agreeable pleasing tone might set in the mood of silence. Silence is a mark of respect and is followed in many religious acts and ceremonial customs.

Having said this, can we now call silence as “Absence of sound”? If it is absence of sound, why do we then say silence is loud? Or is silence “Presence of pleasant sound amidst noise”? Dint we just think silence is absence of sound?

So it looks like silence can blend with everything .It can be attributed to music, sound, noise, absence of noise, absence of sound .With music, it becomes a musical parameter; with speech it adds to the meaning (expression), with noise it is pleasing.
This talks about the heterogeneity of silence.

Dr T.V.Sairam, in his Music Therapy training at Nada quotes beautifully that
“The birth of language was preceded by the birth of music; music by sounds emanating through vocal chords and the sounds by – hold your breath – silence. It is the silence, which causes the sound, the music and the music, the language.”

Musical silence helps the artiste to slurp the essence of shruthi emanating from the drone (tambura). The little silence between musical phrases ensures that the shruthi is heard and is followed throughout the singing. Silence between musical passages gives better focus to the musician to come up with more ingenious patterns in the coming phrases .Timed silences form great rhythmic patterns. Silence adds to melody. Take for instance the beautiful jaavali in Behag “nirupamaana saamini naa nilayamunaku rammanave” .A timed silence at the end of this line would mean so much…It gives time to comprehend the beautiful libretto meaning “I invite the purest form of worship to my mind’s abode”. Silent pauses are smart ways to take the audience with our music. We give them time to understand what we sing/play, get them to feel our expression and carry them with our course.

Small silences stir up curiosity in the listener. It keeps the audience awake to our music given the fact that they are unaware of what comes after the pause.

As eternal students of music, we all know that the tambura or what we call the drone instrument aids us with the aadhara shadjam and the panchamam. There are yet other swaras in this group of 12 swaras(am not including the redundant ones like the Shatshruti Rishabham which is Sadharana Gandharam).We would be surprised to know that these swaras are not produced by strumming the tambura ,yet the music we sing/play would/should have all these notes sitting in their appropriate chairs and in case they don’t our music wouldn’t be called “shruthi-bound”. Isn’t this little strange? When we go out of the designated frequencies for the notes “sa” and “pa” it is easily perceived that we are not with shruthi ‘coz we have the reference frequencies emanating from tambura and this is quite understandable too.

Lets get into the details (I know that the subject we are discussing over is silence…I will get back to it in a while…For now, I will go with the flow) .We define shruthi with two variables a and b with b > a (a= shadjamam and b=panchamam)

b/a = 1.5
i.e., panchamam(Pa) is 1.5 times shadjamam(Sa)…Since “Sa” is taken as reference to measure other variables, it is called aadhara shadjamam.When we go with the concept of octaves,”Pa” is between “Sa” and “Sa(hi)”…

“sa” – “pa” – “Sa(hi)” would then be a – 1.5a – 2a.

The variables in between i.e., swaras,”Ri”,”Ga”,”Ma”,”Dha”,”Ni” with their 2-3 variants occupy the space margined by a and 2a.Let these variables be denoted as “x” times a. So far good.
Getting back to our tambura, its strumming produces only the three frequencies “a”,”1.5a” and “2a”;yet the other swaras are to be shruthi bound. How do we comprehend this? While getting introduced to the other swaras, our ear listens and the brain carefully gauges the distance of this particular swara from reference “sa” and places it in the mind table. It’s as effortless as the eyes gauging the distance of the object to pick up from and directing the hand to go for it. Yeah,I am back to our central topic silence. Silent hiatus is good between musical passages to get a hold on the aadhara swarams (sa-pa) and register their frequencies so that the brain gets time to wire the distances to other frequencies (other swaras).

In this modern life, true silence is something we are deprived of. Having spoken enough on silence, I confess that musical silence is the most beautiful form of meditation I have known. As I get my tambura to intone, I enjoy the shruthi - the pleasant silence amidst noise around and within-the clatters in my mind .Even as I stop strumming, she continues to sing sa-pa-sa softly only to my ears saying I am still around you just have to feel me .As I close my eyes to appreciate her more, I see the gift of melody and hear the song of my heart. Silence –the perfect music, the music I can relate to!

As I sit to write this, I can hear silence around me. As the night dawns on me, I hear silence getting louder; I cherish this very moment for I can hear sound which some people think doesn’t exist; I realize that if you want to see something, you can see. If you want to hear something, you can hear. The articulation is all in the mind!

Revathi Sridharan

Lay your sleeping head!!!

If we dig deep the origin of diverse genres of music, we will observe that each of it stalked out from a certain situation. Game music which is the talk of the day is based on this situational music. From the times of Super Mario to the now trend Counterstrike –all use music in interactive settings. Music played in the health spas, poojas, marriages have specific variants to suit the situation and ambience. Daniel J Levitin, the musicologist and author of “This is your brain on Music” quotes that the foremost origin of music dates back to Darwin himself who believed that Music had been the situational mode of communiqué in all human and paleohuman mating rituals.
Situational music makes use of the context of space or event to define characteristics of music and how people relate to it. Some musical works are created to allow contemplation and long periods of sustained listening. A classic exemplar to this simple criterion of situational music is Lullaby. It was originally designed as a composition intended to respite a child. A typical mind’s eye portrayal of the nativity of lullaby genre would be a person holding and swaying a baby, cajoling it in a sweet gentle tone; more of a monotone and mechanical than attention gathering.

Be it the telugu laali paatalu, tamizh thaalatu, kannada jojo haadu, hindi loriyan, the English versions of “Brahms’ Lullaby” all dole out the same rationale.
Ever wondered why lullabies quiet infants to sleep? Their constitution holds the key.
These musical pieces are constructed repetitive in nature. Since they form recurring rhyming patters, the brain will not have to exert much to recognize the sound and assimilate the pattern. The brain tunes to the lullaby track. The brain is convinced on its part that it is aware of what is being played at the milieu and this could probably induce nap since the brain is at rest. It is best proven by playing a song repeatedly, neednt be essentially of lullaby-nature to a child (preferably at bed time). The familiarity to the song affirms the above said logic and puts the baby to sleep.
“lu lu” “la la” “laa li” “jo jo” form the rich text of the lullaby vocabulary, the two syllable sounds which infacts can easily relate to. The use of this kind of music is so demanding that almost every mother across the prefectures would have composed/ learnt at least one lullaby for her child. The intention behind lullabies to lull child to slumber demands soothing gentle ragas, softly paced and are usual sung with many melismas.
Indian lullabies in ragas like Nelambari ,senchuruti have been scientifically proven to have received conditioned response .The swaras in these ragas are structured beautifully with melismatic techniques to induce a hypnotic trance in the listener. So the above said concept of repetitive nature alone doesn’t suffice, but a soothing tune/tone in lullaby is preferred to promote sleep over hard rock and tough beats.
Lullaby has many other benefits to offer too .At the age of infancy the innocent minds cannot capture and appreciate the libretto of the lullaby. But as familiarity breeds, the little minds would seek to get deep into the niceties of the music they are acquainted with. This is where lullaby works as a civilizing interface between the veteran parents and the naive children. One can instill their cultural values, narrate the child traditional stories through lullabies. Also through this simple music genre, sound recognition in children develops well.

At the end of the day, the question still remains unanswered .Though we have happily coined out the term “situational music”-It still remains an unsolved mystery “Did situation define music, or did music transform the situation?