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D evoted to the A dvancem ent of the Science and Art of M usic

Vol. 82 2011

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'I dwell not in Vaikunta, nor in the hearts o f Yogins, not in the Sun; (hut) where my Bhaktas sing, there he I, Narada !"

Narada Bhakti Sutra

E D ITO RPappu Venugopala Rao

THE MUSIC ACADEMY MADRASNew No. 168 (Old No. 306), T.T.K. Road, Chennai 600 014.

Email [email protected] Website www.musicacademymadras.in

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.musicacademymadras.in

Copyright © The Music Academy Madras December 2011

All Correspondence relating to the journal should be addressed and all books, etc., intended for it should be sent in duplicate to the Editor, The Journal of the Music Academy Madras, New 168, T.T.K. Road, Chennai 600 014.

Articles on music and dance are accepted for publication on the recommendation of the Editor. The Editor reserves the right to accept or reject any articles without assigning reasons.

Manuscripts / soft copies should be sent to the editor either by courier or by email to [email protected]

The Editor of the Journal is not responsible for the views expressed by contributors in their articles.

Price Rs. 150/- US $ 12

P ublished b y N . M urali on behalf The M usic A cadem y M adras at N ew N o. 168, TTK Road, R oyapettah, C hennai 600 014. T ypeset by C om puprint, Chennai 600 086 and Printed by N . Subramanian at Sudarsan Graphics O ffset Press, 14, N eelakanta M ehta Street, T. N agar, C hennai 600 014. Editor P appu V enugopala Rao.

oJ IpStatement about ownership and other particulars about newspaper "JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY MADRAS" to be published in the first issue every year after the last day of February

Form IV (See Rule 8)

1. Place of Publication - New No. 168, T.T.K. RoadChennai 600 014

2. Periodicity of its publication3. Printer's Name

Nationality(a) Whether a citizen of India ?(b) If a foreigner, the country of origin, Address

4. Publisher's Name Nationality(a) Whether a citizen of India ?(b) If a foreigner, the country of oirgin Address

- Annual- Mr. N. Subramanian- Indian- Yes- N/A- Sudarsan Graphics Offset Press

14, Neelakanta Mehta StreetT Nagar, Chennai 600 017

- Sri. N. Murali- Indian- Yes- N/A- 260 A, T.T.K. Road, Alwarpet

Chennai 600 0185. Editor's Name - Dr. Pappu Venugopala Rao

Nationality - Indian(a) Whether a citizen of India ? - Yes(b) If a foreigner, the country of origin. - N/AAddress - 2, RR Flats, Anthu Street,

Santhome, Chennai 600 004.6. Names and addresses of individuals

who own the newspaper and partners or shareholders holding more thanone percent of the total capital - The Music Academy Madras

IN. Murali hereby declare that the particulars given above are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.Date: Dec. 15,2011 N. Murali

Signature of the Publisher

^1_______________________________ ____________________________________________ P

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E D IT O R IA L B O A R D

Dr. Pappu V enugopala Rao (Editor)

Sri. N. Murali, President (Ex. Officio)

Dr. M alathi Rangaswami

Dr. Chithra Madhavan

Dr. S.A.K. Durga

Dr. N. Ramanathan

Sri. V. Sriram

Mrs. Sujatha Vijayaraghavan

CONTENT

1. Our Contributors

2. Editor’s Note

3. 84th Annual Conference & Concerts - December 2010

Welcome Address by Sri. N. Murali, President

Inaugural address by Sri. Shiv Nadar

Speech of Bombay Sisters

Welcome address by Sri. N. Murali, President at the Sadas

Speech by Hon’ble Sri. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan

Awardees 2010

Note on Dance Festival

4. Proceedings of the Conference 2010

5. The dhrupad compositional form and the krti-s of Muttusvami Dik$itar - A comparative study

Kanniks Kannikeswaran

6. Music manuscripts and Manavalli Ramakrsna Kavi

V. Premalatha

7. Harikatha in the four States of South India

Premeela Gurumurthi

8. Textual Traditions in Indian Classical Dances

Priyashri V. Rao

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9. Pathantara-s in SrTkrsnalTlatarariginT of Sri Narayana Tlrtha 112

N. Bhairavi

10. Form and Process in the Tani Avartanam: a non-Indian insider’s 118perspective

David Nelson

11. Flute and its playing techniques 133

Mala Chandrasekar

12. Harmony, Myriad Shades of Passion and Religion of Man : A Tagore 147Symphony

Somali Panda

13. Mallari 157

B.M. Sudaram

14. LHTP2§lljl6OT Uni_6D QLDLL©®»OT <9lQJIT @ujrbfl5lujui(2 160Rajkumar Bharathi

15. ^eiisfiluju iSlgujj# 176Uma Maheswari

16. Book Reviews and New Arrivals 182

17. Obituary 188

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THE MUSIC ACADEMY • JOURNAL 2011 • VOLUME 82

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OUR CONTRIBUTORSN. BHAIRAVI is a disciple of Smt. and Sri K.R. Kedaranathan. An Electrical and

Electronics Engineer she later did her Masters degree and M. Phil in Music. She has

recently submitted her doctoral thesis on ‘The Srikrsnalilatarangini of Sri Narayana Tirtha’

to the University of Madras, working under the research fellowship from the UGC. She

is a recipient of the Ministry of Culture ‘Scholarship to young artistes’. She is an A-grade artiste of the All India Radio, Chennai and performs with her sister N. Malavi.

Prof. DAVID P NELSON Artist in Residence, Music Department, Wesleyan University:

2001 -present, has been a student of Carnatic Music under many Gurus such as, Mrudangam:

Sri C.S. Sankarasivam, Sri Ramnad V. Raghavan, Sri T. Ranganathan and Vocal Music:

Sangita Kalanidhi S. Ramanathan, Jon B. Higgins and Sangita Kalanidhi T. Viswanathan.

He did his Ph.D from Wesleyan University in 1991 in Ethnomusicology. He accompanied many well-known artists, including: Sangita Kalanidhi T. Viswanathan, Sangita Kalanidhi

N. Ramani, Sri T.V. Gopalakrishnan, Smt. Ranganayaki Rajagopalan and others.

Prof. KANNIKESWARAN is a musician / composer / music educator based in Cincinnati

Ohio. He has been an Adjunct Faculty at the Composition / Musicology / Theory Division

of the College Conservatory of Music since1994. His presentation titled ‘The nOttu-svara-

sahitya-s of Muttusvami Dlksitar’ won him awards at the 2007 conference of the Music

Academy, Chennai. Kannikeswaran is the first to record the entire set of NOttu-svara-

sahitya-s with Indian voices and western orchestration.

SIKKIL MALA CHANDRASEKHAR is a noted South Indian musician playing the

flute. Mala Chandrasekhar is a disciple of her aunt and mother Sikkil Sisters - Kunjumani

& Neela and combines the strongest aspects of both in her music. She imbibed through

her mothers the flute artistry of their paternal uncle, Azhiyur Narayanaswamy Iyer and the

rigorous rhythmic training given by their mrudangam playing father, Azhiyur Natesa Iyer.

Other major influences on her are the expertise and repertoire of noted vocalist and teacher

Radha Viswanathan and of Radha’s mother and guru, Smt. M.S. Subbulakshmi, whose

family Mala joined by marriage.

Dr. V. PREMALATHA Assistant Professor in the Department of Performing Arts, Sri

Venkateswara University, Tirupati. Study of Music manuscripts has been her main area

of research. She was the recipient of the National Fellowship in Arts - Music (Junior)

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awarded by the Sangeet Natak Akademi (2003-5). She has presented research papers at

various seminars and conferences and some have been published in leading journals. She is now handling a Major Research Project funded by the UGC, surveying and documenting

the Music manuscripts of the Oriental Research Institute, S V University, Tirapati.

Dr. PREMEELA GURUMURTHY is a well known musician and musicologist who took

up Harikatha for her PhD. She is a performing artiste in both camatic vocal and Harikatha

occasionally. Her illustrious gurus were Sri. T.K. Govinda Rao, Sri. B. Rajam Iyer and Sri. T.M. Thyagarajan. She learnt the nuances of Harikatha from Smt. C. Banni Bai and

Sri. Embar S.Vijayaraghavacharya. At present she is both the Professor and Head, of the

Department of Indian Music and the Chairperson of the School of Fine and Performing

Arts, University of Madras.

Dr. PRIYASHRI RAO a Classical Camatic Musician, Bharatanatyam exponent and a

Research Scholar graduated in Bharatanatyam from Kalakshetra Foundation at Chennai

and went on to complete her Ph.D from the Department of Indian Music, University

of Madras. A Nattuvanar, Bharatanatyam dance choreographer and Music Composer,

Priyashri is a recipient of the HRD Ministry scholarship for Bharatanatyam and the Junior

Research Fellowship for pursuing doctoral studies. She is a versatile scholar and an

articulate speaker.

Vidwan RAJKUMAR BHARATHI is the great grandson of the Great Renaissance poet,

Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathi. His mother, Smt. Lalitha Bharathi, initiated Rajkumar

into music at a tender age of 5, later on, the great musician Sri. Valliyur Gurumurthi, the

stalwart Dr. Balamuralikrishna and the musical maestro T.V. Gopalakrishnan, groomed

him. He is an Electronics and telecommunications engineer but turned to music as a full

time career. He has been giving Classical Camatic music concerts all over India and

abroad. He has sung in films too.

Vidushi SOMALI PANDA has an MA in English literature, and a BLIS (Information

Science). She is an officer with the department of Information & Cultural Affairs,

Government of West Bengal. She holds A sangeet visharad (vocal) in Hindustani

Classical Music from Vatkhande Sangeet Vidyapith, Lucknow. She received training

in Rabindrasangeet from the late maestros - Subinoy Roy and Arabindo Biswas. She

is presently working on a project which is an effort to search for the COMPOSER

RABINDRANATH in terms of the world of music itself.O]____ ____________________________________________ ,___________p

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Vidwan BJV1. SUNDARAM, BMS as he is popularly known hails from a family of

musicians. He has authored several books on music, which became popular and put him in

the limelight. His first book ‘Palayazhi ’ deals with 3,600 raga scales with different ‘arOhana’

and ‘avardhana’. Mr. Sundaram’s works are many. He knows many languages. He worked

as music producer and composer at the All India Radio, Pondicherry. A winner of many awards, BMS was conferred with the Musicologist Award from The Music Academy.

Dr. P. UMA MAHESWARI presently Principal, Tamilnadu Govt. Music College, Thiruvaiyaru, hails from a family of musicians. She represented the nation in the Festival

of India at Russia. She has travelled extensively. Her doctoral thesis is ‘Musical aspects of Nalayira Divya Prabandam’. She has sung many albums.

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FROM THE EDITOR

I extend a very warm welcome to our readers to 2011 Journal. As in the last three years, we have the same Editorial Board which consists of a very supportive group of eminent

scholars.

This year we have most articles which have been presented as Lectures or Lecture

Demonstrations in the 2010 Music Season. We found that there is a rich variety and focused research in most of these presentations and therefore wanted to publish them in

the Journal.

Apart from these we have the other usual materials covering the inaugural of the December

Season, the Sadas, speeches delivered by the distinguished dignitaries, Sangita Kalanidhis

of the year, Vidushis Smt. C. Lalitha and C. Saroja, popularly known as the Bombay sisters,

and the President of The Music Academy Sri. N. Murali, the details of the deliberations

of the morning lecture demonstrations, information about the events of the annual dance

festival, book reviews and many more. We had Sri Shiv Nadar of the HCL at the Inaugural

and the Nobel Laureate Sri Venkataraman Ramakrishnan at the Sadas as the Chief Guests.

Their lectures form a part of this journal. Interestingly the Nobel Laureate jotted down a

few points in his hand written note which he elaborated upon in his speech. We thought it

would be of interest to the readers to have his hand written note published. You will find

it in this journal.

The Editorial Board is grateful to all the contributors. The President Sri. N. Murali has

been a constant source of inspiration, so are the other executive committee members.

We acknowledge the cooperation of Smt. Sumithra Vasudev, Ms. Archana and Ms. Aarati

for their help in proof reading, Smt. R. Latha, Research Asst at the Music Academy, who

has been particularly helpful in incorporating the diacritical marks and proof reading and

Compuprint for their commitment in quality printing and time bound delivery.

I am sure readers will find this year’s journal interesting and useful with research oriented

articles of varied interest. Please feel free to write to me at [email protected]

Pappu Venugopala Rao

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84th Annual Conference and ConcertsWednesday, 15th December 2010

Welcome address by Shri N. Murali, President

Sri Shvi Nadar, Vidushis - Bombay Sisters Smt. C. Saroja and Smt. C. Lalitha, other awardees of this year, Sangita Kalanidhis, Vidvans and Vidushis, my colleagues

on the committee, members of The Music Academy, distinguished invitees, ladies and gentlemen.

On behalf of The Music academy, it is my great pleasure to extend a very warm welcome to everyone of you to this Inaugural function of our 84th Annual Conference and Concerts.

Let me extend a very special welcome to our Chief Guest, Sri Shiv Nadar, Founder HCL and Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer, HCL Technologies. Our standing invitation extended to Sri Shiv Nadar a couple of years ago to participate in our annual festival, has happily found fruition this year.

It is most fitting that a visionary and an institution builder is inaugurating our flagship annual music festival. When India could boast of barely 250 computers way back in 1976, Sri Shiv Nadar led a young team which passionately believed in the IT industry and had a firm conviction in its immense potential and growth. Thus, HCL was bom in a ‘barsaati’, in Delhi very much in the manner of a famed Silicon Valley ‘garage’ start up. Today, HCL is an over $5 billion global transformational technology enterprise. From designing India’s first PC in 1978 at the same time as its global IT peers, to working on the Boeing Dreamliner’s Flight Management Systems now, HCL has remained a true pioneer of modem computing. Across a wide spectrum of IT products and services and with over 70,000 professionals of diverse nationalities who operate from 29 countries, HCL is a leading global IT enterprise of which India can be truly proud.

Sri Shiv Nadar has won wide recognition for his magnificent contribution to not just the IT industry in India but also for the ‘transformation of technological culture globally’. He was conferred the Padma Bhushan Award in January 2008 in recognition of his contribution not only to trade and industry but also to public good. Sri Shiv Nadar is much more than a successful entrepreneur. He is a humane entrepreneur and is wonderfully large hearted with a sensitive social conscience.

In February 2009, Forbes Magazine featured him in its list of 48 heroes of philanthrophy in the Asia Pacific region. Determined to give back to society that made him what he is, Sri Shiv Nadar has been quietly supporting many critically important social causes through the Shiv Nadar Foundation. The Foundation is committed to providing the means to empower individuals to bridge the socio-economic divide and to contribute to the creation of a more equitable meritocracy based society and aims to achieve this primarily through outstanding

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educational institutions of higher learning. It has established the not-for-profit SSN College of Engineering on the outskirts of Chennai amidst sylvan surroundings, which is today among the top ten private engineering colleges in India. Sri Shiv Nadar is also building ‘Vidya Gyan’ public schools in Uttar Pradesh that will provide free world class education to rural children from economically disadvantage backgrounds.

HCL has also been involved in the promotion of music in Delhi for several years. It is noteworthy to mention that Sri Shiv Nadar and his wife set up the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art earlier this year as one of India’s first private philanthropic museums. It is significant to recall that in 2006, a monthly concert series was launched in Chennai by HCL in association with The Music Academy, that has provided a fine platform for young and promising musicians to display their talent. Sri Shiv Nadar’s presence here today only reinforces the close bond between our two institutions that share common values of promoting excellence through a delicate blend of traditional values and modernity.

We are indeed grateful to Sri Shiv Nadar for spontaneously and graciously agreeing to be with us here today despite his hectic schedule.

Over the last eight decades, the Margazhi music festival in Chennai has evolved into an exceptional phenomenon and for sheer size, aesthetics, quality and core classical values it is unparalleled worldwide, with over 1000 concerts performed by over 300 artistes across scores of venues in a span of 30 days. The Music Academy can legitimately take credit for being the pioneer of this unique festival.

In this seasons of never ending scams, this year’s festival will undoubtedly come as a breath of fresh and mellifluous air and also provide a cause for cheer and soul satisfication. The festival’s tremendous success over the recent years has been largely due to the unflinching support and co-operation of our members and rasikas and the generous and sustained support of our sponsors and advertisers. The active involvement and commendable team work shown by our colleagues on the Executive Committee coupled with the selfless dedication and hard work of our Volunteers and the Staff of the Academy have contributed in no small measure to the success of this eagerly awaited annual festival. It would not be an exaggeration to say that unfailing participation, support and outstanding recitals and Lec-Dems by musicians, musicologists, scholars and dancers have greatly contributed to the Academy’s hard earned reputation and success.

Members have not only experienced but also expressed their happiness about the ongoing, phased infrastructure upgradation and modernization programme during the last four years. It has resulted in greatly improved facilities and ambience making for an enhanced listening experience and comfort. All this has been possible through the generous support of the enlightened donors who have considered it worthwhile to support this premier institution fostering excellence in classical fine arts. We have earlier acknowledged every single donor for making an undertaking of this nature possible.

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A major component of the ongoing improvement programme has just been completed. It involved renovation and upgradation of the foyer, both in the ground floor and the first floor, changes in the lobby for Patron members, enhancing the lighting with additional fittings in the foyer, enhanced aesthetics and vibrancy in the foyer with new wooden panelling and glazing, shifting of the ticket counter and new acoustics inside the auditorium, changing the alignment and bringing the focus on the main entrance to the Cathedral Road side as it was originally walkway all round the auditorium for easier access, standardized areas earmarked for driveway and parking, and shifting the gate at the Cathedral road (that was closed for years) further west to enable its use as an exit gate which has now been allowed by the Traffic Police authorities. Traffic jam and congestion at the TTK Road Gate would be considerably eased as that gate would now serve only as the entry gate. The auditorium is also now more friendly to physically challenged persons.

This major project in all its phases is being done under the expert design and supervision of our fine Architect Mr. P.T. Krishnan. Mr. Krishnan has brought to bear his immense commitment, expertise and abiding interest in restoring and upgrading heritage buildings, to our ongoing modernization works as a measure of his labour of love and passion. The beauty of this entire upgradation exercise is that this highly principled and sensitive architect has achieved a fine balance between aesthetics, modernity and heritage conservation principles and standards. The Music Academy indeed owes him a deep debt of gratitude.

This latest phase of our ongoing modernization programme has been completed substantially through the very generous donations of Smt. Mallika Srinivasan and Shri R Jayachandran, (the latter through the good offices of our Vice President, Shri R.Srinivasan) and we gratefully acknowledge them. It is a wonderful coincidence that this major refurbishing of the Academy’s Auditorium has been done almost 50 years after the auditorium was first commissioned in December 1961.

As members are aware there has been a resurgence of academic activities in the last couple of years. The quality of the content of our prestigious Journal has been greatly enhanced with the help of the Editorial Board under the editor Dr. Pappu Venugopala Rao.

A major publishing project has been taken up - English translation of Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini (SSP) of Subbarama Dikshithar. An Editorial Board has been constituted for this purpose, consisting of eminent musicians and musicologists, including young musicians under the editorship of Dr. Pappu Venugopala Rao, one of our Secretaries and a well-known musicologist as also a Sanskrit and Telugu scholar. The project aims at making available an authentic, error free English version to students and scholars of music and will involve publication of SSP in 4 volumes consisting of all the mela-s. The first volume is planned for release at the Sadas on January 1, 2011.

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As part of the new initiatives, two in-depth workshops on different aspects of our music and another one on music appreciation were conducted during the last few months to fulfill a long-felt need. These would be regular features in the months to come.

A dream project of ours was also started during the year. An Advanced School of Carnatic Music has been established with the object of offering advanced professional education and grooming in camatic music to highly deserving youngsters so that they can become performers and musicians of a very high calibre with a fine sense of music appreciation and aesthetics. An Academic Council has been formed with eminent musicians/musicologists drawn from the Experts committee of The Music Academy. The Advanced School has five eminent faculty members. Sangita Kalanidhi Smt. R. Vedavalli, Director; Prof. Ritha Rajan, Academic Coordinator; Sangita Kala Acharya Chingleput Shri S. Ranganathan; Vidushi S. Sowmya and Vidvan Mullaivasal Chandramouli.

Apart from the regular faculty, the School would also bring in eminent musicians as visiting faculty. In each semester there would be at least 5-8 events such as Guests Lectures by the Visiting Faculty, Seminars, Workshops, Concerts, Field trips and guided group interactions. The school started functioning from August 16, 2010.

To support the expenses of this school in its first year, a generous grant has been given by Shri P. Vijaykumar Reddy, son of late Shri P. Obul Reddy, our longtime Patron and a former Vice President and we express our grateful appreciation to him.

The old Teachers’ College of Music which has rendered useful service over the years has however, lost its relevance in the current times with the existence of a multiplicity of institutions offering diplomas with the Government syllabus. It has not been able to attract students of quality. Therefore, this college is being phased out next year with the completion of the current batch. The Academy will, however, continue its other special classes offered separately in Mridangam, Veena, Violin, Padams and Javalis and classes for beginners.

As mentioned at last year’s inaugural function, Smt. Mallika Srinivasan has instituted the ‘Indira Sivasailam Endowment Fund’ which in association with The Music Academy, would organize annually during Navarathri, the Indira Sivasailam memorial concert by a renowned classical musician who will also be presented a medal and a citation. The first artiste chosen for this was Vidushi Smt. Sudha Raghunathan who rendered the concert on 15th October 2010.

During the year, we lost one of our stalwarts, Shri P. Obul Reddy, the Vice President of the Academy. Over the years, Shri P. Obul Reddy has been a huge supporter and patron of The Music Academy, with keen interest and involvement in all its activities. Shri Obul Reddy has been a big and munificent donor of The Music Academy and has set up very generous endowments at the Academy, with the total amount of his endowments accounting for almost a quarter of the total endowments with The Music Academy. His passing is a big loss to The Music Academy and indeed to the music world itself.

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We also lost another esteemed colleague during the year Shri S.V. Ramaswamy. Shri Ramaswamy was an active and energetic member of the Executive Committee and served the Academy with great dedication and commitment.

In the two vacancies we have co-opted Shri N. Gopalaswami, former Chief Election Commissioner and an ardent connoisseur of Camatic music as a Vice President and Shri V. Sriram, music historian and author, who co-authored that wonderful book on the history of The Music Academy. We have no doubt that their induction would be of immense value to the Committee.

This is in many ways the year of the ‘double’ As you all know this year we are honouring the vocalist duo, Bombay sisters Smt. C. Saroja and Smt. C. Lalitha with the ‘Sangita Kalanidhi’ award. Thanks to the generosity of Shri P. Vijaykumar Reddy, son of late Shri. P. Obul Reddy, the award money given for the Sangita Kalanidhi is being doubled from this year to Rs. 2 lakhs for the awardee. Similarly, thanks again to his generosity, the award money for the Sangita Kala Acharya is also being doubled to Rs. 50,000/- per awardee. These awards have been instituted in the name of Shri P. Obul Reddy and Smt P. Gnanambal. The two TTK Awards and the Musicologist Awards are also being doubled by The Music Academy to Rs. 25,000/- each largely through the “TT Vasu Memorial Award” instituted by the family of the late Shri TT Vasu, three years ago.

We are also increasing the remuneration to artistes this year by about twenty percent. The Academy’s remuneration though ranking among the highest paid by any organization during the season, would still leave scope for progressive enhancement in the coming seasons. It is however, relevant to point out that during the last five years we have increased the artistes’ remuneration by almost five hundred per cent.

The Music Academy-TAG Digital Listening Archives set up over two years ago through the generosity of Shri. R.T. Chari, member of our committee and Shri. R.V. Gopalan of TAG group, now has over 3700 hours of recordings comprising over 100 artistes and over 250 composers. This is an on-going project to digitise nearly 20,000 hours of music presently available with us. Many connoisseurs and well-wishers of the Academy have offered to donate to our archives, the valuable recordings in their collection. Just a few days ago, Shri. AL ARC Narayanan has offered to donate to our archives, his large collection of recordings of great stalwarts of the past and the present day musicians from his own collection as well as the valuable collection of his late father, Shri. ALAR Chockiah Chettiar of Devakottai who was also an esteemed member of The Music Academy. We express our heartfelt appreciation for this gesture. We have also received a donation from Smt. Uma Balaganesan of the recordings of her late husband which we acknowledge with thanks. The Music Academy-TAG Digital Listening archives is also responsible for a beneficial fall out in that the University of Madras, Music Department, has started a similar digitising project of recordings in its possession through the

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hardware support of Shri R.T. Chari. The Government of Kerala has also funded a similar project in Kerala. All this bodes well for the preservation and propagation of our classical fine arts.

The website of The Music Academy now contains amongst other content, all the Journal of the Academy upto the year 1948 for the benefit of music scholars. Our objective is to upload journals of subsequent years also in due course.

The high quality book, “Four Score More - the history of the Music Academy” authored by Shri V. Sriram and Dr. Malathi Rangaswami that was released in December 2009 is available throughout the season at a highly concessional price. Members and rasikas are encouraged to buy copies of this collectors’ volume for themselves as well as their friends.

During the season, The Music Academy confers special honours on outstanding individuals who have contributed greatly to the preservation and enrichment of our fine tradition of classicial fine arts. This year the Academy is extremely happy to have chosen for its prestigious Sangita Kalanidhi title, the vocalist duo, Bombay sisters, Smt. C. Saroja and Smt. C. Lalitha who will also preside over our 84th conference. It is for the first time that a vocalist duo is being honoured in the same year and only the second time a duo is being honoured at the same time. The sisters will receive the Sangita Kalanidhi Birudhu at the Sadas on January 1, 2011 from the Nobel Laureaute, Dr. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan.

Smt. C. Saroja and Smt.C.Lalitha or Bombay sisters as they are popularly known, were initiated into music by their elder sisters Smt. Sethu Mahadevan and later trained under Shri HAS Mani. They came under the tutelage of Sangita Kalanidhi Musiri Subramania Iyer, the Principal of the Central College of Kamatic Music in Madras which they joined for higher studies in music. They continued their pursuit of music under Sangita Kalanidhi T.K. Govinda Rao. And this training continues to this day.

Ever since their debut in 1963, the Bombay Sisters made significant progress as concert artistes and have performed all over the country and also abroad.

They are renowned for their strict adherence to the tenets and purity of classical music. They have also carved a special niche for themselves through their numerous recordings of Sanskrit and Tamil hymns and chants, wedding songs and music lessons for youngsters.

Remarkably, they are the fourth generation musicians to get the Sangita Kalanidhi in the same ‘parampara’, that has been made prominent by the legendary Shri Musiri Subramanya Iyer, the other two awardees being, Shri Sabesa Iyer and Shri T.K. Govinda Rao.

In recognition of their excellence and major contribution to camatic music, The Music Academy takes special pride and pleasure in the choice of Bombay Sisters for its highest award.

Commencing from the year 2005, The Hindu instituted an award of Rs. 1-lakh in the memory of the legendary Smt. M.S. Subbulakshmi to be given to the Sangita Kalanidhi elect at

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the inaugural function. Shri Shiv Nadar will be giving away later today the “Sangita Kalanidhi M.S. Subbulakshmi award” to Vidushi Smt. C. Saroja and to Vidushi Smt. C. Lalitha.

The Sangita Kala Acharya Award goes to Vidushi Suguna Varadachari and to Bharatanatyam Guru Smt. Rhadha. Both have contributed immensely to their respective displines and The Music Academy takes pride in honouring them.

The two recipients of the TTK Memorial Award are the two seasoned high quality vocalists, Vidushi Smt. Parassala Ponnammal and Vidvan Manakkal S. Rangarajan. Their significant contribution to camatic music is being recognized by The Music Academy.

The Musicologist Award which was introduced two years ago would go to the renowned, multifaceted scholar and musicologist Dr. R. Sathyanarayana from Mysore.

This year’s programme, like its recent predecessors, will feature over 80 performances by stalwarts as well as young and promising artistes, all of whom always strive to give their best at this hallowed stage on which successive generation of great musicians have sparkled.

The Conference session looks equally interesting. Over the last two years, the commendable efforts of the Convenor of the Experts’ Advisory Committee, Dr. Pappu Venugopala Rao, along with other eminent members of that Committee have resulted in bringing the much-needed variety and depth to the academic session, apart from significantly raising their standards. A noteworthy feature has also been the inclusion of younger, top performing musicians into the academic stream.

Nobel Laureaute Dr. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan has kindly consented to preside over the Sadas on January 1, 2011 and confer the awards.

The fifth edition of our extremely successful and popular Dance Festival is being held between January 3 and January 9, 2011. Smt. Leela Samson, Director, Kalakshetra and Chairperson, Sangeet Natak Academy has graciously agreed to inaugurate the festival.

The birth centenary of Tavil Vidvan Nachiar Koil Shri Raghava Pillai falls this year. We salute the contribution of this stalwart to our glorious tradition.

This year the world of music lost three great musicians - Sangita Kala Acharya Shri S. Rajam, Sangita Kala Acharya Trivandrum Shri R. Venkataraman and Sangita Kalanidhi Sikkil Smt. Kunjumani. We salute their tremendous contributions to Camatic music and are proud of their long association and support to The Music Academy.

On behalf of all of us at The Academy, I wish you all a very enjoyable and uplifting music season and Dance Festival and a very Happy New Year.



Inauguration of the Annual Music Festival84th ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND CONCERTS

The Music Academy, Madras

Wednesday, 15th December 2010

by Shri. Shiv Nadar

President of The Music Academy Mr. Murali, Members of the Executive Committee, Sangita Kalanidhis, Ladies and gentlemen

I am delighted and honoured to be invited to inaugurate the 84th annual conference and concerts of The Music Academy Madras. Over the decades, the Academy has functioned as a custodian of our matchless heritage of classical music. Its annual concert season is no doubt its most high profile and eagerly awaited event. A chance to perform in it is coveted by veterans and newcomers alike. Yet, the Academy has continuous activities throughout the year. Organizing performances is only one part of this. It is involved in

• identifying, recognizing and rewarding young talent

• teaching and training of performers and teachers

• research

• dissemination and popularization of Carnatic music.

It does all this through a small professional staff and an Expert Committee backed by the energy and commitment of the Executive Committee in the best traditions of volunteerism. The Academy is now a mature institution that is addressing the issues of modernization, infrastructure development and harnessing of technology in a manner that most sabhas do not have the vision, capacity or finances for. In this Margazhi season, when dozens of sabhas and hundreds of concerts and lec dems turn Chennai into a music lover’s paradise, the Academy has a unique and special status. For the musician, it is a reference point for merit and authenticity. For the rasika, it is a touchstone for the listening pleasure of pure classicism. Indeed, it is THE canon. To paraphrase what Wooster said to Jeeves in a totally different context: ‘It stands alone’.

Music is a universal human need and accomplishment. Truly, it can reach out and communicate across all man made barriers. Music in India is very rich and diverse, encompassing many forms and genres - classical, folk, devotional, popular and film music. Indians are musical people and there is a song for every occasion and moment - for work and for leisure, for celebration and for prayer. There is music in the air, so to say, not forgetting the ubiquitous ring tones! Most of us absorb music without consciously learning. The varied forms may appear to be different from each other, but they all have in fact some relationship

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with our classical traditions. Indian classical music is like a mighty river that is formed from many tributaries and in tum feeds many canals and streams that criss-cross the landscape. I am not a musicologist, so I don’t know exactly which came first and who borrowed from whom, but I suspect there has been a process of mutual interaction and enrichment. The chants in temple, songs of harvest in the fields and lullabies in village homes carry traces of classical ragas. I have come across statements in the media by acclaimed play back singers like Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan and Kavita Krishnamurthi who speak about the initial grounding in Carnatic music that paved their path to success.

What is the situation of classical music today? Veteran musicians and senior citizens often bemoan the decline of interest in classical music. They point out to the attractions of film music and western popular and fusion music which entice our young people.

I prefer to see the cup as half-full. I think that there is a good deal of interest in classical music today.

While it is true that Indian youth is opening itself to world music in a big way, it is not always at the cost of classical music. The IIT student who is a fan of hard rock or British Asian Rap may have a huge collection of M.S. Subbulakshmi CDs that he listens to on Sunday mornings. The NRI kid in Canada may be learning western flute twice a week and having weekly SKYPE classes from a Carnatic guru in Chennai as well. At concerts in Chennai in the December season, one sees a fair sprinkling of young and in fact very young people. They may well be fans of other forms of music as well. There is no need to insist on or expect an exclusive devotion to Carnatic music among Indian listeners. May a thousand flowers bloom! At the same time, new audiences (non Indian) for Carnatic music are being created in the West and indeed all over the world. After all, even in the past, classical music was not a mass based art. As such it was seriously pursued only by a small section of society. That section has certainly grown today, both in terms of performers and listeners.

Avoiding an either-or approach and adopting a more flexible interpretation of what is good music will benefit the growth of classical music. Carnatic music should be projected not as an exclusive, rigid and difficult musical form but one which has a give-and-take relationship with other classical and folk forms in India, while being heir to a tradition of rigor and discipline.

As a person who has professionally been involved in cutting-edge technology and its applications to industry, I would like to share with you some thoughts on harnessing technology for classical music.

It doesn’t sound strange anymore to say that subjects as disparate as Technology and Music find relevance to each other. At HCL, we have done some really transformational work for the music industry, providing technology solutions (including Application Development, Maintenance and Infrastructure) to top 3 of the 4 world’s leading recorded music companies of world music.

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For Indian classical music, electronic media and digital technology have opened up tremendous possibilities for widening the base. One’s geographical or social location is no longer crucial in getting access to good quality music certainly as a listener but even as a student, teacher or performer.

Specifically, technology has applications in

• Retrieving and reproducing and archiving of old recordings and music manuscripts

• Disseminating technically high quality music on a mass scale through low cost media

• Producing audio visual aids for effective teaching, presentation and performance

• Articulating and disseminating ideas and debates on music across a wide base through internet

• Enhancing artists’ ability to reach larger global markets and reach them faster

• Preventing piracy

• Create alternate channels to sell music

• Enable better royalty payouts for artists

Thus technology has the potential of enabling better quality and access, a better deal for artists and a better functioning music industry.

The crucial point is to harness technology in a practical, effective and meaningfulway.

This is where corporate sponsorship comes in.

In the old days the Rajas and Maharajas patronized the arts. After 1947, the Government stepped in, but as we all know, that patronage had its limits and limitations. In today’s liberalized context, corporate sponsorship has proved to be an effective method for providing innovative technological and infra structural inputs for strengthening classical music. Corporate social ethics should include a responsibility to environment, social justice and also to revive preserve and innovating in the fields of art and culture. But this is also in the larger self-interest of the corporate world.

Take a city like Chennai apart from its recent attractions of being a technologically and industrially advanced location, and a relatively well governed city, it has a terrific quotient of culture and heritage. Through its temples, arts and crafts, yoga and especially through its music and dance. For the last few years, the Mylapore festival for instance has caught the imagination of the citizens. For a few days, the area between Nageswara Rao Park and Kapali temple is transformed into a veritable feast for the senses. Or take the Kalakshetra - Theosophical Society complex with its rich cultural activities. Or take the Music Season itself, and the fantastic array

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of world class concerts that happen within the space of a fortnight. Corporate contributions on a large and well-orchestrated scale combined with a dynamic vision could leverage this extraordinary heritage, knit it together into a cohesive urban statement and transform Chennai into a global cultural hub, attracting talent, visitors and tourists like Salzburg or Venice. This would benefit the corporate climate too.

I am firmly committed to corporate support for the arts. Outside of what HCL’s technology is doing for the music industry, HCL has also been involved with the Madras Music Academy in the last few years in a small way. The HCL Concert Series are now into their twelfth year in Delhi providing a platform for budding artists to present their art to the public every week. In Chennai the HCL Concert Series have been running successfully at this very auditorium each month for about the last 4 years now. We have also established the Kiran Nadar Musem of Art in Delhi, one of India’s first private philanthropic museums - not just as a site for display but as a vital platform for a total experience of art and culture.

KNMA aspires to become a place for confluence replete with interaction spaces for art and art appreciation discourses, workshops for children, the lay public and the specially-abled, spaces for global exhibitions, performing arts and all the ingredients that would go into making the art hub a day-out destination of choice for all.

I mention this only to reiterate our belief in art and music as an essential part of our culture and heritage.

A final word on The Music Academy. It has its own distinctive place in the field and technological innovations and infrastructure development will ultimately be effective to the extent that the Academy identifies and strengthens its unique role. I believe this lies in the pursuit of excellence. In a way this has also been our goal at HCL. Excellence that is created through the interweaving of human skills with technology. In music however excellence means not just this but more. It means also grounding oneself in an ancient heritage while being dynamic and flexible in interpretation and implementation. What is the fine line between purity and innovation? What technology and how much technology without sacrificing the ‘rasa’ that is created between performer and rasika in the intimate setting of direct, mikeless listening? Who better than the Academy to meditate and mediate on this question? For beyond technology, skills and talents, lies the essence of Carnatic music which is to elevate human perception and experience to a higher level and nourish the soul.

I intend to contribute Rs.l crore through Shiv Nadar Foundation to The Music Academy for upgradation and renovation of the mini hall, where HCL sponsored programmes for the young artists are held.

I hereby inaugurate the 84th Annual Conference and Concerts of The Music Academy and wish it all success.

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Presidential Speech of VidushisSmt. C. Saroja and Smt. C. Lalitha

at the 84TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND CONCERTSat The Music Academy, Madras (15-12-2010)

Respected Sri Shiv Nadar, the President Sri N. Murali, honourable members of the Executive Committee of The Music Academy, distinguished members of the Advisory Committee of The Music Academy, members of The Music Academy and the rasikas present here.

This year, The Music Academy is honouring us with the title “Sangita Kalanidhi” and has extended to us the privilege of presiding over the 84th annual Conference of the Academy. This is truly a memorable day in our career as Carnatic classical vocalists and marks another milestone in our musical career. We are indeed very grateful and thankful to the President. Vice- President, secretaries and the members of the Executive Committee of The Music Academy for having conferred this honour on us.

Since early 1900s, The Music Academy has been actively involved in promoting classical arts and our association with The Music Academy dates back to 1959, when we first performed as upcoming youngsters. We are indeed proud of the yeoman service rendered by The Music Academy in promoting the rich fine arts of Indian culture. We wish them the very best in all their future endeavours and pray to God almighty to bless them with the strength and will to continue this unparalleled service to fine arts.

On this happy occasion, we wish to recall with a sense of gratitude, some persons who have played a very significant role in our musical career and who have contributed immensely to our success as Carnatic classical vocalists. As they say commonly “Matha, Pitha, Guru, Deivam”, and all of them have played a very significant role in our life and career.

First we would like to pay our obeisance to our matha and pitha, Sri Chidambaram Iyer and Smt. Mukthambal who left no stone unturned to help us achieve success in our chosen career. Although bom in Trissur, our childhood and schooling was in Bombay (now known as Mumbai). Our father was an engineer in western railways and was an ardent lover of Carnatic classical music. Our parents always dreamt of us establishing ourselves as Carnatic music vocalists. He was very particular that we are given the right kind of training and also ensured that we listened to the music of the stalwarts of yesteryear. Since our father was one of the founding members of Bharatiya Music and Arts Society, we have had the privilege of listening to the concerts of many renowned musicians who performed for Bharatiya Music and Arts Society. Our exposure to the great music of the legends helped us to develop our

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knowledge of classical music.

As we completed schooling, our parents realised that Chennai is the place that we should be in if we wanted to embark on a professional career as Carnatic vocalists. When our father retired from service, our parents relocated.to Chennai from Bombay primarily to nurture our talent and to get us the right exposure. Our father was very strict with us when it came to regular rehearsals. He firmly believed that there is no alternative to hard work and hard work means regular sadagam. Even as children, we were woken up early in the morning and made to practice our music lessons. “No coffee or school if there is no morning practice” - these were his strict instmctions.

Unlike young girls of our generation who often helped their parents in the household chores, our parents never expected us to help out with household chores. Their only desire for us was to practice singing as often as possible. We are deeply indebted and thankful to our parents, for all the hardships that they underwent and their unrelenting perseverance in ensuring that we made a mark for ourselves in this field.

In addition to our parents, we are also deeply indebted and thankful to our respective spouses who have always been very supportive and encouraging in our musical career. Unlike regular housewives who devote much of their time for their family, we have not been able to spend much time with our families. Nevertheless, our respective spouses have never ever complained and have always encouraged us to better our musical career.

Next, we wish to acknowledge the gurus under whom we received musical training and without whose blessings, encouragement and support we would not be where we are today. Our introduction to Carnatic music was through our dear sister. Smt. Sethu Mahadevan. Sri H.A.S. Mani, whom we fondly remember as Chellamani Sir. He was our first teacher in Bombay under whom we started our formal training of camatic classical music. He certainly laid a very strong foundation for us in music. As we grew, we desired to take advanced training and applied for Government of India cultural scholarship. In 1958,1 got the scholarship and that is when we relocated from Bombay to Chennai. Two years later, Lalitha also got the same scholarship. We had known of central College of Music and so we approached the then principal of the College, Sri Musiri Subramanya Iyer. He took us under his wings and we started our training under the guidance of Sangita Kalanidhi Sri Musiri Subramanya Iyer. He also took on the responsibility of teaching us on a one-to-one basis at his residence in Oliver Road. It was under his guidance that we learnt how to render a Kriti, where exactly to put sangathis and how to render niravals. He always emphasized on sahitya suddham and bhavam in whatever that is rendered. While brigas or sangathis embellish a composition, he always believed that they should not be overdone as “alavukku minjinal amruthamum vishamagum” Another strength of the Musiri school of music was the swaram singing. He always emphasized that svaram

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singing should be like ragam singing with the same fluency, ease and coherence. Further he always emphasized that “kejvi gnanam” was an important aspect in learning to master classical music. In fact, I was the first to start training under Sri Musiri Subramanya Iyer. However, he used to ask Lalitha also to come and sit in the class and he said that if she listens to what is being taught that itself will help her a lot later. The more you listen to classical music the more your imagination is kindled, leading to creativity.

We learnt under Sri Musiri Subramanya Iyer for two years. Under his personal supervision, he also advised that his disciples Sri T.K. Govinda Rao and Sri Venkatraman would have the shared responsibility of teaching us. It was our good fortune that we were blessed with such an opportunity. During the period of our scholarship, both Sri Govinda Rao and Sri Venkatraman taught us besides Sri lyerval. After our scholarship term we continued our training under Sangita Kalanidhi Sri T.K. Govinda Rao. We are proud and also deeply indebted to God that we are able to continue to learn from our guru Sri Govinda Rao to this day. Sri T.K. Govinda Rao’s relentless passion for music, his tireless efforts and the utter dedication and sincerity with which he started inculcating the Musiri Bhani in us continues to this day. Once the violin stalwart Sri Lalgudi Jayarama Iyer remarked that we were blessed with a guru who never really worries about “mani” (time) or money. His mode of teaching is particularly designed to suit the vocal range and modulations of the students. He taught us that music should be “janaranjakam” and that even a lay person should be able to enjoy it. Our tonal synchrony is also something that we owe to our guru Sri Govinda Rao who insisted on it. We recollect our Khamas lessons for “Brochevarevarura” when he had trained us for days together for getting the tenor absolutely in unison as the ragas and sangathis demand an amalgam we had to follow for a lifetime.

Our guru Sri Govinda Rao being a multilingual person is able to appreciate music in any language. This facet also enables him to include subtle nuances in a song which would make the rendering more appealing and pleasing. He would explain the meaning of the “Sahitya” and how it is equally important to express this meaning in music. He would also explain in great length the importance of “Niraval” which brings out the aesthetic and melodious aspect of the “Sahitya” and “ Raga” Once a well wisher of ours suggested that we should seek the help of specialists in each area of Carnatic music such as pallavi, Dikshithar kritis, padams and bhajans to increase our repertoire but the need did not arise as our guru is well versed and knowledgeable in all aspects and areas of music. We have gained enormous musical insight under his guidance.

As the popular saying goes ‘avinashi tu thdviddhi yena sarvamidam vyaptham”. Music is an ocean and any amount of learning is not enough to master this divine art. The more you learn, the more you feel there is to learn. So we continue our journey of musical learning and discovery to this day and would like to express our heartfelt thanks to our guru.

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“kattrathu Kaimannalavu Kallatatu ulakaiavu” -vidhi of destiny is imperishable and pervades this universe. No one has the power to destroy this eternal substance. God’s will or destiny has also played a very important part in our lives. We belong to a family of seven brothers and sisters and all of us were musically inclined. However, as destiny would have it our parents chose us to pursue this field as our profession. Similarly, while we were enthusiastic about music and singing and aspired to be performing artists, neither we nor our parents were aware of what needed to be done to project us as performing artists. Again as destiny would have it, we were awarded the Government of India scholarship and we came under the tutelage of Sri Musiri Subramanya Iyer who he took special interest in us and insisted that we also take special coaching from him at his house besides learning at the Central College of Music. This also led us to come in contact with Sri Govinda Rao, who has been a great source of inspiration and knowledge for us to date.

Talking of destiny and will of God, people normally wish to begin any endeavour with a good omen. In this regard, we wish to recollect that when we first got an invite for a concert in the All India Radio, we were extremely excited. Right from planning the songs to be sung for the concert, we practiced fervently as we will be putting our best. We had taken great pains to select the songs to be sung, ensuring that we will be putting our best show. We had also rehearsed for the concert several times so that we are confident while singing which was to be broadcast live, perhaps the first experience for us. With our expectations soaring high and brimming with confidence, we entered All India Radio, when the most unexpected happened, Mr. A J . John, the then Governor of Tamil Nadu passed away and official mourning had been declared. In view of this our programme was a live broadcast. We were told that we should sing only light classical songs such as bhajans and other bhakthi padalgal. We were also told that we should not sing raga alapanai, swaram and also any fast paced songs because of the mourning that had been declared, we were extremely disappointed and sad. Being up and coming artistes we thought that we had lost a golden opportunity to showcase our talents. We also thought that this does not look like a good omen for the start of our career. Nevertheless, with a heavy heart and typical of disheartened youngsters, we sang the limited repertoire of the bhakthi padalgal that we knew.

Today when we look back and remember that day at the All India Radio, we feel amused because today, through these 50 odd years of our singing career, with God’s blessing we have sung on several occasions at the All India Radio, including at several special functions and national festivals conducted by the All India Radio and are top graded artistes of the All India Radio. Although we thought our first encounter with the All India Radio was not a good omen, it has not turned out to be so for our career as we have not looked back since then. It is often said “Man proposes and God disposes” and we think this is what happened in our case. When we wanted to perform in grand style we could not and when we thought that this


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is not a right omen for our career, we were again proved wrong. This has really led us to believe that what one is destined to achieve, one will achieve no matter whether the omen is good or bad. Hard work and sincerity to one’s profession and unstinted devotion to God is what matters and there is no substitute to this. Purandara Dasa has rightly said “Hari Chiththa Satya Nara Chittakke Bandaddu Lava Lesha Nadeyadu” - everything in this world happens only because God wills it. Nothing happens just because man wills it.

Carnatic classical music and younger generation have always fascinated us. We believe that there is no dearth for good talent in our country when it comes to classical music. In the olden days budding youngsters did not easily get a platform to showcase their talent. However, in this age, we have plenty of opportunities through sabhas and television for budding artistes to exhibit their talent and reach out to people. We have always believed that budding talent must be given the maximum encouragement and opportunity. This belief was instilled in us by our parents and in whose memory we manage our trust “Mukthambaram Trust” with the sole purpose of providing every opportunity to genuine talent. We understand the anxiety that one feels when one is unable to do what one wants to do because of lack of opportunities. We firmly believe that every effort must be made to provide the best of opportunities to our youth to enable them blossom to their full potential.

Looking at the names of youngsters who are slated to perform in various sabhas this December festival and in many other music festivals, it is indeed very heartening to note that the youngsters of today are taking keen interest in camatic classical music, in spite of the overwhelming western influence. Further, we are all aware of the rigors of modem day lifestyle and as to how it has become mechanical and monotonous. In such a situation, we are happy that today’s youngsters have broken away from such monotony and taken the extra effort to nurture their interest in our traditional art form. We also feel confident and reassured that our traditional music which is an invaluable treasure of our country, will continue to remain vibrant and alive.

At this juncture, we wish to express some of our considered views for the benefit of young and upcoming musicians. You must aim high and strive your utmost to attain your aims. We wish to reiterate what was taught to us by our gurus, namely, sruthi suddham, kalapramanan, sahitya suddham and bhavam. These are the four pillars of good music. If anyone of these pillars is defective the rendition will be defective. The only way in which one can aim to attain perfection in these four is through regular sadagam or practice. There are no shortcuts to hard work and perseverance.

Technology has greatly helped in making quality music and tutelage available to people far and wide. Cassettes and CDs are now being frequently used by many students and musicians to enhance their knowledge. Furthermore, internet tutelage has greatly helped in long distance


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learning. In early days gurukulavasam was the norm for any kind of learning be it academics or arts. That slowly changed to attending of regular music classes. Even we have not experienced gurukulavasam. All of our tutelage has been through music lessons learned from our gurus during regular music classes. In the present age, due to constraints of time and distance more and more people are opting for cassettes, CDs and internet tutelage to enhance their knowledge. While we are greatly appreciative of these innovative teaching and learning methodologies, we believe that there can be no replacement for face to face learning from a guru. It is only when you have a face to face session with a guru that your limitations and mistakes can be pointed out by the guru and the guru can help in rectifying such mistakes. Our suggestion to the youngsters opting for technology as a media of learning is that you should at every opportunity that you get learn from yours gurus in face to face sessions. This will certainly improve greatly the quality of your music.

Finally before I conclude we would like to express our thanks to our fans, press and well-wishers. Our achievements and success have been made possible because of their support. Their love and affection have been a source of great encouragement leading us to achieve greater heights in our profession.

Thank you.

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WELCOME ADDRESSof Shri. N. Murali, President

The Music Academy, Madras at the Sadas, January 1st 2011

Dr. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Nobel Laureate, Sangita Kalanidhi awardees Bombay Sisters Vidushi Smt. C. Saroja and Vidushi Smt. C. Lalitha, other awardees of this year, Sangita Kalanidhis, Vidvans and Vidushis, my colleagues on the Committee, members of The Music Academy and other rasikas, distinguished invitees, ladies and gentlemen,

It is my special pleasure and privilege to extend a very warm welcome to everyone of you to the Sadas and to wish you a very happy New Year.

We are particularly honoured and delighted to have Dr. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Nobel Laureate and Group Leader and Joint Head-Structural Studies, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, U.K., preside over the Sadas this evening and confer the awards.

The journey of our Nobel Laureate of exploration of science and discovery makes fascinating reading. As all of us know Dr. Venki Ramakrishnan, won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. This 57 year-old molecular biologist shared the Nobel Prize with Thomas A.Steitz and Ada E. Yonath for their work on Ribosomes (components of cells that make proteins from amino acids), in the process helping “develop new antibiotics, directly assisting the saving of lives and decreasing humanity’s suffering”

Leaving his birthplace Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu when barely three, Ramakrishnan, did his undergraduate studies at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda on a National Science Talent Scholarship, graduating with a B.Sc., in Physics in 1971. At 19, he moved to the USA, where he obtained his PhD in Physics from Ohio University in 1976.

He switched to biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego, and began work on ribosomes at Yale. He continued the work at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and moved to the University of Utah as a Professor of Biochemistry, in 1995. In 1999, he joined the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England.

A Fellow of the Royal Society, a member of EMBO and the U.S. National Academy of Science and a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, Dr. Venki Ramakrishnan has earned several awards and honours including the Padma Vibhushan, in 2010.

Ramakrishnan’s wife Vera Rosenberry is a famous author and illustrator of children’s books. His stepdaughter, Tania Kapka is a doctor in Oregon, and son Raman Ramakrishnan, a cellist in New York.

In this disarmingly frank and charmingly narrated autobiographical essay written for the Nobel Foundation, Dr. Venki Ramakrishnan recalls his India roots, the shaping role of


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his exceptional parents and teachers, the care he received from his grandmother and aunt, the twists and turns of his scientific career and how he came to his lifelong interest in ribosomes. Dr. Ramakrishnan relives his experience of staking all on one risky project, when in 1999, he took a hefty salary cut and moved to the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK. Reasoning that “the structure of the ribosome was the most important goal in my field” he decided to focus entirely on the 30S subunit. The rest, including the Nobel and the Padma Vibushan, is history.

His disarming frankness is clear from his description of the time he spent at the graduate school in Ohio.... “I had no feel for the problem or even what the basic questions we were trying to understand were. It was the first time in many years that I felt I had chosen the wrong field. The result was that I felt so frustrated that I withdrew from my thesis work and spent on inordinate amount of time on extracurricular activities. I went hiking and hopped on freight trains with my good friend and classmate Sudhir Kaicher, learned about western classical music from another friend, Anthony Grimaldi, played on the chess team, read literature went to concerts”. All this changed when he married Vera Rosenberry in 1975 and the emotional support and stable environment she provided has been invaluable to him and his work. The sudden change in responsibilities from being alone to a family man spurred him on his career. “I produced a passable thesis and obtained a PhD in Physics in 1976”. I surmise that the period he spent rather “aimlessly” has made him a well-rounded personality with multiple interests and also sowed the seeds of his great interest in music.

He is a very simple and unpretentious person. He has been unobtrusively but regularly attending concerts over the last few years during the Chennai music season. From a silent and ardent rasika slipping in and out of concerts unnoticed and unannounced, he has seamlessly moved to his role of Chief Guest today with his characteristic simplicity that so aptly typifies his character.

I profusely thank Dr. Venki Ramakrishnan for taking time off from his pursuit of science for his favourite “extra-curricular” activity here today.

This magnificent festival that has treated us all to a feast of wonderful music by all the participating artistes comes to a close today. But the music will play on long after the season.

This season has been remarkable in many ways, not the least for the great variety and quality of performances, for the splendid response from members and rasikas, for the fine performance of various artistes at the concerts and the musicologists and scholars at the morning academic session, for the spontaneous and all-time high sponsorship and advertising support from enlightened organizations and for our whole team involved in the organization of the music festival including our dedicated volunteers who worked tirelessly. Special words of appreciation are in order for the wonderful planning and the unstinted efforts of the members of the Programme Committee and its Convenor, Shri K.V. Krishna Prasad. Dr. Pappu Venugopala

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Rao and his colleagues of the Core Committee of the Morning Academic Sessions deserve our kudos for the variety, depth and high standards of these morning sessions.

This season has been a particularly special one for us that witnessed many firsts and in many respects also history being made. It started off with a big bang when the Chief Guest of the Inaugural function Shri Shiv Nadar, announced in his characteristically understated manner, typifying extreme modesty, a stupendously generous donation of Rs. 1 crore from the Shiv Nadar Foundation for the renovation and modernization of our mini-auditorium. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the single largest donation in the history of The Music Academy. We were indeed overwhelmed and overjoyed. The alacrity with which he followed up his announcement with the dispatch of the cheque, is even more commendable. The entire family of The Music Academy indeed owes him a deep debt of gratitude. It is also the first time in its history that The Music Academy honours a vocalist duo in the same year with its Sangita Kalanidhi title. It is yet again the first time that the Academy has the privilege of having a Nobel laureate preside over the Sadas.

For your reference, the only Nobel Laureate to have inaugurated our Annual Conference and Concerts was Dr. Sir C.V. Raman, more than 75 years ago in the year 1933.

The month of Margazhi also witnessed history being made in an altogether different field. The incomparable cricketer and true role model, Sachin Tendulkar scaled the peak of 50 test centuries that can never be conquered by any other cricketer. It is amazing that Sachin achieved this monumental feat at the age of 37 and after twenty one years of playing sustained, high quality, peerless cricket at the international level.

But in the run up to the music season, our country also witnessed history of an absolutely shameful kind as the murky details of a succession of scams of mind boggling magnitude, the likes of which have never been witnessed in the history of independent India, unfolded before a shocked nation.

Coming to today’s function, I offer my heartfelt felicitations and congratulations to this year’s recipients of the prestigious Sangita Kalanidhi award, Bombay sisters Vidushi Smt. C. Saroja and Vidushi Smt. C. Lalitha, about whom I spoke in detail on the inaugural day. I must also express my appreciation for their qualities of simplicity and modesty while presiding over the morning academic sessions which had been meticulously planned with an interesting variety and considerable depth.

I offer my warm congratulations to the other major award winners - Sangita Kala Acharya awardees Vidushi Smt. Suguna Varadachari and Bharatanatyam guru Smt. Rhadha, recipients of “TTK Award” Vidvan Manakkal Shri S. Rangarajan and Vidushi Smt. Parassala Ponnammal and Dr. R. Sathyanarayana, the recipient of the Musicologist award. I also congratulate the artistes who would be receiving prizes for performances.

The fund of goodwill and the outpouring of generosity that the Academy is fortunate to enjoy, seem almost inexhaustible. I have earlier referred to the spontaneous generosity

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of the wonderful donors whose support has not only made possible enhancement of our infrastructure and ambience but also enables us to conduct various high quality academic and other programmes in addition to the flagship annual festival. I have earlier in this speech referred to Shri Shiv Nadar’s munificence. Even as the festival was in progress, we received a few other significant endowments. Our Chief Guest of this evening has very kindly and generously donated to The Music Academy the award money going with the Award he just received in India. This award money would be used to help pay the fees for talented but poor young musicians taking part in our educational courses. Dr. Enjikollai Krishnan and Dr. Mrs. Leela Krishnan based in Kansas City, USA, who have been ardent connoisseurs of Carnatic music and have been an integral part of our annual season for over 25 years, have very generously announced two endowments - one for a Natya Kala Acharya Award to be conferred on a distinguished dancer for excellence and contribution to the art of dance, to be given annually from next year at the Dance Festival carrying an award money of Rs.l lakh and the other for a yearly endowment concert of Sanskrit philosophical and spiritual compositions. Smt. Chandrika, daughter of Sangita Kalanidhi Shri R.K. Srikantan has instituted in the name of this great musician, two endowment programmes annually featuring the compositions of the very eminent Mysore composers. This year’s Sangita Kalanidhi Awardees, Bombay Sisters have just come forward to institute a generous endowment in the name of their guru Sangita Kalanidhi Shri T.K. Govinda Rao, the interest from which will be given as an award for the best outgoing student of the Advanced School of Carnatic Music of The Music Academy. We acknowledge all the above with our deep appreciation.

I wish to emphasise that the pace of infrastructure improvements seen in the last few years has not come at the cost of artistic and academic activities. In fact, there has been a resurgence in this area under the expert guidance of Dr. Pappu Venugopala Rao, one of our Secretaries, himself a musicologist and scholar and with the help of other eminent experts. This has also resulted in a revival of publication activities, the first fruit of which is going to be released by our Chief Guest, in a short while of our first major research-based work, Volume-1 of the English translation of Sangita Sampradaya Pradarsini (SSP) after a gap of over 25 years.

In conclusion, we would continue to seek the unstinted support and participation of members, rasikas, well wishers and friends to help safeguard and strengthen our fine tradition of classical fine arts in which the Academy has always remained at the forefront over the last eight decades.

Finally, let me ask all of you to attend the fifth edition of our Dance Festival from January 3rd to January 9th, 2011.

Thank you very much.


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A t the Sadas, January 1st 2011 The Music Academy, Madras

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Awardees 2011 Sangita Kalanidhi Award

Bombay Sisters

Presidents of the Conference

Bom respectively on 7th December 1936 and 26th August 1938 at Trissur to Mukthambal and N Chidambaram Iyer, C Saroja and C Lalitha, or the Bombay Sisters as they are popularly known, were initiated into music by their elder sister, Sethu Mahadevan. Later they trained in Bombay under HAS Mani, who was known in local circles as Chellamani Bhagavatar.

Having joined the Central College for Kamatik Music (now the Isai Kalluri) in Madras, for higher studies in the art, they came under the direct tutelage of Sangita Kalanidhi Musiri Subramania Iyer who was then Principal of the College. Having qualified with the degree of Sangita Vidwan, they continued their pursuit of music under Sangita Kalanidhi TK Govinda Rao. This is a training that still continues.

Beginning with their debut in 1963, the Bombay Sisters progressed steadily as concert artistes. They are ranked in the top grade by the All India Radio. They have performed at numerous Sabhas and under the auspices of state-promoted institutions all over the country. The Sisters have also given several performances abroad.

The recipients of numerous awards and recognitions, the Bombay Sisters are known for their strict adherence to the tenets of classical music. They have also carved a unique niche for themselves through the many recordings they have done of Sanskrit and Tamil hymns and chants, wedding songs and music lessons for the young. In recognition of their services to the art, The Music Academy, Madras is proud to confer on them the title of Sangita Kalanidhi.

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Sangita Kala Acharya Award

Suguna Varadachari

Bom on 20th December 1945 at Coimbatore to Janaki and V.D. Srinivasan, Suguna Varadachari had her initial training in music under P.K. Rajagopala Iyer. Having passed the Sangita Vidwan course at the Central College of Kamatik Music (now the Isai Kalluri) Madras, she underwent advanced training under Sangita Kalanidhi Musiri Subramania Iyer, thanks to a Government of India scholarship. She then joined the Teacher’s Training Course in Music and passed the same with a First Class. She continued her music training under Sangita Kala Acharya Calcutta K.S. Krishnamurthy.

Known for her extensive repertoire of songs acquired from authentic sources, she imparts her knowledge to several students and is a much sought-after gum. She has also taught at the Madras University’s Department of Music. An A grade artiste of the All India Radio, she has performed in India and abroad and has received several awards and titles. The Music Academy, Madras with great pleasure confers on her the title of Sangita Kala Acharya.

Sangita Kala Acharya Award


Rhadha

Bom on 31st December 1941 at Bombay to Rajam and V Ramamoorthy Iyer, Rhadha trained in dance and music. Her gums in Bharata Natyam were Vazhuvoor Ramiah Pillai and her elder sister Kamala. She also trained in Kuchipudi under Vempatti Chinna Sathyam. In music she trained under Needamangalam V.V. Subramaniam, Pathamadai Sundaram and Sangita Kalanidhi D.K. Jayaraman.

Rhadha began her dance career at the age of six when she danced with her sister Kamala. Later she became a solo performer. She performed at several venues and choreographed dance dramas and thematic presentations besides composing jatis and several items in the Bharata Natyam repertoire. She has also given several lecture demonstrations on the art form. A recipient of several awards, she established Pushpanjali, her dance school in 1982. Considered one of the foremost exponents of the Vazhuvoor style, she has trained several disciples who are top- ranking performers today. The Music Academy, Madras with great pleasure confers on her the title of Sangita Kala Acharya.

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TTK Memorial Award

Parassala B Ponnammal

Bom on 29th November 1924 at Parassala to A Bhagavathy Ammal and R Mahadeva Iyer, Ponnammal trained at the Sree Swathi Tirunal College of Music, Trivandrum where she learnt from Sangita Kalanidhi Semmangudi R Srinivasa Iyer. She continued her tutelage under the maestro after she passed out of the college. She also trained on the veena under Sangita Kalanidhi K.S. Narayanaswamy.

She is considered a true representative of the Semmangudi style. Besides pursuing a career as a concert artiste, Ponnammal taught music at several educational institutions in Kerala and is today a guest faculty for MA and M Phil courses at the Department of Music, Kerala University. She holds the distinction of being the first woman artiste to be invited to perform at the Navaratri Mantapam at Trivandrum. She has released recordings and continues to be a performing artiste and teacher. The Music Academy, Madras is proud to present her the TTK Award for 2010.

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TTK Memorial Award

Manakkal S Rangarajan

Bom on 13th September 1922 to Seethalakshmi and Santhanakrishna Bhagavatar at Manakkal, Rangarajan was trained in music by his father. He later evolved his own style. His music is known for its adherence to tradition and he has been giving concerts from a young age. His performance style was appreciated by maestros in the field and he has had the fortune of being accompanied by stalwarts such as Palani Subramania Pillai and Sangita Kalanidhis Kumbhakonam Rajamanikkam Pillai, T Chowdiah and Palghat Mani Iyer.

Rangarajan has performed all over India and also at several locations abroad. He has sung for the AIR Madras since its inception. He has demonstrated rare pallavis at the Music Academy’s annual conferences, using both hands for talas involving different cycles. He has been widely honoured and is the recipient of several titles. The Music Academy, Madras is proud to present him the TTK Award for 2010.

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Musicologist Award


Dr R Sathyanarayana

Bom on 9th May 1927 at Mysore to Varalakshmi and B Rami ah, R Sathyanarayana is a multi-faceted scholar. He qualified in science and took to the profession of teaching, becoming a Professor of Chemistry at the University level. He is well-known for his scholarship over a wide-range of disciplines - musicology, dance, philosophy, psychology, ayurveda and Sri Vidya. He received the degree of DLitt. in Music.

In the world of performing arts, he is renowned for his editing, translation, commentary and publication of several ancient treatises and texts. He is also known for his descriptive writings on music history and concepts. He has written in detail on the relationships in aesthetics between other art forms and music. A recipient of several fellowships and awards in India and abroad, he conducts workshops and is a much sought-after speaker. In recognition of his services in music research, The Music Academy, Madras is proud to present him the Musicologist award for 2010.

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aJ “ Ip

Music Academy Dance Festival 2011The fifth dance festival of The Music Academy was held from 3rd January to

9th January, 2011. It was inaugurated by Ms. Leela Samson, Director, Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai and Chairperson, Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi. Mr. N. Murali, President, The Music Academy, gave the welcome address. Mr. Sreedhar Potarazu, the main sponsor of the festival spoke at the inauguration.

The festival featured eighteen solo and duet dancers and eight group presentations. The morning sessions had veteran dancers Rhadha, Sucheta Chapekar, V.P. Dhananjayan and Shantha Dhananjayan, Vaijayanthimala Bali and C.V. Chandrasekhar. The mid- moming sessions had younger artists Priya Murle, Prithvija Balagopalan, P. Praveen Kumar, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, Shobha Sharma and Jayaprabha Menon. Prithvija Balagopalan was the winner of the Spirit of Youth Award in 2010. Rama Vaidyanathan, Shijith Nambiar and Parvathy Nambiar, Malavika Sarukkai, Urmila Sathyanarayanan, Alarmel Valli and Dominique Delorme presented solo Bharatanatyam recitals in the evening while Malti Shy am presented a solo Kathak performance.

Among the group presentations were Jai Sri Krishna by Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam and Nrithyodaya Artistes, Sampradayam by Mallika Sarabhai and Darpana Performing Group, Spanda by Kalakshetra, choreographed by Leela Samson, Raghuvamsa Tilakarn by Chitra Visweswaran’s Chidambaram Academy of Performing Arts, Rasaniladhisha by Orissa Dance Academy and Aruna Mohanty while Kuchipudi was presented by Jai Kishore Mosalikanti and Group, Kathakali (Keechaka Vadham) was presented by Kerala Kalamandalam and Odissi (Sriyah) by Nritya Gram.

A brochure with photographs of dancers and programme details and articles was released on the occasion.

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PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONFERENCE 2010

Day 1 - December 16, 2010The morning conference sessions of The Music Academy commenced with the Sangita

Kalanidhi designates Bombay Sisters Smt C Saroja and Smt. C Lalitha in the Chair.

Jyothi Kamath group presented Devotional Music at the beginning.

Prof. Kanniks Kannikeswaran presented a lecture demonstration on ‘The dhrupad compositional form and the krtis of Muthusvami DTksitar - A comparative study’ There has been a lot of speculation on how Hindustani music may have influenced the work of Muttusvami Dlksitar. The speaker dwelt briefly on DTksitar travelling to Banaras and the interpretation of scholars such as TL Venkatarama Iyer and Dr V Raghavan that while there, he heard Hindustani music and was influenced by it.

Prof. Kanniks Kannikeswaran’s complete article on this is published in this journal.

The second lecture of the day was by Smt. Bhairavi on ‘The various pathantara-s of Sri Krsna Lila Taranginl’ She focused on the varying styles of rendition of the taranginl in the bhajana sampradaya that is prevalent in the Tamil and Telugu speaking regions of South India. She made it clear at the outset that she was not presenting the songs as they are sung in concerts. She prefaced her paper with the song pahimam pahimam (malayamarutam). The Sff Krsna Lila Taranginl is an opera set in the yaksa gana style. It portrays incidents in the life of Krsna from his birth, till his marriage to his eight queens. There are 120 klrtana-s. There are patra pravesa daru-s, gadya-s (also known as curnika-s) and sloka-s. Each of the individual chapters is called a taranga though the term has now come to also mean the songs themselves. This is a wrong practice and the manuscripts refer to the songs as daru-s or klrtana-s only. Like Jayadeva’s astapadl-s, the taranginl influenced other composers such as Upanishad Brahmam, a contemporary of Tyagaraja. But the similarities end here for, the structure of the latter’s work is not the same.

Bhairavi’s article on this is published in this journal.

Sangita Kalanidhi C Lalitha was very appreciative and said the speaker had presented hitherto unknown facts to the audience.

Day 2 - December 17, 2010‘Variety in Varnam-s’ was Sumathi Krishnan’s topic for the first lecture demonstration.

She is a senior disciple of Smt. R. Vedavalli. She mentioned that the earliest traceable varnam is that of Govindasamayya, a composer of the 17th century. Early varnam-s appear to have largely been in Telugu and later there have been Sanskrit, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada vamam-s as well.

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Varnam-s appear to have grown in volume over the years. The Sangita Sarvartha Sara Sangrahamu of Vina Ramanujayya has only 12 in its 1885 edition. There are 25 in Pallavi Svarakalpavalli (1900) which has the compositions of Vina Kuppayyar and Tiruvoniyur Tyagayyar. There are 40 vamam-s in the Sangita Sampradaya Pradarsinl of Subbarama Dlk$itar (1904). In TK Govinda Rao’s “Vamasagaram” (2006) there are 500 and in the “Tana Varna Tarangini” of BM Sundaram there are 806. Smt. Sumathi discussed many things about vamam-s and their types. She said that vamam-s appear to have been a standard method of praising royalty.

The structure of a varnam is usually pallavi, anupallavi, muktayi svaram, caranam, ettukada svaram-s. But there are variants - Ramaswami Dlksitar’s varnam in Sriranjani was left incomplete after the first caranam. It was completed by Syama Sastry, Cinnasvami and Muttusvami Dlksitar. If this is an instance of a varnam with four composers, there is a dualcomposer varnam. This is an anuloma viloma varnam composed by Wallajahpet Venkataramana Bhagavatar and Vina Kuppayyar in Bhairavi where both svara and sahitya are palindromes from end to end. The opening line is sarasaku raku sarasa.

Padajati vamam-s are those that have jati-s and svaram-s in the muktayi portion. Examples are Kunrakkudi Krsna Aiyar’s varnam in kedaram and Muthaiyah Bhagavatar’s mate (khamas).

There are ragamalika vamam-s such as the most famous ‘valaci’ in nine ragas. But a more interesting example presented was Vinjamuri Varadaraja Aiyangar’s ghana raga pancaka varnam where the pallavi is in nata, the anupallavi in gaula, the muktayi in arabhi, the first caranam in varali, sri in the second and all five raga-s appear in the last caranam.

The second lecture demonstration was by Ms.Deepthi Bhalla on Dundubhi Natyam (compositions based on rare taja-s of Kerala). The tajas of sopana, their schemes and expressions are highly advanced, imaginative, typical and sublime and different from the sampuma raga paddhati of the classical age.

The vadya sangita of Kerala had more prominence than vacya sangita, especially as heard in kottu vadyam.

Most of the songs, especially those found in the folk and ritualistic music are set to different chanda-s, with rhythm based on the pattern of words. References of these may be found in several treatises and literary and creative works like Tullal Kathas of Kunjan Nambiyar, Mavaratham Pattu of Ayyi Piflai Asan and others. Their compositions provide illustrations that give laksana-s of Kerala tala-s which are more chanda-s based and have racana-s that are chandobaddha.

It is interesting to note that the same tala rendered in folk music, dance and ritualistic music, classical dance, instrumental, percussion ensembles, have different vaitari-s or syllabic

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patterns, though the time cycle may remain the same. While Carnatic music is based on suladi sapta taia-s, the sopana music is based on ganas of old chanda-s.

Except rupaka, all tala-s of Carnatic music begin with laghu, which varies as per the jati, while the sopana music is rendered with a beat and visarjitam.

She then demonstrated some compositions set to rare tala-s. She presented a composition set to raja vidyadhava tala which eulogises lord Siva. This is a Desappiri Nrtyam.

Day 3 - December 18, 2010Prof. David Nelson spoke on Form and Process in the Tani Avartanam. He is an

American who has been studying Carnatic music for over 40 years.

Over the years, Nelson created strategies and a conceptual framework for understanding the art of mrdangam play, himself. Nelson has evolved definitions for terms such as mora, korvai etc in terms of phrases and gaps.

It was a very clear presentation and it is worth pondering over how much of background work would have gone into it.

A complete article by Prof. Nelson is published in this journal.

Experts Committee member Prof. Trichy Sankaran complimented David Nelson.

In the Second lecture demonstration Vijay Siva presented a demonstration on four allied raga-s - devakriya, manjari, devamrtavarsini and kharaharapriya.

Vijay began with devakriya and traced its origins. It was first mentioned by Ramamatya in his Svaramelakalanidhi in 1550. The author had classified it under the kannada gaula group of raga-s which corresponds to the 34th mela of Venkatamakhi. It is also referred to as an inferior raga. The raga then finds mention in the Sadragacandrodaya of Pundarika Vithala. Shahaji, the Maratha ruler of Tanjavur emphasises that it is devoid of g and n classifies it as a janya of kamboji. The raga was elaborated upon by Muddu Venkatamakhin who classified it as an audava and upanga raga. Today this devakriya is known as suddha saveri and is classified as the 2nd janya raga of kanakambari in the Sanglta Sampradaya Pradarsinl.

He then took up manjari, traced its origin and history. The raga first appears in the Sangrahacudamani.

There is a raga of the same name in Hindustani music but it is different. Tyagaraja has composed one song in this - pattividuvaradu.

The next raga was devamrtavarsini. This raga was essentially a tune of Tyagaraja’s and there is his song Evarani in it. It is also known as nadacintamani.

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He then went on to kharaharapriya and said that though the SarigrahacOdamani classifies this as the 22nd mela, it was thanks to Tyagaraja that the raga actually took shape. He created 12 songs in it.

Vijay ended his presentation with the speculation that Tyagaraja perhaps chose to compose only one song in the three jaiiya-s and so many in the melakarta because he wanted the latter to gain a definite shape.

There was a lively interaction at the end.

Day 4 - December 19, 2010The first lecture of the day was on mallari by Sri. B.M. Sundaram with a demonstration

by Injikkudi Subramaniam.

Mallari is a musical composition with no lyric (sahitya) at all. The vidvan-s of the earlier generations, the tradition-setters were strict that any mallari should have no sahitya. Sundaram said that mallari has to be played only in the raga gambhlranata, a pentatonic scale, again a nuncupative rule. The deity is considered to set out in procession with vlra rasa to ward off the evil forces and this raga, which has the same rasa is verily suitable for mallari.

Periya mallari, triputa tala mallari, ter mallari, tlrtha mallari and such other relevant pieces were ably demonstrated by Injikkudi Subramaniam.

BMS’ article on Mallari is published in this Journal

The second lecture demonstration was presented by the Madras String Quartette lead by Sri. VNarasimhan.

He started the lecture demonstration with the description of how he was initiated in to Gottuvadyam first and later became interested in Western music. The element HARMONY of the western music was the ‘magnet’ that pulled him towards that music.

The MSQ then demonstrated the svarajati ‘rara venugopabala’, followed by popular krti “raghuvamsa’, and Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Tsane’ in ragam cakravakam.

They then demonstrated the krti ‘jfiana mosagarada’ emphasizing the words

“...osagarada...” by arranging Vln II, Viola & Cello.

They concluded their demonstration with ‘moksamu’ in saramati set to adi talam.

The lecture demonstration was received very well.

Day 5 - December 20, 2010Dr. Premeela Gurumurthy presented a lecture demonstration on Harikatha in the four

Southern States of India.

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Dr. Premeela began by tracing the terms used for Harikatha in the various states. It is called klrtan in Marathi, kathakatha in Hindi, gagariya purana in Gujarati, harikatha in Telugu, harikathe in Karnataka, kathakalaksepam, harikatha and isai sorpozhivu in Tamil and kathaprasangam in Malayalam.

She briefly traced the origins of harikatha in the Tanjavur region and spoke of the contributions of the founding fathers. The salient features of harikatha include the performer remaining standing throughout and his/her use of the jalra/cipla. The musical forms include saki, dindi, ovi, abhanga, arya, pada, anjaniglta, khadga, khandapadya, sTsapadya, dvipada, cumika, cindu, nondicindu, temmahgu, sloka, vrttam and agaval. Apart from these, the compositions of saints in Marathi, Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu are also used.

Dr. Premeela’s article on Harikatha is published in this journal.

The second presentation on singing varnam-s in six speeds, was by Sangita Kalanidhi T.K. Govinda Rao. TKG was assisted in the exercise by his disciples Radha Ramji, Gokul and Prasanna Venkataraman. The entire session focused on demonstration. The group sang the ‘ninnukori’ (mbhanam) varnam in six speeds.

Sangita Kala Acharya PS Narayanaswami complimented TKG and said that this is the kind of exercise that all serious students of music ought to take up, with the guidance of a, guru. If practised religiously up to the age of 15, no errors in talam can ever happen, he said.

Day 6 - December 21, 2010Renowned flautist Mala Chandrasekhar presented an impressive lecture-demonstration,

‘Flute - Techniques and Styles’ She began with an introduction about the bamboo flute, its structure, advantages and disadvantages, limitations of the instrument and its comparison with voice.

She then dealt with some technical terms used in playing styles, by demonstrating tutukaram, the usage of tongue and how it is particularly useful when the flautist plays manodharma svaras; viraladi, the way the fingers are placed on the holes to make a demarcation in the sound or emphasise on a note, where needed; the gamaka techniques, blowing-air control, sustaining in sruti, as well as different fingering techniques.

Mala listed some major artists who made a mark and brought in a solo status to the instrument. She demonstrated the different styles with the help of audio visuals, photos, audio and video clippings of prominent artists such as Palladam Sanjeeva Rao, T.R. Mahalingam, Sikkil Sisters, N. Ramani, T. Viswanathan, B.N. Suresh, K.S. Gopalakrishnan and others. She concluded with a demonstration of how one can use the same instrument to suit different pitches, transposing the notes or svaras, the use of base flutes and how the flute is used as an accompaniment.

Her article on the subject is published in this journal.

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Dr. Padma Subrhamanyam presented a lecture demonstration on Bfhadlsvara temple and its influence on music and dance. The lecture demonstration was based on her research work, in finding the karanas in the BfhadTsvara temple. She talked of her pioneering work and how she was able to discover them. She presented video clips of the temple and the karana-s, and presented some recorded clips of the karana-s performed by her.

Day 7 - December 22, 2010Dr. Priyashri Rao commenced her lecture with an introduction to the textual tradition,

listed various treatises in the chronological order beginning with the Natya Sastra of Bharata, the commentaries to the texts, wherever available and briefly described the contents in the different texts. She mentioned some more literary sources other than the Laksanagrantha-s.

She took up some of the texts to emphasise how they were used in some specific form of classical dances. She made some interesting observations such as how Sangltadarpana described a dance form, ‘suddhasabdanrtta,’ where a lady ‘taladhari’ or a lady naftuvanar is mentioned. She explained how Perani Paddhati, referred to different techniques of sounding the gharghara or the anklets and drew parallel between the use of anklets in Kathak and Perini. She said that Abhinayacandrika mentioned 13 Bhaumi (earthly) cans and inferred similarities between the ninth can, katara, and sequence of movements performed in mangalacaran, the first item of the Odissi performance repertoire.

Priyashri Rao’s lecture stressed the importance of study of different Laksanagranta-s.

Her article on the subject is included in this journal.

Dr. R.S. Jayalakshmi, noted vainika, presented a lecture-demonstration on the raga begada. It was a lucid presentation where facts were laid down on the basis of authentic textual references on the one hand and authoritative practical demonstration on the other. Taking the Sangita Sampradaya PradarsinI as the source text for explaining the structure and form of the raga, she said that the book had a record of begada as it evolved through three centuries, 17-19 A.D. Dr. Jayalakshmi pointed out that nisada and madhyama were the notes that lent begada its uniqueness. The various changes in prayogas both additions and deletions, with respect to the gltam, Muthusvami Dlksitar’s krtis and Subbarama Dlksitar’s sancaris were explained with suitable demonstration. In spite of such structural changes, interestingly, the form and feel of the raga were not altered.

Citing Tyagaraja kfti-s and the compositions of later composers, the vainika observed that there has a been a marked shift from sparse usage of the kaisiki nisada (only in p d n, d p) in SSP to its abundance in present day renditions of begada, while kakali n has taken a backseat. She also spoke about the changes made by later vidvan-s to the popular begada varnam ‘inta calamu’ which has resulted in some of the prayoga-s such as ‘s n d n s’ being lost or considered outdated.

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In the summing up, PS Narayanaswami humorously remarked that begada is a raga where no svara appears to be in its place.

Day 8 - December 23, 2010Gayatri Girish made a presentation on ‘An analysis of the structure of Margadarsi

Sesayyangar’s compositions’ Sesayyangar was a composer of the mid-17th century. He used the mudra ‘kosala’ by which it is inferred that he was from Ayodhya. He was a Sff Vaisnava Brahmin who lived in Srirangam and composed largely on Sriranganatha. There are some songs with subjects as Anjaneya, Sita, Nammazhwar and others. Though he was from the North, he appears to have been familiar with Tamil traditions. He mentions in his re manasa (kalyani) that Ramanuja wrote a commentary on the BrahmasOtra. In his kriti on Nammazhwar (vande vakulabharanam) he gives biographic details of the saint. There is a mention of Vipranarayana (tondaradippodi azhvar) in another song.

Sesayyangar’s compositions have come to us through various sources. The Sanglta Sarvartha Sara Sangrahamu of Vina Ramanujayya has the lyrics of 18 songs. The Gayaka Locanam of Taccflr Brothers has 9. The Sanglta Sampradaya PradarsinI has one song with notation. The Prathamabhyasa Pustakamu of Subbarama Dlksitar has 1 with notation. A.M. Cinnasami Mudaliyar’s Oriental Music in European Notation has 2. Sanglta Rasamayam of K.V. Srinivasa Aiyangar has 1 with notation and Krtimanimalai of Rangaramanuja Aiyangar has 3. The Saraswati Mahal library has a number of songs in its manuscripts, with just the lyrics.

She then dealt with the canda-s employed by Sesayyangar in his compositions.

Dr. V. Premalatha’s paper ‘The Music Manuscripts and Manavalli Ramakrsna Kavi’ was presented in the second lecture demonstration. At the outset, Premalatha gave a very brief introduction about manuscripts, their types and the various areas of their study, with reference to music.

She then spoke about the great scholar Manavalli Ramakrsna Kavi (1866-1957) whose contribution to the study on music manuscripts can be read under: Survey and Collection of manuscripts, Making Copies of Manuscripts, Edition of ‘Abhinavabharati’ and compilation of his magnum opus, ‘Bharatakosa.’

Ramakrsna Kavi travelled to many places in India searching for manuscripts and made hand written copies of many of them.

A unique feature in his manuscript collection is that he has given numerous references about other readings of the same verse or line and in many places noted his opinion on the subject with regard to other manuscript readings. This feature, Premalatha said, was very useful while making a study of those manuscripts now.

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Glimpses of his life and a few accounts of his life, mentioned by Dr. Premalatha, showing his determination to continue this monumental work in spite of poverty, moved the audience.

Two of his noteworthy contributions were the edition of the ‘Abhinavabharati,’ a commentary to the Natyasastra, and ‘Bharatakosa’ an exhaustive lexicon of terms related to music, dance and other allied fields, which would be a valuable resource for students and scholars.

Dr. Pappu Venugopala Rao in his summing up said that the best tribute to Kavi would be for people to buy the Bharatakosa.


Day 9 -December 24, 2010Madhu Mohan who holds an M.A. in Carnatic music and a Ph.D in Indian music for

his fundamental research on pitch analysis presented a lecture on ‘Svara as an Abstraction’

In essence he explains that there is a dichotomy between the theory and practice of music. While one can theorise about the 22 sruti-s, in reality, measurement may show that actual rendition varies from the assigned sruti values. The speaker takes the example of the sadharana gandhara in Todi and Kharaharapriya. While theoretically they are assigned the same sruti value, they have an entirely different placement during alapana The speaker mentions that the fluidity of svara-s is an accepted fact and that the theory of fixed frequencies for svaras is untenable.

He speaks of gamaka-s as absolutely essential for Carnatic music and not mere ornamentations. He defines two terms which are essential in understanding a svara:

Tuning - which is defined as the exact positioning of notes

Temperament - which is the artistic pitching of notes.

With the aid of audio clippings and slides the speaker further went on to prove that svara as such is a mere abstraction and in reality there is great variation in the sruti values of notes.

T. R. Subramanian commented that srutis are not 22 or 40 but are endless - ‘srutayah ananta’. Ravikiran commented that Indian music uses just intonation and not equal temperament. Just intonation is not practical for Western music because of the use of harmony.

It being the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, Ms. Somali Panda presented a lecture demonstration on the songs of Tagore, known as Rabindra sangeet which forms a unique genre in Indian music. Ms. Panda illustrated her lecture demonstration with relevant songs.

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The speaker began with lines from the ‘Glitanjali’ for which Tagore received the Nobel Prize in 1913.

Ms. Somali enchanted the audience by humming the Fado tune as well as by singing the Tagore songs based on these tunes.

Dr. N. Ramanathan from the Experts’ Committee complimented Dr. Pappu Venugopala Rao for organizing the programme without tabla or Harmonium accompaniment as that would have marred the purity and sensitivity of the music. He complimented the singer’s music saying that she had a built-in tanpura in her voice as she presented such pitch-aligned notes. He also observed that the song nldu caranamule of K.V. Srinivasa Aiyangar in Simhendra madhyamam was the inspiration behind the song baje karuno sure. He also mentioned that Rabindra sangeet was a system built around an individual. Tagore created his own notation and tala and was not just a poet and musician, but was a painter and also created a form of dance.

Sri T.R. Subramaniam complimented Ms. Somali’s uninhibited voice production.

Dr. Pappu concluded that the poet was so well renowned and accepted universally, that there is a state owned auditorium in Hyderabad known as Rabindra Bharati. Rabindranath Tagore’s plays have been adapted to Kuchipudi, a dance form of Andhra Pradesh and Dr. Pappu has himself translated Rabindranath’s famous Candalika into Sanskrit for expression through Kuchipudi.

Bombay Sisters, the Sangita Kalanidhi designates congratulated Ms. Panda for her lec-dem and for bringing the cultural treasure of Bengal.

Somali Panda’s article on the subject is published in this journal.

Day 10 - December 25, 2010‘Niraval singing for pallavi and krti-s’ was the topic dealt by Suguna Varadachari. It

was a neat presentation where most of the points made were substantiated with appropriate demonstrations. Defining the term ‘niraval’ as making things even (‘niravuvadu’ in Tamil), she said that in music, filling in the gaps between syllables in a given line with creative melodic phrases constitutes niraval singing.

Smt. Suguna emphasised that for krti niraval, choosing the appropriate line where the meaning was complete was very important. In both pallavi and krti niraval the finishing note should be the one that preceded the eduppu or starting note of the niraval line. She said the main differences between niraval for pallavi and krti were that, in pallavi there was eduppu and aridi (where the tala beat after a laghu and the syllable coincided) which should not be changed in the course of niraval singing, while in krti niraval, eduppu alone was prominent and aridi was not mandatory, even structurally. The pallavi niraval is more intellectual, and embellishment of the meaning of the sahitya is not as important as for krti niraval.

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Smt. Suguna also explained that both pallavi and kfri niraval were sung in three speeds, the first speed being similar to raga alapana, the second to first speed of svara singing, and the third to second speed of svara singing. The presentation was very educative especially to students of music, who were present there in large numbers.

The second lec-dem was by Smt. S.Sowmya, who gave a brilliant demonstration on ghanta and its allied raga-s. She said that this was a raga that was essentially phrase oriented rather than scale oriented. It appears to be a combination of phrases from bhairavi, tOdi, dhanyasi and even punnaga varali at times. Sowmya’s lecture-demonstration was largely based on Muttusvami Dlksitar’s ghanta navavarana krti and the padam neyyamuna. Apparently, the range of the raga as evinced by the navavarana krti and the padam, appears to be from ‘ma’ in the lowest octave to ‘ga’ in the higher octave. There is no ‘dha’ in the arOhanam but it does appear when the anupallavi joins the pallavi in the navavaranam. ‘p d n ’ appears to be allowed but not ‘p d n s’ The ‘ga’ appears to be an important note and allows for a variety of gamaka-s such as kampita, nokku, erra jaru and orikai. In the last the ‘ga’ appears to touch ‘ma’ In Dlksitar’s sampradaya there is no tendency to pause at m.

Sowmya sang snatches of raga alapana and also sang tanam in the raga. She sang the navavaranam fully and some parts of the padam. It was a very interesting demonstration and the artiste had taken a very challenging subject to present.

Day 11 - December 26, 2011Sangita Kalanidhi Dr. M.S. Gopalakrishnan and his daughter Ms. Narmada presented a

lucid lec-dem on Gamaka-s in Hindustani and Carnatic Music. Having trained in both syterns they were able to throw light on how gamaka-s are viewed in the two different systems of music.

They explained that gamaka-s are very important and unique to our system of music. Treatises mention pancadasa as well as dasavidha gamaka-s. The concept of gamaka is very helpful in understanding ragas with similar notes. They demonstrated the practical aspect of gamaka-s on the violin, distinguishing between the dasavidha gamaka-s, arohana, avarohana, dhalu, sphurita, kampita, ahata, pratyahata, tripuccha, andola and murchhana. Gamaka-s are grace notes or embellishments.

They gave samples of plain notes as well as notes with gamaka-s employed. Sri MSG mentioned that varnam-s were a repository of gamaka-s, particularly the bhairavi vamam. They rendered the saveri varnam in two speeds, demonstrating how to handle gamaka-s in differing speeds.

This was followed by an explanation of how the same ri$abha is held differently in saveri, gaula and mayamalavagaula. Similarly the risabha of kedaragaula, sahana and pOmacandrika was shown.

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Dr. Narmada demonstrated how prayogas differentiated raga-s like bihagada, natbehag and sawali behag. Sri. M.S. GopalaKrishnan demonstrated gamaka-s in Carnatic music by emphasizing how the gandharam and nisadam are held differently in the closely allied raga-s darbar and nayaki. Similarly, arabhi and devagandhari are distinguished by certain gamaka-s. Ahiri is a raga with a characteristic phrase and a unique embellishment of the note ‘ni’

The father-daughter duo concluded the session with a javali in kapi.

The second session on 26th December, 2011 was by the Sangita Kalanidhi designates Bombay Sisters on Tyagaraja’s rare krtis in popular raga-s and popular krti-s in rare raga-s.

They observed that there is a general opinion that Sri Tyagaraja composed mainly on Sri Rama which is a fact. But he also visited many ksetra-s and composed on Siva and Ambal. Tyagaraja composed on ksetras such as Kovvur, Srirangam, Tiruvaiyaru, Tirupati and Tiruvottriyur. They had taken the compilation in the book by their Guru Sri. T.K. Govinda Rao as the main source for the compositions they described in the course of the lecture. They mentioned at the outset that there would be less of lecture and more of demonstration.

They began with lesser heard krtis in major raga-s. While ‘ramabana’ is a popular song in saveri, they rendered a part of the lesser known ‘kanna talli’ on Tripurasundari of Tiruvottriyur. They mentioned that ‘sadincane’ and ‘calagalla’ were famous compositions while ‘ninne neranammi’ in misra capu tala and ‘sundari ninu’ based on the Tiruvottriyur ksetra were rare pieces.

In begada raga there are well-known compositions like ‘nlverakuladhana’, ‘nadopasana’, ‘gattiga nanu’ and the lesser known ‘sundari nannindarilo’ based on Tiruvottriyur ksetra. In the raga kalyani commonly sung compositions are ‘vasudevayani’ and ‘etavunara’ while the rare composition is ‘nammi vaccina’ on Kovvur ksetra.

They demonstrated lesser known compositions in todi, bhairavi and sanmukhapriya.

They then went on to demonstrate and name some well-known krtis in lesser known raga-s. In this list falls: snramapadama in amrtavahini, telisi rama in pOmacandrika, moksamugalada in saramati, calamelara in margahindolam, evarani in devamrtavarsini, pattividuvaradu in manjari, maravairi in nasikabhusani and ni dayaradu in vasantabhairavi.

There are also rare compositions in rare raga-s such as ennadu jQtamu in Kalavati, endu kaugilintura in suddha desi and etla kanukondu in ghanta.

Dr. Pappu appreciated their simplicity and Guru bhakti.

Day 12 - December 27, 2010Dr. Uma Maheshwari presented the first lecture demonstration of the day on ‘Music in

the Divya prabandham-s’ in beautiful Tamil. Her topic dealt with the fact that though we do

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not know as to what music the azhvar-s had set their compositions to, it cannot be doubted that these were intended as musical pieces and were sung by the composers themselves.


The second lecture on 27th December 2010 was by Sadanam Harikumar, a well-known Kathakali artiste, on sopana sarigltam.

He began by stating a conjecture that sopana sangltam could have been akin to tevaram music of the Tamil-speaking regions of South India. Both are bhakti-oriented and relate to shrines. Sopana later became a part of Kathakali music and today, Astapadi-s are also classified as sopana. In this art form, tunes (akin to the pan-s) such as puranlr, padi, innisai and indajam are used. Improvisation on these tunes are rarely permitted. Today, sopana is used in Kathakali to bring out the character of the person being portrayed. He demonstrated the song of Draupadi before Kr$na leaves for the court of Dhjtarastra to try and avoid a battle. The importance here is to bring out the sorrow of Draupadi and the piece sung was a piece of speech, beautified with music. There are thus no fixed and strict Carnatic rules of grammar in the rendition of the songs. Similarly, he demonstrated a piece of free-rhythm called 'ganapati kai'. This is a set of beats from a maddalam with a jati pattern to it. But it does not fit into the taja paddhati of Carnatic music.

He then went on to demonstrate some musical pieces.

The speaker said that though there is a feeling among a section of people that songs sung without sruti or svara perfection is sopana it was not true.

Day 13 - December 28, 2010The lecture demonstration of Aneesh Pradhan, well- known tabla player, on the different

gharana-s or styles of tabla playing was very informative and enjoyable. He first mentioned that the concept of gharana-s in tabla was based on two aspects: content or repertoire and technique.

As far as technique is concerned, the gharana-s employ the various sollus or syllables in different combinations. Aneesh also explained that the band baj or playing technique uses a lot of the outer ring of the tabla and in the khula baj, the inner ring is used frequently. The Delhi gharana is characterised by band baaj, while the Lucknow gharana employs khula baaj. He said that these gharanas mainly pertained to solo tabla playing. Aneesh made the presentation lively with beautiful and clear demonstrations of the different gharanas. He was accompanied by Sudhir Nayak on the harmonium.

Smt. Subha Mudgal presented the second lecture demonstration on Khayal and Guru Ramashray Jha’s work as a composer.

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Subha Mudgal gave biographical details of Pandit Ramashray Jha. She said that, when asked about his Guru-s, he would say that he learnt from 72 Guru-s as he had the passion to collect information from many sources about ragdari music. He was open to taking ideas from other gharana-s and openly acknowledged with deep humility the impact of the music of Ustad Habib khan belonging to the Kirana Gharana.

Another person who had made a significant impact on his thinking was Pandit Vishnunarayan Bhatkhande.

Many of his compositions were based on those of earlier composers and some were almost like a pair or ‘joda’ His compositions are in 5 volumes called ‘Abhinav Gitanjali’. Dr. Geeta Banerji brought out 2 volumes known as Rag Sastra with many of his compositions and a book named Malhar darsan has some of his compositions

He was devoted to Sri Rama, his ista devata and could sing the Tulsi Ramayanafully.

As an example of his gentle imagination, she mentioned a composition where during Slta Svayamvar, Slta looks at her bracelet (kankana) to see Rama’s reflection as she is too shy to look at him directly.

Ramashray jha had a large repertoire of folk music and also taught his students Hpri and Dhamar.

Shubhaji presented a magnificent ragmala composed by her guru with the names of the ragas included and one raga merging into the other beginning ‘e mana kalyana hove teri’

Following this she presented a Caturang in suddha sarang with four parts - sahitya, sargam or svaras, tarana syllables and bol or syllables of the pakhawaj.

She also played an audio recording of Pandit Ramashray Jha’s thumri in the maestro’s own voice sung in the year 2000.

Dr. Ramanathan asked about whether a ‘joda’ had the same creative element and sense of freshness as the original work. To this the speaker responded that the creativity was established in their play of words.

Dr. Pappu mentioned that music and lyric are two aspects of a composition and asked about whether others followed Ramashray j i ’s music or lyric.

Shubhaji’s response to this was that music is a Gurumukhi vidya and there are bound to be variations. Each syllable and note has been studded like a piece of jewellery and while variations will be there, the original form is usually maintained. For instance, Jeetendra Abhiseki came to Allahabad to learn from him but gave his own interpretation to the pieces and the deviation was also beautiful.

Sri. T.V. Gopalakrishnan congratulated her on her voice and poise!

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Day 14 - December 29, 2010The first lecture demonstration was presented by Prof. Hoffman, on ‘Authentic Indian

music on traditional Japanese instruments - koto and shakuhachi’

The shakuhachi are usually made from the root end of a bamboo and are extremely versatile instruments. Professional players can produce virtually any pitch they wish from the instrument, and play a wide repertoire of original Zen music, ensemble music with koto, biwa, and shamisen, folk music, jazz, and other modem pieces. Prof. Hoffman mentioned that the shakuhachi was an instrument capable of playing Indian music, unlike many western instruments. He demonstrated the raga Marwa on the instrument.

The koto, he said, is a versatile 13 stringed instrument. One can create the sound of a santoor or even use the bow to create the sound of the violin. The bridge in the instrument may be moved based on the requirement. He demonstrated the raga narayani in this instrument. The diverse sounds that emanated from this unique instrument made the presentation very interesting for the audience. Prof. Hoffman also mentioned that this instrument performed two functions and could also be used for rhythm.

Coming back to the shakuhachi, he mentioned that this was very heavy, technically difficult to play and the most expensive wind instrument in the world. He demonstrated hamsadhvani on the Koto and pllfl and bhupali with the five holed shakuhachi.

Sri TVG was of the opinion that these instruments were more amenable to western music. He also said that the younger generation of musicians could look at the possibilities of these instruments. Sangita Kalanidhi designates, Bombay Sisters remarked that the lec-dem truly reflected the globalization of music and complimented Prof. Tim Hoffman on his unique presentation, creating the playing effect of several instruments.

The second lecture demonstration was by Sri Arvind Parikh on gharana-s of Sitar with specific focus on the gharana of Ustad Vilayat Khan- his contribution and personality.

He began his lecdem by saying that his gharana is known as the Etawah gharana, the Imdadkhani gharana, and more recently, as the Vilayatkhani gharana. He structured his talk around - the sitar as an instrument, concept of a gharana, gharanas of sitar, a brief description of the gayaki, musical journey of Vilayat khan, and how the sitar had to be re-engineered to suit a particular style.

What differentiates gharana-s is rasa bhava or the emotional content and the voice production. Some may have an underlying current of srngara while another may be bhakti rasa pradhan. Raga preferences differ with gharana-s.

Tempo or taja variations may be there. The Kirana gharana prefers a slower tempo while the Gwalior gharana believes in a quicker tempo.


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The unfolding of a raga may be different. While some may begin the raga fast, others may take their time. When asked about Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, he is said to have replied that he was ‘tafan mail and not mal gadi that stops at every station!’

In some gharana-s a lot of importance is attached to the bandish. For instance, the Gwalior gharana may repeat the antara twice. Also, tan patterns differ from gharana to gharana.

Having clarified what a gharana means in Hindustani music he moved on to talk about the various sitar gharanas and named some artistes in the respective gharana-s. He opined that among all the gharana-s of sitar, the Maihar and Imdadkhani gharana-s are well known.

Ustad Ilyas Khan represents the Lucknow gharana and Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan the Indore gharana.

Himself belonging to the Imdadkhani gharana, Sri. Parikh traced 7 generations of artistes of that gharana.

Sri Parikh enumerated the qualities of a good guru and a devoted sisya. Going on to Vilayat Khan, he described him as the treasure house of the gharanaa. Sri Parikh played two of his recordings, one recorded when he was just about 25 years with the zeal of youth and another at the age of 65 showing him as a mature and seasoned artist. His repertoire included popular raga-s and his concerts had an adequate component of semi-classical pieces. He believed he was an orthodox musician while others saw him as a revolutionary musician.

Vilayat khan had also learnt vocal music from his maternal grandfather and uncle and had sown the seed for gayaki ang in sitar. He removed the brass pancam string and replaced it with a steel one and this revolutionary change was adapted by other sitarists. Vilayat Khan did not play surbahar publicly respecting his mother’s wish that his brother Imrat Khan should take to the instrument and that he should play sitar.

Sri Parikh played an audio recording of a duet by Ustad Vilayat Khan on sitar and Ustad Bismillah Khan on shehnai. Ustad Vilayat Khan was a trendsetter, a legend in his lifetime, he said.

Day 15 - 30th December 2010Sangita Kalanidhi Nedunuri Krishnamurthy on the Raga - concept, scope and

establishment.

Sri Nedunuri began his lecdem by saying that the concept of raga is a unique aspect of Indian music. He mentioned that there is a lot of sastra, treatises in Sanskrit and books in Telugu available. Sri Nedunuri observed that the present day trend was to sing new raga-s and new compositions. He said that Semmangudi was in the field for 75 years and though he

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sang sankarabharapam for 75 years, there was a fresh and new dimension each time. Even Ariyakudi kept to ragas like todi and bhairavi though the items may change.

He said that kambhoji, kalyani, sankarabharanam, todi and bhairavi were panca raga ratna-s. Though there are a large number of compositions in these ragas by great vaggeyakara-s, there is room for more compositions in the same raga-s.

He demonstrated todi as a scale and later as a raga showing how gamaka-s on the gandhara and nisada bring out the raga bhava. He emphasized the importance of sphurita and demonstrated both kharaharapriya raga and kalyani.

He explained that Semmangudi’s style had an emotional touch. Nedunuri sang and showed how Semmangudi might have elaborated kharaharapriya with long winding gamaka laden phrases. He also distinguished between kharaharapriya and sriranjani. There is a distinct difference in the mood of these two raga-s.

In an impromptu manner he sang a raga phrase in mohana and the Malladi brothers deciphered the svara-s for the same.

He also said that every varnam had cauka kala svara-s only to show how gamaka-s may be employed. These can be used later during riiga singing. He demonstrated some pancama varja prayoga-s from the varnam as well as as svara kalpana. Vamam-s help in the natural flow of svara-s with raga bhava. They also help in mel kala niraval. They are also useful for tanam singing.

He concluded the session with the soulful rendition of Heccarikaga rara accompanied by his disciples, the Malladi brothers.

Dr. Pappu mentioned that Nedunuri worked 18 hours a day and rarely slept. The tenacity of purpose of this doyen of music is really an inspiration for the musicians of tomorrow.

Day 16 - December 31, 2010The day began with Kavita Devarajan Group presenting devotional music.

Rajkumar Bharati, great grandson of Mahakavi Subrahmanya Bharati presented a lecture demonstration. The presentation carried the spirit and fervor intended by Bharati and the strength of an unbroken tradition of the rendition of the songs.

Rajkumar narrated how his great grandfather would keep singing and keeping the talam, which was a cue for the others in the family that a song was in the making.

Rajkumar demonstrated a few of the patriotic songs such as ‘vande mataram enbom’ and ‘parukkulle nalla nadu’ in the original tunes. Some of the tottira padal (songs in praise of Gods) were also presented.

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The presentation included a stirring rendition of ‘nenjukku nldiyum’ by Lalita Bharati (grand daughter of the poet) as requested by Dr. N. Ramanathan, and was thoroughly appreciated by the rasika-s.

His article on the subject is published in this journal.

Renowned musicologist R. Sathyanarayana presented a scholarly lecture on ‘Sangltasamayasara’, a treatise on music and dance. It was a well-structured presentation dealing first with the source materials (manuscripts and edited publications), then the author, the contents of the text and finally, on future research possibilities based on this text.

The author of the book is Parsvadeva, a Jain, probably from the Digambara sect whose teacher was Mahadeva. It is inferred from his two references to ‘Jagadekamalla’ as ‘prthvlpati’ that he must have been a protege of the ninth Jagadekamalla of the Calukya dynasty.

This also helps in deciding the upper limit of Parsvadeva’s date as 11th century A.D and since the first reference to Sarigltasamayasara is found in Simhabhflpala’s commentary to the Sanglta Ratnakara, which is placed in 1330 A.D, it may also be said that he lived not

later than 13th A.D.

Parsvadeva held the titles of ‘Srutijnanacakravarti’, ‘Rasabhavabhedanipuna’ and

‘Sangltakara’ among others.

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The dhrupad compositional form and the kpti-s of Muttusvami Dlksitar - A comparative study

Kanniks KannikeswaranIntroductionThere has been much speculation in various biographical narratives of Dlksitar’s life regarding the influence of North Indian musical traditions, on his compositions. Most of these surmises have been on the basis of his eclectic repertoire that features raga-s typically not encountered in South Indian traditions. The focus of this paper is to provide an objective comparison of dhrupad with the krti-s of Dlksitar in order to comment on the romantic speculation of the 1960s and on the generally prevalent notion regarding the influence of Hindustani music (particularly dhrupad) on Dlksitar, given his stay in the North Indian city of Banaras for five years.

Prevailing views on Dlksitar and Hindustani musicKrti-s of Dlksitar are generally (considered to be) rendered in the slow vilamba kala tempo and are also relatively free of superfluous sangati-s in contrast to the ornate style of the compositions of Tyagaraja. This fact along with the presence of deslya raga-s such as ramkali, maruva etc. in Dlksitar’s music and certain biographic details in Dlksitar’s life have led to speculation regarding the Hindustani influence on Dlksitar. Much of this speculation has its roots in the biographical accounts of Dlksitar written in the 1960s.

Dlksitar lived between 1775 and 1835. Five years of Dlksitar’s life were spent in Banaras on the banks of the Ganges1 in the company of his spiritual preceptor Cidambaranatha yogi2 (Subbarama Dlksitar, 1904). In T. L. Venkatarama Aiyar’s (TLV) own words “Muttusvami Dlksitar was brought up in the tradition of Venkatamakhi and the Hindustani Music strongly appealed to him. During his stay in Kasi he had an excellent opportunity of listening to Hindustani Music in all its purity and he fully availed of the same for learning it. Except when engaged in the service of God or of the Guru, he devoted himself to the practice of music in general and of the Hindustani raga-s in particular and acquired a mastery over them. This has had a profound influence on his music and this can be seen not only in his handling of the Hindustani raga-s but also in the portrayal in general of all raga-s...” .3

1 "... initiated him into sff vidya mahamantra, then took him along with him to the banks of the Ganges. Staying with him for five years he made him attain siddhi by the disciplined chanting of the mantra and then bestowedon him the eight mahasiddhis......Thereafter, seeking permission from the great soul he (Muddusvami Dlk$itulu)returned to Manali..” - The Sanglta sampradaya pradarsini (SSP)

2 There is a memorial shrine associated with this Yogi in Hanuman Ghat, Banaras that is a center of Sn vidya worship even today.

3 Such a description is seen only in TLV’s work. It is not seen in the SSP; it is also not mentioned in other biographical accounts written by Nataraja Sundaram Pillai, Kallidaikkurichi Anantakrishna Iyer and Sundaram Iyer.

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TLV also mentions that the significant presence of the ‘jaru’ gamaka-s in the vilamba kala compositions of Dlksitar is suggestive of the profound influence of Hindustani music on Dlksitar. TLV cites examples such as saundara rajam, rangapura vihara, svaminathena, jambupate, parimalaranganatham and vasudevamupasmahe4 to show the influence of Hindustani music on Dlksitar. It should be noted however that the word dhrupad is not mentioned anywhere in the work of Venkatarama Aiyar.

V. Raghavan writes thus. “Dlksitar stayed in the north for five years....An opportunity cameto him to listen to Hindustani music; his background was broadened, knowledge deepened and imagination fired with fresh ideas. The impact of Hindustani raga-s and the movement of the dhrupad style could be seen in his compositions...

Elsewhere, the 1976 conference of the Music Academy talks about the influence of North Indian music on Dlksitar in general terms. In the words of S.S. Rao “Though gamaka-s-s are common to both hindustan and camatic, the former lays greater emphasis on some of them such as jaru. The compositions of Dlksitar also give great prominence to this gamaka-s. It may be said in general said that certain gamaka-s are very appropriate to vilambakala music and so it is only to be expected that they would figure largely both in the alapa of Hindustani raga and in the compositions of Dlksitar. In the rendering of these gamaka-s, Dlksitar found in Hindustani music, much that was congenial to him. VV Satakopan goes on to add that “ ..krti-s of Dlksitar set in vilamba kala and shorn of baroque ornamentation provided a counter point of the dhrupad”5.

In addition to the above, writers and musiologists such as Sulochana Pattabhiraman6, BV. K. Sastri7 and SAK Durga8 have quoted the connection between dhrupad and Dlksitar. However, the most unlikely quotes regarding the similarity between dhrupad and Dlksitar come from one of the leading practitioners of dhrupad 9

Given the plethora of general observations above from Kamatic musicians and music historians, and dhrupad practitioners, it is obvious that there is a need for an objective comparison between the krti-s of Dlksitar and the dhrupad compositional form. To carry out this comparison, it is necessary to understand some of the basic elements of dhrupad.

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4 svami nathena, rangapura vihara are not documented in the Sariglta Sampradaya Pradarsini.

5 As documented in the Journal o f Music Academy, 1976.

6 “ . . a cauka kala pramanam comparable to the Dhrupad style in Hindustani music”, in “Dlksitar the genius”, Sulochana Pattabhiraman, in “Bhava Raga tala Modini” , book o f articles compiled by Dr. V. V. Srivatsa on

the eve of Guruguhanjali 1998.

7 “...The structure o f many of his compositions and their slow tempo resemble the Dhrupad-S”,

8 ....He has synthesised in his later excellent “Kjti” compositions also - the use o f Hindustani ragas and Hindustani Dhrupad format in his Camatic music compositions....”,

9 “Muthuswamy Dixitar used to sing Dhrupad", in “The fall and rise o f Aradhana Music”, Interview with UstadZia Fariduddin Dagar by S. R. Ramakrishna, published in the Music Magazine (2001).

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DhrupadDhrupad or dhruvapada is an older form of Hindustani Classical music dating back to

the court of Raja Mansingh Tomar of Gwalior of the 1490s in contrast to the widely popular khyal which was bom in the 1700s. Dhrupad is typically sung in the majestic vijamba kala pramana and its gait is compared to gajagati, the walk of an elephant. It is a largely detached masculine form of music in contrast to the khyal which is more feminine and ornate. Dhrupad focusses on the purity of sruti-s, the approach to the sruti-s and shows a preponderance of the mind or the jam gamaka-s. Vijamba kala pramana is the norm and it shows a clear contrast from the popular (even the slow Vilambit) khyal form, thanks to the absence of flowery flourishes and tan-s or akara-s that exhibit a rapid transition of pitches.

A two hour dhrupad performance typically features three raga-s, each of which commences with an alap and is followed by a nom-tom alap and the rendition of the dhrupad composition itself to the accompaniment of the sonorous pakhavaj often referred to as the mrdang. The harmonium and the sarangi are conspicuous by their absence in most dhrupad performances10.

Comparisons between the dhrupad performance and the ragam tanam pallavi of the Kamatic music tradition abound. While there is a clear correspondence between the alap/ nom tom with the ragam and the tanam (Narasimhan Shakuntala, 1999), there is no similarity whatsoever between a dhrupad compositional form and the typical single-avartana pallavi that is featured in Kamatic music.

It is worth mentioning three observations on dhrupad here. One is the importance given to syllables, both lexical and non-lexical; another is the avoidance of ornamentation characteristic of other styles and the third is the preservation of archaic performance practices formerly common to North and South Indian Classical music11. Some of these features may be attributed to dhrupad’s former status as sacred music (Sanyal-Widdess, 2004).

Three main dhrupad traditions are seen today. The dagarvani dhrupad focuses on the court music tradition. The darbhanga repertoire focuses on the ritual dhrupad-s of Vraja desa while the betia gharana contains a large repertoire of compositions, some of which are associated with tantric rites and seasonal rituals.

Dhrupad attained its zenith during the Mughal rule particularly during the period of Akbar and Shah Jahan (1592-1666). Tansen, one of Akbar’s court musician is regarded as one of the finest dhrupadiya-s. The sahas ras is a collection of 1000 dhrupad-s attributed to

10 With exceptions as in the case o f Pandit Phalguni Mitra’s performances.

11 The pakhawaj or the mjdahga player adopts a more virtuosic role than the tabla player in a khyal concert. The use o f handclaps by the lead performer controls the passage o f the rhythmic cycle as in Kamatic music performances.

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Nayak Baksu (of the court of Raja Mansingh Tomar) compiled later in the court of emperor Shah Jahan in the 17th century. After this peak, dhrupad went through a subsequent decline with the advent of the khyal.

A collection of extant dhrupad-s was compiiled in the pre-independence days by the Nawab of Rampur (M a’arif un-nagmaat) and by Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande. The Hindustani Sangit paddhati (HSP) written by Bhatkhande features a large compilation of dhrupad-s along with their musical notation. Modem interest in dhrupad has led to a revival in popularity of this classical form particularly amongst the indo-centric musical connoisseurs in the western hemisphere.

A comparative study of the krti-s of Dlksitar and the dhrupad compositional form

It cannot be denied that the rendition of a composition of Dlksitar in a deslya raga such as yamuna kalyani in the vilamba kala bears resemblance to a dhrupad and that the rendition of certain dhrupad-s with a preponderance of phrases in samskrta evokes a strain of similarity with Dlksitar’s krti-s. Such similarity can be qualitatively demonstrated through a rendition of cauka kala krti-s such as parimala ranganatham in hamlr (alongside a dhrupad such as sarasa badani) or nirajakshi (alongside a dhrupad such as jayati jayati) in hindolam/malkauns.

This qualitative similarity in itself cannot be taken as evidence of equivalence between the two compositional forms. The following questions need to be answered in order to comment on our perception of comparability across these two genres. What specifically are the factors that contribute towards the qualitative similarity between certain dhrupad-s and certain compositions of Dikshitar? Does the similarity extend beyond the vilamba kala orientation and the jaru (glides between notes) and a handful of compositions in raga-s such as hamir, ramkali and

maruva?

The following section carries out an objective analysis comparing these two compositional forms along several dimensions such as compositional structure, lyrical themes, prosody, field of raga-s, and taja-s, dhatu/matu relationship, ornamentation and presents our observations on the similarities and dissimilarities across the two genres.

Compositional structureAs mentioned before, the centerpiece of a dhrupad performance is the rendition of the

dhrupad composition in contrast to a khyal performance in which text plays only a minor role. While in a khyal, lyrical expression is only considered to be a vehicle for carrying the melody, dhrupad lays emphasis on lyrics. Fidelity to the composition is considered to be a must and a dhrupad composition is rendered without any variations or superficial flourishes, particularly given the popular tradition of two singers singing the composition in unison.

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Dhrupad-s in general conform to a 4 part structure consisting of the sthayi, the antara, the sanchari and the abhoga. The concluding abhoga section generally has within it, the signature of the composer. (Sanyal-Widdess, 2004), (Srivastava 1980).

Drawing a parallel with krti-s we see that these sections correspond to the pallavi, the anupallavi and to the first and the last parts of the caranam respectively (Theillman 1995). The politically unstable mid second millennium saw the origin of the practice of dropping the sanchari/abhOga sections in order to hide the identity of its composer or its underlying tradition (Sanyal, 1987). We thus see a number of two part dhrupad-s in vogue today without the sanchari/abhoga12.

Significantly, a large number of compositions in Dlksitar’s repertoire possess a two- part structure with the pallavi and anupalavi alone; of the 215 krti-s listed in the SSP, about 95 krti-s are of a two part structure while of the larger set of 400+ lqti-s of total set of Dikshitar’s compositions available to us, about 215 are of a two part structure. However, the madhyama kala sahitya and the cittaisvara hallmarks of Dlksitar are not seen anywhere in dhrupad, although the practice of singing a dhrupad in the second speed is observed in the layakari section of a dhrupad concert.

It is noteworthy that such two-part structures are not seen in the repertoire of other composers in the Karnataka Sanglta tradition. While Tyagaraja has many multiple-carana krti-s to his credit he stays away from the pallavi-anupallavi krti13 format which appears to be exclusively in Dlksitar’s domain.14.

TalaThe field of tala-s in dhrupad compositions is different from that in khyal. Popular

Hindustani taja-s such as teen tala and ek tal are not seen in dhrupad. Instead, the most seen tala is cautala, a 12 beat cycle, (almost) always used in the vilamba kala pramanam. The cautala is said to be a relic of catursra jati ata tala and is divided into six vibhaga-s of equal lengths. A majority of the dhrupad-s notated in the HSP are in cautala and even much of the vraja dhrupada-s of the Darbhanga tradition (referred to as visnu pada-s in the dagar tradition) are also in the 12 beat cautala.

Interstingly, roughly about a third of Dlksitar’s compositions are in the six-beat rupaka


12 The betia gharana contains a large number of dhrupad-s that are four part structures unlike the Dagar tradition whch has a significant number of two part dhrupad-s. As narrated by Sumitra Ranganathan and Sri Phalguni Mitra.

13 In the entire set o f two part lqti-s in the SSP, the ‘anupallavi-s’ o f two lqti-s are referred to as carana-s by Subbarama Dlk$itar despite their second syllable concordance with the pallavi. These two lqti-s are Ty3garajaY0ga Vaibhavam and Snguruguha Tarayasu Mam.

14 With the probable exception of some of Sripada Raya’s compositions of the 15th century (Sathyanarayana, 1988)

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tala15, and a cycle of two rupaka tala-s constituting 12 beats readily compares with the 12 beat cautala. Of the 215 krti-s enumerated in the SSP, about 72 (i.e. roughly a third) are either in rupaka tala or in trisra ekam; this ratio stays in the same range if the comparison is extended beyond the SSP to include the wider oral tradition.

This fact takes on greater significance when we compare Dlksitar’s repertoire with Tyagaraja’s whose dominant tala is adi tala, particularly the desadi variety.

The significance is even more striking when we compare a two-part dhrupad in cautala with a Dlksitar krti with just a pallavi and an anupallavi in rupaka talam in the vilambita kala pramanam. This observation gets more interesting given that Dlksitar is the only South Indian composer with a propensity for rupaka tala and two part compositions.

Such two part compositions in rupaka tala are absent in the works of his predecessors (viz. father Ramasvami Dlksitar and other purvika-s), his peers (Balasvami Dlksitar, Tyagaraja and Syama Sastri). They are present to a small extent in the works of his successors (his disciple Thanjavur Ponnayya and his nephew Subbarama Dlksitar).

Lyrical contentAll of Dlksitar’s compositions are in Samskrta (with the exception of a small handful

of compositions in Telugu), unlike his contemporaries who wrote largely in Telugu, the court language of the Maratha darbar in Thanjavur. Dlksitar’s compositions also lack the conversational style of lyrics seen in the compositions of Tyagaraja. The lyrics of Dlksitar’s compositions are in the stotra mode representing a stoic, impersonal state of transfixed devotion to the deities being addressed. Dlksitar’s krti-s are clear on their rootedness in the Samskrta stotra paradigm.

Dhrupad-s however exhibit a range of subject matter. Praises of Royalty (Hindu and Muslim), snngara themes in the nayaka/nayika bhava, musicologial themes are some examples. Devotional themes associated with festivals (particularly hori) and rituals as well as simple stuti-s (stotra-s) in praise of divinity are also dominant themes in dhrupad. Regardless of the theme, the mood of dhrupad is always masculine, slow, dignified, and serene; this santa/karuna rasa dominant mood and feel are comparable with those of the compositions of Dlksitar.

Of all the classes of dhrupad-s mentioned above, only a two part dhrupad stuti in cautala in the stotra paradigm say in praise of a deity is similar to a krti of Dlksitar, especially given that the brajbhasha or the Hindi of the dhrupad-s contain a heavy admixture of Samskrta words.

ProsodyDlksitar’s works are a treat for the connoisseur of prosody. Dvitiyaksara prasa is a norm

in his work16. There is concordance between the second syllable of the first word of the pallavi

15 Or notated as trisra 6ka tala and still sung in rupaka taala.

16 even in his nOttusvara sahitya-s where he has written samskrta words to western melodies


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THE MUSIC ACADEMY • JOURNAL 2011 • VOLUME

and the anupallavi; also the first syllable of the pallavi and the anupallavi are of equal length. Thus we have the concordance anandamjtakarsini/sffnandanadi samraksini, Tyjigarajapiilayasu/ nagarajamani where there is concordance across the syllables nand and ga in the first and second examples respectively; and the pairs a and sri and tya and nd are of equal length17. In addition, yati or muhana (mOnai) or first syllable concordance is seen across the compositions of Dlksitar. (Ramanathan N. 1998).

Many of Dlk§itar’s compositions also exhibit antyaksara prasa or concordance across the last syllable of various lines of text as in amrtakarsini/bhavani, samraksini/chidrupini. Dlksitar showcases several other prosodical alankara-s such as gopucca yati, svaraksara sahitya-s etc.

Dlksitar’s work while exhibiting several elements of South Indian prosody similar to the compositions of Purandara dasa and other saint composers from Karnataka, is clearly different when it comes to textual themes. It is worth mentioning that while there is similarity in lyrical context between Tyagaraja’s krti-s and the music of the dasakuta-s where many philosophical themes, introspections and even dialogues between the composer and deity figure in the vernacular, Dlksitar’s lyrics stay away from such themes and focus entirely on stotra.

It is obvious that mandatory prosodic features seen in Dlksitar’s krti-s such as dvitiyaksara prasa and other optional speciality yati-s are not found in dhrupad at all. Dhrupad text however exhibits last syllable concordance, generally a norm in non-South Indian poetry.

Here is an illustration of the dhruvapada lyrical paradigm using the dhrupad garigadhara in raga hindol in the 12 beat cautala, featuring (mostly) samskrta lyrics. Note that only the sthayi and the antara of this dhrupad are available.

garigadhara nllakantha girija varasasi sekhara madana dahanabhaktakama kalpadhruma (ganga)dlna natha daya dhanapada kamala anudinarata hoya madhava madhukara (ganga)

The dominant presence of stotra text shows an inkling of similarity with the lyrical material of Dlksitar; a careful examination however reveals the absence of the lyrical norms taken for granted in Dlksitar’s world. Note that with the expression of the phrase rata hoya all of the phrases are stotra-s in samskrta in praise of Siva. The dominant antyaksara prasa syllables are na and ra; there is no semblance of dvitiyaksara prasa, particularly between the opening pallavi phrase ganga and the anupallavi phrase dTna. An examination of the music score of this dhrupad also reveals that there are no svaraksara-s here.

17 An exception is ramacandrgna/ramd bharati where there is a syllable length mismatch.

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Dissimilarities apart, this composition resembles any of the simple prathama vibhakti Dlk$ita sahitya-s on Siva, short of the single verb such as jayati seen typically in Dikshitar’s compositions that would tie all the epithets together.

Field of Raga-sDhrupad-s cover the entire gamut of raga-s seen in the Hindustani music repertoire

of today. Dhrupad-s in about 145 raga-s are documented in the HSP. Dlksitar who has composed in about 165 raga-s (as documented in the SSP) shows an unflinching fidelity to the Venkatamakhi raga sampradaya. Apart from the raga-s whose laksana-s were documented by Muddu Venkatamakhi, Dlksitar has also composed in deslya raga-s such as darbar, nayaki, pflrvi, pharaj; he has however steered clear of using popular North Indian raga-s such as mian malhar or raga-s of the Govindacarya sampradaya that were the basis of Tyagaraja’s repertoire18.

Such raga-s as ramkali, hamvlr, maruva and brndavani where Dlksitar has made powerful statements using his krti-s have been the basis for suggesting a strong North Indian influence; it should however be noted that Dlksitar was not the first South Indian to handle them and that it was his father Ramasvami Dlksitar who had incorporated them into his ragamalika-s, complete with the ragamudra-s appropriately introduced into the text of the compositions19.

The dhatu matu (melody/text) relationshipThe melodic flow in dhrupad can be explained in terms of five descriptors.

I) A smooth, non-racy and non-jerky flow of melody

II) The lack of implied rhythmic patterns or implied madhyamakala melodic movement in a vilamba kala superstructure

m ) A majestic flow in strict conformity with the structure of the taja where each beat typically gets one svara or at most two

IV) Commencement of melodic lines on the beat and the absence of off-beat eduppu-s.

V) A syllable-based approach in the construction of the composition where a hrasva syllable spans one matra and a dTrgha syllable spans typically two and rarely more than two matra-s.

We are presenting below, the musical notation of to hi sOrya in bhupali (whose equivalent mflrccana in Kamatic music is mohana) along with that of the rflpaka tala krti of Dlksitar

18 With rare exceptions such as deslya devagandhari

19 Ramasvami Dlksitar’s ragamalikas samajagamana, natakadi vidyala, and sivamOhanaSakti contain dozens of raga-s, all fitted in with the appropriate ragamudra in the body of the text, raga-s such as hamlr, ramkali and maruva and padi are featured in here prior to DTk$itar’s creation o f his masterworks in these ragas.


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iurajaksi kamaksi in raga hindoja - in order to facilitate a comparative examination of each of the five descriptors above. Both of the scores are presented in the cautaja notation with 12 beats divided into 6 vibhaga-s for the sake of comparison. The madhyamakala sahitya is not relevant to this comparison and is not included in the analysis.

tu hi sflrya - raga bhupali - cautaja

G 1 R G * 7 P 1 G 1 R S 1 R s 1

tfl 1 hi 1

sflr * 7

1ya 1 tu

11 hii

can *

1dra 1

S

1

1 D S

1

1 G R

1

1 S R

i

1 S D

1

I P P

1

1

to 1 hi

1pa 1 va

1na 1 tu

i

1 hi 1

a 1 ga 1

na 11

s

1

1 R G

1

1 P D

1

1 S

1

1 D S

1

* S

1

1

tu 1 hi a ' 7 pa 1 til I a ka * sa 1

s gr 1 R R 1 s (p)D 1 S D l P G 1 R S 1

tu ■ 7

1

dha 1 ra

1

ni 1 ya 1

ja *

1ma * *

1na 1 (tu hi)

i

(g)P (P)G ■ ) P 1 S D

1

K d) S

1

1 s S

1

1 R S

i

1

bha va * *

1ru

1dra 1 ug

11 rai

sa * 7

|

rva 11

S (s)D

1

* 7 S

1

1 s R

1

l(s)G R

i

K s)R S

1

1 D P

1

1

pa su * 7

1pa 1 ti

i

1 sa 1

ma 1 sai

ma * 7

1na 1

I

P G

i

1 R (s)G

1

1 P S D

1

1 S

i

1 S s

1

1 R S

1

1

i * )

1sa * 7

1na 1 bhi

i1 mai

sa 1 ka 1

la 11

(s)G R

1

* 7 S

1

K s)P D

i

1 S D

i

1 P G

1

1 R S

1

1

te * 7 re * 7 hi 1 a 1 sta na * 7 ma 1 (tu hi)

tu hi sflrya is a typical cautaja vilamba kala dhrupad; it is clear from the score thatthe flow of the dhatu is smooth and that there are no implied madhyamakala phrases in this composition; further all eduppu-s are in the first beat of the cycle. With the exception of less than a handful of beats in the entire composition, each beat is assigned only one svara.

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Now let us analyze the lqti nirajaksi kamaksi in the raga hindOla using the same yardsticks for comparison.

nirajaksi - raga hindoja - rupaka ta}am

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N 1 D M * > G 1 S 1 N D IM 1

nl 1 ra ja ' 9 1

ksi 1 kai

1 ma 1

1 ksi 1

1|

N

1

1 D N

1

1 s N

1

1 S

1

1 G G 1 M 1

nl 1 ra

1

da 1 chi

1

ku I re

1

1 tri

1

pu 1 re

1

1 (nirajaksi)

1

S

1

1 S N

1

' 9 N

1

1 D

1

1 D G

1

1 M

1

1

sa 1 ra da * 9 1

ra 1 mai

1 na 1

ya 1 neI

1|

N

1

1 N D

1

1 N

1

1 S 1 G S 1 , 1

sa 1 ra sa 1 chan can 1

1 dra 1

1 nal

ne 1 , 1

1 (nirajaksi)I

S

1

IG

i

1 S

1

1 N

1

ID

1

IN S 1

gau InI

1 hini

1 dol

1 lad 1

1 yuI

ti 1|

N

1

1 S M

i

1 G M

1

1 G S

1

1 G G 1 M 1

hi 1 ra ma 1 ni 1

ma 1 ya, 1

1 bha 1

ra 1 rie I

1|

D

1

1 M M

1

1 G

1

1 S G

1

1 M N 1 D D 1

sau Iril

vi 1 rin 1

1 cii

vi 1 nu 1

ta 1 si |

va 1|

M

1

IN N

1

1 D M

1

1 N 1 D N 1 S 1

sak, 1 ti ma 1 ya na 1 va 1 va ra 1 rie 1 (nirajaksi)

Conformity of nirajaksi with the first four characteristics of the dhatu/matu relationshipdescribed above is readily seen upon examining the musical notation, nirajaksi is an archetypical rupaka tala krti, illustrating certain salient features that almost always hold good for Dlksitar’s compositions. The similarity seen here can be extended to several other of

Dlksitar’s krti-s as well.

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However, what is significant is that the first four characteristics above (and the fifth as well) in general are not seen across the board in the repertoire of other composers in the Kamatic music tradition. In particular, the vijamba kala construct of Dlk§itar and the absence of implied madhyamakala, and the smooth non-jerky flow of his compositions have always stood as differentiators marking Dlksitar’s style. (Janakiraman, 1976, 2002) (Seetha 1976).

Now, let us look at the fifth factor listed above in detail. In tu hi sOrya, the unhurried dhrupad melody sits on a bed of lyrics conforming to a syllabic construct where the hrasva syllables get one beat while the dirgha syllables get two or at most three beats. Thus each 12 beat avarta in dhrupad line gets on an average anywhere between six and twelve syllables. The distribution of syllables across avarta-s is 8-10-8-9-8-9-8-7. In addition, the syllables in a dhrupad avarta are almost always uniformly distributed so that no syllable is stressed with an akara for a disproportionate length of time. This is in contrast to a khyal where it is not uncommon for a lesser number of syllables to be spread over an avarta of say the 12 beat ek tal with an uneven density across the cycle. The textual density in a dhrupad composition is clearly much higher compared to a khyal composition.

In general, Dlksitar’s compositions are also high in textual density with a uniform distribution of text; in the example above, the distribution of syllables across a 12 beat cyclical unit of time is 7-9-8-7-7-9-10-9. The density is slightly lower when compared with tu hi surya; however, as in the dhrupad, it is clear that the syllables are evenly spread over the entire avarta without any particular syllable(s) being singled out with disproportionate lengths. The following examples also illustrate this aspect of the dhatu/matu relationship.

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G 1G P 1 P 1 D 1 P D 1 P P II

a 1 di de 1 va 1 na 1 ga bhu 1 sha na II

(from sambho mahadeva in raga deskar as notated by V. N. Bhatkhande)

D 1 D 1 IP D 1 M P 1R M 1 P D II

ra 1 ga 1 Idi ra 1 hi ta 1 hr da 1 ya vi II

(from sri guruguha in raga devakriya as notated by Subbarama Dlksitar)

The examples chosen above are typical of the cautala dhrupad-s and the rupaka taja krti-s of Dlksitar. In the case of the dhrupad line above, the syllabic density is 9 while in the case of sn guruguha, the line chosen has a density of 10 syllables. Again, the balanced positioning of syllables across the 12 beat rhythmic cycle in both examples is worth noting.

The dhatu/matu relationship in the krti-s of Dlksitar (particularly those in rupaka tala) has more in common with that of dhrupad and with the laksana glta-s of Muddu Venkatamakhi and the pillari glta-s of Purandara dasa than with the compositions of Tyagaraja or Syama

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Sastri in each of the five descriptors mentioned above. In contrast, the expansive kyti-s of Tyagaraja have inbuilt factors such as the long karvais on strategically positioned consonants that makes them conducive to sangati and neraval20.

mrajak$i kamakfi can be considered to be a ‘Dlksitar archetype’ in rflpaka tala. The composition commences with the sama eduppu, like almost every single one of his other compositions. The parallel between Dlksitar’s sama eduppu and that of dhrupad wouldn't be so significant were it not for the preponderance of the asama eduppu krti-s in the Karnatic music repertoire. For instance, the significant proportion of sama eduppu rupaka tala krti-s of Dlksitar are in stark contrast with the dominant desadi tala eduppu of Tyagaraja.

Ornamentation, sangati-s and melodic densityThere is an absence of dense melodic phrases in Dlksitar’s compositions although the

dasa vidha gamaka-s described in the SSP are an integral component in their rendition. This is in contrast to Tyagaraja’s repertoire which is heavy on sangati-s and densely packed melodies.

In fact several of Dlksitar’s krti-s are sparse in gamaka-s (as notated in the SSP) and show significant presence of ‘plain svara’ phrases21 without any kampitam whatsoever. It is the sweeping jaru gamaka-s which dominates many of Dlksitar’s compositions. It is this emphasis on the plain svara-s and the jaru that yet is another element of commonality with dhrupad which is characterized by the presence of minds and plain svara-s.

The SSP notation of Dlksitar’s composition is also sparse on sangati-s. Does this mean that sangati-s were not in vogue in the early 1900s when the SSP was compiled? No. On the contrary, Subbarama Dlksitar is not averse to sangatis wherever they are due. For instance, he presents thirteen sangati-s on the opening line of Tyagaraja’s jagadanandakaraka while he presents just one sangati for the sankarabharana navavarana krti sri kamalambikaya which is rendered today with as many as half a dozen sangati-s!

In fact the rendition of certain krti-s appears to have gotten modified in order to force sangatis. A case for illustration would be mlnaksi me mudam dehi, whose carana line has mutated from its notated version in the SSP to today’s rendition complete with an arudi on the syllable ‘ye’ in the phrase madhurapuri nilaye.


20 For instance, in the opening line of this well known krti of Tyagaraja o rangasayi bilicite 9 syllables span a length of 16 beats; the first syllable 5 spans a length of 6 beats (i.e. for more than a third of the length of the cycle) giving ample scope for sangatis sometimes covering as many as 24 svara-s in a single sweep..

21 In this context, we must refer to a comment in the 1976 Journal o f the Music Academy regarding Dlksitar’s music. “ .A note rendered in all its plain character shines of its own record. It is erroneous to think that svara-s seldom rendered with any grace or embellishment do not bring in or according to many even mar the carnatic flavor.." S. R. Janakiraman.

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Here is the originally notated version of this line.

Y AAA ^

I g__r g g p ms d S s r s d s r

ma dhu ra pu ri ni la I ye ma niToday’s rendition of this line in kacheris goes as follows.

pm R s srgrsd s.. r..

madhu ra pu ri ni la,I G ;4

I ye,„

m

maI P ,I ni ,

... rvviI g r G

va la ye

gmrvala

gm

-ye

There are several differences between the originally notated line and today’s popular version of the same. In the original notation, there are 13 syllables distributed evenly across 16 matras with the dlrgha syllables getting a full beat each and the shorter syllables getting one beat each (3x2+10 = 16). In today’s rendition, this line is considerably modified both in terms of the svara-sthanas and the positioning of the syllables within the 16 beat avartana. Today’s rendition in practice, starts 1 beat after the samam; the syllable ra is extended by half a beat to stretch over 3 matras, the pairs of syllables pu-ri and ni-la have an implied trisram imposed on them to land on a climactic arudi on the syllable yg which now lasts for 3.5 matras as opposed to 2 matras in the original version. Similarly the syllable rti in mani now lasts 2.5 matras as opposed to the single matra it had in the original notation. These modifications whose origins are not known make this line very neraval/sangati friendly and amenable to the kacheri tradition.

The purpose of the above example is to demonstrate that such sangati additions and modifications that have fossilized and become part of the kacheri tradition obliterate from our understanding the plain construct of some of these krti-s and even mar the possibility of a meaningful comparison with dhrupad or other musical forms.

Conclusions

We sought to answer two questions as we undertook this analysis in an earlier section in this paper.

What specifically are the factors that contribute towards the qualitative similarity that is perceived or imagined between dhrupad-s and certain compositions of Dlksitar? Does the similarity extend beyond the vijamba kala orientation and the jaru (glides between notes) and a handful of compositions in raga-s such as hamlr, ramkali and maruva?

We demonstrated in the analysis above, that

1. Dlksitar’s compositions exhibit elements of similarity with a narrow subset of cautala dhrupad stuti-s in the stotra mode in the areas of compositional structure, dhatu/matu relationship, melodic flow, eduppu and ornamentation.

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2. this similarity even extends beyond the field of shared desiya raga-s.

3. Dlk$itar was not the pioneer behind the usage of North Indian raga-s in Kamatic music.

Although there is insufficient historical evidence regarding any form of direct contact between Diksitar and dhrupadiya-s a distinct similarity in structural construct between his kfti-s and dhrupad-s in certain areas as demonstrated above cannot be denied. Subbarama Diksitar’s written account is the oldest biography of Diksitar. Given the terseness of this biography and the lone line that references his stay in Kasi it is hard to come to conclusions regarding Diksitar’s interaction with other forms of music. However, it is known that the ancestors of the founders of the betia gharana of dhrupad moved into Eastern India from Banaras thus implying that there had been a dhrupad tradition in the area22.

Dlksitar’s compositions exhibit a unique style that is different from the other composers in the Karnataka sanglta idiom. He is the only composer amongst the trinity to have set foot outside of the Tamil speaking region. His choice of samskrta as the compositional language also points to a deep rooted difference in musical approach. Further, it is clear that Dlk$itar is the pioneer of a unique two-part compositional structure in the vilamba kala rupaka ta\a structure that was not the norm in South India.

This article does not intend to assert the influence of dhrupad on Diksitar. It however does strive to point out certain distinct areas of similarity with dhrupad that was not typical of the Karnataka sanglta compositional style of his contemporaries. The similarity is particularly significant when we look at the larger picture of Diksitar as a peripatetic composer rooted in the pan Indian upanisadic ideals who integrated the musical marga of the Venkatamakhi sampradaya with inspiration from a wider field that included srividya tantra and various temple traditions and far flung musical genres such as Irish folk music and negotiated a unique compositional idiom and a repertoire of diverse compositional forms that stands apart as quintessentially ‘Diksitar’

Bibliography:1. Bhatkhande VN. 1999. Hindustani Sangeet Paddhati -Kramik Pustak Malika. Vol

1-6. U.P. India: Sangeet Karyalaya.

2. Jackson, William. 1992. Features of the Krti: A Song Form Developed by Tyagaraja. Asian Music, V 24. No. 1. 19-66.

3. Janakiraman SR. 1976. A comparative study of raga forms portrayed by Diksitar and Tyagaraja. Journal o f the Music Academy. Vol XLVII. 56-71.

22 Based on a conversation with Phalguni Mitra, a leading exponent o f the Betia gharana

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4. Janakiraman SR. 2002. A comparative study o f Tyagaraja and Muthuswami Diksitar s compositions and styles. Parts 1 and 2. (w w w .cam atica.net).

5. Narasimhan Shakuntala 1999. Dhrupad and Carnatic Music in Perspectives on Dhrupad - A Collection of Essays. Ed. Raja Deepak and Rao Suvarnalatha. Baroda: Indian Musicological Society.

6. Natarajasundaram Pillai, TS. 1936. DIksita Kirtana Prakasikai. Madras. Published by the author

7. Peterson, Indira V. 1986. Samskrta in Carnatic Music: The songs of Muttusvami DIksita. Indo Iranian Journal 29: 183-199.

8. Powers, Harold S. 1984. “Musical Art and Esoteric Theism: Muttusvami Diksitar’s Anandabhairavi Kirtanams on Siva and Sakti at Tiruvarur”. In Discourses on Siva: Proceedings o f a Symposium on the Nature o f Religious Imagery, ed. Michael W. Meister. Bombay: Vakils, Feffer & Simons Ltd.

9. Powers, Harold S. 2001. The interface o f verbal and musical rhythm in Tyagaraja s kirtanams. Presented at the Symposium on Arts and Religion - Past and Present. Chidambaram, Februrary 2001.

10. Raghavan V. 1980. DIksita Mahakavyam (Written in 1955). Madras: Published by the Author.

11. Raja Deepak. 1999. Dhrupad - an introduction in Perspectives on Dhrupad - A Collection of Essays. Ed. Raja Deepak and Rao Suvarnalatha. Baroda: Indian Musicological Society.

12. Ramanathan N. 1998. Problems in editing the kirtana-s of Muttusvami Diksitar. Journal o f the Music Academy. LXIX: 59-98.

13. Ramanathan, S. 2006. Sanglta sampradaya pradarsini of Sri Subbarama Diksitar, Tamil Translation - Volumes 1-5. Chennai. The Music Academy.

14. Rao, S.S. 1976. Dikshitar and the Kamatic and Hindustani Paddatis. Diksitar Anniversary commemorative issue of The Journal o f the Music Academy. p66

15. Sambamurthy, P. 1962. Great Composers, Madras: The Indian Music Publishing House.

16. Sanyal Ritwik. 1987. Philosophy of Music. Bombay. Published by Somaiya Publications Pvt Ltd.

17. Sanyal Ritwk, Widdess Richard, 2004. Dhrupad Tradition and Performance in Indian Music. SOAS Musical Series, Aldershot, Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing Limited.

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http://www.camatica.net

18. Sastri, B.V.K. 1976. Muttusvami Dlk$itar’s Compositions in Deslya Raga-s. In The Musical Heritage o f Sri Muttusvami Dik$itar. Baroda. Indian Musicological Society.

19. Sathyanarayana, R. 1988 Music o f Madhva Monks o f Karnataka. Bangalore. Gnana Jyoti Kala Mandir.

20. Seetha, S. 1976. Dlksitar and Vehkatamakhis’ Tradition. Journal o f the Music Academy. V XLVII 1976. 116-135.

21. Srivastava Indurama, 1980. Dhrupada. A Study o f its Origins, Historical Development, Structure and Present State. Varanasi. Motilal Banarasidass.

22. Sundaram Iyer, A. 1966. Vaggeyakara Caritram (History o f Iyalisai Pulavars) in Tamil. Madras: Published by the author.

23. Sundaram Iyer, A. 1971. uSri Muttusvami Dik?itarin divya caritram” (In Tami). In Sri Dik$ita Kirtana Mala Supplement. Madras: Published by the author.

24. Thielemann Selina. 1995. Parallel Forms in South and North Indian Classical Music: Krti and Dhrupad. Dhrupad Annual.

25. Thielemann Selina. 1999. Dhrupada in the Vaishnava Temples in Perspectives on Dhrupad - A Collection of Essays. Ed. Raja Deepak and Rao Suvamalatha. Baroda: Indian Musicological Society..

26. Venkatarama Iyer TL. 1968. Muthuswami Dlksitar, New Delhi: The National Book Trust.

27. Venugopala Rao Pappu, 2010. Sanglta sampradaya pradarsini of Bhrahmasri Subbarama Dikshitulu, English Translation Volume 1. Chennai. The Music Academy Madras.

28. Vidya Shankar, A Comparative study of Muttusvami Dlksitar with Tyagaraja and Syama Sastri. In The Musical Heritage o f Sri Muttusvami Diksitar. Baroda. Indian Musicological Society.

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M usic m anuscripts and M anavalli Ramakrsna KaviV. Premalatha

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IntroductionMusic Manuscripts are hand written documents on the theory and practice of music,

which prevailed in various periods, and transcended through generations. There are thousand of manuscripts found in various parts of the world, either preserved in libraries or in the possession of individuals. The music manuscripts are mainly of three kinds, namely, those containing the laksana grantha-s or the technical treatises, texts and notations of musical compositions and the biographical and other details of the musicians and composers.

The music manuscripts are found both on paper and palm-leaf, written in various Indian scripts such as Devanagari, Telugu, Grantha, Malayalam, Kannada etc., depending on the region where they are transcribed and housed. In the past 150 years considerable research has been carried out in this area and they can be categorized as follows:

a. Survey and collection of manuscripts

b. Cataloguing and Indexing of manuscripts in a particular collection

c. Studying the manuscripts and making critical notes on their contents

d. Critical Edition, Translation and Publication of the works

Many scholars have contributed to the various areas of manuscript studies that are mentioned above. For instance, survey and collection of manuscripts of a particular region was carried out by scholars like Bhandarkar (Bombay Residency in 1884), Sesagiri Sastri (Madras in 1898). Catalogues and Indexes of manuscripts preserved in different libraries have also been compiled and published.

Studying the contents of manuscripts and bringing the information found in them to limelight has been another important branch of manuscript studies. The writings on the Sanglta Literature by Manavalli Ramakrsna Kavi1, Vinjamflri Varaha Narasimhacaryulu2, V Raghavan3, Caitanya P Desay4, M Krsnamacariyar5 and Emmie te Nijenhuis6 are some of the articles which include the description of the laksana grantha-s with references to printed texts and manuscript sources.

1 “Literature on Music”, article published in the Journal o f the Andhra Historical Research Society, Rajahmundry,vol - III, part-1, July 1928, pp.20-29

2 “The Early writers on Music” article published in the Journal o f the Madras Music Academy, 1930, 1931

3 “Some names in Early Sangita Literature” published in the Journal o f the Madras Music Academy, 1932

4 Sangita Vishayaka Samskrta Grantha, Suvichar Prakashan Mandal, Nagpur and Pune, 1979

5 History o f Classical Sanskrit Literature, III edition, Motilal Banarsidass, 1974

6 A History O f Indian Literature (vol.iv) Musicological Literature, Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 1977.

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In the past hundred years, many laksana grantha-s have also been published and thus they have been preserved from getting destroyed and becoming extinct. Some of the publications can be called as Critical Editions done in a more scientific manner and with a translation in English. The contributions of scholars like K Sambasiva Sastri, K Vasudeva Sastri, T V Subba Rao, S Subrahmanya Sastri, V Raghavan, Premlata Sarma, R. Sathyanarayana and others are noteworthy, in the field of editing of the Manuscripts of lak§ana grantha-s.

On the other hand, one can also see the publications of the musical compositions of different composers being published, based upon both written and oral traditions. The publication of songs based on the oral traditions are mainly taken care of by the disciples of eminent composers and musicians. Besides the same are also procured from libraries and edited like the ones by the Sarasvati Mahal Library, Tanjavur.

One name that appears universally in almost all the areas of music manuscript studies is ‘Manavalli Ramakrsna Kavi’ M R Kavi is a scholar in Samskrta and Telugu whose contribution to the field of manuscript studies relating to music, dance and dramaturgy is invaluable and the present paper focuses on his role in manuscript studies.

Manavalli Ramakrsna Kavi - biographical noteManavalli Ramakrsna Kavi was bom in the year 1875 in Chennai. He obtained M.A.

in Telugu and Samskrta from Chennai and at the age of 16, he wrote a Telugu poem, called “Mrgavati”, which earned him the title, “KAVI”. He worked as a Private Secretary in Vanaparthi Samasthanam in Andhra from 1904 and by then started collecting manuscripts. In 1915 he joined as Assistant Curator in the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library (GOML), Chennai and was appointed by the Government of Madras to survey and collect manuscripts. It was during this time that he happened to travel throughout South India and collect a number of manuscripts. Later he worked as teacher in a training college at Rajahmundry and after that he came to Tirupati. He was working as Educational officer here and in 1940 he joined the Sri Venkateswara Oriental Institute as a Reader and continued till 1954. In the year 1957, at the age of 82, he passed away.

Contribution of Kavi to music manuscript studiesKavi being a scholar of Telugu and Samskrta had the opportunity of traveling wide and

collected a large of Manuscripts. It was in the beginning of the 20th century that efforts were taken in bringing out ancient texts in all branches of sciences and literature. He continued his search and gathered plenty of information from various parts of the country regarding ancient texts on music. His findings appear in the form of articles published in the leading journals during 1920-1940. Some of the important ones on music are, “King Nanyadeva on music”,


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“Literature on Music” , “Literary Gleanings”, “Vidyaranya as a writer on Music” and so on.7 Perhaps his compilation in the Bharatakosa is the magnum opus of his creations.

Kavi’s contribution to th studies on music manuscripts can be categorized into the following

a. Survey and Collection of manuscripts

b. Making Copies of Manuscripts

c. Edition of Abhinavabharati

d. Bharatakosa

Each one of them will be dealt in detail below

Survey and Collection of manuscriptsFrom the biographical notes given by Prof. Appa Rao8 it is learnt that M R Kavi started

collecting manuscripts on Nafya and Sanglta even while he was working at the Vanarpathi Samsthanam, i.e. 1912. Kavi’s father also seems to have had copies of some manuscripts, which included Natyasastra and its commentary. Officially, Kavi was associated with the GOML, Chennai, till 1926 and was appointed by the Government of Madras for a project to collect manuscripts from South India along with Sri S K Ramanatha Sastri and after a year the project was closed.

Later Kavi was associated with the Sri Venkateswara Oriental Institute, Tirupati (which was under the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) till 1954 and then became part of the S V University) as a reader in Samskrta from 1940-1954. The Oriental Research Institute (ORI), Tirupati, presently houses about 100 manuscripts on music as part of the TTD collection and about 175 music manuscripts, which have been transferred from the Telugu section of the GOML, Chennai. The TTD Collection of manuscripts is said to have been mainly made by the efforts of M R Kavi9. This collection includes primarily the laksana grantha-s and only three manuscripts deal with the songs (composed by Tyagaraja and Dasa composers). From the study of the TTD Collection of music manuscripts, it is observed that some of them are copies obtained from various other libraries like

• Sarasvati Mahal Library, Tanjavur, (Sangltacandrika of MadhavaBhatta- 7102)

• Punjab Library (Gandharvavidya of Siva - 7092)

• Royal Asiatic Society, Calcutta (Sangltaraja of Kumbharana -7573)

• Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona (Sangltadarpana of Damodhara - 7520b)

7 Published in the Journal o f the Historical Research Society, Rajmundry

8 Collected papers o f Manavalli Ramakrishna Kavi, pp. xii-xiii

9 Information given by the staff o f the ORI, Tirupati

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• Bikaner Library (SangTtasirOmani of Panditamandali - 7558a)

• Government Oriental Manuscripts Library, Chennai (Natyasastra-vartikam of Manyapati -7107)

• Trivandrum library (Sangltacintamani of VemabhOpala - 7499a)

Such transcripts are very useful, when the original gets damaged or inaccessible to scholars.

Kavi seems to have toured all over the country and collected manuscripts on Sanglta and Natya. The details of his collection are not known exactly but information could be gathered from the references made in his own writings. In his reply to Dr. S K De on the Natyasastra edition, he informs us that he can show the places where plenty of manuscripts are available10. In the introduction to the Bharatakosa, he acknowledges various manuscript libraries and royal courts, from where he had collected copies of music manuscripts. The Royal courts of Nepal, Bikaner, Baroda, Travancore and the libraries of Lahore, Jodhpur, Asiatic Society, Bengal, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona, GOML, Chennai and Trivandrum, Sarasvati Mahal Library, Tanjavur and the Oriental Library, Mysore have been acknowledged11. This shows that he had access to these libraries and had made copies of manuscripts from there.

One of the main problems that a present day scholar faces with regard to Kavi’s works is that in many cases, there are very less or no references to primary sources. For instance, in the Journal of the Madras Music Academy, he gives a brief note about a laksya manuscript dealing with the notations of a few raga-s with the mode of singing the Alapa and thaya, that was procured from the Malabar region12. The whereabouts of this manuscript today is not known. Meanwhile in the middle of a paper manuscript (in a notebook copied by Kavi) titled “Rajavijaya” found in the ORI, Tirupati, there are some pages that contain the notations for alapa, thaya, glta and prabandha. It is incomplete and a cursory study suggests that they coincide with those mentioned by Kavi in the article referred to above. A detailed study of this lak$ya manuscript is being undertaken.13

Manuscript Copies written by KaviThe TTD collection of music manuscripts at ORI also includes the hand-written copies

of M R Kavi and they represent 30 different laksana-grantha-s. An important aspect is that, most of them are not true copies (transcripts) of their respective originals. In other words, Kavi seems to have made a summary of some manuscripts for his reference, and had not copied

10 Collected papers o f Manavalli Ramakrishna Kavi, p. 156

11 Bharatakosa, Introduction, p.xxvi

12 “Caturdandi In Karnataka Music”, by Ramakrishna Kavi, article published in the Journal o f the Madras Music Academy, vol - XI, 1940, pp. 87-89.

13 This manuscript is being studied by Ms. V Sireesha, Research Scholar, Dept, o f Performing Arts, S V Universityas part o f her Ph.D. thesis.


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the manuscript in total. Some of the observations made on examining the manuscript copies of Kavi are given below-

a. it contains references to the source manuscript (e.g. SarigltadamOdhara - 7492)

b. marginal markings are found to be plenty, which are in the form of references to the corresponding verses in other texts (e.g. Sanglta saramrta - 7499b).

c. Incorporated variant readings in the manuscript from another source (e.g. Natyasastra - 7562a)

d. His own comments on the work (e.g. Natyadarpana - 7489 b)

e. Some portions of the text are skipped and not copied (e.g. Svararagasudharasa - 7508)

f. One notebook might contain one work in the beginning and another work(s) written from the backside. Usually this work goes unnoticed. (Svararagasudharasa written from the reverse side of the notebook which contains Gltaprakasa - 7508b)

g. In some cases, a portion or a particular chapter of the work alone has been copied down (Sarigltasaramria - Vadyadhyaya - 7489a).

On examining the copies made by Kavi, it appears that he has also made an attempt to amend the texts. This was evident in the author’s own experience while editing the work of Somanarya. Some of the readings though good were not considered in editing the text but noted only as variants14.

Edition of Abhinavabharati

It was for the first time that the text of the commentary of Abhinavagupta on Bharata’s Natyasastra called the Abhinavabharati came to be known to the world through M R Kavi. Bharata’s work has 37 chapters and the commentary to the chapters 1-7 was published in 1926 (Volume -1), chapters 8-18 in 1934 (vol. -2), chapters 19-27 (vol. -3) in 1954 and the final volume containing chapters 28-37 in 1964, under the Gaekwad Oriental Series, Baroda. Kavi himself states that, he first came across the copies of Abhinava’s commentary during his stay in Travancore in 1912 and decided to issue the text with the more learned commentary of Abhinava15. Ever since then, he seems to have studied almost all available works on Natya and Sanglta, which is evident from his own words -

“In my studies of Abhinavagupta’s commentary on Bharata’s Natyasastra (Science

14 “A study o f manuscripts on music and a critical edition and translation o f the unpublished work o f Somanarya”, Ph.D. thesis (unpublished) submitted to the University o f Madras, 2001, pp.95-96.

15 Collected papers o f Manavalli Ramakrishna Kavi, pp. 154-55


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of Theatrics), I attempted to procure and go through every work on Natya, if available anywhere”16

“ ...I had of necessity to acquire and study all the available works in Natya, Sanglta and kavyalankara and a few decades of my life saw me wading through the ocean of thought of great sages...”17

Further it is also learnt that during his stay in Andhra during 1916 in the house of Nidadavolu Venkata Rav, he transcribed a palm-leaf manuscript which was in Samskita namely the Natyasastra tlka (called Kohaliya?)18.

In his preface to the first edition of Abhinavabharati, Kavi says that the commentary is based on 40 copies of Manuscripts obtained from different parts of India. He has assigned ‘sigla’ code numbers to indicate them in his editions. He categorises the manuscripts consulted by him into A and B recensions, based on the sources from where he obtained them. He mentions the sources of the Manuscripts (two from Bikaner, three from Tanjore, 6 from Malabar and so on) in a more general way, but does not specify the exact number or the identity of the manuscripts used by him. Even while responding to a criticism, by S.K.De, of his editing of Natyasastra, he again gives a list of the manuscripts he had consulted only in terms of source libraries and not the manuscript numbers. The mystery still pervades regarding the manuscripts used by Kavi for the edition of Abhinavabharati. However the later editors have related the manuscripts used for the edition with some of the manuscripts in the libraries.

Meanwhile the manuscripts of Natyasastra and Abhinavabharati available at ORI, throw some light to the issue of Manuscripts used by Kavi.

There are altogether 6 manuscripts at the ORI titled, Natyasastra / Abhinavabharati

The manuscript numbered 7562a is written by M R Kavi and contains plenty of variants from different manuscripts, mentioned by him in the preface to the I and the II editions. This covers the chapters 17-22 complete and 23rd incomplete.

Another paper manuscript written by Kavi bears the number 7559a, is titled Abhinavabharati and contains similar variant readings. This covers chapters 1-5 complete and 6th incomplete. This gives a lot of commentary than 7562a.

The folios of the palm leaf manuscript numbered 7617 are jumbled and there seems to be two different works- one dealing with hasta-s and the other on the Taladasaprana-s, which closely resembles the Talakalabdhi of Acyutaraya. Further

16 “King Nanyadeva on Music” Article published in the Journal o f the Andhra Historical Research Society, Rajahmundry, vol-1, no.2, Oct 1926, p.55

17 Introduction to Bharatakosa, p.i

18 “Manavalli Ramakrishna Kavi Racanalu” by P S R Appa Rao.

— THE MUSIC ACADEMY • JOURNAL 2011 • VOLUME 82 ■ ■■ ■

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study has to be made to ascertain if the portions dealing with hasta-s belong to Natyasastra or any other text.

The folios of the Palm-leaf manuscript numbered 7599 is also damaged and jumbled and it contains Saptasvaralak$anam, Ragatalacintamani, and Sangrahacudamani. The exact folios which contain Natyasastra in this bundle of 223 folios, is yet to be identified.

Another palm-leaf manuscript titled Natyasastra numbered 329 is available in the ORI, which is again injured. The beginning leaves are broken and colophon indicating the end of the first adhyaya has been identified on fol.6 and that of the second chapter in fol. 9. This runs upto the 34th adhyaya (or even further?) and the latter portion contains meaning for the verses in Kannada, written with a different hand.

Yet another palm-leaf manuscript with the number 2224 is very much injured and moth eaten. It is written in Grantha script and the extent of the text could not be made.

Kavi had promised to give the details of the variant readings from all manuscripts and a detailed introduction and notes running to 400 pages at the end of the fourth volume,19 but unfortunately, he passed away before that. However, managing a text with 40 and more manuscripts of different recensions, written in different scripts, discovered from different parts of the country, containing different portions of the text and the commentary, manuscripts being both complete and incomplete, with gaps varying from syllables or words to even verses and chapters and no two manuscripts taken at random coinciding in their readings - must have been a Herculean task.

BharatakosaBharatakosa is a dictionary of technical terms that figure in the works on Natya, Sanglta

and related topics with extracts drawn from both published and unpublished sources. It was published by the TTD in the year 1951, when Kavi was in his ripe old age. In the introduction Kavi gives a brief note on the texts consulted by him in compiling this work.

Kavi had travelled all over India and collected a large number of manuscripts. The idea of preparing such a work covering almost all available topics found in the Musicological Literature is something great and the author justifies it in the introduction. Another significant aspect is that by the time of the preparation and publication of Bharatakosa, many of the musicological works were still in the form of manuscripts only and not published.


19 Collected Papers o f Manavalli Ramakrishna Kavi, p. 156

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The works included in the compilation of Bhartakosa are of three kinds - printed works, unpublished works and unknown works. Natyasastra of Bharata20, Byhaddesi of Matariga, Abhinava’s commentary on Natyasastra, the Abhinavabharati, Bharatabha$ya of Nanyadeva, Sarigltaratnakara of Sarrigadeva, Sarigltasamayasara of Parsvadeva, Sarigltacudamani of Jagadekamalla, Sarigltaraja of Kumbharana, Caturdandlprakasika of Venkatamakhi etc. are some of the published works. Besides, he also quotes from the works of Nandi, KOhala, Vi§akhila, and other writers on music, whose original works are not available to us today but are found as quotations/citations in the existing works. The Sarigltacintamani of Vemabhupala, Sangltasudhakara of Haripala, Srrigarahara of Hammlra, Sarigltaratnavali of SOmaraja, Sariglta candrika of Madhavabhatta are some of the unpublished works.

Kavi has also made references to some hitherto unknown works like Talakalabdhi of Acyutaraya and NatakaratnakOsa of Sagaranandi the sources for which are not mentioned. However the extracts supplied by Kavi under the source, “Acyuta” and “Acyutaraya” have been located in the manuscripts of the GOML and the ORI21 . But with regard to Sagaranandi, there are plenty of references in Bharatakosa and most of them are listed next to Abhinava. Meanwhile in p.715, he describes Sagaranandi as the author of a work called NatakaratnakOsa who probably belonged to 980 A.D. It is also learnt that this work has been cited in Kumbha’s Sangltaraja22 and the Sarigltadamodhara of subharikara23. Kavi further informs us that Abhinava has not accepted the views of Sagaranandi. He also quotes from rare works like Nagendra malla’s Nagendra Sariglta, Bharatarnava or Vinayakabharata by Vinayaka, the copies of which are available at the ORI.

Further in Bharatakosa, Kavi has provided a number of extracts from some works/ authors like, (Sariglta) cudamanisara, Gaurimatam, Hanumanmatam, Maharastre, Virahanka, Padmasri, Amrtanandi, Sarvesvara and so on. It is still not known, from where he was able to obtain all the details, since only Kavi’s references have become sole source of information for these. Even in the case of Sarigltacudamani of Jagadekamalla, the printed text is incomplete and more information (like the laksana-s of the raga-s) is available only in Bharatakosa and not in the printed book.

ConclusionThe study of manuscripts has been an area where there are continuous searches,

discoveries and research. Ramakrsna Kavi is a great landmark in this area of music research.

20 Includes “Nepal patha” also.

21 “Talakalabdhi o f Acyutaraya: discovery o f a new work on tala” by the present author, published in the Journal o f the Madras Music Academy, 2009, pp.94-102

22 Bharatakosa, p.715

23 SangTtadamodara o f subhankara, edited by Gaurinatha Sastri and Govindagopal Mukhopadhyaya, Sanskrit college, 1962


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He had gathered plenty of manuscripts from different sources and analysed them in his own way. Unfortunately they lack adequate references, but still the identities of some of them are being discovered. A critical examination of the music manuscripts of the ORI, Tirupati has thrown light on some of the facts relating to Kavi’s contribution. A similar study of the music manuscripts of other libraries where Kavi was associated would perhaps yield more information on the subject.

I wish to acknowledge the UGC, New Delhi for awarding me the Major Reseach Project in Music, the Director and the Staff members of the Oriental Research Intitute, S V University Tirupati in assisting me to consult the Mss and Ms. V. Sireesha, Project Assistant for her kind co-operation in undertaking this work.


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Harikatha in the four States o f South IndiaPremeela Gurumurthy

Harikatha as it is, means a story of Hari but it has come to be associated with an art form which consists of a story, narration, exposition, music, humorous anecdotes along with explanation of the varied texts of the songs all combined into a script performed with upagSyaka-s and instrumental accompaniment. The art of story narration exists in different parts of the country as Klrtan in Marathi, Kathflkathan in Hindi, Gagariyapurana in Gujarati, Harikatha in Telugu, Harikathe in Kannada, KathSkSlaksepam, Harikatha or Issai Sorpozhivu in Tamil and KathSprasarigam in Malayalam. All these are different styles of story expositions performed in accordance with the regional characteristics.

TamilnaduDuring the reign of the Maratha Raja-s in Tanjavflr (1673 onwards) many a Klrtankar

from Maharashtra came and planted the seed of Hariklrtan. During the early part of the 19th Century, Klrtanacharya Ramachandra Buva Morgaumkar and Meruswami also called as Ananthapadmanabha Goswami popularized the art of Marathi klrtan to such an extent that it paved the way for the emergence of a new style of Harikatha consisting of the already existing Kalaksepa with certain characteristic features of the Marathi klrtan. Tanjavflr Krsna Bhagavatar (1841 - 1903) is considered as the father of the art of this Tanjore Harikatha style. This happened under the expert guidance of Vehkatadasa popularly known as Perianna a patron of fine arts. He achieved the great task of blending the Kalaksepa art with certain elements borrowed from the Marathi klrtan. Harikatha as an art form attained perfection and had its golden days during the period of Tanjore Krsna Bhagavatar and years later.

In this traditional Tanjavflr style of Harikatha one expects all the ingredients introduced by Krsna Bhagavatar. The salient features of this style are the standing posture of the performer, the Panchapadi (a set of five invocatory songs), use of Jalra and Chipla, the variety of musical forms, viz., Saki, Dindi, Ovi, Abhang, Arya, Pada, Anjaniglta, Khadga, Kandapadya, Slsapadya, Dvipadi, Cflrnika, Chindu, Nondichindu, Temmangu, Sloka, Viruttam, Ahaval, songs of the saint composers in Marathi, Sanskrit, Telugu and Tamil and incorporated into the traditional story script known as nirflpana-s such as Garudagarvaharana, Rukmini Kalyana, Laksmana Sakti, Sati Sulocana, Vatsala Kalyana, Rukmangada Charitra, Dhruva Charitra, Slta Kalyana, etc. Nandanar Caritram of Gopalakfsna Bharati is entirely in Tamil though metrical forms like savayi and khadga are used but the text being in Tamil.

The Harikatha is primarily divided into two parts, namely the Pflrvanga and the Uttaranga. The Pflrvanga includes the Pancapadi, the Prathamapada or the primary song around which the story is woven and the Purvaplthika or the introduction. This is followed by a

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Dhrupad and a Tillana. A short tani-avartana is then played on the Mridangam, which marks the end of the Pflrvanga. In the Uttaranga, the main story is narrated interspersed with suitable songs and interesting anecdotes. The narrative and the acting ability, the proper choice of songs, anecdotes, the effective rendition altogether lend charm to a Kalaksepa which makes it a composite art.

The following are some of the illustrious performers of the past who have contributed, in large measures, to the wide popularity of the Harikatha form, viz., Tanjavflr Krsna Bhagavatar, Pandit Laksmanacharya, Tiruppazhanam Panchaspagesa Sastri, Solamahgalam Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, Embar Srirangacharyar, Tanjavflr Panchapagesa Bhagavatar, Tanjavflr Nagaraja Bhagavatar, Mangudi Chidambara Bhagavatar, Harikesanallflr Muthiah Bhagavatar, Kallidaikurichi Vedanta Bhagavatar, Tiruvaiyaru Annaswami Bhagavatar, Kumbakonam Vadiraja Bhagavatar, Palakkadu Anantarama Bhagavatar, Embar S. Vijayaraghavacharya, T.S. Balakrsna Sastri, Mannargudi Sambasiva Bhagavatar, C. Saraswati Bai, Padmasani Bai, Tirukkokarnam Kanakambujam, C. Banni Bai and many others. Kalyanapuram Aravamudan is continuing the Embar tradition and Smt. Kamala Mflrthy is carrying on the Annaswami Bhagavatar tradition of Harikatha.

In nirflpana-s, the written text of a Harikatha, it is observed that in story situations contemporary compositions are rendered. For example, in Rukmini Kalyanam, there is a situation when Rukmini prior to the wedding, has to go to the temple of Goddess Parvati to offer worship. For this, at times ‘Kanjadajayadaksi’ is rendered. Now this is a composition of Muttuswami DTksitar in praise of Goddess Kamaksi. One wonders how appropriate this song is for this situation. It is interesting to note that many Kalaksepa Bhagavatar-s solved this problem by composing their own compositions and suitable musical forms for the story chosen. Mazhavai Chidambara Bharati also a composer and an expert in performing musical discourses has composed a song in Tamil for this above story situation in Rukmini Kalyanam. This shows that a Kalaksepa Bhagavatar is not only an expert in musical discourses but also a versatile composer.

The nirflpana contains the prose passages and the metrical forms used in between when the story progresses. Each and every metrical form is governed by rules as to how many letters should be there for each line and so on. The advantage of the Marathi metrical forms are that these are short in length and are set to attractive simple tunes in ragas like Jonpuri, Blmplas, Kapi, Behag, Mand etc. Each verse is associated with the tune and is known as the saki mettu, dindi mettu etc. Due to the catchy tunes these have been translated into Tamil, retaining the original tune.

Savai is also called Savaya or Savayya. Vamana pandita has composed many. One example is from Nandanar Caritram of Gopalakrsna Bharati. The raga here is Kurinji. The


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poets identify the form with the structure whereas the performers associate the forms with the specific tunes and tala-s such as the three beat, five beat and seven beat.

Andhra PradeshIn Andhra Pradesh, it was Ajjada Adi Bhatla Narayana Das who is considered as the

father of the Telugu Harikatha tradition. Purana pravacanam and the folk style called Burrakatha or Jankamkatha also are other story telling traditions. The Telugu Bhajana tradition is also rich in its literature and music. The Telugu Harikathakara-s were experts in both Bhajana Sampradaya and Harikatha. Most of the Bhagavata-s acquire a sound musical foundation from the Bhajana tradition which also enriches their knowledge in various Indian languages along with a wide repertoire. This is a common element which is found in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and in Karnataka. Whereas in Karnataka it is the music tradition of the Dasakuta composers which became the foundation for the Kannada Harikatha.

In 1883, Narayana Dasa happened to see the performance of Harikatha of one Kuppuswami Naidu from Madras at Vijayanagaram. Dr. Pappu Venugopal Rao, a distant relative of Narayana Dasa himself feels that Narayana Dasa introduced this art form in Andhra Pradesh in its enriched form and such a presentation did not exist before his time and there are none who could equal his stature, voice and talent.

Inspired by Narayana Dasa, many started to perform Harikatha. Out of these, Chittimalli Rangayyadasu, Metilaksmi Narayanasastri, Dulipalli Krsna kavi, Vajpeyala Subbaraya, Bageyapalli Anantaramacharyulu, Sankavaram Varadacharyulu, Mulukutla Sadasiva Sastri, Parimi Subramanya Bhagavatar are important performers.

In Telugu literary tradition, the written text of Harikatha is called Yaksagana. According to Vinjimuri Varaha Narasimhacharya, the Harikatha in the Telugu country is an adaptation of the earlier Yaksagana. Adi Bhatla Narayana Dasa did not follow the Marathi type of Harikatha when he composed his own written texts. He was not satisfied with producing Yaksagana-s in Telugu and felt that Sanskrit is being understood all over India and therefore wrote three Yaksagana-s in Sanskrit and named the book as ‘Harikathamrutam’

Dr. T. Donappa has written elaborately about the Harikatha tradition entitled ‘Telugu Harikatha Sarvasvam’ Dr. B. Rajinikantha Rao in his ‘Andhra Vaggeyakara Caritram’ writes that there are evidences to prove that in the initial stages Yaksagana and Harikatha were one and the same in presentation, meaning that both were performed individually.

Nallan Chakravartula Krsnamacharyulu, along with other members of his family is known for his scholarship in languages, literature, Tarka Vyakarana, music performance composing and Harikatha both performance and composing the nirupana. He has written many nirupana-s in both Sanskrit and Telugu. He also taught Harikatha at the Sarvaraya School at Kapilesvarapuram.


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KarnatakaIn Karnataka for discourses, themes pertaining to Vaishnavite, Saivaite and Jainism are

in vogue. The Yaksagana theatre is very popular and there is an element of story-telling tradition of this called as the Tala maddale. Again outwardly it might sound like the names of a Taja and Madda|e having been brought together. But actually this is an indoor form of Yak§agSna without the usual dance and costume. Here the Bhagavata is the main artist and the others sit before him facing each other on both sides. The Bhagavata initially does the invocation and will then introduce each person and the character which he will enact. The interesting part is there is no script and each one has to improvise their dialogue then and there. The tala and maddale will be the main accompaniments. The prose dialogue is delivered by the actors using voice modulation to bring out the emotion. This is a very unique type of an art form.

In a traditional Harikatha the Bhagavatar has the responsibility of enacting each role figuring in the story all by himself. Here he is like the one who is managing with different persons doing the various roles.

Sri. Bhadragiri Achyuta Dasa, a senior Harikatha artist who also has an institution called Dasasrama for Harikatha learning in Bangalore, feels that Narahari Tutha who belonged to the 11th Century performed musical discourses. The term Harikatha might have become more well-known with the Madhwa tradition. There was also a form called Yekkalagana where one person enacted several roles of the chosen story. This view is similar to what was mentioned earlier by Dr. B. Rajanikanta Rao.

Dr. M.B. Vedavalli in her book entitled ‘Mysore as a Seat of Music’ writes about the royal patronage given to many art forms including Harikatha. Raja Chamaraja Wodeyar organized performances and also appointed Harikatha performers in his court. The foremost was Adibhatja Narayana Das from Andhra. The king was enthralled by his performance on Ambarlsa Charitra. Another day he performed Gajendra Moksa. One day he also sang a complicated Pallavi, the details can be referred in the book.

In 1895 he was again invited by Nalvadi Kfsnaraja Wodeyar for the Dussera. Three discs were recorded in a phonograph. The king gifted him with gold bracelet, Vina, Tambura and Rs. 1116/- given to very few high class artists.

He wrote many Nirupana-s for Harikatha. During 1919 to 1936 he was the Principal of Vijayanagaram Gajapati Sanglta Kalasala.

Other artists of Karnataka are Venkataramanadasa, Tumkur Venugopaladasa, KonanOru Srikanta, Sltarama Sastri Gururajulu Naidu and Sffpada Hande. Popular nTrupana-s are Vidyunmati KalySna, Ahimahi Upakhyana and Akkamahadevi Katha. Nanjunda Dasa and Bhadragiri Kesavadasa have also written many Nirupana-s. Kesava dasa used to perform Harikatha in English and was very popular in U.S.A.

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KeralaIn Kerala there are three traditions viz., the old Pathakam, similar to purana pravacana,

Harikatha introduced by Sri. Swati Tirunai Maharaja inspired by Meruswami and the Kathaprasahgam. Meruswami went to Trivandrum and became the revered Guru of the royal court. He later came to be known as Ananta Padmanabha Goswami. Swati Tirunai is said to have written the Ajamila and the Kuchelopakhyanam-s. V.S.V. Guruswami Sastri has edited and published these two in 1973.

In the preface he writes, “Sri Swati Tirunai invited Meruswami who decorated the court of Chatrapati Serfoji. He was a unique gem in the city of Tanjore in Colamandalam. In the court of Swati Tirunai under his immediate presence and of other artists and poets, the king requested Meruswami to perform the upakhyanam-s and they were performed in the Harikatha style. The audience were immersed in the performance of Meruswami to whom the king gifted two gold toda-s, two shawls, gold chain and Rs. 3000/- This happened in Feb 1848. Guruswami Sastri also says that the Maharaja wished to spread Haribhakti through Harikatha. Guruswami Sastri has published two prabandha-s giving meaning in Tamil for the verses and songs. The notation is not given but Sariglta Kalanidhi T.K. Govinda Rao has done great service by providing notation for all the songs in the stories in his book containing the compositions of Swati Tirunai. However raga-s and taja-s are mentioned in the original. The story is developed in the form of sloka-s and klrtana-s called ganam consisting of pallavi, anupallavi and caranam. The language is Sanskrit.

Sri K.K. Vadyar in his book Kathaprasahgam Endu, Endinu, Engane written in 1953 writes that Harikatha though popular in the King’s palace, did not survive for long but what gained popularity throughout Kerala was the art of Kathaprasahgam peculiar to Kerala which was developed by the literary scholars who presented the works of Kumaran Asan, Ullur Parameswara Iyer and Vallathol. The pioneer of Kathaprasahgam was Sathyadevan, a devoted disciple of Narayana Guru. He thought it was necessary to introduce music into Padagam and thereby created a story centered around Malayalam poetry. During this transition period Malayalam literature was given prominence and the music was light classical, and the narration was highly dramatized. Instead of Puranic stories Romeo and Juliet, Mary of Magdelene were adopted. Others who took to this art were M.PManmadan, K.K.Vadyar, Joseph Kaimamparamban and V.Sambasivan. Today it is Kathaprasahgam which is very popular to such an extent that like super singers, youngsters are keenly participating in the Malayalam TV programme thereby propagating this art form among the youth.

Listening to stories was and can be popular if it was well presented by able performers. It appeals to both the mind and the intellect where one enjoys both the sangTta and the sahitya.

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BibliographyBhima Rao,T.R.(Ed) Nirupana Gucca, Part I

Tanjavur Maharaja Serfoji’s Saraswathi Mahal Library,1972.

Dr. Donappa,T. Telugu Harikathaa Sarvaswam Guntur, First Edition, 1978

George, K.M. A Survey of Malayalam Literature Asia Publishing House, 1968

Gurus wamiSastri ,V.S .V Kuchelopakhyanam and Ajamilanopakhyanam Sri Swati Tirunai Kritis Publication Committee Trivandrum, 1973

Joga Rao, S.V Andhra Yakshagaana Vangmaya Charitra, Andhra University, 1961

Narayanadas Adibhatla a Yeruka,Welcome Press, Guntur-1956

Panchamukhi, R.S Haridasa Sahitya Kannada Sahitya Parishad, Bangalore-1952

Dr. Premeela Gurumurthy Kathaakaalakshepa - A Study University of Madras-2009

SambamoorthyJ3. A Dictionary of South Indian Music and Musicians, Volume I and IIIndian Music Publishing House,Madras,1952,1959

Saminatha Iyer,U.V Gopalakrishna Bharatiyar, Kalaimagal Kariyalayam Madras,Second Edition, 1964

Seetha.S Tanjore as a seat of Music during the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries, University of Madras, 1981

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Shivarama Karanth. K Yakshagaana,Institute of Kannada Studies, University of Mysore,First Edition,1975

Vadhyar K.K Kathaprasangam Endu, Endinu,Engane,1953

Dissertations

Brinda. R The Origin and Development ofSacred Music,MJLitt Thesis Madras University 1948

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Some Illustrious Performers

Tanjavur Krsna Bhagavatar Pancapakesa Sastri Pandit Laksmanacarya

Embar Vijayaragavachar T.S. Balakrsna Sastri

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THE MUSIC ACADEMY • JOURNAL 2011 • VOLUME 82 ---------------------

Gayanapattu Klrtanapattu C. Saraswati Bai

Adibatja Narayanadas and the Harikatha School

N.C. Krsnamacaryulu Badragiri Kesavadas

Badragiri Acyutadas K.K. Vadhyar

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i


Textual Traditions In Indian Classical Dances

Priyashri Rao

At the outset, a clarification of the word ‘text’ would perhaps not be out of place. For, in dance parlance, ‘text’ also refers to the ‘sahitya’ or ‘matu’ portion in a composition. As described in the Illustrated Oxford Dictionary, ‘Text’ is the noun form of the word, meaning

the main body of a book as distinct from notes, appendices, pictures etc.

the original words of an author or document, especially as distinct from a paraphrase or commentary on them

data in textual form, especially as stored, processed, or displayed in a word processor etc.

while ‘textual’ is the adjectival form of the word meaning

of, in, or concerning a text

In a paper wherein ‘textual tradition’ is the focal point without doubt the literary sources along with the commentaries wherever available, form the basic source of information. With reference to music, dance and dramaturgy, these literary sources can be roughly grouped into

works written specifically for recording the details of practice of music, dance and dramaturgy referred to as Lakshanagrantha-s or technical treatises, for instance Bhavaprakasana of Saradatanaya, Sangltaratnakara (SR) of Sarngadeva or the Sangltaraja by Rana Kumbha. Works like Vishnudharmottarapurana (VDP) and Manasollasa are encyclopedic works dealing with a number of varied topics, treat dance and its related aspects nearly as exhaustively as in the other works referred to above.

works that refer to or describe one or different aspects of music and dance whilst treating other subjects referred to as non-technical works, like the Tamizgrammar work Tolkappiyam. Silapadikaram and Malavikagnimitram, Tamizkavya and Samskrt nataka work respectively, are, as the name of the genre suggests, stories replete with main and secondary characters and story-plots. Interestingly, as the story develops much significant information on music and dance can be gleaned. Similarly Yakshagana literary forms for instance Prahlada Caritramu throws light on the different types of musical compositions, raga-s, the dancers and the natyasala (dance-school) (Seetha, 1981:58-59).1

1 Prahlada Caritramu is an unpublished Yakshagana attributed to Vijayaraghava Nayak (1633-1673) (Seetha, 1981:50)

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works that refer to music and dance in passing or in some instances employing particular aspects of music and dance as metaphors such as the Veda-s, the epic Ramayana or the literature of the Sangam age, to mention a few.

The commentary to the lakshanagrantha-s is also an important literary source of information. Typical examples of a commentary are the Abhinavabharati (AB) of Abhinavagupta, a commentary on the Natyasastra (NS) and the commentary of AtiyarkkunallSr (AN) on Silappadikaram.

A cursory survey of the available lakshangrantha literature reveals many lakshanagrantha-s in Samslqt, Tamiz and other vernacular languages.2 The earliest available lakshanagrantha with reference to Samskrt manuals on dance is the Natyasastra of Bharata while the Kottanul of Catanar, dated to the Carigam period3 appears to be the earliest point of reference as far as the Tamiz works are concerned. The Natasutra-s, authored by Silalin and Krsasva, referred to by Panini are believed to be the foremost works that contained the codification of the technique of drama and dance (Vatsyayan, 1968:38). The sutra-s are however not available to us as of now. Inference can be drawn from the references to experts like Kohala, Visakhila, Udbhata, Klrtidhara, Sandilya, Vatsya, Asmakutta to name a few, who wrote about music and dance, and texts such as Baratam, Baratasenapatiyam, Pancabaratiyam, in the Atiyarkkunallar commentary on Cilappadikaram that not only the art forms of music, dance and dramaturgy as such but the idea of recording the afore mentioned forms in a textual format had also attained a considerably advanced degree of evolution (Bose, 1991:20, Vatsyayan, 1968:38). Interestingly, in the twenty-ninth chapter of the Natyasastra, Abhinava in his commentary gives an account of the dance presentation according to the Nandikesvara tradition as mentioned by Klrtidhara (Abhinavagupta on Natyasastra vol.IV, p.120, l.l-p.122, 1.10). Examples of other works in Samskrt are Abhinayadarpana (AD) ascribed to Nandikesvara, Sangltaratnakara of Sarngadeva, Nrttaratnavali of Jayappa, Nrttaratnakosa, the dance chapter of SangltarSja of Rana Kumbha, Nartananimaya (NN) of Pundarika Vitthala, to just mention a few. A survey of the works in Tamiz reveals works like Kuttanul, Baratasenapatiyam, Mahabaratacudamani (MBC), again to mention a few.4 As discussed by Raghavan in his preface to the edition of the text, Sangltasaramrta, authored by the Maratha King Tulaja of Tanjore was perhaps one of the last Samslqt works dealing with the concepts of music and dance to have been written in the eighteenth century (Sastry (ed.), 1942:1 and Bose, 1991:8). From this point onwards the practice of a composition of a text on the lines of the texts like the Natyasastra or the Sangltaratnakara etc. seems to have ceased. But it must not be misconstrued that the very tradition of written accounts was now ‘history’. Some examples of nineteenth century texts are the2 For detailed literature survey see Vatsayayan, 1968

3 For a discussion on the date and period of Kottanfll, see Virarajendra, 2005

4 The texts mentioned here have been chosen at random. It by no means discounts the importance of the othertexts in Sanskjt and other vernacular languages, which are many in number. It is neither feasible nor o f utmostimportance to state the names o f all the texts in this particular context.


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Abhinaya Sara Sampu(a and Abhinaya Navanita, compiled by Chetlur Narayana Ayyangar and Needamangalam Tiruvenkatacharya5

Abhinayadarpanamu a re-worked version of Abhinayadarpanam in Telugu by Cinayya, the eldest of the Tanjavur brothers (Krishnan, 2010:72)

Natanadivaddiyarancanam of Kankaimuttuppillai dealing with the dance compositions (Krishnan, 2010:75-9)

A few texts were also penned in the twentieth century

Abhinaya Svayambodini, a Telugu work which includes dance compositions and some dance techniques (Krishnan, 2010:80-2).

Natyakalpadrumam, a Malayalam work, by the acclaimed Kudiyattam and Kathakali artist Mani Madhava Chakkyar. A work close on the pattern of Natyasastra.6

The different aspects of dance discussed in these texts is inclusive of

concepts of nftta, natya, nriya, tandava, lasya, abhinaya

concepts of marga and desi (regional)

concepts in abhinaya such as nayaka-nayaki bheda, ashtanSyika-s

concepts of bhava like sthayi bhava (dominant state of the mind), vibhava (cause(s)), anubhava (consequent(s)), vyabhicaribhava-s (transitory states)

concept of rasa and eight/ nine rasa-s

concepts of lokadharml or ulagiyal vazakku (natural), natyadharml or na{aka vazakku (stylized)

caturvidha (four-fold) abhinaya that is angika, vacika, aharya and satvika

concept of vakyarthabhinaya (meaning of the sentence or utterance) and padarthabhinaya (meaning of the word)

a detailed, exhaustive and almost comprehensive description of angika abhinaya, which includes

o division of the different limbs of the body anga (major) into upanga or pratyanga (minor) and upanga or pratyanga (another sub category)

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5 Chetlur Narayana Ayyangar first wrote Abhinaya Navanitam which dealt only with Hasta-abhinaya. This work elucidates other aspects o f Abhinaya like Bhava, Rasa and also gives the Abhinaya interpretation of some select Pada-s (Abhinaya Sara Samputa, Preface, ppi-ii).

6 published in January 1975 by Kerala Kalamandalam, Vallathol Nagar with financial assistance of SNA, New Delhi. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C4%81tyakalpadrumam - accessed on 25.11.10

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C4%81tyakalpadrumam

o the bheda-s (variations) of the different limbs of the body anga-s and the viniyOga-s (uses)

concept of karana-s and angahara-s

concept of mtyaprabandha-s and uparupaka-s

concept of vftti-s (acting styles)

details of ranga (stage), the construction of the stage proper, the greenroom, the audience, the seating arrangement of the audience

details of different paddhati-s (dance performances) which includes the entry of the musicians and the dancers, the musical forms employed, details of the actual dance presentation in terms of movements of the different limbs of the body, the nature of musical accompaniment, the tala-s to be employed

idea of exercise

specific modes of drumming for specific dance presentations

origin of natya

occasions for the presentation of dance

characteristics of the dancer, teacher, musical accompanists, audience

the aim of dance

As can be observed from above,7 the texts and their commentaries have covered and recorded almost all aspects of dance and dance presentations. Works like Cilappadikaram and Malavikagnimitram throw light on the practical application of the concepts stated in the treatises. Each of the topics referred above perhaps merits an indepth questioning and analysis. Hence, in the following paragraphs examples of some of the concepts discussed in the texts are examined in relation to present day understanding, interpretation and practice and they are,

differences and variations in the enumeration and interpretation of the terms

use of or importance ascribed to the different movements of the limbs

hasta-s as prescribed / described in the texts and their uses in present times

samples of the movements of the pada, jangha, padacari-s, bhramari-s

adavu system

concept of nitta, abhinaya,

idea of ‘setting the pace’ for a concert

some practices in performance7 This is a cumulative list o f topics dealt with in the different texts. It does not necessarily mean that all the

texts refer to all the topics mentioned.


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collukattu-s

padartha abhinaya and vakyartha abhinaya

content of a padam

presentation of dance to both svara and pata

use of the kinkini or the bells

kalasa

accompaniment to dance with reference to drumming

accompanying musicians with specific reference to nattuvangam

seating arrangements for the accompanying musicians

With reference to Angikabhinaya, the different limbs of the body are classified as anga, upanga and pratyanga and each limb is further classified based on either the position or movement(s). The viniyoga-s or uses for the hand, head, eye, or neck are also enumerated. From one text to the other there are differences and variations.8 For instance, the Abhinayadarpana (v.66-67ab) enumerates eight movements for the eyes under drshtibheda. However in other texts, a variety of eye movements are described under rasadrshti-s and bhavadrshti-s. Bhavaprakasana also describes the drshti-vikara-s and variations for the rasadrshti-s (Bose, 1995:35-48). Rasadrshti-s, as the name suggests, are those that are to be employed for the presentation of the nine rasa-s. Balaramabharata classifies drshti-s into bahirvishayadrshti-s, bhavadrshti-s, rasanubhavasucaka drshti-s, kriyartha phaladrshti-s (Rele, 1992:141). The different movements of the head, eye, neck, hands and feet are generally employed in Bharatanatyam, with some schools following Abhinayadarpana and some Natyasastra. In Kathak, not much importance is attached to the different movements. The emphasis is more on

“....what meets the eye seems not merely true to what is represented, but winsome in itself.” (Saxena, 1991:123-6)

However, the movements of the bhru (eyebrows) are emphasized with facial movements kept down to a minimum (Vatsyayan, 2007:83). It is perhaps in Kathakali that the movements of the bhru (eyebrows), eyelids, ganda (cheek), adhara (lips), nasika (nose) and mukha (face) are employed using the entire gamut of variations (Vatsyayan, 1997:50) whereas the movements of ganda (cheek) and adhara (lower-lip) as described in Natyasastra are particularly used in Mohinlyattam (Rele, 1992:142). In Manipuri, the facial expression is serene almost through out, in part perhaps a result of the veil that is draped over the head, falling across the face. The wrist movements along with that of the hands and fingers results in a fluid movement of the hands, a typical of Manipuri and so are the closing in and opening out of the fingers described as hastakarana-s in Natyasastra.9

8 For a discussion on the ‘definition o f ’ the different limbs of the body see Bose, 1995: 27-32

9 Vatsyayan, 2007:71, for details see Bose, 1995:93

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The hasta-s as mentioned in the Abhinayadarpana are the ones employed in Bharatanatyam in both nrtta and the abhinaya.10 Although Abhinayadarpana does mention a separate category of the nrtta hasta-s, in practice however the hasta-s described under the asamyuta and samyuta are the ones predominantly employed both for nrtta and abhinaya. Vyaghra, ardhasflci, kataka and palli hasta-s are not included in the asamyuta hasta sloka but are described along with their viniyoga-s after the tamracuda hasta in (AD v. 166-171). The question that arises is ‘why are these hasta-s mentioned separately?’ Perhaps they were sparingly in use or were to be used sparingly. Ardhasflci is generally used to denote anything in ‘minor or lesser degree’ In fact, salake (thorns, AD v,130a) described as a sflcihasta viniyoga, is more often than not denoted by ardhasflci. Sprout of a seed, young ones of the bird and big worms are the viniyoga-s for the hasta in Abhinayadarpana (AD v.l68ab). However its quite difficult to envisage the use of this hasta to show ‘young ones of the bird’ The description of the pallihasta as per Abhinayadarpana is a little different from that in actual practice (AD v.l70cd-171ab). In fact, in practice, it matches the description of the vardhamanaka hasta described in Hastalakshanadlpika (Sudha, 2001:14-15, Part II), which is the text followed by the exponents of Kathakali and Mohiniyattam. It is used to show the ‘lips’ but we could also use to show the forehead or an ornament or also use it in an adavu. Banahasta, trilinga, pralambha and kangfllabheda11 are four other hasta-s not mentioned in Abhinayadarpana but in use. Banahasta is listed in the MahabaratacfldamanI (MBC v.162) with a note that it is not mentioned in other texts.12 The description of the hasta is same as that in practice. It is employed to show Krshna lifting Govardhana mountain or the stalk of the lily flower or the eyes. Trilinga is used to refer to ‘little’, a ‘a negative feature’ like ‘cunning’ amongst others. Pralambha is employed to ‘question’, ‘show the forehead’ or ‘chest’ In Mohiniyattam, this hasta is referred to as Ardhacandra. Kangfllabheda is used to show a pearl, angry eyes, the jumka-s (earrings), or a flower-bud amongst others. Interestingly MahabaratacfldamanI apart from describing the hasta-s and listing its uses also gives variations of hasta-s. For instance, after describing pataka hasta and listing its uses, variations of pataka - sanklmapatakam, cilittapatakam and tala patakam, again along with their descriptions and uses are also described (MBC, v. 169-174). And, the two variations for Kangflla are cilittakangfllam and sanklmakakangfllam (MBC v.285-6). There is no mention of Kangfllabheda. Urnanabha is mentioned in texts like Natyasastra, Agnipurana (Bose, 1995:65), but from the point of view of the description of the hasta as employed in present times, it is as per that in Manasollasa and Nartananirnaya. The MahabaratacfldamanI lists this as pflrnanabam (MBC v.162). This hasta is generally employed to represent a ‘tiger’ and Abhinayadarpana mentions the use of vyaghra for the same. In Kathak, the use of hasta-s is

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10 Bharatanrtyam, as Dr Padma Subrahmanyam refers to her dance, predominantly follows the bheda-s as per Natyasastra.

11 It appears that trilinga, pralambha and kangfllabheda hasta are not mentioned in a majority o f the texts. Bose in B ose ,1995 has not made a mention of it.

12 See note on p.115, MahabaratacfldamanI

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not to a great extant in both the non-representational (Vatsyayan, 1957:86) and representational (Saxena, 1991:125) aspects of dance. In Kathakali, the use of hasta-s has evolved to a complex and sophisticated level. The Hastalakshanadlpika is the source text and it is quite different from the Natyasastra and Sangltaratnakara traditions (Vatsyayan, 1997:39). So is the case with Abhinayadarpana too. For instance,

the first hasta described in both Abhinayadarpana and Hastalakshanadlpika is ‘pataka’ But the pataka described in Hastalakshanadlpika is like the tripataka of Abhinayadarpana with the thumb stretched out (Zarrilli, 1984:fig 75). This hasta is employed in Bharatanatyam to show the ‘elephant like ears of Lord Ganesa’ Interestingly, Dr Padma whilst presenting the Gajakndita Karana13 too used the tripataka for the right hand to denote the ears of the elephant. None of the texts describing this karana, i.e., the Natyasastra, SangltadamOdara, Sangltasflryodaya or Sangltaratnakara specifically mention the hasta for the right hand (Bose, 1995:154). The other hasta that is employed in Bharatanatyam for the same is the arala with the thumb stretched out.

the pataka hasta as described in Abhinayadarpana is described as tripataka in Hastalakshanadlpika (Zarrilli, Phillip, 1984:fig 92)

In Mohiniyattam, the influence of Abhinayadarpana, Hastalakshanadlpika and Balaramabharata can be observed, though more often than not the hasta-s of Hastalakshanadlpika are followed. In Kucipudi some schools follow Abhinayadarpana while some Natyasastra. In Odissi, Abhinayacandrika is the text that is generally followed.

Apart from the hasta-s and their uses, many texts also enumerate and/or describe hastakarana-s (movement of the fingers), hastakarma-s,14 hastaksetra-s (position of the hasta) and hastapracara-s (directions for the movement of the hands). These, in combination with the bheda-s (variations) of the anga-s, pratyanga-s and the upanga-s (different limbs of the body), prove to be extremely useful whilst notating a dance movement or a complete dance composition.

With reference to the movements of the pada (feet)

the kuncita and the agratalasancara movements of the feet are extensively used in Manipuri15

the ancita and the kuncita movements of the feet are extensively used in Oissi16

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13 As demonstrated by Dr Padma Subrahmanyam in her lec-dem entitled ‘Brhadisvara Temple: Its influence on Music and Dance’ on the 21st of December 2010 at the 84th Annual Conference and Concerts, 2010

14 From the meaning o f the hastakarma-s, perhaps they were employed in abhinaya

15 Vatsyayan, 2007:72, for details o f the texts describing these movements o f the feet see Bose, 1995:104

16 Vatsyayan, 2007:56, for details o f the texts describing these movements o f the feet see Bose, 1995:103-4

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Rele describes the kuncita position of the foot according to Natyasastra as “The heels thrown up toes all bent down and the middle of the feet too bent.” While according to Balaramabharata it is “If the ankles are raised up and the toes are bent it is kuncita.” (Rele, 1992:144) This is very similar to the ‘svastika’ position of the foot as referred to in Bharatanatyam. The Sangltasaramrta describes ‘agratalasancara’ as “The dancer stands in Sama raises her heels and moves about (SSam 6.117).” (Bose, 1995:104)

With reference to the movements of the jangha (shanks), the

nata movement wherein the knees are bent so that the shanks are bent is employed in Manipuri17

ksipta movement wherein the knees are bent so that the shanks are literally thrown out is very typical of the basic stance of Bharatanatyam, the aramandi or ardhamandali as Tulaja refers to it in Sangltasaramrta 18

The Abhinayadarpana classified the varieties of foot movements as four - mandala (static position), utplavana (jump), bhramari (pirouette) and padacari (gait) (AD 259-260ab).

the motitam position of the foot described in Abhinayadarpana (v.270cd-271) classified under mandala bheda-s is the ‘muzumandi’, the Tamiz term and also as it is referred to colloquially, with the knees alternatively touching the floor

Interestingly, Tulaja in Sangltasaramrta refers to motita as a bhramari but gives a Tamiz terminology as ‘mandi-adavu’! (Raghavan, 2004:33)

The bhramari-s or the pirouettes are performed in a variety of ways in the different dance forms. For instance,

the Ekapadabhramari (AD v.295) and the kuncitabhramari (AD v.296ab) described in Abhinayadarpana are typical of Bharatanatyam

the utplutabhramari (AD v. 292) described in Abhinayadarpana is used in Odissi. The reverse of this the viparita bhramari is also in use (Vatsyayan, 1968:58). But it does seem to appear in any listings in the different texts

In Kathak, the bhramari-s called ‘cakkar-s’ are employed as in no other dance form. The bhramari-s are described in a number of texts like the Abhinayadarpana, Sangltaratnakara, Nrttaratnavali, Sangltasuryodaya to mention a few.

the ekapadabhramari described in Abhinayadarpana (v.295) describes a turn presented speedily

the cakrabhramari describes a turn performed like a wheel

17 Vatsyayan, 1968:70 and Bose, 1995:102 for references to nata in the various texts

18 Vatsyayan, 1968:70 and Bose, 1995:102 for references to kshipta in the various texts


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A combination of the different anga-s, upariga-s and pratySnga-s results in a composite sequence of movements, namely, the karana-s as described in many texts inclusive of the Natyasastra. The karana-s have been worked out according to the descriptions in Natyasastra and the sculptures chiselled in the Brhadlsvara temple at Tanjore and are included in Bharatanatyam. In Bharatanatyam, the adavu-s are the basic sequence of movements on which the edifice of other complex sequence(s) of movements are built upon. The Sangltamuktavali mentions ‘adu\ a Telugu word referring to

“the foot striking the floor, i.e. Pada-tadana. That these Pada-tadanas or Adavus were classified and named and remembered by nuemonic patterns o f rhythm-syllables is known from very ancient times. The Jati-syllables occur in Bharata's text itself in different contexts. In the Ratankara, as supplemented by Kallinatha-s gloss, we have elaborate treatment o f Pada- tadanas, and there the name Kuttana or Pada-kuttana has been used when sitting [setting?] forth Kohala’s treatment o f this subject, as part o f Cari-s."

(Raghavan, 2004:32)

Raghavan in a footnote to the above paragraph mentions a quotation of Kohala by Kallinatha in his commentary to the Sangltaratnakara which states that Kohala refers to these as ‘madhupas’. Bose refers to ‘mudupacari’ as described in Nrtyadhyaya of Asokamalla, that is perhaps another name for ‘madhupacari’ as noted by the editor of Nrtyadhyaya, P. Shah. She goes on to state that the descriptions of the movements in the Kallianatha commentary and Nrtyadhyaya are same (Bose, 1995:232). A similar description is also found in Nrttaratnakosa of King Kumbha. Bose describes twenty-five varieties of the same. The eighteenth century text Sangltasaramrta of Tulaja that is the only text wherein a reference to the adavu-s can be found, describes eleven adavu-s.19 He gives the Samskrt names along with the Tamiz and Telugu terminology. For instance,

Samapada Kuttana is Tattadavu Khanatpada Kuttana is Kuttadavu

According to Bose, Kohala refers to them as ‘Nikuttana’ and explains in the endnotes that it means ‘pounding of the feet’. A comparison of the two,

Sangltasaramrta Tamiz Kallianatha commentary, Nrtyadhyaya,terminology Nrttaratnakosa

Samapada Kuttana Tattadavu Samapadanikuttita

Parsva Kuttana Nattittattadavu Parsvakshepanikuttita

19 Though an edited version of this book is published by the Madras Music Academy in 1942, the dance chapter is presented by Raghavan in the Introduction to the same.

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An interesting fact that I come across here is that in his Sangltasaramrta, Tulaja quotes extensively from Sangltaratnakara and Sangltamuktavali. And its from these two texts that references to ‘adu’ and madhupa-s are obtained.

The performance of the different adavu-s or karana-s makes up the nrtta aspect in dance specifically in Bharatanatyam. In the Natyasastra, njtta is described as that which neither has a connection with the meaning of the song nor does it present the meaning of the word. Nrtta was created for the creation of beauty.20 Nrtta is also talasraya21 literally taking refuge under tala. Nartananimaya lists ‘janapriyam’ (popular appeal) and ‘anandakaram’ (giving joy) apart from ‘sarvabhinayavaijitam’ as two more conditions for a movement to qualify as nytta.22 Although some of the later texts have classified nrtta differently 23 For instance, according to Vishnudharmottarapurana, njtta is “always based on natya and lasya” This is a description in contrast to that of nrtta as described in Natyasastra. For, both natya and lasya are stated by Bharata as having plot elements. 24 Nrtta, as understood and practiced today is more creating beautiful figures in space. The talasraya aspect of nrtta is quite evident in Kathak in parhant and the tattakara compositions. In parhant, complex rhythmic sequences are first recited by the dancer before being danced to with extensive use of striking of the feet. This leaning on ‘tala’ is also discemable in Bharatanatyam in Alarippu and in the kOrvai-s in Jatlsvaram and Tillana.

Abhinava in his commentary to the presentation of abhinaya to the four varieties of Asarita as described by Bharata in Natyasastra, specifically for the sahitya of the third section of the Asarita, refers to ‘svatmanyabhimukhyanayanat’ That is, there is abhinaya in terms of word by word meaning and sentence meaning, but the meaning of text is for conveying one's own feeling to oneself and not for the sake of the audience. So, in this context it is not abhinaya in terms of interpretation of the meaningful text.25 Saxena points out to a similar practice in the presentation of the vandana, an invocatory piece in Kathak (Saxena, 1991:95). According to him

“ ...a vandana does not do story-telling in the way of the other thematic numbers of Kathak such as Kavitta or ashtapadi; for the dancer’s attitude here is (in principle) visibly inward and reverential rather than merely representational. The Kathak in a vandana does not address the audience; he seeks only to imbue himself with the right attitude.”

20 NS 4, 262-3 This nature o f Nrtta can be gleaned from a question posed by the sages to Bharata. The text is in the form of question put forth by the sages to which Bharata offers explanations thereby describing the

different concepts.

21 As quoted by Bose in Sangltaratnakara and DasarOpaka in Bose, 1995:12

22 Satyanarayana, 1998:208, trans to 5d of NN

23 For a detailed description of this refer Nrtta, Nitya and Natya by K M Verma

24 VDP 3, 20.2 as quoted by Bose in Bose, 1991:136

25 Rao, 2004:20 For a detailed description o f dance presentation to the four asarita-s or vardhamana-asarita-s asstated by Bharata and as commented upon by Abhinava see Rao, 2004:17-24


Bharata’s description of a dance performance is that of one presented in the POrvaranga (prelude) to the actual drama. Here he makes a mention of songs being rendered accompanied by the drum and string instruments behind the curtain - ‘antaryavanika’ (NS 5,11) is the term that he employs. A similar occurrence can be observed at the commencement of a Bharatanatyam recital in present times wherein the invocatory number is sung prior to the curtain being drawn aside. Bharata also specifically mentions that the dance presentation should not be much and that the purpose of dance here is to enable the audience to a right frame of mind for the drama. Saxena refers to similar idea while discussing the opening numbers of a Kathak performance where the reference is to ‘mijaja banana’ (Saxena, 1991:100). This ‘ideal tuning’ the term he employs helps to

“....getting set to dance that there is almost total breakaway from the thought of what one ordinarily is and does; and a quite but definite ingress into the wondrous world of dance, not as a mere change of position or focus, but by way of felt and pleasing impulses to bring to life the details of the art. From now on it is the dance personality which sways all that the Kathak does; and it is this takeover by the artist in him....”

In the performance of dance to a song based on the musical composition of the vardhamana-asarita described in the Natyasastra and in the descriptions of the suddha-paddhati in the texts like the Sangltaratnakara etc., there is mention of the offering of the flowers or the pushpanjali as the dancer makes her entry on the stage. In Sangltasuryodaya (SSur) (SSur 2, 413-437ab), the pushpanjalividhanam is described. There are a few extracts in the BharatakOsa of the 'pushpanjali' as described in the Sangltamuktavali of Devendra (Kavi, 1999:887), one according to Hammira (Kavi, 1999:887-8) and also one as that described in NrttaratnakOsa (Kavi, 1999:887). The 'pushpanjali' is described in the Bharatamavam of Nandikesvara too (BA 15). Traditionally though the Bharatanatyam repertoire commenced with the alarippu, in present times the practice of a performance commencing with an item called the pushpanjali is also accepted. It is quite common for the danseuse to bring flowers in her hands and circumambulate the stage and place them either in the front centre of the stage or at the feet of an idol of a 'God' kept to the left of the dancer on stage. The Sangltasuryodaya too makes a mention of the dancer circumambulating the stage though that is the seventh step of the sequence of movements26 The extract in BharatakOsa of Hammira mentions offering of flowers to the rendition of a verse in praise of Hari and Siva. There are references to an invocation to ‘Vighnesa’ in Abhinayadarpana and Sangltasuryodaya which again is a common practice today. Interestingly, the Abhinayacandrika in fact even refers to a deity being placed on the right side of the stage (Das, 2001:112).

In the presentation of dance to the song based on the musical composition of the vardhamana-asarita, (Rao, 2004:19) Abhinava in his commentary specifically prescribes the presentation of the upohana, accompanied by the singing of the suskaksara-s and the playing

26 For a detailed description and analysis see Satyanarayana, 1998:281-285 and Rao, 2004:76-9 and


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of the string instruments (AB on NS, vol.I, p.181,1.19). The suskaksara-s are the dry-syllables or the collukattu-s, as they are referred to now. The rendering of the upohana before the entry of the dancer on to the stage is like a cue to the dancer and the accompanying musicians. In the suddha-paddhati descriptions in the Sangltaratnakara etc. (SR 7, 1260-1273ab), there is a mention of the vadyaprabandha-s being played before the dancer makes her entry on to the stage.27 In present times too, before the commencement of an item the first line or avartana of the item is sung at the end of which the dancer makes her entry on to the stage and more often than not, the percussion instrumentalists also follow suit. Sometimes the melody is rendered only on the string, flute or other instruments, at the end of which the dancer enters the stage.

In the description of a desi dance form the gTtanrtyam in Sangltadarpana (7, 190-192) and in Nartananirnaya (4, 581cd-587ab), both nrtta and abhinaya are referred to in the context of the performance of this piece. Nrtta is presented to the recitation of the varna-s (syllables) like ‘ta’ etc. by the ‘taladhari’ (cymbal player). Abhinaya in terms of pada (padartha) and vakya (vakyartha) of the meaning of the text is presented by employing hasta-s and the upanga-s like the netra (eye). The presentation described is strikingly similar to the combined presentation of nrtta and abhinaya in a number of classical dance forms of the day. Atiyarkkunallar describing Avinayakuttu (AN Com., p.80) defines the kuttu as dance in which only the meaning of the text of the song (sahitya) is interpreted through gestures, rather than taking up the entire theme or story. This would be similar to the ‘padarthabhinaya’. Some scholars refer to this as a precursor to Mohiniyattam 28 The concepts of padartha abhinaya and vakyartha abhinaya were the basis for a technical distinction between rflpaka-s and uparupaka-s. To quote Raghavan,

“That is, in the rupaka a full story was presented through all the dramatic requirements and resources fully employed; but in the uparupaka only a fragment was depicted and even when a full theme was handled, all the complements of the stage were not present; the uparupaka lacked one or other or more of the four abhinayas, thus minimizing the scope for naturalistic features (lokadharml) and resorting increasingly to the resources of natyadharml. Thus in some, the element of speech, vacikabhinaya, was omitted, as in kathakali, though the representation included a continous theme and the portrayal of different characters by different actors or dancers.” (Raghavan, 2004:196)

It would not be wrong to point that today the idea of padartha abhinaya and vakyartha abhinaya are spoken of as described in Sangltadarpana. Usually, the first interpretation in terms of abhinaya for a sahitya portion is padartha or ‘pada pada artha’ as its colloquially referred to and is followed by the vakyartha where in the inference of the entire ‘sentence’ is presented. The other type of abhinaya presentation is the ‘sancari bhava’ In Kathakali however every word is dealt with elaborately quite different from the other dance forms.

27 For a detailed description o f dance presentation in the suddha-paddhati see Rao, 2004: 50-58

28 Rele, 1992:144 quoting P. Krishnan Nair in Attakatha or Kathakali pub. by Vyakarana Sahitya Siromani


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The padam-s performed in Bharatanatyam are quite similar to the uparQpaka-s, srigadita and durmllika or durmilita. The main ‘characters’ of a padam invariably are the nayaka (hero), nayika (heroine) and the sakhi (friend/guru) who may either be present or absent. And their status in terms being together or separated forms the basis for the various situations described. In sidgaka (srigadita) the nayaki is separated and states her husband’s actions to her friend. The separation of the nayaka and the nayaki is vipralambha srngara. Whereas in durmllika it is the friend who is aiding a relationship.29 Tolkappiyar in his grammar work Tolkappiyam prescribes rules for interpreting abhinaya in ‘Maipattiyal’ He refers to the importance of ‘kutru’, ‘ketpor’ and ‘muonam’ Kutru refers to the ‘who made the statement’, ketpor to ‘to whom or the person listening’ and munnam to the ‘situation’ (Ramaswamy, trans., 2007:8). Invariably an ideal abhinaya interpretation takes in to account these three aspects.

The vivartananrttam is described only in the Sangltadarpana (7, 184-185ab). It appears to be a presentation full of nrtta dominated movements. Interestingly there is reference to the presentation of dance to both svara and pata which could be equated to nrtta, to svara-s and collukattu-s as in Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattam.

In almost all the classical dance styles, the kinkini or the bells are integral part of the costume. The Abhinayadarpana states the characteristic features of the kinkini (AD v.29-30). Many texts describe the peranl dance after prescribing the details of the peranl dancer.30 One such detail is the adornment of belled-anklets tightly around the shanks. While describing the qualities that a performer of peranl should posses, the five anga-s of the peranl dance are enumerated. They are gharghara, vishama, glta, kavicara and bhavasraya. Gharghara, the sounding of the anklet bells of the peranl, is described as having six varieties. An advanced level of sounding of the bells along with various types of sounding the bells is atypical of Kathak.

Many of texts like the Nrttaratnakosa, Nityadhyaya, Nartananirnaya describe kalasa. As Sathyanarayana describes it,

“it is a rhythmic climax or denouement in the middle of a dance. kalasa is well known in kannada yakshgana for at least some 300 years as a medial or ultimate finale in dance.” 31

He also refers to an extract in Bharatakosa of Devannabhatta’s SangTtamuktavali which also describes a kalasa as the finale of a song or dance, which synchronizes with tala and laya. A kalasa is employed in Kathakali to mark the end of a section or a portion. Six varieties of

29 Raghavan, 2004:201-2, refer the same for an explanation on the possibility o f srigadita and sidgaka being different names o f the same form.

30 For a detailed descriptions and analysis see Rao, 2004:64-71

31 Satyanarayana, 1998:335-7. He also details some literary references in Kannada literature.


1 05

Kalasa-s are enumerated Nrttaratnakosa and defined in NityadhySya. There are some striking similarities it appears, between Kathakali and YakshagSna which perhaps needs a systematic probe.

Bharata in his description of the dance performance to vardhamana-asarita gives specific instructions with reference to drumming to nrtta and abhinaya. As the dancer makes her entry on to the stage, she is accompanied by the drum instruments. The drumming accompaniment should be in the ‘visuddhakarana jati’ The dancer is to then present caff-s in the ‘gati’ (gait) matching that of the vadya, presumably, the percussive instruments. After the presentation of nrtta oriented movements, she presents abhinaya. Bharata states that while the abhinaya is being performed by the dancer, there should be no drumming accompaniment. This is quite like the mode of drumming in present times. The nattuvanar and the mrdngam player are quite subdued while the dancer is presenting abhinaya. The explanation proffered is that this aids in better audibility of the sahitya. It would not be wrong to state that this is perhaps due to the absence of a predominant rhythmic structure. Bharata, however, for the presentation of the angahara-s that follows particularly mentions specific modes of drumming like suddhapraharajam and nrttangagrahi amongst others. And here the drum instrument accompaniment should be in coincidence with the nrtta presentation.

With reference to the accompanying musicians for a dance presentation, there are some interesting points that surface. For instance, the nattuvanar or the ghana vadya players were a part of the musical accompaniment for dance. The nattuvanar is an integral part of the music accompaniment for Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam and Kucipudi. In Kathakali too the cymbal player is part of music accompaniment.

in the suddha-paddhati description in the Sangltasuryodaya, there is particular mention of the entry of the ‘players of the bronze cymbals’ along with the entry of the other members of the orchestra

the Abhinayadarpana (AD v.22a) and Sangltaratnakara (SR v. 1252-8) prescribe two ‘taladhari-s’ That is perhaps an extremely rare occurrence in present day

the MahabaratacudamanT (v.893-901) describes the most preferred qualities of a nattuvanar in nattuvan lakshanam

The taladhari had the dual task of reciting the collukattu-s and sounding the cymbals

whilst describing the sadasabdanrttam, the Sarigltadarpana (chapter 7,187-189) refers to a lady on the tala (cymbals), reciting collukattu-s. There is a similar reference to female cymbal player in Bhavaprakasana too while describing an orchestra (Satyanarayana, 1998:232). Traditionally, the nattuvanar-s were only male and it was only from the middle of the last century that lady nattuvanar-s came to be accepted.

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the Abhinayacandrika too refers to a cymbal player. But in Odissi dance it is the percussion instrumentalist who recites the collukattu-s.

the sudasabdanrttam, the Sangltadarpana (7, 187-189) it is clearly stated that the collukattu-s along with the svara-s and words set in gana-s like the ma-gana etc. in different metrical patterns are to be recited. The art of nattuvangam was highly evolved with a variety of metrical patterns employed.

there is also specific mention of how the collukattu-s must be recited, that is, in different tones like sadja etc. The reference perhaps is to ‘intonation’ while reciting the collukattu-s.

Interestingly, Abhinava in the thirty-first chapter refers to the role of the tala and the cymbal player in the context of the presentation of dance, to be precise in the context of vardhamana (AB vol.IV, p.152, 11.9-12; Ramanathan, 1999:82). It is interesting to note that Abhinava states that the main task of the cymbal player was to just keep tala, very much like that of the cymbal player in the context of a nagasvara recital.

The sampradaya or the orchestra is described in Sangltaratnakara, Bhavaprakasana and Nartananirnaya while it is referred to as samudaya in Nittaratnavali. The members making up the orchestra are mind-boggling. The best type of orchestra should consist of thirty-two mrdanga players! (Satyanarayana, 1998:265) The seating arrangements for the accompanying musicians is also striking. The Abhinayadarpana (v.21cd-22a), Nittaratnavali (8, 48-52) (Satyanarayana, 1998:268) and Abhinayacandrika refer to the musicians seated to the right of the dancer. However according to the description in Nittaratnavali the female singers are positioned behind the danseuse flanked by the taladhari-s. In the descriptions of the dance presentation to the suddha-paddhati, there is mention of the musicians entering the stage and assuming their respective positions. It is not clear if they were seated or standing though its quite clear that they had fixed positions. In many of the theatre forms like the Tamasa of Maharashtra, Kudlyattam of Kerala, Nautch of Uttar Pradesh, Bhavai of Gujarat and Rajasthan too the performance commences with the entry of the musicians on to the dancing arena. The Cilappadikaram too mentions the musicians taking up their assigned standing positions. In a performance of Kathakali, the standing musicians occupy the position right to the dancer.

To sum up, the above paragraphs are an attempt at studying the texts with reference to the classical dance forms and drawing similarities between the descriptions in the textual tradition with those in actual practice. There are differences and variations in the enumeration and interpretation of the terms in the different texts as for instance with the hasta-s. In some forms like Kathak there is not much use of various variations of the different limbs of the body nor is too much of importance ascribed to the different movements of the limbs instead the idea is to present a ‘winsome’ presentation as such. There are some differences in the hasta-s as prescribed / described in the texts and their uses in present times. A number of movements


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of the pada, jarigha, padacari-s, bhramari-s described in texts can be seen in practice in the different forms of dance. The adavu system also appears to have gradually evolved. With reference to the concept of nrtta and abhinaya, there appears to be no change in principal. Bharata’s idea of settling the audience before the presentation of actual drama seems to have been adopted in principal in Kathak as in ‘mijaja banana’. Many practices in actual performance can be observed in the different dance forms described in the different texts. Concepts of collukattu-s, padartha abhinaya and vakyartha abhinaya, content of a padam, presentation of dance to both svara and pata, advanced use of the kinkini or the bells and the description of kalasa can be seen in the different forms of dance. Again the principals of accompaniment to dance with reference to drumming can be seen echoed in present times too. The role of the accompanying musicians with specific reference to nattuvangam is quite similar to that essayed in present day. The seating arrangements for the accompanying musicians is also quite interesting. Without doubt each aspect of each of the topics referred above perhaps merits an in depth questioning and analysis.

ReferencesPrimary Sources

Abhinayadarpanam of Nandikesvara, ed. with English Trans, and Notes by Manmohan Ghosh, 3rd edn., Manisha Granthalaya Private Ltd. Calcutta, 1981

Abhinaya Sara Samputam By Chetlur Narayana Ayyangar And Abhinaya Navanlta By Chetlur Narayana Ayyangar and Tanjore Panchapagesa Nattuvanar, pub. by The Music Academy, Madras, 1986 (rep)

Bharatakosa, A Dictionary of technical terms with definitions on music and dance collected from the works of Bharata and others, comp, and ed. by M Ramakrishna Kavi, Reprint, pub. by TTD Devasthanams, Tirupati, 1999

Bharatamavam of Nandikesvara, ed. by K Vasudeva Sastri, Tanjore Sarasvati Mahal Library, No.74, Tanjore, 1957

Bhavaprakasana of Saradatanaya, ed. with an introduction and indices by Yadugiri Yatiraja Swami of Melkot and K S Ramaswami Sastri, pub. in the Gaekwad's Oriental Series - 45 by Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1968

Cilappatikaram Mulamum Telivuraiyum, ed. by J Srichandran, pub. by Vardhamanan Padippakam, Chennai 17, 2001

Cilappatikaram Mulamum Uraiyum, ed. by Na Mu Venkatasami Nattarvargal, pub. by Caivacittanta NOrpatippuk Kazagam Limited, Tirunelveli & Chennai,

Kuttanul of Satanar, ed. by S D S Yogiar, with Notes and Explanation, Tamil Nadu Sangita Nataka Sangam, Madras, 1968

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MahabaratacudamanI ennum pava raga tala cingaradi, ed. by Ra Vicuvanataiyar, Mahamakopaddiyaya Taktar U Ve Caminataiyyar Nfll Nilaiyam, Chennai, 1994

Nartananirnaya of Pundarika Vitthala, Critically Edited and Translated with Commentary by R Sathyanarayana, pub. by IGNCA, New Delhi and Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Delhi, 1998

Natyasastra of Bharatamuni with The Commentary Abhinavabharatl ofAbhinavaguptacarya, Vol. I, ed. by M Ramakrishna Kavi and K S Ramaswamy Sastri, pub. in the Gaekwad's Oriental Series by Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1956

Natyasastra of Bharatamuni with The Commentary Abhinavabharatl ofAbhinavaguptacarya, Vol. I, rev. and critically ed. by Dr K Krishnamoorthy, 4th Edn., pub. in the Gaekwad's Oriental Series - 36 by Oriental Institute, Vadodara, 1992

Natyasastra of Bharatamuni with The Commentary Abhinavabharatl ofAbhinavaguptacarya, Vol. IV, ed. by M Ramakrishna Kavi and J S Pade, pub. in the Gaekwad's Oriental Series -145 by Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1964

Nrttaratnavali of Jayasenapati, ed. by V Raghavan, Madras Government Oriental Series, No.CVII, pub. by GOML, Madras,1965

Nrtyaratnakosa (Sangltaraja) of Rana Kumbha, Vol.I, ed. by Priyabala Shah and Rasiklala Chotalal Parikh, Rajasthan Puratana Granthamala No. 24, pub. by Rajasthan Puratavanvesana Mandir, Jaipur, 1957

Nrtyaratnakosa (Sangltaraja) of Rana Kumbha, Vol.II, ed. by Priyabala Shah and Rasiklala Chotalal Parikh, Rajasthan Puratana Granthamala No. 24, pub. by Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute, Jaipur, 1968

Sangltaratnakara of Sarngadeva, Adhyaya 7, Vol.IV, ed. by Pandit S Subrahmanya Sastry, The Adyar Library Series, No.86, pub. by The Adyar Library And Research Centre, 1953

Sangltaratnakara of Sarngadeva, Vol.IV, trans. by Dr K Kunjunni Raja and Radha Bumier, The Adyar Library Series, Vol. 108, pub. by The Adyar Library And Research Centre, 1976


Sangltasaramrta of Tulaja, ed. by Subrahmanya Sastri, Music Academy Series -5, pub, by The Music Academy, Madras, 1942

SangTtasOryodaya of Lakshminarayana, ed. by Kanthaprasad Tripathi, Indira Kala Sangit, Viswavidyalayagranthamala No. 4, Indira Kala Sangit Viswa Vidyalaya, Khairagarh, 1986

Sangltadarpana of Caturadamodara, ed. with Introduction and Notes by K Vasudeva Sastri, 2nd edn., pub. by TMSSML Society, Thanjavur, Madras Government Oriental Series, No.LX VI, 1989

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Secondary Sources

Bose, Mandakranta, 1991, Movement and Mimesis, The Idea of Dance in the Sanskritic Tradition, pub. by Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht / Boston / London

-------1995, The Dance Vocabulary of Classical Indian Dance, pub. by Sri SatguruPublications, Indological and Oriental Publishers, A Division of Indian Books Centre, Delhi, India

Das, Maya, 2001, (ed.), Abhinaya-Candrika and Odissi Dance, Vol I & II, Easter Book Linkers, Delhi

Govindarajan, Hema, 2001, The Nrtyavinoda of Manasollasa: A Study, Harman Publishing House, New Delhi

Jonnalagadda, Anuradha, 1996, ‘Tradition and Innovations in Kuchipudi Dance’, PhD thesis submitted to the Sarojini Naidu School of Performing Arts, Fine Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad

Krishnan, Hari, 2010, ‘Inscribing Practice: Reconfigurations and Textualizations of Devadasi Repertoire In Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century South India’, in Davesh Soneji (ed.), Bharatanatyam: A Reader, Oxford University Press, New Delhi

Kuppuswamy, Gowry and Hariharan, M, 1981, Indian Music and Dance Literature: A Select Bibliography, Biblia Inpex, Private Limited, New Delhi

Ramanathan, N, 1999, Musical Forms in Sangltaratnakara, pub. by Sampradaya, Chennai

Ramaswamy, Lakshmi, 2007, trans. of History of Tamizh’s Dance by Dr S Raghuraman, Nandini Pathipagam, Chennai

Raghavan, V, 2004, Splendours of Indian Dance (Forms-Theory-Practice), Dr. V. Raghavan Centre for Performing Arts, Chennai

Rao, Priyashri, 2004, ‘Dance Performance And Its Components - A Historical Study’, unpublished PhD thesis submitted to the Department of Indian Music, University of Madras, Chennai

Sathyanarayana, R, 1998, Nartananirnaya of Pundarlka Vitthala, Critically Edited and Translated with Commentary pub. by IGNCA, New Delhi and Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Delhi

Saxena, Sushil Kumar, 1991, Swinging Syllables: Aesthetics of Kathak Dance, Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi

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Seetha, S, 1981, Tanjore As A Seat of Music (During the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries), pub. by University of Madras

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Vatsyayan, Kapila, 1957, ‘Kathak’, The Journal of Music Academy, Madras, Vol. XXVII, Parts I-IV, pub. by The Music Academy, Madras

------ 1968, Classical Indian Dance in Literature and the Arts, pub by Sangeet NatakAkademy, New Delhi

------ 1997, Indian Classical Dances, Publications Division, Ministry of Information andBroadcasting, Government of India, New Delhi

Virarajendra, 2005, ‘Survey of Tamil & Sanskrit Dance Treatises of Tamil Nadu’,

http://www.mayyam.com/hub/viewtopic.php?p=63412#63412 - accessed on 6th Dec, 2010

Zarrilli, Phillip, 1984, The Kathakali Complex: Actor, Performance & Structure, Abhinav Publications, New Delhi

http://www.mayyam.com/hub/viewtopic.php?p=63412%2363412

Pathantara-s in SrlkrsnaUlataranginT of Sri Narayana Tlrtha

N. Bhairavi

Sri Narayana Tlrtha is known for his opera Srikrsnalllataranginl. The advent of this advaitic sanyasin, believed to have been bom in Kaza village in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, to Bhupatirajapuram in Tamilnadu following a boar (varaha), gave this place the name Varahur, with which it hails at present. The conflicting views of many a scholar on the life history of Sri Narayana Tlrtha have been compiled by Sri B. Natarajan in his book ‘Sri Krishna Leela Tarangini’ on the opera, and in this work, Sri B. Natarajan postulates 1675- 1745 A.D. as the life span of Tlrtha. Sri Narayana Tlrtha has other works on philosophy and drama ascribed to him, the Haribhaktisudharnava1, a work in verse form describing the sports of Krsna and Parijatapaharananataka2, a Telugu drama being amongst them.

The opera Srikrsnalllatarahginl (SKLT henceforth) (Srikrsnasyalllayastarariginl) indicates a work which has the ocean of Krsna’s sports and ‘tarangini’ refers to one that has taranga-s, implying the cantos of the work, twelve in number, that have been termed taranga-s by Sri Narayana Tlrtha. The songs in the opera have come to be termed taranga-s and this is a misconception. The songs themselves are mentioned in the manuscripts of SKLT as only daru-s, klrtana-s or glta-s and not taranga-s. Sri Upanisad Brahma Yogin of Kanchipuram, senior contemporary of Sri Tyagaraja, on the inspiration drawn from Sri Jayadeva and Sri Narayana Tlrtha, composed astapadl-s and ‘tarariga-s’ on Lord Rama. However, Dr. V. Raghavan, in an article in the Journal of the Music Academy of 1956, states that the composition of Sri Upanisad Brahman styled ‘taranga’ is not exactly an imitation of the work of Sri Narayana Tlrtha.


Following the episodes related in the dasamaskandha of Srimadbhagavata about krsnavatara, Sri Narayana Tlrtha has composed this opera SKLT in lucid Sanskrit, relating events from Sflkrsna's birth till astamahislparinaya, differing in certain places regarding the details of events and averring Srimadbhagavata, in yet others to the extent of reproducing even the same wordings as in the latter. The opera is styled in the format of yaksagana-s popular inTajore during the Nayak rule of the 17th century, though the word ‘yaksagana’ cannot be found

/anywhere in the work. The opera consists of daru-s for character entry, sloka-s and gadya-s to carry the story through, besides dvipada-s and klrtana-s. The Rukminlkalyana paddhati described herein has formed the basis for the performance of Rukminlkalyana in bhajan-s and the bhajan repertoire includes scores of klrtana-s from SKLT. In fact, it was the tradition in Marudanallur matha to sing only compositions from SKLT in their uncavrtti bhajan.

1 Unpublished paper manuscript R. No. 5545 in Government Oriental Manuscripts Library, Chennai.

2 The Journal o f The Thanjavur Maharaja Serfoji’s Saravati Mahal library - 1997 - p. 13-30

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The Bhagavatamelanataka of Melattur Sri Venkatarama Sastri is said to have been inspired by Sri Narayana Tlrtha and the exponents of Bhagavatamelanataka today say that Melattur Sri Gopalakrsna Sastri, father of Melattur Sri Venkatarama Sastri, was a direct disciple of Sri Narayana Tlrtha.

To prove Sri Narayana Tlrtha’s identity as a vaggeyakara, the klrtana-s themselves have the composer's mudra in the last carana of the klrtana. Many of the klrtana-s have interval evidence to show that Sri Narayana Tlrtha sung them himself for e.g., in the klrtana ‘Raksa Raksasurasiksa’ in the 1st taranga, the mudra is present as ‘Narayanatlrthagltam’, enabling us to conclude that Sri Narayana Tlrtha himself composed the tune as well, for this song. It is however unfortunate that manuscripts contain neither the notations nor any other clue regarding the tune of the songs. /

Though the tradition of performing SKLT as a yaksagana in its entirety has been lost3, there are authentic traditions in bhajan sampradaya in Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh so far as the different compositions in SKLT are concerned. The paddhati followed in the rendition of some of the klrtana-s in SKLT, in the present day karnatik music concert circuit and in kucipOdi recitals has the songs being set to tune in raga-s sometimes different from the ones mentioned in the printed editions and manuscripts of the text. The traditions represented by Sri Ramakrishna Bhagavatar of Tiruvisainallur, a follower of the Marudanallur bhajan tradition systematized by Marudanallur Sadguru Svamigal, and by Sri Ghorakavi Sampathkumar of Andhra Pradesh who claims authenticity, having learnt SKLT from his father Sri Ghorakavi Viraraghava Rao who was a disciple of Sri Bommaraju Sltarama Das, who was a disciple of Sri Palaparti Nrsimha Das, a direct disciple of Sri Narayana Tlrtha, are two traditions that have preserved the music of SKLT almost entirely. Sri Ramakrishna Bhagavatar sings the entire opera in Tiruvisainallur twice every year, once during the month of March in a span of 2-3 days, to commemorate Sri Narayana Tlrtha's aradhana and once during GokulastamI, distributing the opera over 7 days.

As regards the various musical forms in SKLT, the daru-s which have been used by Sri Narayana Tlrtha only for the announcement of the entry of characters, have the raga and tala mentioned in the printed editions of SKLT and in some manuscripts, while some other manuscripts like those collected from India Office, London, Bharat Kala Bhavan, Banaras and Asiatic Society, Kolkata mention just ‘talabheda’ before the lyrics of the daru, without mentioning any raga or tala. Following the grantha edition of SKLT of 1946, Sri Ramakrishna Bhagavatar (Sri RKB henceforth)renders the daru-s in the raga-s mentioned in this edition, without the accompaniment of tala. Sri Ghorakavi Sampathkumar (Sri GSK henceforth), following the Vuyyur edition of SKLT of 1948 says that some daruvu-s are rendered with tala whereas some are not.


3 B. Natarajan, Sri Krishna Leela Tarangini, p. 121

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There are two dvipada-s in the opera - ‘He Kamsa Rajasuta’ in the 1st taranga and ‘Sakalalokadhara’ in the 2nd taranga. Sloka-s are sung in the raga of the succeeding related klrtana, in both traditions. The gadya-s are sung in arabhi by Sff RKB and in madhyamavati or arabhi by Sff GSK.

The kutana-s in SKLT, 120 in number, have a structure consisting of a dhruvapada or the refrain that is repeated after each carana, the carana-s being more than one in number. The klrtana-s in SKLT do not contain the anupallavi section as mentioned in the printed editions of the text that are extant, and consist of only the dhruvapada and many carana-s. Some manuscripts show the klrtana’s lyrics beginning with the first carana, with the lyrics of the dhruvapada following this carana, to indicate that the song is sung, beginning with the carana, as is the tradition with the astapadl-s of Sff Jayadeva. Such a method of rendition has led to cases where some traditions give the song as beginning with a specific lyric, while another tradition would give the first carana as the beginning of the song. For e.g., ‘Avalokaya Bhaismlvadanam’ in the Varahur edition of SKLT in the 12th taranga is given as beginning with ‘Kalyanam Bhavatu Sada in the Kaza edition. There are more instances similar to this in SKLT. It may be noted that though no manuscript collected mentions an anupallavi section in the klrtana-s of SKLT, both traditions represented by Sff RKB and Sff GSK sing a separate anupallavi in many klrtana-s.

Comparing the raga specified in the manuscripts and printed editions for the klrtana-s, it is found that more than 35 out of 120 klrtana-s have the same raga mentioned in all sources. From this, it may be possible to state that raga-s like mukhari, saurastra, nata, bhairavi, kalyani, kambhoji, nadanamakriya, kedaragaula, mohanam, madhyamavati, saved, kapi, punnagavarali, dhanyasi, sarikarabharana, anandabhairavi, ahiri, bilahari and todi definitely figured in SKLT. Apart from these, the manuscripts procured from India Office, London; Bharat kala Bhavan, Banaras; Asiatic Society, Kolkata; Orissa State Museum, Orissa and Government Oriental Manuscripts Library, Chennai mention rare raga-s like pall, gummakambhoji, maruvadhanyasi, gauff and mangalakapi. Of these, padi (equivqlent to pall) is known today through Sff MuttusvamI Dlksita’s ‘Sffguruna palitosmi’ in rupaka tala and gauff though Sff MuttusvamI Dlksita’s ‘Gauri Girirajakumari’ in tisra eka tala, both janya-s of the 15th mela. Sariglta sampradaya pradarsinl mentions under mecabhauli that this raga is also known as gummakambhodi4.

In some of the klrtana-s of SKLT, if the hrasvaksaras in the sahitya are given one matra and the dlrghlksaras are given two matras, the lyrics fall into a gait set by the sahitya itself. This concept of yathaksara (aksarananatikramya) is observed in the madhyamakala sahitya-s of Sff MuttusvamI Dlksita. Such a gait is seen in many klrtana-s of Sff Narayana Tlrtha ‘Jaya jaya ramanatha’ in the 1st taranga (gait of 5), ‘Saranam bhava karunam mayi’ in the 1st taranga (popularly rendered in Hamsavinodini raga nowadays) (gait of 6 -

4 Subbarama Dikshitar, Sangita Sampradaya Pradarsini Vol I, p. 139


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however, both traditions render this in the adi tala, giving karvai-s in between to fill the gap), ‘Sffnilayam’ in the 8th taranga (gait of 4), ‘DevadSvarp kveti tarn’, in the 8th taranga (gait of 7) to name a few. The tala adopted for such klrtana-s closely follows this gait suggested by the lyrics.

Sff RKB has in his repertoire a Telugu klrtana beginning ‘Smgarakrsnudu’ in Anandabhairavi raga, adi tala, ascribed to Sff Narayana Tlrtha with the composer’s mudra, not part of the opera SKLT. For the klrtana-s of SKLT, Sff RKB follows a simple and elegant style of rendition enabling easy repetition of the lyric by the congregation. The bhava of the lyrics is given importance. For e.g., in the klrtana in kambhoji in the 2nd taranga sung by the gopl-s of Vraja on the birth of Sffkfsna, ‘Sffpatimiha’, Sff RKB sings the lyrics in a variety of ways, mixing them as ‘agatamakalaye’, ‘aye sakhi agatamakalaye’, ‘Sffpatimagatamakalaye’, ‘ihagatamakalaye’, ‘nandagopagrhe agatamakalaye’, ‘paramagatamakalaye’, ‘sffpatimiha nandagopagrhe paramagatamakalaye’ so that the bhava of the sahitya is brought out.

‘Mangalalaya mamava deva’ in the 1st taranga sung by the Bhagavata in kedaragauja raga, Misra Capu tala with atlta eduppu can be rendered as a main piece in karnatik music concerts. Such pieces in vilamba kala are many in Sff RKB’s tradition whereas Sff GSK’s repertoire does not have klrtana-s in this slow tempo. ‘Ayahi madhava madhava’ in the 2nd taranga sung by Sff RKB with atlta eduppu in adi tala tisra nadai is sung daily by the Bhagavata during puja at the Tiruvisainallur Sridhara Ayyaval matha.

Sff GSK’s pathantara involves many laya intricacies in the rendition of klrtana-s, suggesting that this style must have been accompanied by dance. It is common practice in this tradition to sing the last carana in every klrtana in three speeds, an exercise that is called ‘panjara ettukkada’ Sff GSK follows raga-s like suddhanyasl (‘Jaya Jaya Svamin’, 1st taranga), tilang (Madhava madhava - 2nd taranga), sindhubhairavl (‘Ehi mudarp mama dehi’ 2nd taranga, ‘Jaya jaya gokulabala’ - 3rd taranga, ‘Devadevam kveti tarn’- 8th taranga), hamsanadam (‘Alokaye sffbalakrsnam’ - 3rd taranga), athana (‘Kalayata goplkarunyarasa’ - 3rd taranga), ranjanl (‘Paramakarunaya mam’ - 3rd taranga), kanada (‘Bandhananmocaya’ - 4th taranga, ‘Ayahi vrajayuvatltynda’ - 5th taranga), hindola (Sffnilayam- 8th taranga), sahana (Bhflyo bhOyo yace - 6th taranga), behag (Mrgayata radhamadhavam - 8th taranga) etc, which have not been mentioned in any manuscripts or books of SKLT. Sff GSK says that even from the time of his father, these klrtana-s have been changed to be sung in these raga-s.

Sff GSK in the klrtana ‘Govinda ghataya’ first sings ‘Govinda ghataya paramanandamamrtamiha sffnandatanaya bahuyoglndrasuravinuta’ followed by ‘suravinuta’, ‘yoglndrasuravinuta’, and finally ‘bahuyoglndrasuravinuta’ He allows the violinist to repeat after each phrase. He next sings the full line in madhyama kala which will correctly fit four


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tala-s of khanda capu. He does the same exercise with the first line of the first carana also. He then proceeds with the next two carana-s without any embellishments. For the final carana, he switches over to tisra nadai, followed by the mel kala of this tisram. In tisra nadai,one karvai has to be given extra at the end of each tala of khanda capu so that it fits the tisra beat (5+l=3*2). He then begins reciting jati patterns which he alternates with the mrdanga. In this, we can see how he shows how four fits into the pattern of three (3*4=4*3). He repeats the madhyama kala exercise with the third line of the carana as well. He next moves to catusra nadai for ‘Saradindusamavadana satamanmathasamana’, maintaining vusi tala with his jalra. He then renders kiz kala for this line, in catusra nadai, followed by mel kala. Here too, one is able to observe that the words fit into catusra nadai because 4*5=5*4 - he shows this with yathaksara karvai-s. He ends the klrtana by singing the pallavi also in catusra nadai. In many klrtana-s, whatever nadai the klrtana may be in, Sri GSK traverses to tisra nadai and sings these jati-s.

‘Balagopala mamuddhara’ in the 3rd taranga with its jati-s composed by Sri Narayana Tlrtha has been well preserved in this tradition. In ‘Puraya mama kamam’ in the 6th taranga, Sri GSK recites mohara-korvai resembling those figuring at the end of the tani avartana in karnatik music recitals.

Comparing the two traditions, there are klrtana-s in SKLT for which both traditions agree on the raga as well as the tala - for e.g., ‘Krsnam kalaya sakhi’ in mukhari raga in the 2nd taranga and ‘Alokaye rukminlkalyangopalam’ in kambhoj! raga in the 12th taranga and songs like ‘Mangajalaya mamava’ in the 1st taranga which is in kedaragaula in both traditions but in misra capu tala in the Sn RKB tradition and in adi tala in the Sri GSK tradition. Yet others like ‘Govinda ghataya’ figure in bhairavi raga in the Sn RKB tradition and in kambhoji in Sn GSK sampradaya. Following the gaint of five to which the lyric falls, both schools use khanda Capu for this klrtana. ‘Vlkseham kada’ in the 12th taranga, is rendered in anandabhairavi by Sn GSK and in ahiri by Sn RKB. The traditional todayamangalam piece in SKLT- ‘Jaya jaya ramanatha’ in the 1st taranga - is sung in nattai raga in the Sri RKB tradition but is sung as a ragamalika in the raga-s suddhadhanyasl, kalyanl and sindhubhairavl in the Sii GSK tradition. The music of the in the suladi sapta tala-s in the 7th taranga has been lost in both traditions.

The klrtana ‘Subhadrabalabhadra’ in the 1st taranga is present only in the Andhra Pradesh repertoire and is rendered in nadanamakriya raga and tffputa tala. Similarly, ‘Srivasudeva prabho’ sung in the sankarabharana raga is absent in Tamilnadu repertoire of SKLT. Sii GSK does not include ‘Madanagopala te in SKLT since it does not have the mudra of Sri Narayana Tlrtha.

The opera concludes with the well-heard ‘Jaya mangalam nityasubhamangajam’ The klrtana-s of SKLT are used while conducting Radhakalyana functions in bhajan-s with the word ‘Rukminl’ changed to ‘Radha’ in the relevant klrtana-s. SKLT rightly forms an integral part of bhajan-s in Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh.


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Select References:

Narayana Tirtha, Sri Knshna Leela tarangini Vol I and I I : Ed. B. Natarajan, Mudgala Trust, 2001.

Narayana Tirtha, SriKnshnalilatarangini Vol I and II Ed. Varahur Gurusvami Sastrigal Sri Narayanatirtha Vidya Dharma Samiti, 1987.

Seetha S., Tanjore as a seat of music (during the 17^, 18^ anh 19^ centuries), University of Madras, 1981.

Subbarama Dikshitar, Sangita Sampradaya Pradarsini Vol I, The Music Academy, Chennai, 2006.

Journals of the Music Academy, Madras and the Thanjavur Maharaja Serfoji’s Saravati Mahal library.

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Form and Process in the Tani Avartanam: a non-Indian insider’s perspective

David Nelson

I must begin by thanking the Experts Committee for inviting me to speak today. As nervous as I am about presenting this lec/dem, I draw strength from the knowledge that my teachers and mentors in this deep musical tradition would be very happy that I have been given such an opportunity.

I want to share with you today some insights into the inner workings of the Kamatak rhythmic system that have come directly from my own experience as a student, a teacher, and a performer of the mrdangam. This marks my fortieth year of being involved in this music, and my eleventh year as a full-time teacher of mrdangam and solkattu at Wesleyan University.

The majority of my training was in the U. S., and in academic settings. My lessons were quite traditional in some ways, in that I learned to recite patterns before playing them, and learned everything by example before writing anything. But the American University setting and the accompanying culture certainly affected how I approached the material. Without the cultural milieu of India, and the omnipresence of music that exists here, I could not absorb it from my surroundings. I had to be more conscious and deliberate about how I understood the material I was confronting. And I asked lots of questions.

Today I will talk about and demonstrate some of the strategies and conceptual frameworks I used to understand Kamatak drumming for myself. I have developed these into a well-established teaching method that enables my non-Indian students to gain a functional understanding of this profound art. I will not be talking so much about the stmcture of a particular or generic tani avartanam, as about the forms and processes such as a tani might include.

Autobiographical notesI first came to India as a third year college student in 1970. There were thirteen of us

in the group that landed in Madurai; each of us was to study Tamil and pursue two academic projects. I had been trained in music since my childhood, so I was interested in learning the local music, whatever that might be. I knew absolutely nothing about Kamatak music, but had been told that the drumming tradition was rich and well developed, and since I had never learned any percussion, I thought, “why not?”

I was taken to the Principal of the Music College at Madurai University, Sff S. Ramanathan, who was later to be named Sanglta Kalanidhi by this institution.

Professor Ramanathan said that tutelage in mrdangam could be arranged for me under the former Principal, Sff C. S. Sankarasivam, who had recently retired.


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Sahgita K aldnidhi Dr. S . R am anathan (1917 - 1988) C S . Sankarasivam (1905 - 1993)

photo courtesy Wesleyan Archive photo: Rajesh Aiwa

He added that, since mrdangam was an accompaniment instrument, I should also learn vocal music under him, so that I would know what I was accompanying. I could sing, so I thought this was a fine idea. What was an even finer idea was that I would be allowed to have my lessons in my teachers’ homes. This struck me as far superior to spending my time in Madurai sweltering in University classrooms.

Professor Ramanathan took me to Sff Sankarasivam’s home, where they had a long discussion in Tamil, of which I understood only one question. After some time Sff Sankarasivam nodded his head in my direction and asked, “aver British-a, Yank-a?” and when he was assured that I was in fact a Yank, he agreed to teach me to play the mrdangam.

My lessons with Sff Sankarasivam took place every day except Sunday, interrupted only by the inevitable illnesses my foreign body contracted over the next nine months. Nothing I had ever experienced prepared me for the energy, focus, and intensity of these lessons. Each day I was asked to play everything I had learned, from the beginning. When I made a mistake I had to repeat the pattern until he was satisfied before he taught anything new. Before long, my daily lesson took nearly three hours. I had never met such a teacher, nor had such a relationship, and when it was time to return to the US, I did not know how I would survive without him. He wrote down all my lessons, as the following sample page shows,

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*o *9* *>■-

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and suggested that, until I could return to Madurai, I go to Wesleyan University, where his student Ramnad Isvaran’s younger brother Ramnad Raghavan was teaching.


S r i RGmnad V. Raghavan (1927 - 2009)

photo courtesy Wesleyan Archive

Learning in the US

I followed his suggestion as my college schedule allowed, and went to Middletown, Connecticut for three months to work on my Senior Thesis. By this time my other teacher, Sri Ramanathan, was also at Wesleyan, as was the violinist L. Shankar, who was a graduate student. When I finished my B.A., I moved to Middletown to work with Sri Raghavan and Sri Ramanathan.

A few months after I had moved to Middletown, the extraordinary brothers T. Visvanathan and T. Ranganathan came to Wesleyan to perform in one of the first Navaratriconcerts there.

Sahg lta Kaldnidhi Dr. T. Visvanathan (1927 - 2002)

photo: John Groo

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I was asked to play one of the sruti petfi-s at their concert, and was seated directly behind Sn Ranganathan. His playing was like nothing else I had ever heard, and I loved it immediately. The three-hour concert passed in a twinkling; I knew I had to study with him.

As soon as I could, I moved to California and entered the Master of Fine Arts program at California Institute of the Arts, where Sn Visva and SrT Ranga were teaching. Visva and Ranga, as everyone called them (we Americans are, after all, a recklessly egalitarian lot), had thoroughly adapted to life and teaching in the U.S. I was deeply impressed by the success of some of their students, especially Jon Higgins, Douglas Knight, and Glenn Gillette. These musicians were role models for me as I aspired to some semblance of mastery on the mrdangam.

I learned from Ranga for the next thirteen years, first at Cal Arts, and later back at Wesleyan, to which he and Visva returned in 1975. For several of these years I served as Ranga’s teaching assistant, which was an extraordinary experience. Each student had one session per week with him, and another with me. Ranga was a fountain of material, and I noticed very quickly that he never gave any two students exactly the same lessons. Instead, he tailored the lesson to the individual student. Beyond that, the volume of material he provided was often overwhelming, so my job in the second lesson was to make sure the student had understood Ranga’s lesson properly. This meant that I had to look at material I had likely never seen before, understand it myself, and try to explain it to the student.

I began to see patterns of formation and transformation in all this varied material, and an underlying logic started to show itself. I often took my new insights to Ranga; many long, penetrating conversations resulted. I slowly developed a way of understanding what was happening in mrdangam playing that made it possible to figure out what other players, from different styles, were doing. Ranga thought I was on the right track, but what would these other players say?

With this question in mind, I came to Chennai in 1987 for the first time since my college year in Madurai. My fieldwork involved making video recordings of five mrdangam masters (Vellore Ramabhadran, T.K. Murthy, Karaikudi Mani, Palghat Raghu, and Trichy Sankaran), each playing a tani avartanam for the same song (Kaligiyuntegada), by the same singer (D.K. Jayaraman). In Trichy Sankaran’s case, the soloist was T. Visvanathan and the venue was Amherst College, but the song was the same. In each case I wanted to conduct two interviews with each mrdangam master. The first would precede the performance and feature a conversation about his life and learning. After each performance I did a sketchy analysis of the tani using the tools I had developed working with Ranga, then had a second interview in which we discussed the details of the drummer’s tani.

The five tani-s ranged in length from twelve to twenty-two minutes, and differed widely in terms of approach. I am not here to compare these five solos. Rather, I am going to speak


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briefly about the external structure of the tani Uvartanam, and in greater detail about form and process in the materials that make up the tani.

External structure requires, after all, only two components when there is a single percussionist: periya mora and final korvai. If there are two or more drummers, these will be preceded by a kuraippu. This series of events provides an unmistakable signal that the tani is coming to an end and the other musicians must return to the song. The rest of the tani comprises explorations into the varied realms of rhythmic and sonic beauty, and while we can describe some of what might happen, there are very few hard and fast rules.

I have already thrown out some words that require careful examination, mora, korvai, and kuraippu. You all know them by their functions, and many of you are quite fluent in their use. But imagine trying to communicate their meanings to non-Indian students who are keen to understand how the system works. I have now spent more than twenty-five years working on ways to do just that, and I will spend the rest of this talk demonstrating them to you. I will use a minimum of Samskrta and Tamil words to do this.

In using any of the Samskrta and Tamil vocabulary, I will use terminology that is familiar to some of you, but it may be used in a different way from that to which you are accustomed. I claim the authority to do this since the words we all use for these concepts are troublemakers, different from person to person and style to style. We all understand the underlying structural and functional realities, whatever the words. Most of you are already quite comfortable with your own terminology; I don’t ask you to abandon that, but to suspend it for the next half hour or so in order that we can look into these matters together.

Time-flow and design, the creative continuum at the core of Karnatak drumming.

We are all familiar with the wizardry by which Karnatak percussionists entice us. They give us an illusion of comfort with well-paced patterns and beautiful sounds, then upend us with sleight of hand, leaving us trying to figure out what happened to the tala. My teacher used the term “teka” to describe the patterns that feel so good and sound so beautiful. I sometimes use the term “sarvalaghu,” in a more generalized sense than its particular usage as “tarn - - di ta ka jo nu.” Trichy Sankaran (1994) has used the term “time-flow,” which I like very much. Such patterns and phrases form the largest part of a drummer’s playing, even in a tani. As we will see, these can very easily and deceptively take on a different meaning.

These “time-flow” patterns and phrases, organized as they are to reinforce and beautify the tala, stand in contrast with material that creates tension with the tala. I refer to this sort of material as “design,” or, borrowing a Tamiz term, “kanakku” It is under this heading that we find the mora, korvai, and kuraippu.

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Mora, the fundamental designThe first non-Indian to try his hand at explaining the mora was Robert Brown, whose

1965 dissertation from UCLA is still a valuable resource, containing many lessons in the style of Pazani M. Subramaniya Pillai as taught by T. Ranganathan.

S r i P a la n i M . S u b ra m a n ia P illa i (1908 - 1962)

photo courtesy T. Visvanathan

Here is Brown’s description:A mora is a cross-rhythmical cadential phrase pattern within the tala, (usually) repeated

three times, with the last stroke of the third line ending on the samam or eduppu. In order to analyze the design of a mora several factors have to be taken into account. First, we must determine the length of the entire pattern; this is complicated by the fact that there will always be an “extra” stroke at the end to finish the composition or link it with a following important structural division. Second, we must determine the length of the individual phrases; this is complicated by the fact that the time length assigned to the terminal syllable of the first phrase (before beginning the second) and the time length assigned to the final syllable (before beginning the third) has no counterpart in the third phrase, for here the final syllable has, literally, no length. It is a point of contact for a following rhythmic structure. Therefore, third, we must determine the length of the gap between phrases one and two, and two and three. (Brown, 1965)

As my understanding of the system developed, this description began to seem overcomplicated and off the mark. Brown was a wonderful scholar, but he lacked a performer’s functional understanding. Among other flaws, he took the notion of a gap (karvai) too literally, assuming it was pure silence, like the rest in Western music. He did not realize that the gap might contain articulations.

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Brown(ta ka din ta tam) •(ta ka din ta tam) •(ta ka din ta) tamstatements = 5 + 5 + 4 , gaps = 1

Post - Brown• (ta ka din ta) [tam •]• (ta ka din ta) [tam •]• (ta ka din ta) tam statement = 4, gap = 2

Over time, Ranga and I developed the notion of the mora as comprising three statements, which we called x, that might be separated by gaps (karvai), called y. So a mora could have the form xxx, if there were no gap, or xyxyx, if there were a gap. This formulation first saw print in Marcie Frishman’s 1985 M A. thesis at Wesleyan.

But this formulation lacked something. Finally I came up with my own formula.

• A mora is characterized by a phrase, stated three times, with separations, called gaps, inserted among them as follows: (statement) [gap] (statement) [gap] (statement).

• We will abbreviate these as (s) and [g], with the following properties:

• (s £ 1 (syllable) The statement must state something, at least one syllable.

• [g] > 0 (pulse) The gap may be zero or greater, and, if greater than zero, may be sounded or unsounded.

The crucial difference here is the idea that the gap may be zero. It removes the necessity of imagining different kinds of mora-s, and reveals both the mora’s fractal character and its innate expandability. As I proceed, I will point out mora-s at widely divergent levels of scale. Mora is the fundamental element of design in Kamatak drumming; its importance is hard to overstate. Below are two mora-s, one with gaps of zero, and one with gaps of two pulses. Frishman’s definition would have required calling these two different types, an xxx, and an xyxyx

statement = 5, gap = 0 II • (ta di ki I ta tom) [0] (ta di I ki ta tom) [0] (ta I di ki ta tom)ll

statement = 1, gap = 2 (ta) [tam •] (ta) [tam •] (ta)

Solkattu as an analytic toolIn all my examples I will represent patterns and phrases in solkattu. Solkattu, besides

being an important teaching and notational device, (and one of the most significant contributions of India to world music), is a powerful analytic tool. In fact, to represent a sounded figure in solkattu is to analyze it. I will explain by using three examples, each of which demonstrates a slightly different sense of this analysis.

The first example is a passage ending the svara kalpana section of a main piece. The singer, my colleague B. Balasubrahmaniyan, uses a korvai, which he sings three times using different svara-s. A korvai, in my usage, is a rhythmic composition that generates some degree

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of tension with the tala structure. It is used at important structural points in a tani avartanam: in svara kalpana, it is most often used at the end, though some more rhythmically inclined musicians may use it more frequently. There are so many different types of korvai that classification is nearly impossible. What we can say is that it has at least two parts: the first part or parts exhibit some sort of phrase-based design, while the last part is a mora. Later I will demonstrate some other korvai types. This one is a very orderly gopucca reduction with a relatively simple mora. Here are the svara-s for the first time; let us listen to the whole thing.

s r g m p d n S ' r g m p d n S * g m p d n S • m p d n S • p d n S • n S •S •g r • s n d • r s • n d p • s n • d p m

In order to play this korvai on the mrdangam, I have to follow his phrasing. But I also have to come up with phrasing on the mrdangam that makes structural sense. The first line, as you can see, has eight notes followed by a rest, the second seven notes followed by a rest, etc. But if I were to play a random eight note pattern, then a seven-note pattern, and so on, the result would not reflect the underlying logic of the korvai. My thinking about how to approach this korvai used the language of solkattu. The next slide shows my solution.

Svara-s• s r g m p d n S *• r g m p d n S *• g m p d n S *• m p d n S *• p d n S •• d n S •• n S •• S •• g r ' s n d *• r s * n d p *• s n • d p m

Solkattu• ta ki ta ta ka jo nu tam •• ki ta ta ka jo nu tam •• ta ta ka jo nu tam •• ta ka jo nu tam •• ta jo nu tam •• jo nu tam •• ta tam •• tam •• (ta din • gi na tom) [•]• (ta din • gi na tom) [•]• (ta din • go na tom)

When I recite this, you will hear that the korvai is quite clear and orderly. As you are all aware, this process happens in nearly every concert, as accompanists catch on to what a soloist is doing rhythmically. Here we have a demonstration of solkattu used as analysis in

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the service of performance. The korvai may have come from svara kalpana, but my way of approaching it is the same as if it had come from a tani.

The next example shows solkattu’s value in revealing concealed structure. The composition in this example is a fairly lengthy and complex mora (which incidentally could also be analyzed as a korvai).

ta4 ta ri gu gu ta ri gi du di ku ta ka ta ri gi du ta ri gi du ta2 tom2 ta2 tam3



ta ri gi du ta2 tom2 ta2 tam3

ta ri gi du ta2 tom2 ta2 tam3

tom2 ta2 tam3

tom2 ta2 {tarn}

96-pulse compositionThis is a composition of Sri Pazani of which Ranga was quite fond, and so was (and

am) I. It is built from a single phrase of twenty-one pulses, and reduces to a small, simple m5ra at the end. I learned it fairly early on, and frequently played it, using several variations Ranga had taught me. It was always ninety-six pulses, and fitted nicely in caturasra or tisra. I never gave much thought to the underlying structure.

One day Ranga recited a new version, designed for a kanjira student of his. The version I knew was too densely articulated for the student to play with one hand, so he simplified it as follows:

ta ki ta tom2 ta din gi na tom jo nu jo nu tom2 ta2 tam3



jo nu jo nu tom2 ta2 tam3

jo nu jo nu tom2 ta2 tam3

tom2 ta2 tam3

tom2 ta2


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----------------- THE MUSIC ACADEMY • JOURNA1

96-pulse composition, simplified

: 2011 • VOLUME 82 -----------------

This version revealed that the filled-out version I knew had concealed the composition’sstructure. The original, with its emphatic accents on “ta,” had fooled me. I had a kind ofrhythmic epiphany; the composition took on a new, version, arranged in its newly revealed structure:

generative life. Here is the simplified

phrases structurea. ta ki ta tom2 ta din gi na • abed 10+ 4 + 4 + 3 = 21

tom = 10 pulses abed 10+ 4 + 4 + 3 = 21b. jo nu jo nu = 4 pulses abed 10+ 4 + 4 + 3 = 21c. tom2 ta2 = 4 pulses bed 4 + 4 + 3 = 11d. tam3 = 3 pulses b (c) [d] 4 + (4) + [3] = 11

(c) [d] 4 + (4) + [3] = 11 (c) (4), 96 pulses total

You can see that the original twenty-one pulse phrase is now displayed so that its internalarrangement is much clearer. I quickly realized that this composition could very easily be transformed for other tala contexts. The figure “a” occurs three times, and the figure “b” five times. If I add two pulses each to “a” and “b,” I have increased the pulse total to 112, which is a perfect fit for misra. If I add one more, the pulse total is 120, which fits tisra, caturasra, and khanda. Here is the misra version in its simplified form:

phrases structurea. ta ka ta ki ta tom2 ta din gi na • abed 12+ 6 + 4 + 3 = 25

tom = 12 pulses abed 12+ 6 + 4 + 3 = 25b. ta jo nu ta jo nu = 6 puleses abed 12+ 6 + 4 + 3 = 25c. tom2 ta2 = 4 pulses bed 6 + 4 + 3 = 13d. tam3 = 3 pulses b (c) [d] 6 + (4) + [3] = 13

(c) [d] (4) + [3] = 7 (c) (4), 112 pulses total

And here is the filled out version for misram:

phrases structurea. tr gd ta2 tr gg tr gd dk tk • abed 12 + 6 + 4 + 3 = 25

tom = 10 pulses abed 12+ 6 + 4 + 3 = 25b. tr gd tk jn ta2 abed 12+ 6 + 4 + 3 = 25c. tom2 ta2 bed 6 + 4 + 3 = 13d. tam3 b (c) [d] 6 + (4) + [3] = 13

(c) [d] (4) + [3] = 7 (c) (4), 112 pulses total

Again, it was analysis of the composition using solkattu that made this new insight possible.

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The third example I will present is a misra kuraippu devised by T. Visvanathan. Again, this is a piece that originated in svara kalpana, but as was the case with the first korvai, the approach is the same as if it were from a tani. I suspect that the use of korvai-s and calculated kuraippu-s in svara kalpana may have originated as borrowing from the tani.

Some of you have heard me talk about this kuraippu elsewhere; it involves a striking inversion of my representation of the mora form. As you all must know, a misra kuraippu in adi tala (if in caturasra nadai), starts with groups of 56-pulse phrases (8*7) starting after 8 pulses, proceeds to 28-pulse phrases that start after 4, then 14 starting after 2, and finally 7 starting after 1.

1 - 2 3 - 4tam8 • tam8ta3 ki3 ta3 tam5 • ta3 ki3 ta3 tam3 (ta ka)ta3 ki3 ta3 tam5 • ta3 ki3 ta3 tam3 (ta ka)ta3 ki3 ta3 tam5 • ta3 ki3 ta3 tam3[tam7] [tam7] • (ta ka) [tam5] (ta ka) [tam5] (ta ka)tam8 • tam8ta3 ki3 ta3 tam4 (ta) • ta3 ki3 ta3 tam2 (ta ki ta)ta3 ki3 ta3 tam4 (ta) • ta3 ki3 ta3 tam2 (ta ki ta)ta3 ki3 ta3 tam4 • ta3 ki3 ta3 tam2(ta) [tam6] (ta) [tam6] (ta) • (ta ki ta) [tam4]

• (ta ki ta) [tam4]• (ta ki ta)

Visva has taken the 56 pulses of the first stage of the misra kuraippu as four groups of 14 pulses each. Each of the first three lines is divided 3+3+3+5, and the last line is divided 7+7. Each phrase has only one articulation—its first syllable.

In version 2, the last syllable in each of the first three lines is also articulated, as is the last syllable of each of the two seven-note groups that make up the fourth line. The effect of this articulation is to generate a mora, where the statement is one pulse (ta) and the gap is six [tarn............ ]

Each of the subsequent examples articulates more of the formerly silent pulses at the end of each line until the fourth line is reversed from its original form. Now the first syllable, which had been articulated, is silent. And the six originally silent pulses are now fully articulated as the six-pulse statement.

5 - 6tam8ta3 ka3 tam4 (ta ka di mi) ta3 ka3 tam4 (ta ka di mi) ta3 ka3 tam4 (ta ka jo nu) [tam3]

7 - 8• tam8• ta3 ki3 ta2 (ta di • ki ta tom)• ta3 ki3 ta2 (ta di • ki ta tom)• ta3 ki3 ta2• (ta di • ki ta tom) [•]

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(ta ka jo nu) [tam3](ta ka jo nu)

tam8ta3 ki3 ta3 (ta di ki ta tom) ta3 ki3 ta3 (ta di ki ta tom) ta3 ki3 ta3(ta di ki ta tom) [tam2](ta di ki ta tom) [tam2](ta di ki ta tom)

• (ta di • ki ta tom) [•]• (ta di ki ta tom)

• tam8• (ta3 ka4 (ta • di • ki ta tom)• (ta3 ka4 (ta • di • ki ta tom)• ta3 ka4• (ta • di • ki ta tom)• (ta • di • ki ta tom)• (ta • di • ki ta tom)

As the kuraippu unfolds, a series of mora-s has emerged, beginning with example 2, which uses the smallest possible statement in the mora formula I spoke of earlier.

When I first confronted this kuraippu as a performer I grasped its structure fairly readily. This is not to say that I was able to play it easily or right away. To be honest, I struggled mightily; for me, it was a minefield. But I puzzled over its first expression, seen in line 1 .1 didn't quite get the reason for starting with a piece that did not contain a mOra, when all the others did. I had seen some exceptions to the (statement) [gap] (statement) [gap] (statement) structure of mOra, but this was something else.

Indeed, it was not until I understood that its beginning is the key to apprehending its full beauty that I really got the point of this kuraippu. Instead of beginning with a gap value of zero, it begins with a statement value of zero. It inverts our usual expectation, that the statements that comprise a mora are somehow the real material, and that the gaps are mere separations. By starting with the gaps and letting the statements emerge little by little from the background material, Visva is teaching us that every detail is aesthetically necessary and, can generate order and beauty of an unexpected kind. He is also teaching us not to take our rules too seriously.

Once again, solkattu was the key to my ability not only to perform this kuraippu, but also to understand its particular beauty.

Time flow, kanakku, and nadai

I spoke earlier about time-flow and design as the ends of a continuum. Nearly every tani involves shifts of nadai, or pulse-group. This can be done abruptly, for dramatic effect, but one beautiful and subtle way to do this is to use time-flow figures from one nadai in a contrasting pulse group. Here is a well-known example, performed by TR, of a composition by Sri Pazani that begins with time-flow figures in caturasra and shifts to tisram, leaving the time-flow phrasing in caturasra. In so doing, the meaning of the caturasra figures is changed, and they become elements in a new design. Within any nadai, the interplay of time-flow and design is a key element in maintaining rhythmic interest.

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Phrases

a. tam4 ta ka din2 din2 din2 na2 tr gn

b. tom ta ka tom ta ka din2 din2 na2 tr gd

c. • • ki {a ta ka din2 din2 din2 na2 tr gd

d. tom ta ka tom ta ka din2 din na kt tk tam4

mOra (s) = 20, (tam4 ta ka di na tom ta ka tom ta ka di na din na kt tk)

[g] = 2 [tam2]

Structure

{abed} *2 + mora

Periya moraNow that we have looked at the formal aspects of some tani components, we can talk

about the end, the periya mora and final korvai. The periya mora must be clearly identifiable as the next to last item in the tani. This is accomplished by use of two devices: its form, and the repeated use of phrases such as ta lan2 gu tom2 ta2 ta lan2 gu tom4. While there are many periya mora-s, the presence of these distinguishing phrases helps to identify its function. My students are able to learn this in a short time when it is written this way.

Phrases

a. di4 tan2 gidu diku taka tari gidu

b. ta2 di2 tan2 gidu diku taka tari gidu

c. ta lan2 gu

d. tom2 ta2

e. tom4

Structure

abaedee *2

abace

bee

a

(cd)[e]

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Korvai examplesAs I mentioned earlier, there are many types of korvai. Some are quite simple, others

extremely complex. Some stay in a single nadai, others change in the middle, and still others are designed to be played in different nadai-s as they are re-stated. A korvai is typically done once or three times, but occasionally once each in two different rhythmic settings. This is not thought of as performing the korvai twice, however, but once and once. There are no hard and fast rules about where, within a tani, a given korvai may be used; this is the drummer’s choice. Here are two sample korvai-s, very different in organization, each complex in its own way. The first uses only three syllables, “tom,” “ta,” and “tarn.” Its auditory simplicity is deceptive; its mora is quite sophisticated.

tom2 ta2 tam3 tom ta2 tam3 ta tam3 tam3



((ta4) [tam3] (ta4) [tam3] (ta4)) [tam7]

((ta4) [tam3] (ta4) [tam3] (ta4)) [tam7]

((ta4) [tam3] (ta4) [tam3] (ta4))

The mora is what I have called a compound mOra, by which I mean that each of the three statements is itself in the mora form, namely (statement) [gap]. When I write this for students who have been trained in my way of thinking, I can write it quite efficiently by using the parentheses and brackets you have seen so far.

tom2 ta2 tam3 tom ta2 tam3 ta tam3 tam3, 3x

((ta4) [tam3]) [tam7]

The second korvai is more complex in phrase structure and uses a different type of mora, one that expands from one statement to the next.

ta2 di2 ta lan • gu ta ka jo nu ta di ki ta tom • ta4 din8 gi4 na4 tom4

di2 ta lan • gu ta ka jo nu ta di ki ta tom • ta4 din4 gi2 na2 tom2

ta lan • gu ta ka jo nu ta di ki ta tom •(ta din2 gi na tom) [tam4]

(ta din2 gi na tom ta din2 gi na tom) [tam4]

(ta din2 gi na tom


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ta din2 gi na tom (ta din2 gi na tom)

There is no inviolable rule governing the choice of the final korvai in a tani avartanam. Either of these k5rvai-s could be used to end a tani in adi tala (or rupaka, for that matter). The final korvai is usually, though not always, chosen to fit easily into the given tala. In other words, a single performance of this korvai usually fits neatly into one or two cycles. Since its purpose is to provide a smooth transition back into the song, it is always done three times so that the musicians can synchronize their return.

In 2008 I published my first book, Solkattu Manual: an introduction to the rhythmic language of South Indian Music. This is designed as a textbook for solkattu classes, which have been offered at Wesleyan for more than forty years. After lessons introducing the students to some of the concepts I have outlined here today, the lessons in Solkattu Manual are arranged in the form of a tani avartanam in adi taja. By the end of a semester, the students are able to perform this tani without notes, and with a good understanding of the forms and processes involved. Only after they have taken this course do I teach mrdangam, which they begin with a much better understanding than I had forty years ago.

There are many other subjects we could discuss under the heading of tani structure, including the influence of eduppu and tempo. But in the interest of time we must stop here for questions.

Reference Works CitedBrown, Robert E. 1965. “The Mrdanga: A Study of Drumming in South India.” Ph.D. dissertation. University of California, Los Angeles.

Nelson, David P. 1991. “Mrdangam Mind: The Tani avartanam in Kamatak Music.” Ph.D. dissertation, Wesleyan University.

_______2008. Solkattu Manual: an introduction to the rhythmic language of SouthIndian music. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press,

Sankaran, Trichy S. 1994. The Rhythmic Principles and Practice of South Indian Drumming. Toronto: Lalith Publishers.


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FLUTE AND ITS PLAYING TECHNIQUES

M ala ChandrasekarWind is one of the 5 natural elements. The bamboo flute is one of the most organic

and natural instruments from mother nature and has been in existence from times immemorial and is related to Lord Kr$na.

Natya Sastra classification...Sloka


The instruments are classified as tatam, avanadham, ghanam and susiram.

Tata are stringed, example vma, avanaddha are covered, example drums, ghana are solid, example cymbals and susira are hollow, example flute.

The history of flute can be traced to more than 2000 years ago. The first ever mention of the instrument was in sangam literature’s Tolkappiyam. Flute was indigenous to mullai-s or the forest regions. The features corresponding to mullai terrain are predominantly:

a) Herdsmen and Hunters

b) Presiding deity - Mayon or Lord Krsna

c) Musical Instrument - the Flute

d) Melody-Mullai Pan or Sadari - The modem day Mohana Ragam.

Mohanam is a universal melody and is used in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, European, Hungarian, Swedish and gypsy too.

Here I would like to quote a short verse from Ila Vettanar’s song from Agananflru. andhikkovalar ambanai imiz isai

aramiya viyal agattu iyambu

The nada of the flute is so melodious that when herdsmen play the instrument in the farms, it captivates the souls of the people inside the houses making them happy. Such is the beauty of this instrument.

1. A bout the B am boo flute

There are 2 types of Indian bamboo flutes to suit both Carnatic and Hindustani styles. The structure differs for both the styles.

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South Indian Bamboo flutes have 1 blowing hole followed by 8 finger holes.

N orth In d ian B am boo flute

This is longer, made of different kind of thin bamboo with one blowing hole followed by 6 finger holes. In this system, their nisadam is their adhara sadjam. Bansuri-s are long and hence base tone is produced which is the characteristic feature of their music.

Significance o f Pahcabhutham-s in the fluteBamboo shoots growing in the land - Earth, taking in the water as food, absorbing the

breath which is the Fire, i.e., heat produced when we blow, resulting in the sweet music that emanates through air and this music gently merges with the Sky - atmosphere.

Thus the divine instrument is indeed a rare one which incorporates all the five elements in the nature

F lu te in C om parison w ith H um an Voice

The bamboo flute and the human voice are alike in many respects. Both are monophonous (i.e., capable of producing only one note at a time) and have 2[A octaves. While singing, the air from the lungs sets the vocal cords in vibration and produces music and in flute playing , the air from lungs first passes through the aperture between the vocal cords, without setting them in vibration enters through the blowing or mouth hole and gives notes of different pitch, the variations in pitch being caused by the changes in the length of the air - columns, consequent upon the closing and opening of the finger holes. During every moment of playing, the flute player should always remember that Indian music is sruti pradhana and gamaka pradhana.

The flute has octaves ranging from the mandra sthayi, antara gandhara to the upper sthayi pancamam or even dhaivatam D2 as in Harikamboji scale.

G2 M , P D 2 N, S R2 G2 M j p d 2 n 2 s r 2 g 2 m , p d ,

Lower Normal Higher

The limitation of the instrumentel is, one can use only one flute for one pitch. Unlike string insrtuments, the pitch of the flute cannot be altered.

2. Specific significant, sa lien t technical te rm s used in p lay ing styles: Tuttukaram, viraladi, the gamaka techniques, blowing-air control, sustaining in sruti, different fingering techniques etc- (demonstration)


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a) T^pes o f F ingering

There are two types of fingering “straight” and “cross” fingering techniques. Cross fingering is mostly followed by artists of today. The Sikkil Bani has evolved using straight fingering technique and there are some artists belonging to different schools who follow a similar method as above.

Flute though looks simple and easy to transport unlike other instruments, taking into account the above techinques, is the most difficult instrument indeed, as far as playing is concerned as the player should feel every bit of nuance and bring it out just as a vocalist does. As for other instruments, one can see and play whereas in flute, it has to be sensed. Hence an extra effort is needed. This can be achieved only if the flute aspirant is abundantly equipped with passion, perseverance and dedication.

Here are some basic methods which has been experienced and explored to pass it on to the future generation for understanding to make flute playing easier.

As a beginner, to understand the techniques and get the coordination between the blowing, fingering, tonguing and gamaka-s is very tough. Hence the following steps have been devised in this manner.

1. Blowing

Blowing Technique

Understand the direction of air flow and the amount of pressure while you blow into the hole. Only then, the nada or sound produced will have melody. Do not strain yourself by blowing too hard, resulting in chest pain and head ache. The breath should be very gentle and soft and with correct pressure. If the lips are cracked the regulated air which comes out gets dissipated and sound produced is distorted. In other words, the lip acts as a regulator in directing the flow of air into the hole. The breath control can be easily practiced if one follows the exercise of pranayama (a type of yoga, very good for lungs).

To strengthen the blowing or sustaining the breath-, long blowing without distortion in sound is taught. The blowing and sustenance differs according to the capacity of the student. (As a beginner, it is not so easy, but can be overcome by practise)

2. Tonguing - T u ttu k aram

This is the most important technique involving the usage of the tongue. The articulation of the tongue between the palate - this helps in differentiating the notes and lyrics of a song when applied at its appropriate place. The student should bring out the pronunciation of the


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numeral 2 without the usage of vocal cords - tu tu tu. This technique when combined with the blowing differentiates each note. Hence the sound produced will be distinct rather than one blowing sound. This usage of the tongue is called the tuttukara. Tuttukara technique constitutes the very foundation for playing flute just as the pillars support the bridge.

The tuttukara usage or prayogam is very important. This shapes up the phrase, gives emphasis to the proper notes. If the articulation of the tongue is less, the phrases loose their clarity, thereby the student tends to use his finger more by striking than actually using the tongue.

M ethod o f H olding th e F lu te

The flute should be held on the right side with the blowing hole resting between the gap above the chin and below the lower lip. The left hand fingers should be on the top facing you with the thumb at right angles to the fingers thus supporting the middle portion of the flute, closing, 1st, 2nd and 3rd holes with index, middle and ring finger

There are some exceptions where is the flute kept the other way round with the blowing hole on the mouth and fingers on to the left side .(right hand inwards and left hand outwards)

F IN G E R IN G - Types o f F ingering

There are two types of fingering “straight” and “cross” fingering techniques. Cross fingering is mostly followed by artists of today. The Sikkil Bani has evolved using straight fingering technique and there are some artists belonging to different schools who follow a similar method as below.


Straight fingering

In this technique, the index finger, middle and ring finger on the left hand are heldstraight.

Cross fingeringIn this, the first three fingers are placed in an angle-tilted towards left, instead of straightposition.

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4. Tonguing - T u ttu k a ra Technique

This is the most important technique involving the usage of the tongue. This helps in differentiating the notes and lyrics of a song when applied at its appropriate place. One should bring out the pronunciation of the numeral 2 without the usage of vocal chords - Tu Tu Tu. This technique when combined with the blowing differentiates each note. Hence the sound produced will be distinct rather than one blowing sound. This usage of the tongue is called the Tuttukara. Tuttukara technique constitutes the very foundation for playing flute just as the pillars support the bridge.

This technique is very useful especially when the flautist plays the manodharma svara-s. Once the student is competent in this technique, he can try other syllables like “chuku, chuku

” “Tututu, tututu— ” “trrrrrr..... ” “tuku tuku....” “dudu dudu....” In vocal music, whereverthe vocal syllables are used, the same can be effectively brought out in flute using the above technique. For example, the song Vatapi ganapatim in hamsadhvani (derived from the 29th mela Sankarabharanam) by Sri Muttusvami Dlksitar, begins with the note:

G2;;; R2;; R2,S, N2, I P, R2,; S, I R2,; SN2SR2 I

Tu....tu........tu-.tu tu I tu tu.-tu I tu...... - tu..... I

Va....ta........ pi..ga...na I pa..tim..bha je ........ham. I

Application of tuttukaram is restricted while playing fast sangati-s or phrases.

V iralad i - As the name indicates, the fingers are struck on the holes to make a demarcation in the sound or rather an extra emphasis is given for the notes to make it prominent, eg. - Jantai svara-s

D em onstra tion

SS RR GGS D£ R SR G R GTu_tu Tu tu Tu tu

The second note is struck depending upon its gamaka with the adjacent with the tutukara. For this technique, one should listen and follow the same method as vocalists. Hence vocal background is very essential for any instrumentalist.

Application of both techniques here for jantai varisai is taught. These techniques are very useful when one plays manodharmam - kalpanasvara-s, tanam etc.

MM M RM Tu tu

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Pancamam - P The first three holes are closed by left index, middle and ring fingers respectively and the 4th and 5th with the right hand index and middle finger keeping the 6th,7th and 8th holes open.

Sadjam - S Here, the first 2 holes are closed by left hand index and middle finger with the right ring finger on the 7th hole

Both Sadjam and Pancamam are always constant.

C atu sru ti risab h am R2 The 1st and7th holes closed(open note) with the left index and right little fingers respectively (full note)___________________________

S uddha r isab h am - R j The 2nd finger hole is half open /half closed. With the left index, keeping the right little finger closed (half note)

A n ta r a g S n d h S ra m - G 2 - All the holes open except the right hand little finger closed, the support got from pressing the flute against the chin, (full note)

S ad h a ran a g an d h aram - G j - In this, the 1st left index finger is half closed with the right little finger closed at the 7th hole, (half note)

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S u d d h a m ad hyam am - M j Closing the 2nd till 7th holes with left middle and ring fingers along with right index, middle, ring and little fingers respectively, (full note)

P ra ti m adhyam am - M2 - First 5 holes closed with the 6th hole half open and 7th hole open, (half note)

C atu sru ti dh a iv a tam - D2 First 4 holes are closed keeping the last 3 holes open, (full note)

S uddha dhaiva tam - D j First 4 holes closed and 5th hole half closed with the right middle finger, (half note)

K aisik i n isadam - Nj The First 3 holes are closed with left hand first 3 fingers and the right index finger supports the 4th hole, with the little finger closed, (full note)

K akali n isadam - N2 The first 2 holes -left hand and right little finger closed with the 3rd hole half closed, (half note)

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The above pictorial illustrations show in detail the means of playing the basic notes on the flute in Carnatic style .These flutes have 8 holes along with the blowing hole where as the Bansuri or the flute used to play Hindustani music has only 6+1 and the NisSdham is their adhara sadjam Bansuris are long and hence base tone is producd which is the characteristic feature of their music.

A. Scale :


Explanation to the notes and fonts are given below.

S (Sadjam) & P (Pancamam)

R j - Suddha risabham

R2 - Catusruti risabham

R3 = Satsruti risabham = G

G0 = Suddha gandharam = R

G j - Sadharana gandharam

G2 - Antara gandharam

Mj - Suddha madhyamam

M 2 - Prati madhyamam

P - Pancamam

D j - Suddha dhaivatam

D2 - Catusruti dhaivatam

D 3 - Satsruti dhaivatam = N

N0 - Suddha nisadam = D

N j - Kaisiki nisadam

N2 - Kakali nisadam

Satsruti risabham) (R3) = (gj) (same as) - Sadharana gandharam

Suddha gandharam (G0) = (R2) Catusruti risabham

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Satsruti dhaivatam (D3) = (Nj) Kaisiki nisadam

Suddha nisadam (N0) = (D2) Catusruti dhaivatam

According to the usage of two varieties of the same note this scale is framed. Here, in flute,

there are only two types of fingering - open and half open / closed. The notes like catusruti risabham, antara gandharam, suddha madhyamam, catusruti dhaivatam and kaisiki nisadam are

all full notes, whereas others are half notes. S and p are constant - always open. The scale is

self explanatory. Hence, it has been numbered as r3 for catusruti risabham and gO as suddha

gandharam. Unlike in other books, it has been given as g3 for antara gandharam, here, for

satharna gandharam, it is given as g2 - taking into account the fingering of half and full. The

concept is 0,123- In this order, if it has been observed, the first note is observed as 1, next 2 and if its position is lesser than 1, then it is numbered as 0. Hence, it takes the place of one

note proceeding number 1 (self explanatory). Refer scale. This makes the student play easily.

Also, different fonts are given to various notes, whether full, half or vivadi notes (semitone) r3, gO, d3, nO.

Vivadi svara-s:

There are four notes not talked about here which are special in nature as they have been named differently. These notes are

Satsruti risabham (R3)

Suddha gandharam (G0)

Satsruti dhaivatam (D3)

Suddha nisadam (N0)

= Sadharana gandharam (photo)

= (R2) Catusruti risabham (photo)

= (Nj) Kaisiki nisadam (photo)

= (D2) Catusruti dhaivatam

These notes have different names even though the svara-s are the same.

5. Gamaka-s - the entire structure of the gamaka-s is explained in groups with each group of 4 svara-s together.

Gamaka chart

Refer the Scale and its explanation to follow the Gamaka chart.

Note : The fonts are different for full notes, half notes and vivadi notes, thereby making it easier for the student to play with good coordination between the blowing, fingering and tonguing together.

SiGM = S Sr G MTu Tu Tu Tu

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SRGM = S GR G MTu Tu Tu Tu

SRjGM = S Sg G MTu Tu Tu Tu

SRgM = S R GR or RGR MTu Tu. Tu Tu Tu

SrgM = S Sr rGR MTu Tu. Tu Tu

SrGrM = S Sr R MTu Tu. Tu Tu

SrGm = S Sr G PmTu Tu. Tu Tu

SRGm = S GR G PmTu Tu. Tu Tu

SRjGm = S Sg G PmTu Tu Tu. Tu

Srgm = S R RgR EmTu Tu Tu Tu

Srgm = S Sr RgR PmTu Tu Tu Tu

SrGrm = S Sr R PmTu Tu Tu Tu

PdNS = P Pd Sd or dSD STu Tu Tu Tu Tu

PDNS = P D DSD or SD STu Tu Tu Tu Tu

PDnS = P EN Sn STu Tu Tu Tu

PDnS = P SD Sn STu Tu Tu Tu

PdnS = P Pd Sn STu Tu Tu Tu

PdNS — P Pd D S

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Tu Tu Tu Tu

SdDP = S Sn SD PTu Tu Tu Tu

SNDP = S DN D PTu Tu Tu Tu

SNdP = S D Ed PTu Tu Tu Tu

SNdP = S SDS Ed PTu Tu Tu Tu

SnDP = S Sn N PTu Tu Tu Tu

SndP = S Sn Ed or SPd PTu Tu Tu Tu Tu

MgRS = M Mg or Rg R STu Tu. Tu. Tu Tu

MGRS - M G GR STu Tu Tu. Tu

MGrS = M R Sr STu Tu Tu. Tu

MGrS = M G GSr STu Tu T u .. Tu

MgrS = M MRG GSr STu Tu. T u .. Tu

MGRS = M G Sg STu Tu Tu. Tu

mgRS = Pm E g R STu. Tu. Tu Tu

mGRS — Pm G GR STu. Tu Tu. Tu

mGrS = Pm R Sr STu. Tu Tu. Tu

mGrS — Pm G GSr or Sr STu. Tu T u.. Tu. Tu

mgrS = Pm E g Sr S

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Tu. Tu. Tu. T u

m G R S = P m G S g STu. T u Tu. T u

The above shows how the combinations of the four notes have to be played with the appropriate gamakam and the tu below the notes, represent where exactly the tuttukaram has to be played so that emphasis should be given at the correct note and the underline between the 2 or 3 notes denotes the speed with which each note in combination with another has to be given using the gamaka-s ie. with preceeding or succeeding notes and the dot after tu is for sustaining the note (karvai).

The different fonts have different meaning which are given above. In every group, the blowing has to be continuous. With just one blow, the tongue has to do the tuttukaram according to the combination of notes like pronunciation. With this basic knowledge, a student can be successful in playing the ragam / scales in the Melakarta scale with akaram and tuttukaram.

So the next exercise for the student would be playing different scales from the MelakartaChart.

Melakarta chart

Colour coding of 72 mejakartha raga-s • recognition of Svara dthana-s on the fluteBased on colours for beginners

Chakra Mela Suddha madhyamaArohanam Avarohanam

No No Raga-s

1. Kanakangi S r G M P d n S S N d P M G r S

D2. Rathnangi S r G M P d N S S N d P M G r S

Q 3. Ganamurti S r G M P d n S S n d P M G r SZHH 4. Vanaspathi S r G M P D n S S N D P M G r S

5. Manavati S r G M P D n S S n D P M G r S

6. Thanaroopi S r G M P D n S S n D P M G r S

7. Senavathi S r g M P d N S S N d P M g r S

<Pi

8. Hanumathodi S r g M P d N S S N d P M g r S

X 9. Dhenuka S r g M P d n S S n d P M g r SH[T] 10. Natakapriya S r g M P D N S S N D P M g r S

z 11. Kokilapriya S r g M P D n S S n D P M g r S

12. Roopavathi S r g M P D n S S n D P M g r S

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AG

NI

13.14.15.16.17.18.

GayakapriyaVakulabaranamMayamalavagowlaChakravahamSooryakanthamHatakambari

S r G M P d N S S r G M P d N S S r G M P d n S S r G M P D N S S r G M P D n S S r G M P D n S

S N d P M G r SS N d P M G r SS n d P M G r SS N D P M G r SS n D P M G r SS n D P M G r S

19. Jhankaradhwani S R d M P d N S S N d P M g R S

< 20. Natabhairavi S R d M P d N S S N d P M g R SQ 21. Keeravani S R d M P d n S S n d P M g R SW> 22. Kharaharapriya S R d M P D N S S N D P M g R S

23. Gowrimanohari S R d M P D n S S n D P M g R S24. Varunapriya S R d M P D n S S n D P M g R S25. Mararanjani S R G M P d N S S N d P M G R S

< 26. Chamkesi S R G M P d N S S N d P M G R SZ 27. Sarasangi S R G M P d n S S n d P M G R S<PQ

28. Harikambhoji S R G M P D N S S N D P M G R S29. Dheerashankarabaranam S R G M P D n S S n D P M G R S30. Naganandini S R G M P D n S S n D P M G R S31. Yagapriya S R G M P d N S S N d P M G R S

D 32. Ragavardhani S R G M P d N S S N d P M G R SQ 33. Ghangeyabooshani S R G M P d n S S n d P M G R SXa

34. Vagadheeswari S R G M P D N S S N D P M G R S35. Soolini S R G M P D n S S n D P M G R S36. Chalanattai S R G M P D n S S n D P M G R S

Open Notes -S, R2, G2, Mj, P, D2 / Half Notes - rt gj Vivadi Notes -R3, G0, D3, N3

m2 1 n2

The sarali varisai-s are played in all the 72 melakarta scales starting from the ones with combinations with full notes and later with half notes and then the vivadi ones. They are played as straight notes and as also with gamaka-s in different speeds.

Certain gamaka-s like ‘p d n s’ can be played as ‘p s d s s‘ (there is no nisadam involved, as it is played as p psd sds s ) this phrase is largely used in ragas like sankarabharanam.

In ragam kalyani, example as in kamalambam bhajare, ‘p m g’ ‘g m p’ = ka..ma.. la... It is played as ‘p m g’ ‘g p’ ‘p’ There is literally no m2 involved. These basic gamaka-s as discussed above will directly or indirectly help the students understand the intricacies in between the two notes. Listening to lot of vocal music helps a person imbibe the understanding of gamaka-s. The student should be trained to play the above techniques initially, along with the varisai-s.

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The order followed while teaching this instrument will be

1. Blowing

2. Tonguing - tuttukaram

3. Fingering - full notes - harikambhoji scale

4. Varisai using tuttukaram and akaram techniques

5. Half fingering

6. Various scales in melakarta ragam-s, according to his/her receptivity eg. easy ones like harikambhoji, sankariibharanam, cakravakam, kharaharapriya and its prati madhyama ragam-s to make the co-ordination easier, later proceeding to vivadi raga-s. By then co-ordination will become easier.

7. Gamaka-s all the above lessons should be practised with gamaka-s, observing the tajam-s.

8. Alankaram with talam orientation, gltam etc.

If the student follows the above methodology, he will be confident that he can play the gltam with necessary inputs, so as to resemble vocal music.

9. Svarajati-s

10. Varnam

11. Krti-s (different composers)

As the student advances in his learning process, he would gain lots of experience thereby enjoying what he plays.

Tips for students

The main step of learning is to understand what to play. The student should have lot of patience, perseverance and dedication.

To master the above technique, it takes at least a year and a half. Once this is stabilized, all the other processes becomes easier, not only for the student, but also for the teacher.

Taking into consideration the above methods to play this divine instrument flute, it is obvious that flute playing can be made easier and simpler, and hence this article is

furnished.

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Harmony, M yriad Shades of Passion andReligion of Man: A Tagore Symphony

Somali Panda

PrologueThis is a submission, and a humble submission.

A dream to find a thread out.

A thread, if any, that vaguely binds the great philosophies of this world.

Or, else, to search for the essence of the greatest civilizations of the world in its ancient period.

To find the quintessence of all these civilizations close enough to seem almost siblings.

An impossible crescendo-like flight toward that heaven, where every component reflects the heaven itself.

A desire to comprehend all these facets in essence, however, in Tagore’s creation, or in Tagore’s philosophy for that matter; and this is an attempt to feel that symphony.

The word symphony is a Greek one, meaning ‘agreement’; literally, ‘two voices together, as one’, as a Greek friend of mine wrote to me, on one occasion.

This is toward that agreement, if there is any.


Aesthetics: The classical approachAesthetics, the word has been derived from the Greek word Aistheticos, meaning

‘esthetic, sensitive, and sentient’, which in turn was derived from Aisthanomai, meaning ‘I perceive, feel, and sense, The Greek philosophers initially felt that aesthetically appealing objects were beautiful in and of themselves. According to Plato, beautiful objects incorporated proportion, harmony, and unity among their parts. Aristotle, the dear disciple of Plato, whom Plato himself called the Mind of the school, in the Metaphysics, found that the universal elements of beauty were order, symmetry, and definiteness. Now this symmetry or harmony or proportion made their architecture, or art, or philosophy almost perfect, almost Godly. Godly, because they were almost perfect. Perfect, because they were established on the basis of pure logic. Plato thought that there is a perfect Form of Beauty in which beautiful things participate. Plato’s philosophy enjoyed a noticeable presence during the medieval period, more so in the writings of Augustine and Pseudo-Dionysius. For these thinkers, platonic forms, including the form of concept of zero as a number, and not merely a symbol for separation was attributed

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to India. The Indian scholar Pingala (circa 5th- 2nd century BC) used binary numbers in the form of Beauty, which are, in fact, ideas in the mind of God, and the world is but ‘a shadow of the divine image’ Hence, all beautiful things participate not in some abstract universal, but in God’s beauty.

Medieval scientists, like Robert Grosseteste, were interested in knowing the nature of light. Grosseteste’s treatise, on light, blends Neo-Platonist theories of emanation and aspects of Aristotle’s cosmology. The effects of light became more important to the medieval artisans, particularly in architecture, and they frequently associated light with their theories of color. Light and color affected the thoughts of medieval thinkers on certain characteristics of beauty, such as radiance clarity.

The medieval philosophers believed, somehow, that God is Light; and this was one of the motivations for them to pursue the notion of light. The incorporeal light, for the believers in the Christianity, is God’s light and gives splendor to the whole of creation. Light is what allows the beauty of objects, especially their color, to become illuminated, in order to display their beauty to the fullest. Light is an important condition for beauty to be there.

Harmony or proportion- numbers, place value and zeroThe proportions that governs the dimensions of Greek temples, the intervals between the

columns or the relationships between the various parts of the fa9ade, correspond to the same ratios that govern musical intervals. The same principles of harmony and proportion applied to all the arts, architecture, although there were differences to the way they were applied. The numerical ratios, however, were the same, because mathematical values are immutable. This pure mathematics could create the magic for any of the art forms, whatever it was, providing it with an almost immortality or transcendentalism.

The Pythagoreans are credited as being the first to study the relationships between the numbers and sounds. Pythagoras, the 6th century Greek mathematician, mystic, philosopher and scientist has mainly been known to the world, till now, and will remain in the days to come even, for his theorems. However, the Pythagoreans discovered certain pitches and proportions to be more pleasing to people than others, and these discoveries were propagated

in the middle ages.

Now this introduction of the relationship between numbers and sound perhaps did some wonder for music. As the sound was first associated with number, there could evolve a pattern in the form of music itself. A pattern is always associated with definite design and with the repetition of it. And there was cyclic order to represent the perfect form.

This order, this repetitive order, was wanting in the world of numbers itself, when the world was even more young. By the middle of the 2nd millennium BC, the Babylonian mathematics had a sophisticated hexadecimal positional numeral system. The lack of a place

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value, or zero, was indicated by a space between hexadecimal numerals. By 300 BC, a punctuation symbol was co-opted as a place-holder in the same Babylonian system. This Babylonian place-holder was not a true zero, because it was not used alone. The ancient Greece seemed to have been unsure about the status of zero as a number.

The concept of zero as a number, and not merely a symbol for separation was attributed to India. The Indian scholar Pingala (circa 5th- 2nd century BC) used binary numbers in the form of short and long syllables. He and his contemporary Indian scholars used the Sanskrit word Sunya to refer to zero or void. By 130 AD, Ptolemy, the Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek, was using a symbol for zero within that hexadecimal numeral system. In 498 AD, Indian mathematician and astronomer Aryabhatta initiated the origin of the modem decimal-based place value notation.

The Hindu-Arabic numerals and the positional number system were introduced around 500 AD; and in 825 AD, it was introduced by a Persian scientist, Al-Khwarizmi, in his book on arithmetic, that synthesized Greek and Hindu knowledge and also contained his own fundamental contribution to mathematics and science including an explanation of the use of zero. It was only centuries later, in the 12th century precisely, that the Arabic numeral system was introduced to the Western world through Latin translation of his Arithmetic.

Now, the Western world perhaps was finding some difficulties in conceptualizing ‘nothing’ as ‘something’, hence took resort to the punctuation symbol for creating place value, or for the repetitive order in calculation, or, more precisely, for the cyclic order. In India, the concept of ‘sunya’, or void for that matter, was taking shape, visually as a parabola or circle, representing the order of repetition, or the cyclic order. And, The Upanishads were being composed here in India just after the 5th century BC, where one of the opening shlokas goes like this:

‘Om Puurnnam-Adah Puurnnam-Idam Puurnnaat-Purnnam-UdacyatePuurnnashya Pmrnnam-Aadaaya Puurnnam-Eva-AvashissyateOm Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih’

Literally it meansTaking Fullness from Fullness, Fullness indeed remains. That is Full, This also

is Full, From Fullness comes that Fullness, Om Peace, Peace, Peace.

So, perhaps, the concept of void, or nothingness, or sunya was taking more rounded shape with this concept of ‘Puurna’, or ‘Fullness’, or of the cosmos, or ‘Mahasunya’

A Tagore SymphonyNow, Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel laureate poet from India, has been known to the

world primarily as a poet, or as a poet-philosopher, though he was a ‘many sided genius- poet,

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fictionist, dramatist, painter, musician, essayist, educationist and philosopher’. An artist in the most comprehensive sense of the term and steeped in both ancient Indian and Western arts, literatures, and thoughts- he read carefully much of the old and new literatures, and came in contact with almost all the eminent thinkers, intellectuals and artists of his time, such as Henri Bergson, G B Shaw, Thomas Mann, Robert Frost, Einstein, H G Wells, Rolland, Gandhiji and others, Tagore has undoubtedly given new dimensions to aesthetics.

The Artist, in Tagore’s words, proclaimsI believe the vision of paradise is to be seen in the sunlight and the green of the

earth, in the beauty of the human face and the wealth of human life, even in objects that are seemingly insignificant and unprepossessing. Everywhere in this earth the spirit of paradise is awake and sending forth its voice. It tunes our harp of life which sends our aspiration in music beyond the finite, not only in prayers and hopes, but also in temples which are flames of fire in stone, in pictures which are dreams made everlasting, in the dance which is ecstatic meditation in the centre of movement(l).

Tagore’s Music- RabindrasangeetAs regards music, Rabindranath rightly holds that it is the purest of art forms. It

embodies beauty most comprehensively, having remarkable oneness and utmost simplicity of form and spirit with least consideration for anything extraneous. “We seem to feel that the manifestation of the infinite in the finite forms of creation is music itself, silent and visible.”(2) No wonder great artists also endeavour to re-create the cosmos in terms of music. Also music is the most abstract of all arts, as mathematics is in the realm of science. Music offers us ‘the pure essence of expressiveness in existence,’ since music is made of sounds, and sound offers no resistance to expressiveness. Tagore has said in assertion, ‘In the pictorial, plastic and literary arts, the object and our feelings with regard to it are closely associated, like the rose and its perfumes. In music, the feeling distilled in sound becomes itself an independent object. It assumes a tune-form which is definite, but a meaning which is undefinable, and yet which grips our mind with a sense of absolute truth’ (3).

Tagore is of the view that the art of vocal music has its own peculiar features and functions. The principal end of vocal music is to show better what the words strive to express. Still, Tagore’s lyrics, rather than the poems, provided him with the world-wide recognition as a poet. Mary McClelland Lago, an authority on Tagore and a translator of a number of his works, pointed out that ‘unfortunately for both the West and for Tagore, many of his readers never knew- still do not know- that so many of his poems were written as words for music, with musical and verbal imagery and rhythms designed to support and enhance each other.’ Tagore’s songs, known as Rabindrasangeet, a unique genre of Bengali, or, else, of Indian music, in Lago’s view, is ‘an important demonstration’ of Tagore’s ‘belief in the efficacy of


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cultural synthesis. He used all the musical materials that came to hand: the classical ragas, the boat songs of Bengal, Vaishnava kirtan (group chanting) and Baul devotional songs, village songs of festival and of mourning, even Western tunes picked up during his travels and subtly adapted to his own uses.’

Rabindranath was the youngest son of Maharshi Devendranath Tagore. Maharshi was one of the pioneers of the Brahmo Samaj, a new religious sect in the nineteenth-century Bengal, identified with Unitarianism and organized itself as a Protestant-type church (a word used by the movement itself), and which attempted a revival of the ultimate monistic basis of Hinduism as laid down in the Upanishads. At the age of twelve Rabindranath accompanied his father to tour India for several months, visiting Shantiniketan estate and Amritsar before reaching the Himalayan hill station of Dalhousie. In this period of time, Tagore read biographies, studied history, astronomy, modem science, Sanskrit and classical literatures including the Upanishads, and also Persian literature, viz., Hafiz’s Deewans, under the guidance of his father. The impact of this span of time on Tagore’s mind and philosophy has perhaps been unfathomable.

Tagore started writing songs with the prayer-songs, or Brahmosangeet, for the Brahmo Samaj. As per the structure and philosophy of this religious sect, these prayer-songs naturally reflected a hymn-like somber pattern. At the tender age of 18 Tagore composed his first song. This was in praise of the God almighty who was being greeted and served by the whole cosmic world and the natural powers; and the tune on which he composed the song was of a Sikh Bhajan. (The song has been: “Gaganer thale Rabi Chandra Dipak jwale...........”)

While presenting Tagore with the Nobel Prize, Harold Hjame noted: “The Gitanjali is Mysticism, but not a mysticism that, relinquishing personality, seeks to become absorbed in the All to a point of Nothingness, but one that, with all the faculties of soul at highest pitch, eagerly sets forth to meet the Living Father of all creation.” In his volume My Religion, he observed that, “Man’s religion is his innermost truth. One’s religion is at the source of one’s being.” The idea of a direct, joyful, and totally fearless relationship with God can be found in many of Tagore’s writings, including the poems of Gitanjali. And perhaps this awakening of the inner being, this understanding of the innermost truth of one’s soul, this idea of direct, joyful, totally fearless relationship with God made Tagore write so many numbers on Light. This invocation, celebration of Light is of course akin to the philosophy of the Vedas or the Upanishads, and sometimes reflecting the somber tone of Church music, guiding towards Buddhist Nirvana, and, of course, reflecting that ancient illuminated minds. (Ref of a song: “A/o je aj gan kore mor prane go........... ”)

Myriad Shades of Passion, Religion of Man, and TagoreSo far the focus has been on the devotional songs of Tagore, as the main theme of

discussion was something related to aestheticism, or classical form of philosophy, concept of beauty, or of light, or of the Upanishads. But his religion of man is the awakening of

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the individual self’s ego-consciousness in the universal consciousness- a process of realizing the Infinite ‘I’ within the finite T , or a process of transcending the religious philosophy to the philosophy of life, and a process of bringing out the quintessence of the Upanishads- ‘Charoibeti’, to move on.

In his later days, we find Tagore almost as a pilgrim who moves around the world either in person or inertly to search for the universalism of humanity, or the wholeness of being. Much of what Tagore experienced in life has better been expressed in songs with musical and verbal imagery and rhythms designed to support and enhance each other.

We may here make a reference of a song included in the Gitabitan, the anthology of Tagore’s songs, under the segment called ‘prem’, i.e., love. It goes on like- ‘baje karun sure hai..’, or, the wanderer soul has grown restless, though the reason behind is not known. Somewhere far, some sad note is being blown. The mellow air is blowing high and with it the mellowed mind too, in this tremendous night of separation. Tagore found the tune for it from a Telugu devotional song, and made it bring out the soul of the lyric.

A mention may be made here of a historical event to take a view of Tagore’s own sense of confusion or perception of human passion or personality. Tagore and Einstein met at the latter’s residence at Kaputh, in the suburbs of Berlin, on July 14, 1930. The conversation between them was recorded, and was originally published in the Religion of Man (George, Allen& Unwin, Ltd., London), Appendix II, pp. 222-225.

The selected portion from that wonderful discussion is quoted below to unfold another dimension of Tagore, the creator, without putting any explanations, as they are only self- explanatory.

Tagore: ..ihe new mathematical discoveries which tell us that in the realm o f infinitesimal atoms, chance has its play; the drama o f existence is not absolutely predestined in character.

Einstein:....One tries to understand in the higher plane how the order is. The order is there, where the big elements combine and guide existence, but in the minute elements this order is not perceptible.

Tagore: Thus duality is in the depths o f existence, the contradiction o f free impulse and the directive will which works upon it and evolves an orderly scheme o f things.

Einstein: Modern physics would not say they are contradictory. Clouds look as one from a distance, but if you see them nearby, they show themselves as disorderly drops o f water.

Tagore: / find a parallel in human psychology. Our passion and desires are unruly, but our character subdues these elements into a harmonious whole. Does something similar to this happen in the physical world? Are the elements rebellious, dynamic with individual


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impulse? And is there a principle in the physical world which dominates them and puts them into an orderly organization?

Einstein: Even the elements are not without statistical order; elements o f Radium will always maintain their specific order, now and even onward, just as they have done all along, there is then, a statistical order in the elements.

Tagore: Otherwise, the drama o f existence would too desultory. It is the constant harmony o f chance and determination which makes it eternally new and living..............

Mystical order of the world, world of mystical musicThis has been a period of more than five years now that I have been in the awe of

myriad shades of passion in Tagore’s creations. It has been a journey for me through Tagore’s songs towards the world of mysticism. I tried to tread along the paths of the 5th century BC Greece to understand what actually spurred Alexander the Great to move this far with the entire panorama of Hellenic culture, and thereby to lay the foundation of the huge Hellenistic civilization.

Afterwards, these immensely rich, in every possible way, population, living in the areas which the great emperor traversed and founded habitations in, including Persia, Turkey, and, of course, parts of Indian peninsula, became mere have-nots with only the glorious cultural heritage, and were commonly known as the Gypsies after their ever migrating character.

Towards the end of the 14th century, and early into the 15th century, Taimur’s conquest resulted in immense destruction and loss of life in Persia, and in India. And the poorest of the poor people of the areas, i.e., the Gypsies, were the worst sufferers. Many of these wanderers, or the Gypsies, headed west, and some of them finally ended up in the early 15th century in Spain, and, in particular, in Andalusia. And Federico Garcia Lorca had to pen his essay on the Andalusian Gypsy Music (Deep Song), and had to compose number of Gaceles (ghazals) as the outcome. This part of the world, the corridor of the Gypsies, incidentally, has been the cradle of mysticism. And it has been the same place where zero took its birth and shape.

The world of mysticism- the Kabbalah in Judaism, or Gnosticism with Christianity, or Sufism in Islam, or, else, Vedanta with Hinduism, or so on- is so varied, and yet emanating perhaps the same spirit- yearning to be re-united with the ultimate reality through the path of love and devotion.

Rabindranath Tagore has well been acclaimed throughout the world as a mystical poet. And it has been a wonderful experience to unfold his unique pattern of making music for the much acclaimed lyrics. His compositions reflected perhaps the panorama of world mystic music pattern that, in course of time, if I am allowed to say so, glided smoothly to the path of migrating music, or world music.

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Tagore, while visiting Persia, came to acknowledge that their music had an eerie resemblance with the music of our country. And this has been a wonderful personal experience for me from the other end. The pioneering Persian mystical poet Jellal-ud-din Rumi is known worldwide as Mowlana, and his disciples are called Mevlevi, or the ‘whirling Dervishes’ Once, a few years back, I had an opportunity to come across a compact disc- a compilation of Rumi’s poetry set in traditional Turkish tune, sung by some Turkish artists, accompanied by their traditional instruments, like Nay or Aud. It was a male voice, and I was listening from a distance where only the tune could reach my ear, without making me much conscious about the Persian lyric, and letting me think, at least for a while, that I was listening to some Tagore composition. I was confused; and I lent an eager ear only to discover something more. The prelude of one of the songs, played on the Iranian flute made me stand before one of Tagore’s compositions: 'Ogo kangal amare kangal korechho..', which asks the Lord, what else He desires from the poet, when He Himself has been the Beggar, and has turned the poet into one, too.

The most popular form of mystical music order in Bengal is Baul. And the most acclaimed member of the order is perhaps Lalan Faquir. Tagore was well acquainted with Lalan and his music which had deep impact on him. Bauls of Bengal hail both from the Hindu and the Muslim communities. In 1905, while the British government decided to divide Bengal into two, Tagore wrote a series of patriotic songs, and most of them set in the tune of Baul form of music. The sensitive mind, the great soul , who was suffering profoundly, spoke subtly of communal harmony in setting his words in the tune dear to both the communities.

Migrating music, urban folk song, ‘charoibeti’...Movement of people is perhaps as old as the history of civilization itself. From the time

immemorial people are walking down the paths of happenings, leaving or losing their home in search of a newer one, with their own desire and dreams, longing and desperation, music and amusement, and are interacting, creating, merging or emerging, in the course. This movement or migration has shown the path of unknown to the human race, though their elemental urge is to settle down. There is the fallacy. The reasons may be as different as natural, spatial, political, economical, social or racial, people have to move toward a newer horizon, but with an incessant quest for the root somewhere deep in the mind. This stretch of land, where mysticism evolved, has experienced wars, aggressions, migrations, and pangs for quite a long time. And from the later part of the 18th century, or from the very beginning of the 19th century, there emerged a number of musical forms which spelled out the agony of the suffering souls of the practitioners of these forms. All these forms were hybrid in nature that speaks of their pattern of birth and growth. They were formed in the process of searching for the identity of the respective people, and they were known as urban folk songs. There was Manele in Romania, Chalga in Bulgaria, Turbo Folk in Serbia, Rembetika in Greece, Rai in Algeria, or Fado in Portugal. Afterwards they have been known worldwide as World Music.


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Fado has perhaps been the oldest of these forms. It is the music of Portugal; rather it is called the soul of Portugal. The meaning of the word 'fado’ is close to the word Fate. The African Moors were brought to Portugal as slaves through the long journey by the sea. The tone of monotony, the oppressive mood of the Moors who had to leave their home to become slaves, the tune of port areas- all these elements mingled together to create Fado Music. Later Fado became the music of the urban folks it is sung in the cafes of Lisbon and other cities, and one of the major varieties of Fado is called Lisbon Fado. Traditionally the Fado artists come together at a cafe and begin singing, one followed by the next inspired one, with full throated ease, with only Portuguese guitar as accompaniment. That inspired soulful singing pattern, the flowing tunes with absolutely no bar ahead, the vibrant voices, made me think of some of Tagore’s compositions in tappa form. I could relate specially two of Tagore’s songs with this form of singing. These two songs are from his play Achalayatan, i.e., the immovable, sung by the character Panchak. Achalayatan was written in the year 1911-12, after the partition of Bengal in 1905. Rabindranath was suffering, and was wishing hard to take his countrymen out of this slavery, oppression and darkness of the reigning social atmosphere. While the pain is identical, perhaps the true expressions of it somehow reflect each other.

Here are the two songs: “Dure kothay dure dure..” and “Ja hobar ta hobe...” The first one speaks of the wandering mind which pines for the path that goes beyond all lands, and merges into infinity. The second song is more desperate in approach. It does not care about what is there at the end. One who is making him cry will never be in oblivion of his being, and the One who has made him lose his way, will show him the right path Himself.

The culmination of all these facades, i.e., the aestheticism, the myriad shades of passions, the harmonization of these passions to form the religion of man, is perhaps the pronunciation of the great mystic poet. Rabindranath Tagore, the poet of the Upanishads, is acclaimed throughout the world for his mystic poetry. Evelyn Underhill, the mystic writer who was present in the poetry reading session at the residence of W.B. Yeats, the session where Tagore read out his Gitanjali for the first ever time, found a resonance of feeling that Rumi’s poetry could provide her with.

EpilogueThe awe of this experience is so immense to me that I am in no position to make any

conclusion in this regard.

Rather, all these facets of classical civilizations of the world, of classical knowledge and perception, all the pure knowledge make a really heightened overtone that allow us to reach the crescendo, and at the very same time to experience an inward catharsis to feel the power of mankind, and of course, the power of humanity.

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References:(1) The Religion of an Artist, ‘A Tagore Reader’- page 240

(2) The Realisation of Beauty, Sadhana, p. 142

(3) The Artist, ‘The Religion of Man’ p. 141

1. Rabindranath Tagore’s Aesthetics - K K Sharma (1988)

2. Art And Aesthetics of Rabindranath Tagore • S K Nandi (1999)

3. The Poetics - Aristotle

4. The Metaphysics - Aristotle

5. The Religion of Man - Rabindranath Tagore

6. The Achalayatan - Rabindranath Tagore

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MALLARIB M . Sundaram

Nagasvaram is an ancient double-reeded wind instrument of India, very much in use in the Southern part of the country, particularly in Tamilnadu. In the sister-states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka also this instrument is in use. Since it resembles the North Indian Shahnai (a miniature Nagasvaram), it is mostly called ‘Sanai’ in Andhra Pradesh. Names like Mauri and Olaga are in currency in the state of Karnataka Nagasvaram took its birth during the Rig Vedic times, according to a tamil verse of antiquity. If this statement is true, it must have had a different name in those times. It came into existence to serve in temples during the daily and festive rituals. Its brother-instrument is Tavil, a percussive, which also had many names like Dindima, Dolu etc. Both these instruments have been serving in the South Indian temples from time immemorial and also in social functions like weddings etc., since Nagasvaram is considered and adored as Mangala Vadya.

Nagasvaram music has been practiced inside the temple according to a certain conventional tradition, envisaged by the acients. It has a special repertoire, what to play when or in which shrine and so on. There are two repertories, one for daily rituals and the other for festivals. Mallari, Raga Alapana, Rakti and Pallavi are the main items for Nagasvaram music. Playing klrtana-s during the deity’s procession had a prohibition among ancients. An important item connected with Nagasvaram is the Mallari. Today it is taken up for dancing on the stage and recently some musicians have also started to sing them, in their recitals! But Mallari is a composition, exclusively meant for Nagasvaram only, that too for temple rituals. We cannot say pin-pointedly, which language the term ‘Mallari’ belongs to. ‘Malla’ means, ‘wrestler’ or ‘the palanquin-bearer’ and the ‘ri’ means the ‘loud sound’. Perhaps because of the choral loud sound produced by those, who carry the deity either on the shoulders or on a palanquin, the usage came to be ‘Malla + ri, which later colloquially became Mallari, when a special musical item was first composed for the purpose. ‘Mai’ again means ‘fight’ or ‘conquer, and subdue the enemies, the item might have been named ‘Mallari’ It is a type of Prabandha.

Mallari is a musical composition with no lyric (sahitya) at all. The vidvans of the earlier generations, the tradition-setters were strict thaUany Mallari should have no sahitya. Curiously, today some bohemian bobadils insolently boast that they have composed sahitya for many Mallari-s, as if the earlier vidvan-s had no composing talent! This they call novelty, breaking the much respected age-old convention. Mallari has to be played only in the raga, Gambhlranata, a pentatonic scale, again a nuncupative rule. The diety is considered to set out in procession with Vlra rasa to ward off the evil forces, this raga, which has the same rasa is verily suitable for Mallari. According to many Agama-s, anything connected with God should begin with five- five letters etc. Saint Tirumular in his Tirumandiram, says, “Aindezutte anaittukkum adiyam”, “Aindile todanga aindum kittume” In the Bhajana tradition, the very first item the Todaya

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Marigalam sung by Sambandar, ‘Todudaiya Seviyan’ is also in khanda capu. The great Tevaram teacher and practitioner, Vedaranyam ‘ Adariganmurai’ Aruiiacala Desikar and Velayuda Oduvar were singing this only in khanda capu, but today many have changed the tala. The mallari is then and there or at their leisure composed by the nagasvara artistes for use. It may be in any tala, but only in the gambhlranata raga and this is a strict stipulation. Many might have observed that in the nagasvara performances, even before the main instrument nagasvaram commences, it is the custom that tavil, the accompanying percussive instrument begins. This is observed also during the play of the mallari. In fact, even before the nagasvara artiste sounds his instrument with the raga gambhlranata, the tavil player commences, that too only phrases, following the Agamic rule. He plays in khanda gati, each phrase having five syllables. This is called ‘alarippu’ Since both nagasvaram music and bharatanatya were fostered within the temple precincts, the common terminology for some items might have come into vogue. The number of svara-s in gambhlranata raga are five and khanda has also five counts. There are many varieties of alarippu-s, but everything in khanda capu only.

In Saivite temples, the deity is taken out from the alankara mandapa or from the adytum and it circumambulates (if there is a prakara in that particular temple) with a small mallari (called cinna mallari). When it comes in the arcade (called ‘nadai vana pandal’) another mallari (or many mallari-s, depending upon the number of prakara-s) has to be played. When the deity reaches the place, where the temple chariot is stationed, another mallari in triputa tala has to be necessarily played. If the nagasvara artiste is very eminent, it will take at least one hour to complete this triputa tala mallari. Only on the day, the deity as bhiksatana, starts its procession, (generally on the eighth day of the brahmotsava), there will be no mallari at all, right from the beginning. There is no difference in the kind of mallari for Saivite or Vaishnavite temples. But the type may change depending upon the situation. There were very great stalwarts like the late Cidambaram Radhakrsna PiHai who were incomparable exponents in playing a number of coruscent mallari-s. Generally when mallari is sounded, anyone at a distance, can easily understand that the deity of some temple has set out in procession. In that manner, it may even be called a signature tune.

There is a common notion among people that mallari is associated with only the deity’s procession, whereas it is not so. On some other occasions also, even in daily rituals, the mallari had a part. When water from a river or tank is brought to the temple, for bathing the idols, the water pot would follow the nagasvaram troupe playing only a mallari. Similarly, when the pots containing holy waters are taken out from the yagasala, for the consecration of any temple, they will be preceded by mallari music. This is called ‘tlrtha mallari’ At the time when the food (naivedya) is brought to the shrine from the temple chariot (the car festival), a mallari called, ter mallari’ in khanda gati is to be played. Such traditions may vary from temple to temple but the part played by mallari is the same. In many temples, during the Brahmotsava, the last ritual to the deity every night is removing the ornaments and taking it

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to the bedchamber. If the festival continues the next day also, a short mallari is played at the end of all rituals. It is said that playing the mallari then is to proclaim that the deity will go around in procession the next day also.

Our ancient vidvan-s have chalked out an order of items to be played in the temples. This nuncupative tradition has been cherished, respected and fostered by vidvan-s of succeeding generations. Even today this tradition is practiced and guarded by some artistes like Acalpuram Cinnatambi Pillai, a devoted student of Cidambaram Radakrsna Pillai. A hoary but systematized tradition and this has to be kept alive in the future also.

■■ THE MUSIC ACADEMY • JOURNAL 2011 • VOLUME 82 — — — —

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181

Book Review

Rasamanjari of Bhanudatta

An insight into the classification of Nayikas and Nayakas. English translation and commentary: Dr. Pappu Venugopala Rao, Pappu’s Academic and Cultural Trust (PACT), Rs. 750 US$ 40

Dr. Pappu Venugopala Rao, a multi faceted scholar, has given to the world of scholars yet another book - an English translation and a commentary on Bhanudatta’s Rasamanjari. This 15th century Sanskrit work from Videha (Bihar) is a treasure trove for the Alankarins and performing artistes, dealing with an analytical classification of different kinds of heroes and heroines. Such theories have guided actors and poets in Sanskrit literature from the days of Bharata’s Natyasastra. Natya is seemingly real and yet a glorification of the characters and situations. Dance in India has always been mixed with mime and there is just a thin line between dance and drama.

Rasamanjari, now in English with transliteration, translation and commentary, along with the original Sanskrit verses and prose passages, has come in handy for the delight of poets and guidance of artistes. Dr. Pappu Venugopala Rao’s title includes the phrase, ‘An insight into the characters of nayaka and nayika’ which is so apt for its content. The very look of the book is sure to attract the reader. It is aptly designed and painted with inclusion of illustration in colour; the rare paintings reproduced from the Allahabad Museum as well as beautiful ones of Bapu portraying the eight kinds of nayikas. The history of the topic is traced in the masterly introduction, thus showing the additions and subtractions of nayika and nayaka from the time of Natyasastra to Bhanudatta and from Dasarupaka to Bhavaprakasha.

Dr. Pappu Venugopala Rao’s alignment of content under 42 headings which includes Introduction, Classification tables, conclusion and bibliography, speaks for the analytical presentation of the work which is quite mind-boggling. We have to wonder at the Indian aesthetic tradition in classifying characters and their psychology. Perhaps works like Rasamanjari can guide even the professional psychiatarist in the study of human feelings and behavioural pattern. It is also obvious that the number of kinds of nayikas is much more than that of nayakas.

In the introduction Dr. Pappu says, “In fact the pioneer in bringing the number of nayikas to 384 is Rudrabhatta in Kavyalankara, in chapter i 33-65. Bhanudatta does not agree with further classification of nayikas into three varieties of divya, adivya and divyadivya making a total number of 384x3=1152. The 8 nayikas classified on the basis of their emotional conditions are first mentioned by Bharata and are followed by every other alankarika. Bhanudatta inspired by some others, adds a 9th variety:” ( page 7). Bhanudatta himself says that, “It should not be said


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that there are as many types of nayakas as of nayikas, because the types of nayikas are based on the differences in their states, while the types of nayaka-s are based on their nature.” (page 183)

The examples given to explain nayika and nayaka give ample scope for abhinaya. The translation and commentary provide clear guidance to the artiste to perform them. It is amazing that Rasamanjari of 15th century coming from Bihar is relevant for both northern and southern artistes to understand and perform the Sringara rasa based on Tumris, Ghazals, Padams, Javalis and other compositions for dance. Kaleidoscopic variety of heroines representing gross and subtle variations of man-woman responses depending on the varied levels of refinement in thought, word and behaviour are all included as a mirror of the society in this Sanskrit text. Whether the language of the songs are in Tamil, Telugu or Hindi today in our dance disciplines, the human psychology is common and that too based on the moorings in the very cultural thought process of Indian society. This book will be of great interest to even non-Indians who want to understand Indian aesthetics. Male dancers can be benefited with the verses portraying different types of heroes, for they are the ones who are not having enough source material for dance. Dr. Pappu Venugopala Rao’s book is another fragrant addition to today’s world of intelligent artistry. It is an important reference book to all teachers.

Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam

183

SOUND AND C O M M U N IC A T IO N

An aesthetic cultural history of Sanskrit Hinduism. Annette Wilke, Oliver Moebus. Edited by Gustavo Benavides, Kocku von Stuckrad and Winnifred Fallers Sullivan. Published by Walter de Gray ter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin / New York.

Published under the series Religion and Society and printed in Germany this book deals with most fascinating aspects of Indian Culture, Hinduism and Sanskrit. It traces the origin of sound as medium of expression and communication and how in Hinduism sound enjoyed great cultural importance from early times. A major part of the book is an outcome of a co-operative project between a scholar of religion with interest in ethno Indology and a Sanskritist with an interest in the history of religion and philosophy. Both of them spent considerable amount of time in Varanasi and interacted with many pandits and acharyas.

There are 6 chapters in this book further subdivided into many sub chapters. In the first chapter the authors deal with Hinduism as a Culture of Sound dealing with Sanskrit Hindusim and phonocentrism of Sanskrit Culture, texts in practice and performativity of Sanskrit texts, communication and reception of sounding texts, religious aesthetics and acoustic piety, language and sound and such other related things dealing with sound as communication. The second chapter takes the readers into the importance of diction and intonation in Vedas, Vedas as cultural memory, Hymns, Brahmanas as Poetic magic, Sound rituals and Sama Veda, the importance of Om, etc. The third chapter deals with topics such as theatre as the fifth Veda, science of grammar and other interesting issues. The fourth chapter highlights the relationship between poetics, linguistics and metaphysics. The next chapter dwells on the importance of Tantra and Devotionalism, mantras, phonematic cosmogonies, Abhinava Gupta’s contribution in prosody. Then the authors talk of Texts and Music in devotional tradition, Nada Brahman in the East and the West and Nadopasana.

The book is an encyclopaedia of many texts and systems in Hinduism that deal with the aspect of sound. The book is appended with a CD with accompanying text.

Pappu Venugopala Rao


184


D IV IN E M E L O D IE S O F THEVARAM

Dr. S.A.K. Durga, Published by the Center far Ethnomusicology, Chennai, Price: not mentioned.

Tevaram hymns are Saivite devotional that came up between the 6th and 9th centuries. They were originally called ‘Tirappattu’. Actually, the term ‘Tevaram’ earlier meant the Jain monastery, A King’s private puja chamber and a small portable puja box. It was used to indicate the devotional hymns-Tirappattu, which is learnt for the first time, from an inscription found at Tiravotriyur (Tevaram manigal muvarkkum) of Chaturanana Pandita (959 AD), a saint, who was the army chief of the chola king Rajaditya. Then came the Tirukkuvalai inscription of Jatavarman Sundara Pandiyan (1286). These Tevaram hymns contain the concrete form of our music-the Pans. It is said, the songs are of four types:- Mudanadai, Varam, Kudai and Tiram. Varam has music and the text with prosodical beauties. Karaikkal Ammaiyar was the first to use Pans for her Padikams, much before the Tevaram saints.

Dr. S.A.K. Durga, a Professor-Emeritus, Madras University and the Director of Center for Ethnomusicology, is a great scholar in music and musicology. Her research in the Gregorian chants, Voice culture and such other fields are awesome. She is an expert both in Carnatic Music and the Tevaram singing. The present work by her is unique with regard to the Tevaram tradition and the notable aspects pertaining to Pans and theTevarm hymns. Pans are modes, which form the basis for ragas and as such both are not the same. This topic has been dealt with the author, in a wonderful manner, based on the works, ‘Pancha Marabu’ of Arivanar and the ‘Vazh Nul’ of Svami Vipulananda. She establishes that the concept of Pan and that of the Raga are simply different. In fact, the term ‘raga’ is attached to many Pans, such as Natta ragam, Megharagakkurinji, Pazhamtakka ragam, etc. Dr. Durga has allotted many paragraphs to explain the salient feature found in the Tevaram hymns, like Kattalai, Tirattalacchati, Kondukutti and so on. ‘Kattalai’ is something, the true meaning or concept of which is still mind-boggling. So far, nobody seems to have clearly explained that, in a satisfactory manner. The author says that Kattalai belongs to the realm of Prosody, which is called ‘Yappamaidi’. But the stipulation generally given, for example, that ‘Nattapadaikku Etju kattalai’ is meant to speak only about the Pan. The author has a given the names of Palais and their derivatives, again based on ‘Pancha Marabu’ The statement, “The reason to have chosen only twentyfour and all the three saints have sung only among these twenty four pans in the 103 panns because they evoke Bhakthi rasa besides they have mystical powers” is not satisfactory. Naturally the question whether the other seventynine Pans have no Bhakti rasa or mystical powers, comes up. In Page 9, the author says, “when the king Abhayakulasekaran wanted to revive the tevaram hymns which were in paper (sic) manuscripts with the help of Nambiyandar Nambi...” Were these hymns written and preserved in PAPER manuscripts? When the Brahmins refused to give the manuscripts how could Nambiyandar Nambi, even before he acquired the

185

manuscripts, have recreated the Pans or melodies, with the help of lady named ‘Patini’ Then it has been said, “they (the manuscripts containing the Tevaram) are restored in COPPER plates by the warrior Kalingarayan, who was the army chief of Kulottunga Chola” ‘Patini’ is now given as ‘Kakkaip padini’ The author says that in the “Sanskrit tradition., there are no ragas named after the seven salfa names”, whereas, we may cite the example of the raga Rishabhapriya. “There is no Tamil names given for Sanskrit solfa syllables”, but what about Kural, Turttam, etc. though they are not used as Ku, Tu, kai, etc. similarly like Sa, Ri, Ga and so on. Though there may be some doubtful statements, here and there, the work is very useful to those who want to know about the greatness of Tevaram or the Pans. The author has very rightly observed in the finale that “It is evident the Pann is a Mode and not a synonym of Raga”. Printing errors like Tiruppiramaburam and some grammatical mistakes like. “When they constantly visiting the different Siva temples - P. 26), for example, could have been avoided.


B.M. Sundaram

186

List of Books


Balasaraswati, Her Art and Lifeby M. Douglas Knight [Tranquebar]

Geetavahini; Carnatic Compositions with Notationby Kothandaraman, Kamala & Sulochana Rajendran

Dance, Dancers and Musicians - Collected writings of Nandini Ramaniby Nandini Ramani [Dr. V. Raghavan Centre for Performing Arts, Chennai]

Divine Melodies of Tevaramby Dr. S.A.K. Durga [Centre for Ethnomusicology, Chennai]

Rasamanjari of Bhanudattaby Dr. Pappu Venugopala Rao [PACT, Chennai]

MS & Radha - A Saga of Steadfast Devotionby Gowri Ramnarayan [Wordcraft on behalf of Suswaralakshmi Foundation for Carnatic Music and Performing Arts, Bangalore]

Ragas at a glanceby Prof. S.R. Janakiraman [Camatica, Chennai]

Bharatanatyamedited by Devesh Soneji [OUP, New Delhi]

187


Obituary

The Music Academy reports with a deep sense o f sorrow, the passing away o f the following music personalities during the year 2011.

Sangita Kala Acharya Smt. Kalpakam Swaminathan

Sangita Kala Acharya Sri. Chinglepet Ranganathan

Sangita Kalanidhi Sri. T.K. Govinda Rao

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tulje lountal - music academy, madras...the music academy • journal 2011 • volume 82 aj ip...

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