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Sruti Ranjani, 2004 12004A Publication OfSRUTIThe India Music and Dance SocietyDelaware ValleyVolume 14 Number 1 November 2004

Copyright © 2004, Sruti, The India Music & Dance SocietySruti is a registered non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to foster Indian classicalmusic and dance in the Delaware valley. Membership information can be found on the webat http://www.sruti.org.We welcome your articles and your feedback. We can be reached by e-mail atsruti@sruti.org, or by phone; the numbers are listed on the facing page.Note (and thanks) to contributorsSruti publications can only get better with active participation from the readers. Hence, your contributions arevery welcome. In order to avoid any misunderstandings, and to protect the rights of our beloved organization,we would like to list a few guidelines. Your articles are extremely important to us and we hope these will notscare away any of you potential contributors! As always, feedback is welcome.♦♦♦♦Please note that submission to this and other Sruti publications implies that you are signing over the copyrightto Sruti although Sruti will, in general, permit the authors to re-publish in another medium.Your submissions will also be edited for length, grammar, and clarity of content. If you have serious concernsabout this, please request that you need to review the edited article before publication.All submitted material will be attributed to the author by name, unless withholding of the name is requestedexplicitly.The submissions need to be timely for inclusion in the publication.Thank you so much for your wonderful articles that makes issues such as this one worth editing!Editor

2 Sruti Ranjani, 2004November 2004 SRUTI RANJANI Volume 14, Number 1CONTENTSFrom the Editors 1President’s Words 3Songs From PilgrimageT. Sarada, Bharati Nalinakshan 5and Viji SwaminathanNavagraham in Carnatic Music T. Parasaran 8Classical Dance Art Forms of Kerala Kala Menon 11Koodiyattam Srinivasan Pisharath 14Photo Gallery 16Karnataka Sangeetha – Why Karnataka? H. K. Chandra Sekhar 18Trinities Among US K. R. Ramaprasad 20Some Post Trinity Composers: A survey Rasikan 21Sanjay Subramaniam Concert Review Kamakshi Mallikarjun 25Review of Sruti Day T. Parasaran 26Gajamukha: A Review Meena Pennathur 27Pu. Ti. Narasimhachar, A Creator of ExquisiteOperas in KannadaH. Y. Rajagopal 28Recognized Versus Deserving Artists Jayawant Bantwal 30Reflections on Music Sangeetha Kalanidhi Shri R. K. 31SrikantanRagam Tanam Pallavi Rajee Raman 32

Sruti Ranjani, 2004 3President’s wordsDear Sruti Members and Well-wishers:It is my pleasure to write this note personally and onbehalf of the Sruti Board. It has been almost a yearsince we took office, and what a year it has been! It wasfilled with the traditional business of organizing musicand dance concerts, trying out innovative new concepts,forming and nurturing working relationships with localorganizations, trying out outreach ideas, improving theorganizational structure of Sruti and even addressingsome issues. I hope that you have attended some or allof the Sruti concerts, hopefully with your family andfriends. With almost one concert a month, it may indeedbe practically difficult to attend ALL of them, butplease make an effort to attend at least some of them –the fruit of all our work is in your attending the programs,which we try our best to ensure are of the highestartistic & organizational quality. My sincere thanksto all you who attended and a warm welcome to thosethat missed them.We arranged a record number of events this year – 11in all! We started with the annual day-long event, ThyagarajaAradhana, followed by a dual-Hindusthani concertby Shujaat Khan on Sitar and Debashish Bhattacharyaon Slide Guitar. Then we had a weekend of Carnaticmusic with a vocal concert by Vijaya Siva, followedby a workshop + mini-concert by N. Ramani.This concluded the Spring Season, which we followedup with a summer concert on Sitar by ShafaatullahKhan. After a brief gap of 2 months, we began the FallSeason with a Carnatic vocal concert by Sanjay Subrahmanianand a South Indian Dance performance calledGajamukha, by Jayanthi Raman ad troupe. Then we hada unique Carnatic percussion concert by U. Sivaramanand troupe, followed by a Sruti Day, a day-long celebrationof local talent in Classical Indian Music andDance. The last event of the year is a combined one,with a concert by T.N. Bala on Muruga Ratnamala anda General Body Meeting to discuss organizational matters.While many of the events are of the traditional type,some are new for us. Foremost, I would like to mentionis the concept of Sruti Day. Traditionally, we have hadtwo events every year devoted to showcasing the localtalent. The first occurred at the beginning of the yearand is the Thyagaraja Aradhana, which provided a forumfor exhibiting local talent in rendering music ofThyagaraja. The second occurred at the end of the yearand was called the Composers Day (often combinedwith General Body Meeting). This event provided aforum to show case local talent in music, which was nolonger restricted to that of Thyagaraja. However, Srutihad no forum for exhibiting local talent in Dance. Thispoint was effectively made by members of Sruti at thepast General Body Meeting and also conveyed to meand other Board members in personal conversationswith Sruti members. Out of this recognition was bornthe concept of Sruti Day, which, for the first time in the18 year history of Sruti, provided a forum for localdance talent, with half a day devoted to Music and theother half devoted to Dance. I am happy to note that 5groups took part this year in the Dance part and hopemore groups will participate next year.Another interesting innovation was in the ThyagarajaAradhana, wherein we had Sri Pattabhirama Murthygaru (father of Ramana Kanumalla) dressed up as SaintThyagaraja. He led a procession of youngsters singingUtsava Sampradaya kirtanas.While the concert by T.N. Bala, called Muruga Ratnamala,may appear to be like a typical Sruti concert, ithas new elements in it. It is a premiere performance ofworks originally created by him, including Tamil lyricalcompositions on Lord Muruga, based on the musicof Thyagaraja’s Ghanaraga Pancharathna kritis. Hetrained a group of about 15 students over a period ofseveral months and rendered the kritis for the first timeever in this combined format. We are thankful toAmerican Composers Forum for providing us a grant toenable this project.In conducting the above events, Sruti as an organizationformed new relationships and nurtured existing ones.We collaborated with International House in arrangingthe workshop of N. Ramani and the percussion concertby U. Sivaraman. We worked with Annenberg Centerin arranging the dual-concert of Shujaat Khan and DebashishBhattacharya. We co-organized with DrexelUniversity the dance event Gajamukha. Finally, weworked with Villanova University in arranging ThyagarajaAradhana, Vijaya Siva concert and Kanyakumariconcert. These relationships have been very professional,and rewarding for the organization. These partnerorganizations provided help in areas of providingauditoria, marketing, production etc. and we thank themall.

4 Sruti Ranjani, 2004While these 11 events were primarily Sruti events,sometimes cosponsored by a partner organization, wealso tried to reach out & help other organizations inputting together their own events. For example, DelawareMusic Lovers Group conducted a concert by BrijBhushan Kabra in Wilmington, to which Sruti lentplanning and marketing support. We also assisted InternationalHouse in organizing a Celebration of CommonwealthNations by connecting up with NardhanaDance School of Ramaa Ramesh, whose students provideda short performance. Then we assisted the organizersof Karunamayi Celebrations, by connecting upwith Shoba Sarma of Naatya, whose students provideda short invocatory dance performance. We thankRamaa Ramesh and Shoba Sarma for these cooperativegestures.This year, we also were occupied by important organizationalbusiness. Based on the recommendations atthe previous General Body Meeting, we formed an adhoccommittee to look into changes to the Sruti Bylawswith regard to the structure and functionalities ofthe Board. The ad-hoc committee worked over a sixmonthperiod and came up with a set of recommendations.These were duly considered by the Board, whothen drafted the necessary amendments to the by-laws,which will be presented to the General Body for consideration.This is an important milestone in the growthand evolution of Sruti as an organization. On behalf ofthe Board, I would like to thank the ad-hoc committeefor the services rendered – the committee consisted ofSudhakar Rao (Chairman), H.Y. Rajagopal, T.Venkataraman, Bala Balasubramanian and PrabhakarChitrapu. On behalf of the Board, I would also like toexpress gratitude to having had the opportunity to contributeto this important event in the life of Sruti.As you know, the Board was assisted by the efforts ofthe Library Committee (LC), Resources Committee(RC) and Technical Committee (TC). The LC continuallybrought out publications such as the one you areholding in your hands now and quarterly Sruti Notes.LC also maintained and enhanced the Sruti website,which is the face and point of contact of the organizationworld-wide! The RC has worked hard to obtainfunds for conducting various events. They achievedgrants from Philadelphia Music Project to help organizeconcerts of Sanjay Subrahmanian, Umayalpuram Sivaramanand L. Shankar (next year) and from WesternUnion and Bharatiya Temple for Gajamukha event. RCalso obtained a grant from Pennsylvania Council on theArts for administrative purposes. The TC diligentlyproduced the CD recordings, whose quality and formatis of a high professional level. They also operate andmaintain the music system during and beyond the concerts,which is a very critical task. I, on behalf of theBoard, thank all members of these committee for theirtireless energy and time.If you have read this far into this rather long essay, I amsure you will agree that a lot of effort, time, energy andindeed love for music & dance & the community, wentinto conducting these events. While the Board and variousCommittees are the focal points, we enjoyed thehelp, support and advice of many well wishers of Sruti.We thank them all. We thank all of you who attendedand made the events successful. We once again appealto your continued support in the next year of our tenure.I conclude with the humbling words of Saint Thyagaraja:Endaro Mahanubhavulu – Andariki Vandanamulu!Prabhakar ChitrapuPresidentSruti Ranjani, a special publication, being released

Sruti Ranjani, 2004 5Songs from PilgrimageSimilarities of a theme: Impediments for DarshanT. Sarada, Bharati Nalinakshan and Viji Swaminathann the music repertoire there are songs from greatI composers that have common themes inspired bysimilar situations. The compositions by themselvesoffer an interesting study, whether the events leading tothem were real or not. In the article given here thesituations and the themes have to do with the composersor Bhaktas being denied Darshan of the Deity at thetime they visited a particular temple. Equating the inabilityto viewing as not having the grace of God, theywere sorrowful and unhappy. They expressed theiragony with touching songs and in some cases pleadingfor forgiveness and grace. Such situations are believedto have happened to Sri Thyagaraja, Sri MuthuswamiDikshitar, both belonging to the music Trinity, SriKanaka Dasa of Karnataka and Sri Nandanar, of TamilNadu who was not a composer. In the last case, therefore,the songs were written by Sri Gopala KrishnaBharati to portray the thoughts, feelings and outpouringsof Nandanar.The events (as reported) and the songs are given belowand the readers can see that they have a similar theme.Sri Thyagaraja. “Thera tiyaga radha.” [1]According to a commonly circulated story, during apilgrimage to various religious places, Sri Thyagarajawent to Tirupati. Following the practice those days, heclimbed the seven hills of nearly 3000 feet to get to thetemple. The journey for the party lead by Sri Thyagarajatook about four hours and they reached the templearound 11AM. After finishing the rituals Sri Thyagarajawent inside the temple to have Darshan. Just at thistime there was the curtain in front of the Deity hidingthe viewing and a highly disappointed Sri Thyagarajainterpreted it as a message from the Lord that he doesnot deserve Lord’s grace due to his own ego. Althoughthere is no direct reference to the screen hiding the viewof the Deity, the song mentioned here is usually associatedwith this event. It is “Thera Tiyaga radha” inGoulipantu, Adi talam. The gist of the song is as follows,which is more symbolic than literal. “Could younot remove the screen of anger, arrogance and jealousythat have taken a firm hold of me and prevent me fromthe reach of Dharma and other noble acts? I have beenfollowing you faithfully and so won’t you please removethis screen?” laments, Sri Tyagaraja.The story goes that as soon as he finishes the song thescreen is miraculously removed enabling him to haveDarshan when he spontaneously sings the song,“Venkatesa Ninnu”, in Madyamavati, Adi Tala. Thelyrics are not provided for these songs since they arepopular songs in the music repertoire.Sri Dikshitar. “Akshaya Linga Vibho.” [2]Sri Muthuswami Dikshitar was equally fond of visitingdifferent temples in pilgrimages. During one of thosetrips, he was in Kizhvelur, near Thiruvarur, to visit anancient Siva temple, where Siva is manifested as AkasaLinga. Sri Dikshitar went with a song he had written forthe occasion, “Akshaya Linga Vibho”. At the time hereached the temple the day’s worship had been completedand the Archaka was in the process of closingthe temple gates. Sri Dikshitar requested the Archakato keep the doors open a little longer so that he couldhave Darshan and offer his composition specially writtenfor the occasion. The Archaka was not friendly andsarcastically told Sri Dikshitar to wait till the followingday and that the Deity would not run away and wouldbe still there. Dikshitar ignored the insult, sat rightthere and started singing his, “Akshaya Linga Vibho”.A huge crowd had collected to hear him and just as hewas finishing the temple doors opened by themselvesand Sri Dikshitar had Darshan of Siva. The flabbergastedArchaka fell at the feet of Sri Dikshitar andpleaded for forgiveness. This story has been authenticatedby Sri Dikshitar’s family and was told to the authorof reference 2.The interesting aspect of the song is that Dikshitar didnot think that he had done anything wrong and he didnot plead guilty or beg for special grace, like Sri Thyagaraja.He did not even refer to his insult by the priestbut simply sang the song he had come with. There isjust one little statement in the song that Lord Siva isknown to grant the desires of all his devotees like the“Kalpaka Tharu” and so to protect him, he said, butthen this was written before he knew about the event.The rest of it is a typical Dikshitar composition praisingand describing the various attributes of Lord Siva withno reference to his being slighted. Once again the lyricis not given since it is well known.

6 Sruti Ranjani, 2004Sri Gopalakrishna Bharati for Nandanar, three songsBeing born as an untouchable in a society that prohibitedhis coming near a temple let alone entering one, SriNandanar was very frustrated and constantly wouldplead for Thillai, (Chidambaram) Nataraja’s grace andso on. He would repeatedly say that he will go to Thillaithe next day and as such he was known amongst thecommunity as Thirunalaippovaar, meaning the blessedhewho will go the next day. Sri Gopalakrishna Bharatiwrote the famous Tamil music drama called NandanCharitram which was based on the saint Nandanar’s lifestory, his moods, Bhakti and spiritual yearnings. Thefollowing three songs are written by Sri Bharati to describeevents very similar to those of Sri Thyagarajaand Sri Dikshitar; not being able to see the lord intemples due to various reasons. The first episode was inthe temple of Tirupungur, a small town on the way toChidambaram from Nandanar’s place of residence. Thesituation was that since getting closer to the temple wasnot permitted, the bull or Nandhi which is usually rightin front of the Siva Lingam has to move aside so that itwill not hide Nandanar’s view of the Lord.The first song in the sequence of events is: “VazhiMaraitthirukkudu malai pola Madu padutthirukkudu.(Like a mountain a huge bull is hiding the way, thinksNandanar.) The song is rendered in different Ragas bydifferent musicians and hence no Raga is mentioned.For want of space it is not reproduced fully here but theidea is similar to what this article has depicted earlier.In the case of Nandanar, according to Sri Bharati, thenext song advances the story in an unexpected twist. Itis Lord Siva Himself who recognizes the impedimentand it is He who tells the Nandhi to move a little so asto clear the view!“Satre vilahi Irum Pillai”, Raga: Purvi Kalyani. TalamAdiPallaviSatre Vilahi Irum PillaaiSannidhanam Maraikkutham.AnupallaviNarthavam puriyum nammidath (u)Thirunaalaippovar vandhirukkirar, SatreCaranamBhaktiyil Karai kandavan avanParthup parthu undavanChittam kuraiyil namadu selvamMutrum kuraiyum dayavu seydu SatreSiva is telling Nandi, “Move a little aside, my son,since the viewing is getting hidden.“My Bhakta, who has done many penances and he whohas been telling always that he will visit Thillai tomorrow,has come to us and so move a little aside…“He has gone beyond boundaries in Bhakti and he absorbsspiritual things carefully and if he suffers agonywe all will lose all that we posses and so, please, moveaside…”It is noteworthy that Sri Bharati writes the song asthough it would be easier to move the Nandhi thanchange the Social taboo, of those days. The story continuesthat the Nandhi actually moved aside in thisplace so that Nandanar could see the Lord. This is incidentallya well known pilgrim center in Tamil Nadu,with the Nandhi a little aside and not in the exact centerhiding the viewing, in front of the Siva Lingam. SriBharati’s song may have been inspired by the displacedlocation of the Nandhi in the Tirupunkur temple; thereis also another temple in Tamil Nadu with the Nandi alittle aside. Whatever the inspiration, the song has anuplifting moral touch.The next song in the series commemorates the nexthurdle of Nandanar and this was also written by SriGopalakrishna Bharati. This song is as though Nandanarhimself is making his pleading this time, in thefamous Chidambaram temple.“Varugalaamo ayya”. Ragam: Manji. Talam, ChaapuPallaviVarugalamo Ayya Undan aruginil ninru kondadavumpadavum nanAnupallaviParama krupaanidi allavo inda parayan upacharam sollavoUndan paramananda tandavam parkkave nan angevarugalaamoCaranamBhumiyil pulaiyanai pirande nan punniyam seyyamalirundeneSami un sannidi vandhe Bhava sagarattaiyum izhandenekarai kandane saranam adaindene Tillai varadaaparitaapamum pappamum tirave VarugalaamoNandanar asks, “Could I come close to you, my Lord,sing your praises and delight in your nearness?“Are you not great and benevolent? Can’t this untouchablecome, worship and see your blissful cosmic dance?“I have been born on this earth as an untouchable andhave not done any holy act. Coming here I have lostthe ocean of birth and death, have seen the shore ofhope and have fallen at your feet to attain salvation. OhLord of Thillai, (Chidambaram), all my disgrace andsins will be removed once I come closer to you and socould I…”

Sruti Ranjani, 2004 7The end is as expected; a union of Nandanar with LordSiva.One more Bhakta/composer who faced a similar prohibitionlike Nandanar is Sri Kanaka Dasa.Sri Kanakadasa, BAgilanu theradu [3]Kanakadasa (1508-1606 A.D.), one of the foremostsaint-composers of the tradition of the Haridasa movement,belonged to the Kuruba caste (shepherd community).One of the prominent disciples of Vyasaraya thegreat guru of Madhwa Philosophy, Kanakadasa composedover 200 songs in addition to five major works -Mohana Tarangini, Nalacharitre, Ramadhyna Charitre,Haribhaktisara and Nrisimhastava. His compositions,which cover diverse aspects of life and religion, exaltBhakthi as the mode of salvation, and denounce castehierarchy and prejudices. Most of his compositionshave the Mudra Kagineleyadi Keshava.According to a legend associated with the Krishna templein Udipi, Kanakadasa was denied entrance to theshrine because he was not a Brahmin by birth. Overcomewith disappointment and distress, Kanakadasawent round the temple and standing outside, burst intosinging, appealing to Lord Krishna to give ‘Darshan’.Suddenly, a slit appeared in the wall near where hestood and the idol turned to grant him ‘Darshan’. Asmall window, which was later constructed where theslit appeared, stands today as a tribute to the great saintcomposer,reminding visitors that caste and creed areno barriers to devotion, saintliness and poetic prowess.Visitors to the temple invariably try to have ‘Darshan’of the idol through Kanakana Kindi (Kanaka’s peephole).The following composition is often associated with thelegend of Kanakana Kindi and is believed to havebeen composed by Kanakadasa at the time of the incident.In these lyrics, he appeals to the Lord to respondto his entreaty and open the door to accept his services.BAgilanu theredhuBagilanu theredhu sEveyanu kodo hariyekoogidharu Dhwani kELalillave narahariye[Lord, open thy door and accept my servicesDon’t you hear my calling to you oh Lord?]paramapadhadhoLage viShaDharana thalpadhalli nIsiri sahitha ksheeravAriDhiyoLiralukarirAja kaShtadhalli AdhimoolAyendhukareyalAkshaNa bamdhu odhagidheyO narahariye(bAgilanu...)[In your abode of Vaikunta, you were resting on thegreat serpent with your consort Lakshmi, when the elephantking cried out in anguish “O Primordial Lord,please save me”. You instantly answered the call andreleased him.] This refers Gajendra Moksha -the storyof the cursed elephant who is caught by a crocodile butis rescued by Lord Vishnu.kadukOpadhim KaLanu Kadgavane pididhu ninnodeyanellihanendhu nudiyedhRuda bhakuthiyalli shishuvu bidadhe ninnanu bhajisesadagaradhi sthambhadhindhodedhe narahariye(bAgilanu...)[When the evil king, in great ire, brandished his swordand demanded “where is your God? Is he in this pillar?”and the young son answered “yes” and prayed toyou with supreme devotion, you obligingly appeared,bursting from out of the pillar!] This refers to the wellknownstory of Prahlada and Hiranyakashipu).yamasuthana rANigakshayavasanavaniththesamayadhalli ajamiLana poredhesamayAsamayavumte bhaktha vathsala ninnagekamalAksha kAgineleyAdhi kEshavane(bAgilanu...)[You saved the honor of Draupadi (wife of Yudhishtira,son of Yama) with ‘akshaya vasana’ (endless robe).You also gave protection to Ajamila, a sinner. O LordAdikeshava of Kaginele, you have come to rescue yourdevotees at all times.] Ajamila, on his deathbed, desperatelycalled for his son, who was named after Narayanathe Supreme Lord. Although Ajamila had led a verysinful life, because he chanted the name of Narayana,he was relieved of all his sinful deeds.There are a few themes that have been explored by thecomposers either similarly or differently. Another examplethat comes to mind is the theme inspired by thenine planets that have been traditionally linked withguiding the destiny, health, welfare and happiness ofthe humans. See the article on Navagraham in this issue.Readers who have come across such recurring themesand how the different composers approached them arecordially invited to write to us about them.References1. Thyagaraja. P. Sambhamurthi. Translation in Tamilby L. S. Rangarajan. National Book Trust of India.New Delhi.1967.

8 Sruti Ranjani, 20042. Muthuswami Dikshitar. By T. L. Venkatarama Iyer.National book Trust Of India. New Delhi. Translation inTamil by K. C. Thyagarajan. 1968.3. Songs of Three Great South Indian Saints. By WilliamJ. JacksonAcknowledgementsNavagraham in Carnatic MusicVariations of a ThemeT. ParasaranRasikan helped us with some valuable discussions aboutthe song of Sri Thyagaraja. The same was the case withthe Nandanar episodes and he supplied us with the missingwords for one of the lyrics of Sri G. Bharati.Dr. T. Sarada, a chemist by profession, is a long-timesupporter and life member of Sruti. She is a music enthusiastand contributes frequently to Sruti publications.Bharati Nalinakshan is a Carnatic Music rasikai and isan amateur singer. She and her husband share theirtime living in Mumbai, Chennai and Mclean, VA, catchingup with all the cultural activities. Dr. Viji Swaminathanhas contributed to Sruti in many capacities: asPresident, editor, and chair of several committees.avagraham evokes many emotions in many peoplein India, particularly in the Southern part ofNthe country. The skeptics dismiss it as a lot of balderdash;the scientifically inclined ones call it superstitiousbut the ones with faith endow them with attributes ofDevatas and one of the Grahams is even elevated to“Iswarhood”, as in “Saniswara”.(It could as well be that the name is a distorted versionof the original name for the Graham, Sanaicharahameaning, “The slow mover”, in Sanskrit, derived from“sanaihi charathi”. For Saturn astronomically being theslowest of the six planets around the sun in our solarsystem, it is a fitting name.)Be it as it may, Navagraham is very much in the Hindupsyche. In many of our rituals before undertaking amajor task we start off with Ganesh puja followed byNavagraham Santhi puja to invoke the propitious interventionof the Grahams for the successful completionof the undertaking in question.When I was asked to write the above article, I thoughtthat it was quite a coincidence; during my recent trip toIndia I had the good fortune of attending a multimediadance festival by Abhinaya Natyalaya of Chennai, consistingof performances on Ganapathi, Venkatadri Mahatmyamand finally Navagraham Ula in the ShanmukhanandaHall in Mumbai. In the last program, each oneof the Grahams (the planets) is explained scientificallyand then the descriptions of the Graham starting fromthe complexion, the vastram or garb he is adorned withand finally the Sthalam or geographical town where theGraham is worshipped as a demi-god was shown in avideo presentation. Next came the piece de resistance,the dance drama of one episode on each Graham followedby a stage representation of the graham in theaccepted form and dress and vahanam. The finale was aprocession of all the Navagraham that left a lasting impressionon the audience.Coming back to our point of discussion we see manyreferences to appease the Grahams or invoking a higherpower to ensure the invokers well being. Many strongbelievers in religion scoff at giving too much importanceto Navagraham and astrology because after all theplanets can only reflect what has been ordained by God.Therefore meditating truly on the chosen Deity shouldbe sufficient to ward off all the negative happeningsthat could be caused by the planets. Both PurandharaDasa and Sri Thyagaraja believed in this and did notthink of offering prayers to the Grahams. [1]A very similar approach is seen in an early reference tothe topic from early seventh century CE Tamil literature.It is an invocation by the child saint, Sri ThiruGnanaSambandar. In his famous and oft quoted set ofverses from Tevaram, the songs and poems praisingLord Siva, there is the “Thirukkolaru Padigam”. Thetitle means poems to remove bad happenings caused byGrahams. Those who are aficionados of Carnatic Musicwould be familiar with late Sri Madurai Mani Iyerand later Sri T. V. Sankaranarayanan singing this“Veyuru Toli pangan”. The gist is as follows. He whois the half of Parvati, of beautiful shoulders, He whohas the throat that swallowed the poison and He whoplays the Veena, He who wears the Ganga which has noblemish and the moon on His head, has entered ourminds and so all the nine Grahams (These are listed by

Sruti Ranjani, 2004 9their names in the poem) are not only good to us thedevotees but indeed very good. This is sometimes renderedby artists as a post pallavi light piece, more like a,“palastuti or Kadai kaappu”, to assure the listener thatno evil will befall them. [2]A rather similar idea is seen in Sri Purandhara’s compositionsung in Atana, which is self explanatory.“Sakala graha bala nine sarasijakshanikhilavyapaka nine visvarakshakaRavi Candra Budha nine Rahu Ketu nineKavi Guru Saniyu Mangalanu nineDivaratriyu nine…”Sri Thyagaraja’s, Revagupti Raga, “Grahabalamemi”is a slight twist of the same idea.“Grahabalamemi Sri Ramanugrahabalamebalamugrahabamemi Tejomaya vigrahamunudhyaninchu variki (navagraha)grahapeedala pancha papamulanagrahamulugala kaamaadiiripula nigrahamujeyu Harini BhajinchuThyagarajuniki rasikagrsarulaku”This is a beautiful piece as a composition with a cleverplay of the word Graha: Anugraha, vigrahamu, nigrahamu,for example. It is clear in Sri Thyagaraja’s mindjust as in Sri Purandhara’s that no importance should beattached to astrology for it is the Lord who is the basisof all the forces of planets, He being the sarvagrahaadhara Bhuta. thus resembling the Tevaram concept.[1]. The story goes that this was the response of SriThyagaraja when his disciples wanted him to writesome prayers for Navagraham just as Sri Dikshitar didfor one of his suffering disciples.Sri Dikshitar had a different attitude and being a strongbeliever in astrology being himself an adept in the Sastra,(as was Sri Syama Sastri), he did believe in ritualsand local traditions. He, therefore, did not have anysecond thoughts about writing songs to appease theGrahams. Sri Muthuswami Dikshitar wrote individualcompositions on the Navagraham or at least there is nocontention to say seven of them. It is the belief ofmany Carnatic Music pundits that the first seven werewritten by Sri Dikshitar definitely but the last two wereadded to the set later on. [3]It appears that one of his foremost disciples, ThambiAppan suffered from an incurable stomach-ache and theastrologer in Dikshitar attributed the ailment to the transitionof Guru or Brahaspati. He thought that singingGuru’s praise would appease Guru sufficiently to ensurea cure for his disciple. The story goes that the disciplesang the song daily, faithfully as instructed andwas cured. The same story is told differently in differentreferences that the transit was Sani’s and not Jupiter,but the main idea is still the same. Satisfied that itworked Dikshitar was prompted to complete the seriesof writing on all the Navagraham so that whoeverwanted to appease the Navagraham thus could do so.[4, 5]. A listing of all the seven Navagraham kritis, ofSri Muthuswami Dikshitar [6] is given in the accompanyingtable.It may be noted that the first seven are in different Talasand all of them are exquisitely executed with so muchof information packed about the Grahas and it is nowonder that they have been popular in the Music repertoire.I believe that the readers may remember many morereferences, anecdotes and music pertaining to the Navagrahamand it would be interesting to hear from themon the topic. I want to thank my sister Sarada for thewrite up on Tevaram and for typing the script.Kritis Raga TalaSuryamurthe Saurashtra Chatusra DhruvaChandram Bhaje Asaveri Chatusra MatyaAngaraham Surati Chatusra RupakaBhudham Asrayami Natakurunji Misra JampaBruhaspate Atana Tisra TriputaSri Sukra Bhagavantam Paras Kanta AtaDivakara Tanujam Yadukula kambodhi Chatusra ekamSmaraamyaham Sada Rama manohari RupakaMahasuram Ketum Samara Rupaka

10 Sruti Ranjani, 2004References1. Spiritual heritage Of Sri Tyagaraja. IntroductoryThesis. Dr. V. Raghavan. Text and Translation by C.Ramanujachari. Sri R.K. Mutt, Chennai, India 1966.2. Contributed by T. Sarada.3. One on one talk between Mani Subramaniyam andT. Sarada.4. Muthuswami Dikshitar. Justice T. L. VenkataramaIyer. National Book Trust. New Delhi, India.1968.5. Thyagaraja Ganamrutam. Book1. S. K. SeethaDevi. Ganamrutam Press, Chennai, India. 1967.6. Sri Muthuswami Dikshitar Keethanaigal. A. S.Sundharam Iyer, Music book Publishers, Chennai, India.1989.Sri Parasaran, a chemist by profession, is a regularcontributor to Sruti publications. He is a long time lifemember of Sruti and an avid music enthusiast.AcknowledgementsPersonification of Saint Thyagaraja during Sruti’s Thyagaraja Aradhana 2004Sruti is a membership organization run entirely by volunteers. Hence it can only survive and thrive with support,and we wish to express our gratitude to the members, patrons, donors and sponsoring organizations and foundations.In particular, the following take special honors for sponsoring Sruti Day.Platinum SponsorsSilver SponsorsKalpagam & JayaramanHema & RamamoorthyGold SponsorsPonnal & NambiSujatha & Patri PrasadRevathy SivakumarPraba & M. M. SubramanianParasaranMeena PennathurLalitha KrishnanSam SankaranPoornima Narayanan

Sruti Ranjani, 2004 11Classical Dance Art Forms of KeralaKala MenonThe state of Kerala is the narrow coastal stripsituated in the southern most part of India.Borderded by the Western Ghats and the ArabianSea, it is well-known for its distinctiveness in language,attire, art forms and its humble yet exoticgeography. It is the land where Ayurveda took itsroots, where the influence of Sanskrit is obviousand where Adi Shankara, the exponent of Advaitaphilosophy was born. Kerala is a melting potwhere several ethnic and religious groups such asHindus, Christians, Jews and Muslims co-exist.There are at least about 35 different tribal peoplein this state. The state is a priceless repository ofseveral different classical and folk dance art formsthat not only represent preserved tradition but alsothe welcoming of outside influences.Kerala has a long cultural tradition associated withthe temple that has witnessed the evolution of thedifferent classical dance art forms. Koothambalamsor temple-theaters are unique architecturalinstitutions within the precincts of Kerala’s templesthat are marvels of structural workmanshipthat surpass their modern counterparts with respectto acoustics and illumination. The Koothambalamsare elaborately decorated with plantaintrees, bunches of tender coconut and coconutleaves in preparation for a performance. The stageitself, however, is generally kept very simple.This is the theatre where kings and ministers, aristocrats,scholars, warriors, poets and intellectualsgathered to witness dance and music performances.Kerala has five main classical dance artforms: Koodiyattam, Krishnattam, Kathakali, Mohiniattamand Ottamthulal.The only surviving link we have with the traditionalSanskrit dance-drama of India is the Koodiyattamwhich has flourished in the Koothambalamsof Kerala since before the tenth centuryA.D. Koodiyattam literally means “dancing together”.It is Kathakali’s 2000 year-old predecessor.Kulashekhara Varma Cheraman Perumal, anancient King of Kerala, is believed to be the creatorof this art from. It is strictly staged in accordancewith the tenets of Sage Bharatha’s Natyshasthraand deals with the plays of eminent Sanskritdramatists such as Bhasa, Harsha, Kalidasa,and Saktibhadra. Traditionally, the performershave been members of the Chakiar and Nambiarcastes (temple castes of Kerala). Chakiars enactthe male roles and the Nangiars (women of Nambiar)take female roles. The actors and actressesrender verbal acting in stylized Sanskrit and inPrakrit (a colloquial form of Sanskrit). Dramaticgesture language, chanting, exaggerated expressionsof the face and eyes, together with elaboratehead-dress and make-up are integral parts of thisart from. A Vidooshaka (royal clown) humorouslytells the audience in the local language, Malayalam,the thematic development of the text. Musicis provided by the mizhavu drums, the small cymbalscalled idakka, kuzhal - an oboe like wind instrument,and the shankha or conch shell. Performancesusually last several days, the first fewdays being devoted to introductions of the charactersand incidents from their lives. The theme forthe rest of the days is based on mythology.Krishnattam, another form of group dance-dramais yet another fore-runner to Kathakali in its origin,and is performed in the well-known Krishnatemple in Guruvayoor. It is based on the Sanskritpoem, Krishnagiti. This dance form is believed tohave been created by a Zamorin king, RajaManaveda, in the seventeenth century after a miraculousvision of Krishna at the Guruvayoor temple.The traditional performance lasts for eightdays and is presented as a sequence of eight playsthat cover the whole span of Krishna’s life fromhis birth or Avataram to Swargarohanam or ascensionto the heavens. Kelikottu is the first event ofthe evening carried out at around 6 PM by playingthe drums (maddalam), cymbals (ilathalam) andthe gong (chengila) at the East Nada or entrance tothe temple to inform the neighborhood about theperformance scheduled for the night between 9and 10 PM. A lamp is then lit in the make-uproom at dusk. The actors start their make-up withthe actors sitting around the lamp. As soon as theSanctum Sanctorum is closed at the end of all the

12 Sruti Ranjani, 2004daily rituals, the Kali Vilaku (a huge oil lamp) is litin front of the performance area from the lamp inthe make-up room. The musical instruments arenow brought to the stage and the musicians taketheir respective positions. The text of the plays issung in the soprano style by two main singers.The visual effect is enhanced by varied and colorfulfacial make-up with larger-than-life masksmade of light wood and cloth padding. The charactersthat do not have masks have specific facialcolors predominantly dark green, flesh tint anddeep rose. The characters of Krishna, Arjuna andGaruda wear dark blue vests and the other characterswear red vests.The word Kathakali literally means “storyplay”. This is a form of dance-drama whichalso originated in the seventeenth century inKerala. It is believed that one of the Rajas ofKottarakara wrote the first play for Kathakali.This art form requires several years of rigoroustraining to attain complete control of the bodyand expression of emotion so as to be able torender all its nuances through facial expressionsand hand gestures. Kathakali is a group performancethat takes place on a temple premiseor at the house of a local landlord in a temporarypandal (canopy) and is based on the twoepics, Ramayana and Mahabharatha as well ason stories from the Puranas. The only source oflight on stage during a traditional Kathakali performanceis usually a big bell metal lampplaced at the center of the stage. Here again,Kelikottu is at about 6 PM using the madalam,chengila and elathalam. Arrangukeli announcesthe beginning of the performance.This consists of a pure drumming sequence andis usually followed by the Thodayam, a piece ofabstract dance that is also invocatory in intent.This piece is performed by the junior performersin the group with very little make-up. Therecitation of the Vandanaslokam (prayer song)is followed by Purappad. The intent of thispiece is to introduce the main character of thestory in full costume and make-up. Next comesthe Melappadam which is a musical piece tointroduce the vocalists and the drummers. Themain story is then enacted which may last wellinto dawn. The culmination of the performanceis marked by Dhanasi which is a pure dancenumber. Dance passages known as Kalasamsor pure dance sequences are used to enhance thebhavas. There are several kinds of characters inKathakali. These include: Sathwika (the hero),Kathi (the villain), and Minukku (females).Kathakali requires elaborate face make-up thathas an established color code. Each character isinstantly recognizable by their characteristicmakeup and costume. The faces of noble malecharacters are predominantly green. Charactersof high birth that have an evil streak are given agreen make-up with red slashes on the cheeks.Extremely angry or excessively evil characterswear red make-up and a flowing red beard.Hunters have a black make-up base. Women(played by men) have yellowish faces. The materialsthat comprise the makeup are all locallyavailable. The white is made from rice flour,the red is made from Vermilion. The black ismade from soot. The makeup is so elaboratethat it looks like a mask.Mohiniattam is a semi-classical dance form ofKerala. It is essentially a solo dance, perfomedby women. The word Mohini means a maidenwho steals the heart of the onlooker. The wordMohiniattam literally means 'Dance of the Enchantress’.This form of dance was originallycalled Dasiyattam because it originated as thetemple dance performed by Devadasis and portrayedfeminine love in its many forms - maternal,devotional and also carnal. In the mainpieces of this art form, lasya (grace) and sringarabhava (facial expressions of beauty andlove) are given more importance than Nritta.The white and gold costume, the traditionalhairstyle and the highly graceful movements inmedium tempo, contribute to the aesthetic effectof this art form. Mohiniattam is characterizedby distinct swaying movements of the upperbody. The eyes play an important role inaccenting the direction of the movement. Thebasic dance steps of Mohiniattam are the Adavus- Taganam, Jaganam, Dhaganam and Sammisram.Mohiniattam is mentioned in someeighteenth century texts, but it appears that theart form was revived during the reign of MaharajaSwati Tirunal, a 19th century ruler whowas a great patron of the arts. Under Swati Tirunal,Mohiniattam became popular as a solo

Sruti Ranjani, 2004 13dance tradition with musical compositions setto the Carnatic style of music and a distinct repertoire.Over the past few decades, the repertoireof Mohiniattam has been developed andexpanded by dedicated performers who haveensured that this beautiful dance style retains adistinct identity among the classical dancestyles of India. Apart from mythology, Mohiniattamcontains a range of themes from nature.The language used in the lyrics is an aestheticmixture of Malayalam and Sanskrit calledManipravalamOttanthulal is known for its simplicity of presentationstyle among all the classical danceforms of Kerala and evolved as part of socialreformation. It is a solo performance combiningdance and verbal recitation. This type ofperformance is frequently staged during templefestivals. Mythology combined with distincthumor, satire and social criticism form the basisof this art form. The accompanying musicianssing the verses with the dancer who explicatesthe verses with the help of gestures and expressions.The orchestra is made of mainly thethoppi madalam (a special drum) and a pair ofcymbals. Ottanthullal is believed to have beendeveloped by a genius by the name of KunchanNambiar who lived in the 18 th century. Thestory goes that Nambiar, who used to play theMizhavu (the percussion instrument) during aChakyar Koothu performance was caught takinga nap and was fired by the angry dancer.Nambiar is said to have then developed Ottanthullalovernight to present to a highly appreciativeaudience the very next evening. Althoughthe truth behind the reason for the origin of Ottanthullalhas been questioned, Nambiar hastried to bring out through this dance form, thesocial conditions of his time, including classdisparities and the whims and weaknesses ofthe rich and influential members of society.This dance form has make-up that looks similarto that of Kathakali. A single presentation maylast up to two hours in length. The dancerdances and simultaneously sings and this requiresintensive training, a flexible body and astrong communicative voice. The dancer hasalso to rely on a good memory so he can rememberand recite long verses. The emotionspresented in this dance form are mainly bravery,humor, irony, anger and devotion. Theerotic element is altogether absent. The dancerwears a long tape of white and red coloredclothes wound around the waist to form a kneelongskirt. The vest is decorated with coloredbeads and glass as well as with ornaments. Theface is painted green, the lips red and the eyesare highlighted with black dye. The headgear isextensive and very decorative. Bells are wornon the legs just above the calf. UnlikeKathakali or Koodiyattam, Ottanthullal doesnot use curtains for entry and exit or backgroundscenes and props.No account of the classical dances forms ofKerala can ever be complete without explicitlymentioning the important role that the KeralaKalamandalam has played in the very existencetoday of these various art forms. Establishedby the outstanding poet scholar, Vellathol NarayanaMenon along the banks of the river Bharathapuzhain Cheruthuruthy, a small village inTrissur district in 1930, this institute has playeda major role in not only preserving Kerala’sdance art forms, but also in training young talentand recruiting the best in Kerala to carry outthe training. It also brought increased patronageand resurrected both Mohiniattam andKathakali from near-extinction.Dr. Kala Menon is a connoisseur of the arts and isa research scientist in oncology at the Universityof Pennsylvania.SRUTI CONCERT TAPESTapes and compact disks of Sruti concerts are available for distribution among the patrons of Sruti. Toreceive any of these tapes, or for a list, please email your request to Dr. P. Swaminathan atpanchadanam@hotmail.com. Prices for Sruti members are typically $10 for a two-cassette set and $15for a three-cassette set. Non-members should add $2 to the cost of each set.

14 Sruti Ranjani, 2004n terms of international theatrical history,I Koodiyattam, the Sanskrit drama that originatedin Kerala almost 1800 years ago, can perhapsclaim the greatest antiquity. It draws upon theplays of eminent Sanskrit dramatists of ancientIndia and was recently deemed as among the“Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritageof Humanity” by UNESCO. Koodiyattam has alsobeen the model for the many theatre art forms ofKerala, including the well-known Kathakali, andis considered the most advanced of all in its aestheticsand practices.The prefix “koodi” in Malayalam primarily means“together” and “attam” means dancing; simplyput, Koodiyattam is an art form where several actorscome together on the stage. The performancepractice of Koodiyattam, while following the rulesand aesthetics of Bharatha Muni’s Natya Sastra,has many distinctions in theatrics and acting. Onefinds in Koodiyattam a much more of“natyadharmi” or a highly stylized form of acting.The method of acting is quite drawn out and complicatedthat it conveys meaning only to the selectfew who are erudite and well-versed in the theatricgrammar, codes, and conventions. Hence, Koodiyattamis quite restrictive in its appeal. In addition,in the olden days, Koodiyattam was inaccessibleto anyone except members of the Brahmin andother ‘higher’ castes, and it was restricted to thetemple as sacred art.KOODIYATTAMSrinivasan PisharathAs per tradition, Koodiyattam is performed inKoothambalams by a community of male actorscalled Chakyars and female performers calledNangiars, assisted by drummers called Nambiars.The artists are initiated to the art at an early ageand were traditionally supported by the temple sothat they can dedicate most of their time to rigoroustraining. The performances (sometimes lastingup to 41 days)usually begin at night, after theclose of rituals in the sanctum sanctorum of thetemple and continue until midnight or before thecommencement of the morning rituals. The firstday may have the form of a sacrificial offering tothe deity with invocatory rituals and certain abstractmovements performed behind the curtain.In the next phase, the main character introduceshimself by presenting his personal history andsometimes even his past life. Here, the actor hasfull freedom to choose which legends associatedwith the character he wishes to emphasize and interpretsthe character in a most elaborate way.The complete enactment of the play, from beginningto end, happens on the very last day as a concludingritual. Orchestral support is mainlythrough drums known as ‘mizhavu’ and themake-up and costumes (which is less ornate thanin Kathakali) exaggerate the salient ‘rasas’ oremotions of each character. A ‘Vidushaka’ orroyal jester, who periodically enters the stage,provides comical relief and a link between thespectator and the characters of the play.The repertoire of Koodiyattam includes plays writtenby Bhasa, Harsha, Neelakantha, and otherdramatists of ancient India. Also included areplays written by playwrights native to Kerala suchas Adi Sankara’s disciple, Sakthibhadra, whocomposed “Ashcharyachudamani” and KulasekharaVarma Cheraman Perumal, an ancient kingwho composed Subhadradhananjayam and Thapatheesamvaranam.The actual text of a play providesonly the bare minimal text for the Koodiyattamactor and the production of the play is delineatedby elaborate manuals called Attaprakaramsand Kramadeepikas which have been handeddown Chakyar families for generations through amaster-disciple tradition. These choreographictexts vividly describe the method of action, movement,recitation of the text, gesture, elaboration,and other nuances including stage production andeven payment to the artists!As mentioned previously, Koodiyattam is an art ofelaboration of action which extends the performanceto unbelievable heights of imagination. Inthis method of action, the poetic quality of a Sanskritplay with multiple layers of meaning, figuresof speech, and implied meaning is explored to itsfullest. The extension of the performance text is soelaborate that single Acts (Ankams) of plays are

Sruti Ranjani, 2004 15treated as full-fledged plays and can stretch up toforty nights. For example, in Anguliyankam, thesixth Act of Ascharyachudamani, Hanuman is theonly character on stage and the context is his crossingthe ocean and discovery of Sita in the AshokaGarden in Lanka. In the process, Hanuman describesseveral related incidents such as Ravana’sconquest of Svarga, the descent of the divine riverGanga, and the birth of Hanuman himself. Theperformance text, replete with verses from othersources and from previous Acts, provides the actorwith immense possibilities of displaying his talent.In addition, he/she can explore the dhatus, upamas,and other aspects of Sanskrist poetry through actionsand expressions. The entire story of Ramayanaby integrating the three plays—Sakthibhadra’s Ascharyachudamani, Bhasa’s Prathimanatakaand Abhishekanataka—was in therepertoire of the Koodiyattam artist. This cycle ofplays had twenty-one Acts and took a full year(with approximately 5 hours of performance eachnight) for its enactment!Theatric communication in Koodiyattam, exceptfor the Vidushaka (royal clown) and other crudecharacters, happens primarily with angikabhinaya(gestures and actions) and satvikabhinaya (facialexpression). The actor first recites the respectiveverse in a very slow and stylized manner(vachikabhinaya =acting via speech) while providingthe literal meaning of the text with gestures andminimal facial expression. Then, he/she is free toexplore the hidden meanings and nuances of thetext to its fullest using mostly angika and satvikabhinaya.Here is where the virtuoso of the artist becomesapparent; an experienced actor can exploreone sloka for almost two hours according to his/herknowledge and talent.While hand movements are accomplished usingmudras described in Natya Sastra, the face is themain field of action in Koodiyattam. The actor inKoodiyattam has perfected the art of facial expressionto reach unimaginable heights. The movementsof the eyes, eyebrows, cheeks, and lips areso subtly worked out that any emotion can be conveyedto the spectator quite intensely. Of vital importanceis netrabhinaya or the abhinaya throughthe eyes, which is so refined and awe-inspiring thatit can portray whole activities, actions, and feelings.Stalwarts of Koodiyattam such as Mani MadhavaChakyar are world-renowned for their facialexpression. Legend has it that an old time Koodiyattamartist used his eyes to simulate “lifting andhurling a huge stone” and caused a menacing dogto run for its life!The degree of formalism that characterizes Koodiyattamis more than any other art in Kerala. Theinterest of the spectator in watching a play is not tounravel the story or action for he/she is familiarwith the poetic text, the course of action, and eventhe performance details. The ideal spectators ofKoodiyattam are cultivated theatergoers who concentrateon each nuance and expression on the faceof the actor and savor every aspect of the elaborateimprovisation. Such a high level of awareness expectedfrom the audience is probably the reasonwhy Koodiyattam had limited appreciation at alltimes. However, there were popular elements,such as the ‘Vidooshaka’, which maintained a balancein this erudite art and made it somewhat moreaccessible to a wider range of spectators.Being a ritualistic and orthodox art, Koodiyattamstubbornly resisted change until 1949 when it wasfirst performed outside the temple. However, startinga school in the Kerala Kalamandalam had towait till 1965. The school broke the age-old practiceand admitted students from outside theChakyar community. After this, two more schools,Margi and Ammannur Gurukulam ensured the continuationof this theatric tradition. These schoolsnow represent the three sampradayas of Koodiyattamand have opened up new possibilities for itstraining and performance. Patronage today mainlycomes from the Government and agencies like theSangeet Natak Academy. Also, the unique theatrelanguage of classical theatre in Kerala has caughtthe attention of numerous scholars and theatre peoplefrom all over the globe and is leading to awider acclaim and revitalization of Koodiyattam.Srinivasan Pisharath recently finished his PharmD. He is very much interested in classical arts suchas Carnatic music, kathakali, poems, mohiniyattam,Sanskrit, and Hindu scriptures.

16 Sruti Ranjani, 2004The Year in Pictures

Sruti Ranjani, 2004 17Scenes from Thyagaraja Aradhana 2004

18 Sruti Ranjani, 2004KARNATAKA SANGEETHA – WHY KARNATAKA?H.K. Chandra Sekharn India music is as old as language itself. The poetsI who wrote the Vedas worked within a musicalframework, which came under a Vedanga called Shiksha.Music that started with the Vedas was carried byoral tradition in the guru-shishya parampara throughmany centuries. The musical system that started ratherspontaneously (svayambhootha) was first put down in abook form in Bharata Muni’s time and the work wascalled Natya Sastra. This was probably in 300 A.D. andwas the first authoritative text for the whole country.There were other authors of music such as Mathangawho wrote a musical treatise-‘Brihaddesi’ in the 10 thcentury and Kahola whose work has been lost. Fromthat time onwards musicians continued to experimentand innovate and new musical vistas were derived indifferent parts of the country. It turned out that eacharea of the vast country experimented with its own languageand developed novel systems of singing. A generaldichotomy occurred in the country around 1200A.D. into the southern (dakshinadi) and northern(uttaradi) traditions.Karnataka SystemThe art of music practiced in Karnataka, Andhra,Tamilnadu and Kerala came to be called as Karnatakamusic and this incorporated the southern tradition. Politically,Karnataka has comprised large parts of SouthIndia at different times. This is especially true of theVijayanagara empire which extended over large portionsof the present day Karnataka, Andhra, Tamilnaduand Kerala and was in fact called the Karnataka empire.This period witnessed the development of the principlesand practices crucial to the evolution of Karnatakamusic. It is also a historic coincidence that these principlesand practices were influenced by musicians, composersand musicologists who hailed from Karnataka ormigrated from Karnataka. This is by no means to deprecatethe great and immortal contributions of Andhra,Tamilnadu and Kerala which have made whatKarnataka music is today. Indeed the name KarnatakaMusic or its anglicized form,Carnatic Music, is recentin origin. The first available textual mention of thenames Hindusthani and Karnataka dates from only1917.Some StalwartsSharngadeva, a gifted musicologist, wrote ‘Sangita Ratnakara’in 1200 A.D. and he lived in Devagiri of theKarnataka kingdom (presently in Andhra Pradesh andcalled Doulatabad) This is the earliest work on KarnatakaMusic. From that time onwards Karnataka musicgot a clear identity by Sage Vidyaranya, the Prime ministerof Vijayanagara Kingdom.(1350 A.D.). In additionto his political status he was also the head of SringeriShankara Peetha and edited several volumes of Vedabhashyas.He is also credited with the authorship of atreatise called ‘Sangita Sara’. His brother Sayanacharyawas also a widely respected musicologist. GovindaDeekshita who came after Vidyaranya’s time wroteseveral books on music (one called Sangita Sudha) andquotes sentences from Vidyaranya’s Sangita Sara extensively.He was a minister in the court of AchyutaNayaka of Thanjavur (about 1650 A.D.) His son is thefamous Venkatamakhi, the author of the highly regardedmusical text ‘Chaturdandi Prakashike’ Thename Chaturdandi refers to four dandis (pillars) and itwas considered that the entirety of the musical systemrested on four genres.: alapa, sthayi. Gita and Prabandha.The trilogy of raga, tala and prabandha –differences in treatment of which distinguishes KarnatakaMusic from Hindusthani Music rests on Chaturdandi. This text book is valid even today and is consideredas significant as Panini’s Sanskrit grammar.Kshetragna, who wrote love poems in Telugu with thepen-name of muvva gopala lived during the same period(1650 A.D.) About 1700 A.D ChikkadevarayaWodeyar, the maharaja of Mysore wrote a collection oftender poems called Gita Gopala utilizing saptapadi –seven lines in a poem. About 150 years after the publicationof Chaturdandi Prakashike, Tyagaraja andDeekshitar appeared on the scene. Their compositionswere built on Venkatamakhi’s musical system..In Vidyaranya’stime there were 15 melakartha ragas andthese had increased to 72 by the time of Venkatamakhi .Presently these 72 melakartas form the basis of Karnatakasystem. Among the giants of Karnataka music haridasasof Karnataka stand out as musicians withoutparallel…..The role of HaridasasThe Haridasas-literally meaning servants of God ,flourished during the time of Vijayanagara empire.These were Vaishnava saints who embraced dvaithaphilosophy and have been traditionally classified intoVyasakoota (the sanyasins) and their saint-disciplescomprising of Dasakoota (the householders) . All the

Sruti Ranjani, 2004 19saints used Kannada language and the art of music fortheir teachings. These haridasas were ardent devoteesof Panduranga Vittala of Pandharapura and performedsangita seva (musical offerings). They received royalpatronage as well as public acceptance .They replacedSanskrit, the lingua franca of the elite, with Kannada, avernacular language, to communicate spiritual, religious,ethical and social values. Sacred lore was enshrinedin a colloquial idiom through music and thesesaints were proficient singers and composers. They laidthe foundations of what is today called Karnataka Music..Sripadaraya(!5th century A.D.) inaugurated themusical movement. Purandaradasa (1484 A.D. to 1564A.D.) became renowned as Karnataka Sangita Pitamaha(great father) and the haridasas in general left a deepand abiding influence on later composers includingShyama Sastry, Tyagaraja and Muthuswamy Deekshitar.Sripadaraya was a contemporary of Kallinatha, thecommentator on Sharngadeva’s Sangita Ratnakara.Vyasaraja, Vadiraja, Purandaradasa and Kanakadasalived in the 15 th and16th centuries and they were contemporariesof many distinguished musicologists suchas . Ramamatya (author of Svara Mela Kalanidhi),Poluri Govinda Kavi (author of RagaTala Chintamani),Pundarika vittala (author of Sadraga Chandrodaya,Ragamala, Ragamanjari and Nartananirnaya), TallapakamAnnamacharya and his disciple, BhadrachalaRamadas, Nijaguna Sivayogi and the Jain composer,Ratnakaravarni.Pundarika Vittala is reputed tohave founded Mela Prastara Ragas. By the time Purandaradasabecame prominent Ugabhoga, Suladi, Gitaand Prabandha forms of musical compositions had alredybecome popular uplifting the soul of common peoplewith teachings of the scriptures. Simultaneously theprinciples of music was becoming established. Themusical scale was standardized and melodic classificationwas carried out. Sripadaraya introduced the fourstringed thambura as the drone instrument. Haridasasalong with Veerashaiva saints such as Palkurike Somanatha(14 th century A.D.), Chandrasekhara , NijagunaSivayogi (both of 16 th century A,D.) introduced anamazing wealth of technical vocabulary.Among the haridasas Purandaradasa gets the credit forfounding the system of teaching Karnataka Music. Hecomposed Sarale (Svaravali), Janti (varase) and TalaAlankaras and a group of songs called Pillari Gitas Heintroduced Mayamalavagoula raga scale for the beginner.It was also a Mela reference scale and had a largenumber of ragas grouped under it. The talas employedfor the beginner were called Suladi Talas and thesetalas systematized the conceptual underpinnings formaintenance of rhythm. Haridasas created the Padaform, first developed by Narahari Thirtha. Pada is theprototype of Kriti and Javali and it is retained in itsoriginal form in the present day Devaranama.Haridasas of Karnataka indisputably shaped the musicof their time and prepared for the future by influencingthe composers who came after them. Tyagaraja acknowledgesthe unmistakable influence of PurandaradasaTulajaji the Maharashtra, ruler of Tanjore(1729-35 A.D.) writes of the music of Haridasas in hisbook Sangita Saramrita. He venerates Vyasaraya andPurandaradasa as great composers. Songs of Haridasaswere very popular in Tamilnadu as recently as 19 th century.Eminent exponents of Hindusthani Music havepopularized the Kannada songs of Haridasas.From Sharngadeva to Venkatamakhi (about 650 years)the southern system of music was expanded and establishedon a firm footing by mostly people from Karnataka.Many Kannada words like Thavi,Ela,Ovi,Kaivada- have gone into the descriptive lexicon.In the final analysis people from Karnataka formulatedand codified the music (Shastrakartas), the Andhramusicians added the innovation and experimentation(Lakshyakartas), and the Tamil musicians presentedthe music in all its glory (Prayogakartas)References1. Satyanarayana, R. “Karnataka Music,” Ananya: APortrait of India. Association of Indians in America,1997.2. Viji Swaminathan, ed. Essays on Indian ClassicalMusic and Dance. Philadelphia: Sruti, 2003.3. Kruti Shreni, D.V.G. “Namma Sangita,” D.V.G.Kruti Shreni Volume 10. Karnataka: Directorate ofKannada and Culture, 1999.4. Thirumale Sisters, Karnataka Sangita Darpana.Bangalore: Sinivasa Prakashana, 2001.Dr. H. K. Chandra Sekhar is a tenured professor andpractitioner of Otolaryngology at NYU Medical centerin Manhattan. He has been involved in the founding ofseveral institutions including Hindu Temple Society.Kannada Koota of New York, CMANA, KarnatakaState Medical and Dental Association, and IA Forumfor Political Education. Working with the New YorkCity Council, he initiated and supervised the installationof Mahatma's statue in the Union Square Park. Heis the author of a published biography in Kannada.

20 Sruti Ranjani, 2004Trinities Among USRandom thoughts after reading Prof. William Jackson’s “Songs of Three Great South Indian Saints”K. R. Ramaprasadymmetry is an important element of the great Cosmos.The English poet William Blake has aptlySverbalized this for us: “What immortal hand or eyecould frame thy fearful symmetry?” Symmetry isaround us. If its recognition is a basis for order in whatappears to be a chaos, it is also an immense aid to humansin the marshalling of the world around us. Wefind this in the way we sort the information we have, beit religion, art, music or science.The number three, in this context, makes its presencefelt repeatedly. We have many instances of these. Afew examples would be: Father, Son and the HolyGhost; Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva; the triad of the elementsthat chemists recognized long ago; and closer tothe present context, the great Trinity of Carnatic music.Undoubtedly, Thyagaraja, Dikshitar and Shyama Sastriplayed a stellar role in the development of Carnaticmusic and much has been written about them to needeven a synopsis here. But more importantly for thepresent discussion, their contemporaneous life on earth,geographical proximity, just to mention some extraneousdetails, coupled with their unique contributions tothe developing Carnatic music of the times distinguishesthem as the Trinity of the Thanjavur delta. Perhapsother facets from their individual lives and workscould be marked out as further justification, if one isneeded, for this label.The Thanjavur Trinity have so dominated Carnatic musicthat this begs the question whether there were othertrinities whose lives and works, however much importantand enjoyed by posterity, have not earned the samepublic and academic exposure. It is against this backgroundthat the book, “Songs of Three Great South IndianSaints”, authored by Prof. William J. Jackson andpublished a few years ago[1] is a timely and muchneeded contribution to the dialogue on Carnatic music.The book is about the times, lives and the music ofthree stalwarts who pre-dated the Thanjavur Trinity,namely, Annamacharya, Purandara Dasa, and KanakaDasa. As leading figures in the the bhakti movement,their role in the renaissance of Hinduism, no less theircontribution to the development of what came to becalled Carnatic music, cannot be overstated.Readers are familiar with Prof. Jackson’s earlier scholarlyworks on Thyagaraja [2,3]. He brings to this workthe same thoroughness and academic objectivity thatmakes for engrossing reading. There is an initial chapteron bhakti as a pathway to God as developed in Hinduism.It is this tapestry into which are woven the livesand works of the three saints.If a label were needed, perhaps the Vijayanagara Trinitywould be apt to group these three saints [4]. Theyall lived around 1500 A. C. E, during the glory days ofthe Vijayanagara empire. As exemplars of the bhaktimovement, they had more in common than the ThanjavurTrinity. Purandara Dasa and Annamacharya met inperson, as did Kanaka Dasa and Purandara Dasa. Theywere all Vishnu bhaktas, with their chosen mudras beingsome manifestation of Vishnu on earth. PurandaraDasa and Kanaka Dasa took the bhakti philosophy tothe masses, even to those who could be considered illiterate,with significant effects on the ‘world view ofSouth Indian Hindus’ This pro-active stance of theseDasas distinguishes them from the later Thanjavur Trinity.As an interesting aside to these thoughts, it is to bepointed out, as Jackson has done, that two of them werebrahmins and the third (Kanaka Dasa) was not. But thelater, through his own spiritual pursuits, became one ofthe authentic voices of the Bhakti movement, reinforcingthe wisdom that barriers are man-made and can betranscended.“ Songs of Three Great South Indian Saints” has threefacets to it. As mentioned above, there is first a scholarlyexposition of the Bhakti movement in India. Theanalytical and easily readable exposition of this vastsubject in a small number of pages is testimony to theauthor’s deep knowledge of Indian history, philosophyand music. Then there is a brief biography of each ofthe subjects of this book. Those already familiar withthe contents of the author’s book on Thyagaraja [1] willappreciate better the brief biographies of the threesaints here. One sees many common threads in theirlives that deserves a separate treatment. Finally (andthis is a great service that the author has rendered tomusic lovers, especially the young Indians growing upoutside India), there is a translation of some selectedworks of each of the three vaggeyakaras, which help tounderstand much better their lives, their mission andmore significantly the ‘dynamics of Bhakti images’.Each section is so well organized topically and structurallythat it could stand as an independent work, facili-

Sruti Ranjani, 2004 21tating easy comprehension of any part of interest. Itmakes for a very pleasurable reading.Jackson contrasts the Bhakti philosophy found in Hindureligion with what he terms the linear approaches foundin Western civilization, an approach that dictates either/or approach, leading to segregation of human capacities.Such a linear approach, for example, isolates passionatelove from spiritual devotion. In the holisticapproach, characteristic of the Bhakti marga, the coexistenceand co-acceptance of all these results in avalue world of continuum. It is a fact of Indian historythat this holistic approach was eroded with the arrivalof colonial England’s values in the 19 th century. As theauthor puts it, some educated Hindus became ashamedof the celebration of femininity as recounted in theplays of Krishna.Bhakti is truly an egalitarian path to spiritual realization.It is a path accessible to all and it ennobles thestruggles of ordinary people. This is one of the rules ofthumb in the Bhakti movement. There are other interestingones that Jackson mentions in the book.Against this backdrop of Bhakti philosophy, the readercan only relearn the lives of the Haridasas, what theyaccomplished and what is so gloriously sung in theirworks. Their role in the renaissance of Hinduism cannever be overestimated. Naturally, with the fall of theVijayanagara empire, the dasa movement itself wanedin the dust of galloping horses and marauding invaders.But their voices are still heard every time a devaranamais sung. The dasas are no more, but their message ofBhakti is the stuff of our lives.References[1] William J. Jackson, Thyagaraja, Life and Lyrics,Oxford University Press, 1991.[2] William J. Jackson, Thyagaraja and the Renewal ofTradition, Motilal Banarsidass, 1994.[3] A recent book by T. J. S. George on the life of M. S.Subbulakshmi [M. S., A Life in Music, HarperCollins,2004] has a dedication page in which Veena Dhanam,Bangalore Nagaratnamma and dancer Balasaraswathiare referred to a Trinity by the author.Dr. K. R. Ramaprasad is a physical chemist, currentlyworking as a Senior Scientist/Group Leader at a researchinstitute in Princeton, NJ. He has a life longinterest in music (Indian and Western). His nonprofessionalinterests also include history, Indianheritage, writing and travel. He is one of the hosts ofthe radio program, Sangeeth broadcast from PrincetonUniversity.Some Post Trinity Composers: A surveyRasikant is accepted by many that the contributions by theI Trinity (Syama Sastry, Thyagaraja, Dikshitar) signifya watershed in the Carnatic music world. Dikshitarexcelled in delineating the raga swarupa. The compositionsof Syama Sastry are full of bakthi bhavam towardsAmbal, his ishta devatha; he also used the technicalembellishment of swara sahityams in many of hiscompositions. While the contributions of each of theTrinity were profound in many respects, those of Thyagarajawere arguably the most influential on later composers.In particular, almost all of these composershave faithfully followed the kriti format that Thyagarajaperfected. To that extent it may be claimed that the Carnaticmusic that we hear today is Thyagaraja music.This article is a short survey of some post Trinity composersand a brief discussion highlighting their contributionsto Carnatic music. The material is culled fromthe few books in my collection and some other sources.Thus, it is by no means exhaustive. Also I have notincluded those composers whose works consist primarilyof Padams, Javalis etc.Junior contemporaries of ThyagarajaThyagaraja was still alive when Swati Tirunal (1813-1846), the Royal composer of Travancore, died in 1846.However, he was 46 years younger than Thyagaraja andso can justifiably be called a junior contemporary of theTrinity. It is to Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatharand Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer that we owe the popularityof Swati Tirunal's compositions. Some of thefamous ones are Deva deva (Mayamalavagowla),Mamava sada janani (Kanada), Mamava sada varade(Natakurinji), Pankajalochana (Kalyani), Sarasijanabha murare (Todi). Bhogeendra sayinam in Kuntalavaraliis a lilting melody. He has composed two wellknown ragamalikais: Pannagendra sayana and theDasavatara ragamalikai Kamalajasya. His Ramayana

22 Sruti Ranjani, 2004kriti Bhavayami Raghuramam, originally in Saveri wasretuned to a brilliant ragamalikai by Semmangudi. Theworks of Swati Tirunal also include varnams, tillanas,bhajans. Lately there has been some controversy regardingof the authorship of many of Swati Tiruanal’spieces.Subbaraya Sastry (1803-1861), the second son ofSyama Sastry had the unique privilege of studying witheach of the Trinity. His Reetigowla gem, Janani ninnuvina, is one the staples of the concert repertoire. Manyof his kritis have beautiful swara sahityams, a la hisfather’s; good examples are Sankari nee yani (Begada),and Ema ninne (Mukhari). Again like those of his father,most of his compositions are in praise of goddessAmbal, However, the Hamir Kalyani kriti, Venkatasaila vihara is on the deity of Tirupathi.Gopalakrishna Bharathy was a wandering minstrel. Aninteresting anecdote relating to his composing Sabapathikkuveru deivam in Abhogi as a result of his meetingwith Thyagaraja was published in Sruti Notes. HisKambhodhi kriti, Thiruvadi charanam, is one of themost popular kritis in that ragam Sanjay Subramanyanhas recently released a CD album, titled Tillai, consistingof five of Bharathy’s works. Bharathy’s monumentalopera, Nandanar Charithram, where he depicts thetravails of a lowly born bhaktha of Lord Siva, is verywell known.The Tanjavur Quartette (Ponnaiah, Chinnaiah, Sivanandam,Vadivelu) studied with Dikshitar. Ponniah’s composition,Amba Neelambari, in Neelambari followsvery closely the music of Dikshitar’s kriti in the sameragam, Amba Neelayadakshi and is said to be a tributeto his guru. They were, for a short while, musicians atthe Travancore court of Swati Tirunal. Vadivelu wasone of the first South Indian musicians to have masteredthe violin and as a recognition of his musicianshipon that instrument, the king presented him with anivory violin. Some works known as Swati Tirunal’shave been ascribed to Ponnaiah or Vadivelu 3 . Thequartette also composed many varnams and swarajatisfor dance and are famous for designing the margamformat for the Bharatanatyam performances.Late 19th century/early 20th centurySubbarama Dikshitar (1839-1906) was a grandson ofBaluswamy Dikshitar, brother of Muthuswamy Dikshitar.His greatest contribution is the five volume SangeethaPradarshini. This is a compendium of more than250 kritis with notations of the Trinity (mostly of Dikshitar)apart from many lakshnana geethams, varnamsetc.. The book is often cited as the authentic versions ofDikshitar's kritis. He introduced the symbols currentlyused for notating the typical gamakams in Carnatic music.Among the compositions of Subbarama Dikshitaris Sankaracharyam, the stately Sankarabharnam kritiin Sanskrit whose music follows the structure of Dikshitar’skritis.Patnam Subramania Iyer (1845-1902) was among themost prominent composers of the late nineteenth century.He was a disciple of ManubuchavadiVenkatasubba Iyer, a cousin and a senior disciple ofThyagaraja. Both of them composed kritis and otherpieces with the mudra of Venakatesa leading to a confusionas to which piece is whose. In particular thewell known navaraga varnam, Valachi vachi is sometimesattributed to the latter. Patnam is famous for histuneful kriti Raghuvamsa sudha in Kadana kuthuhalam,a top favorite with instrumentalists The brilliant chittaswarafor this kriti is unforgettable. Some of the otherkritis of Patnam Subramania Iyer often heard in theconcert circuits are Ninnu joosi, (Sowrashtram), Paridana(Bilahari), Aparadumulannu (Lathangi), Mariveredikkevarayya (Shanmukhapriya), Nijadasa varada(Kalyani), Anu dinamunu (Begada). His renditions ofBegada were supposed to have been so masterly that hewas also called “Begada” Subramania iyer .Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan (1843-1893) was a contemporaryof Patnam Subramania Iyer. Although knownmore as a great vocalist, he has to his credit, the monumentalmelakarta ragamalikai in 73 ragas! The pallaviis in Sri ragam and the piece goes on delineating all the72 melakartas in order. There are many technical featuresin this piece, one of which is the smooth(chittaswara) transition from one raga to the next, thescales of some of which may differ from the previous inonly one swaram! It takes almost one hour to renderthe complete ragamalikai! M.S. Subbulakshmi has donefull justice to this great piece in a (commercially produced)cassette/CD.Vaidhyanatha Sivan was inseparable from his elderbrother Ramaswamy Sivan (1841-1898). The brothersoften traveled together with the elder brother actingsomewhat as a manager of the gifted younger sibling.Some kritis are attributed to one or other, sometimes toboth. The better known ones are Pahimam Sri RajaRajeswari (Janaranjani), Sri Sankara (Nagaswarali),Ekkalathilum (Natakurinji). The first two also havelilting chittaswarams.There are a number of stories of friendly and sometimesnot so friendly rivalry between Patnam Subramania Iyerand the Sivan brothers.

Sruti Ranjani, 2004 23Ramanathapuram (Poochi) Srinivasa Iyengar (1860-1919 ) was one of the two disciples of Patnam whorose to be prominent composers in their own right [theother was Mysore Vasudevacharya]. Among the morefamous of Poochi’s kritis are Saraguna palimpa,(Kedaragowla), Parama pavana Rama (Poorvi Kalyani),both with chittaswarams.Both Patnam Subramania Iyer and Poochi SrinivasaIyengar have also composed many varnams, javalis andtillanas.Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar (1877-1945) experimentedwith many rare ragams. One of them isNiroshta (Raja raja). A feature of this ragam is thatone does not touch the upper and lower lips to pronounceits scale: Sa, Ri, Ga, Dha, Ni, Sa; Sa, Ni, Da,Ga, Ri, Sa. Other ragams that he introduced to Carnaticmusic through his kritis include Vijayanagari(Vijayambike), Karna ranjani (Vanchatonu ninnu),Valaji (Jalandhara), Vijaya Saraswathy (SaranamVijaya). Madurai Mani Iyer, who learnt directly formhim and T.N. Seshagopalan who learnt from one hisdisciples have popularized many of Muthiah Bhagavathar'skritis. The latter has also cut a CD of MuthiahBhagavathar's works.20th centuryMysore Vasudevacharya (1865-1961), was a giantamong the modern composers. His Pranamamhayam(Gowlai), Brochaver evarura (Khamas), Ra ra rajeevalochana (Mohanam), Palukavademira (Devamanohari)are evergreen gems. He was in the faculty of Kalakshetraand worked with the great Rukmini Devi in composingmusic for many of the dance dramas producedin that arts institution. As mentioned earlier he was adisciple of Patnam Subramania Iyer. His book "Nankanda kalaviduru" is supposed to contain vignettes ofhis guru kula vasam experience including the storiedrivalry between Patnam Subramania Iyer and MahaVaidynahta Sivan.Papanasam Sivan (1890-1973) was perhaps the mostfamous of the twentieth century composers. Actually,his real name was Polagam Ramiah. Sivan is a monikersometimes attributed to persons deeply involved in theworship of Lord Siva. Also since he lived in Papanasamfor a long time he came to be known as PapanasamSivan. A prolific composer, he has hundreds of, bysome estimates more than 2,500, kritis to his credit.Most of his kritis are in Tamil with a few in Sanskrit.His kritis are often heard in concerts. Some of the morefamous ones are: Karthikeya (Todi), Kaana kann kodi(Kambhodhi), Mahalakshmi (Sankarabharanam), Unnaiallal (Kalyani), Kapali (Mohanam), Srinivasa thiruvenkatam(Hamsanandi), Ini oru ganam (Sri Ranajani)and the moving Navarasa Kannada kriti (Devi,Undanukku) Nan oru vilayattu bommaiya. In fact, if aweighty kriti in Tamil is presented in the pre RTP segmentof a concert, the chances are that it is by Sivan.Indeed, his influence among the Tamil musicians is sopervasive and strong that he is sometimes referred to asTamil Thyagayya! His kritis in Sanskrit include Srinivasathava (Karaharapriya), Narayana (Sama). Sivanis one of the few who were not prominent concert musicians,yet to be awarded the Sangita Kalanidhi by theMadras Music Academy. The marghazhi (middle Decemberto middle January) bhajana processions led bySivan around Mylapore temple are legendary. Manyprominent musicians of those days used to join him inthe procession. Sivan had composed music for some ofthe dance dramas performed at Kalakshetra. He alsocomposed for many movies of the thirties and forties.Most of them are in chaste Carnatic music ragams.Indeed, some of them, for example, Ma Ramanan(Hindolam), could also be heard in concerts.The great vocalist G.N. Balasubramanian (1910-1965)has composed kritis mostly in praise of Ambal. Noteworthyamong these are Paramukha elanamma in Kanada,Saraswathy in Saraswathy, Sada palaya in Mohanam.His disciple, M.L. Vasanthakumari has given analbum of some of her guru's compositions.ContemporaryThe multi faceted genius, M. Balamurali Krishna isprobably the most prominent among the contemporarycomposers. He has composed a kriti in Sarva Sri, aragam whose scale consists of just four swarams, Sa,Ma, Pa Sa; Sa Pa, Ma Sa! He is also one the three whohave composed at least one kriti in each of the seventytwo sampurna melakarta ragams. [The other, as far as Iknow are, Koteeswara Iyer and D. Pattammal. Dikshitaralso has composed in all the 72 melakartas, but he followedthe asampurna scheme.] For some reason, we donot hear many of his compositions in the concerts exceptfor some tillanas.T.N. Bala off Havertown, PA, is well known to us inthe Delaware Valley. His composition in Shanmukhapriya,Vilayada idhu nerama was popularized by the(late) Maharajapuram Santhanam. A compilation ofsome of his kritis, Murugaratnakara, was recently publishedas a book.Another composer with a Delaware Valley associationis H. Yoga Narasimham (1897-1974) whose son H.Y.

24 Sruti Ranjani, 2004Rajagopal is one of the founders of SRUTI. Yoga Narasimhamstudied with Mysore Vasudevacharya. Analbum of some of the kritis of Yoga Narasimham sungby M.S. Subbulakshmi was released a few years ago.His lilting Ranjani kriti Sadasaranganayane with a nicechittaswaram is gaining in popularity as are many of hisother compositions. Yoga Narasimham also broughtinto light some rare ragams like Latantapriya and Bhanudhanyasi.with krits in these ragams.OthersThe fame of some composers rest on a few but brilliantkritis. Many of them have some of the best chittaswarams.Mysore Sadasiva Rao is one of those composers.His Harikambodhi kriti Saketa nagaranada has a scintillatingchittaswaram. Another composition with abrilliant chittaswaram is Gajavadana in Todi by Ettayapuramraja. The chittaswaram focusses on the gandharamof Todi with a brilliant sequence of swaramsaround that note. The Anandabhairavi kriti, Neemathisallaga of Mathrubudayya was very popular a few decadesago.While most of the above composers are Vaggyeyakaras,i.e. those who wrote both the dhatu (melody) andthe matu (lyrics) of their kritis, there are extant somepieces where one person wrote the matu for whichsome other(s) provided the dhatu. Prominent amongthese lyricists is Ambujam Krishna. Madurai Sundar(of Detroit) has an album of some of AmbujamKrishna’s works.by composing Koniyadina in Kambhodhi with sangatisin the style of O rangasayi. We have seen how mostpost Thyagaraja composers used his kriti format tostructure their outputs. Some composers also used theThyagaraja 'mudra' in their compositions with the hope,I presume, that this would ensure these kritis would beperformed as long as Thyagaraja was famous. Manysuch 'spurious Thyagaraja' kritis have been unearthed.One of the most famous of them is the Simhendramadhayamamkriti Needu charanamule. This kriti by K.V.Srinivasa Iyengar is still being included as a Thyagarjakriti in some books! And some other eminent lyricists,presumably enamored by the dhatu of some of Thyagaraja'skritis, have used them and replaced the matu withtheir own lyrics.References1. Dr. Gowri Kuppuswamy, Dr. M. Hariharan, GreatComposers; CBH publications, 1994.2. The Hindu Speaks on Music, Kasturi & Sons, 1999.3. Tanjore Quartette, Ed. K.P. Kittappa, K.P. Sivanandam;pub. Tharmapurm S. Rathmaswamy Chettiar Endowment,3rd ed. 1992.4. Harikesanallur L. Muthiah Bhagavathar (a biographyin Tamil by H. Vaidyanathan), Narada Gana Sabha,2nd ed, 2001.Rasikan, a former president of Sruti, is a music enthusiast.He is a reliable and frequent contributor to Srutipublications and has been a part of Sruti from its inception.The influence of Thyagaraja and his music was feltamong the composers in many ways. A disciple ofThyagaraja, Vinai Kuppayyar paid a tribute to his guruAn ecstatic moment during the concert by Debashish Bhattacharya on slideguitar accompanied by Shubhashish Bhattacharya on the tabla

Sruti Ranjani, 2004 25Sanjay Subramaniam Concert - Classicism at its best!Kamakshi Mallikarjunanjay’s concert was eagerly anticipated in ourS household and it was definitely worth the wait.The enjoyment was increased triple fold because of thefantastic accompanists. His concerts are also momentsto ‘Expect the Unexpected’ - songs that I have notheard before, interesting swara patterns, neraval at adifferent point and these definitely make it more of adelectable treat.Sanjay started with a brisk Sri Raga Varnam. Heseemed to have a slight cough but it did not seem to getin the way of his singing. In Shri Maha Ganapati(Gowlai) he sang the Chitta swaram in the slow speedfirst (actually more challenging in misra chapu tala!)and then the second speed. Sanjay did neraval on theline Kuvalaya Svavishana. I found it very interestingbecause I have usually heard the neraval done on Prakaaashakaro for this song. Sanjay and MannargudiEswaran seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselvesas they brought multiple laya nuances to the chittaswara lines that also had sollukattus. Next came NeeDayache Rama in Yadukula Kambodhi and SriRanjaniRagam followed by Ini Oru Kanam.The central piece of the concert was Kadanuvariki inThodi. Sanjay’s Thodi Alapana was full of bhava andthe gamaka-laden prayogas brought out the essence ofThodi. It seemed like Sanjay was having some troublenailing some of the faster brigas during the raga rendition.I also felt that Nagai Muralidharan’s exposition ofThodi was even more masterly and sublime. Sanjay didjustice to this majestic kriti. The neraval was on the lineof Nidhura Nirakarinci. In software development, werefer to some folks who are so technically adept that thefunctionality of the application just gets in their way.That is what came to mind when Sanjay did the neravalin second speed; the words just seemed to get in theway of the musical phrasing! Swaras were excellentwith a lot of mathematical wizardry and nadai changes.The numerous variations on Pa Paa Dha Pa Ma wereneat. Mannargudi’s Eswaran’s Tani avartanam wasfull of nadam and I really liked his subdued playing.During the Tani avartanam he indicated that he wasplaying a Mohra, a Korvai etc.Sanjay then sang the song Chumma Chumma inAdana. The RTP in Begada was superb. Sanjay’sragam and tanam rendition was just marvelous; hedefinitely brings out the jeevan of the raga and there isso much azhutham (depth, emphasis) in his musicalphrases. He reminded me of Bhimsen Joshi with allhis hand and body movements that seemed to complementthe singing! Again, Nagai Muralidharan’s depictionof the raga was so melodic and soulful; there weretouches of MSG (M S Gopalakrishnan) in his playing.The words of the Pallavi were Venkata Ramana SankataHarana. I was surprised that the talam was MishraChapu ; I expected it to be more exotic! The ragamalikaswaras were in Saranga, Yagapriya (a vivadimela karta, number 31 ; there is a beautiful Dikshatharkriti called Kalavati in this raga and I could definitelysee shades of that .. ), Ranjani.The Tukkadas were very nice and were all songs that Ihaven’t heard before and so that added to my enjoyment!Haridasulu (Yamuna Kalyani), DasarathaSutha in Jonpuri preceded by a Viruttam (Sloka), HariVasa (Sindhu Bhairavi), Vizhikku Thunai (Surati) anda Thirupugazh in Chatusra Jathi Dhruva Talam (firstalankaram talam).A very intelligent, dedicated singer with the essence ofclassicism. Splendid accompanists! A totally satisfyingconcert and my deep thanks to Sruti for making it possiblefor us to have the opportunity to hear such wonderfulconcerts in our own backyard.Kamakshi Mallikarjun, an engineer by profession, is afrequent contributor to Sruti publications.

26 Sruti Ranjani, 2004TReview of Sruti Day, November 20, 2004he Sruti day started with promise of a fine lineupof programs albeit shakily at first because of thesound system in the new venue for Sruti, namely theBharatiya Temple in Montgomeryville, PA. With theglitches ironed out soon, the day turned out to be great.Bhavani Prakash Rao of New Jersey and group presented,“Nilotpalambal Vibhakti” songs of Sri MuthuswamiDikshitar, as the starting program. The singingbegan after a highly informative and interestingintroduction to Sri Dikshitar’s music in general and hisVibhakti Kirtanas by Bhavani’s husband Sri PrakashRao. There were demonstrations by Bhavani, whereappropriate. The group consisted of Bhavani, the coordinator,lead vocal and Veena with Indu Kannan,Radhika Murali and her son, Ananthapadmanabha Raoall vocal artists. Prakash Rao and Kumar Kanthan providedeither vocal or Mridangam support for the songs.Nirupa Kumaraswamy gave Veena support.Bhavani started the program with the 57 th verse fromSri Adi Sankara’s Soundarya Lahiri which has a referenceto the, “Nilotpalam or the blue lily”, eyes of Parvati.After the Ganesa Stuti, by Dikshitar, all the eightVibhakti songs based in different Gowla Ragas werepresented. The order of the Vibhakti in the Sanskritlanguage was not followed exactly since that wouldhave had very similar Ragas adjacent to one anotherthereby diminishing the pleasure of listening.This was no small feat. That this presentation requireda tremendous amount of practice and efforts were obvious.The artists deserve our congratulations, appreciationand thanks. Sruti organizers had made the lyricsand meanings of all the Vibhakti Kirtanas available tothe audience thereby adding to the enjoyment of thelistening.The next group led by Srimati Lata Suresh made anequally impressive ensemble singing of the compositionsof Sri Swathi Tirunal. The participants were LataSuresh, Rathipriya Suresh, Lata’s daughter, KamakshiMallikarjunan, Preeti Arunapuram, Shalini Kannan andSruti Iyer. They started with Swati Tirunal’s, “MayaMalava Gaula Varnam”, followed by “Parama Pususha”in “Vasantha”. Next Latha sang his “SuddhaSaveri” composition that was meant to be a Nava RatriKirtana, she said and the final rendering was ofSwathi’s Tillana in Dhanasri.T. ParasaranThe third program was a delightful performance byUPenn Sargam with Veena, Violin and Mridangam.After the invocation piece “Pranamamyaham”, a piecewas played on the Veena by Sowmya Joisa. The highlightwas an elaborate Raga Alapanam of“Sankarabharanam” on the violin by Sruti Iyer followedby Thanam on Veena by Srikar Prasad and then thecomposition, “Swara Raga Sudha Rasa” by both ofthem. The final piece on violin by Sruti Iyer, “EnnaThavam Seydaayo” a composition of Papanasam Sivan,had melody, beauty and Bhavam. The artists were efficientlyaccompanied by Kartik Mukundakrishnan onMridangam. That the next generation young artistsexhibited so much talent is very heartening to realizeand they deserve all kudos for their accomplishments.The final segment of the music program for the day wasanother excellent rendering of both familiar and practicallyunheard of but equally impressive songs ofHarikesanallur Muthia Bhagavathar. Hema Ramamurthy,Bharati Sena, Poornima Narayan and HemaBhargava were the vocal artists with a very proficientHarish Bhavanahalli on the flute and Karthik Mukundakrishnanably accompanying them on Mridangam.They started with the Mohana-kalyani, “Siddhi Vinayakam”,then sang, “Sarasa Dhala” in “Saramati” andswitched to Yoga Narasimhachar’s composition, “RajaBhoga” in “Gowri Manohari”. They ended their shortprogram with Sri Bhagavathar’s, “Raja Raja” in the rareRaga, Niroshta that has neither of the notes “Ma” or”Pa”.The second half of the day’s program was dedicated toclassical dance items presented by three different danceschools coming from a larger geographical area thanusual. The first set of dances was presented by the studentsof Rama Ramesh and had a sampling of some ofthe traditional pieces. Special mention should be madeabout the delightful duet danced by Rama’s daughter,Rathi and partner about the cosmic dance of Lord Sivafollowed by a dance describing the cosmic dance(Ananda koothadinar) by the same artists. The last programof this group was a full length Varnam of Sri LalgudiG. Jayaraman in the Raga, Charukesi which wasdone with great attention to details and Bhava by Rathipriyathe daughter of Latha Suresh. Her happy moodwas contagious. Incidentally, Lata Suresh gave vocalsupport to the dances by singing the lyrics.The second group to dance was from Kala School of

Sruti Ranjani, 2004 27Dance from Scranton PA. After some short numberspresented with great enthusiasm, Leela Baikadi executedtwo beautiful numbers, “Ujjayani” of Sri SubhramanyaBharati and “Mahishasura Mardhani”, withmeasured force and enjoyable footwork. The end was afitting Pushpanjali followed by an innovative Mangalampiece by a group of five dancers.The last program of the day was another gracefully performedVarnam by Sudha Mokkapatti a student of RamyaRamnarayanan. The performer gave a SancharaBhava detour executed with grace and subtle beautyduring an instrumental elaboration for the compositionof Swati Tirunal, “Sarasija nabha”, that deserves a specialmention.On the whole, Sruti Day was a well attended music anddance program day and was a great way to end a wholeAudience of Philadelphia witnessed a ballet presentationGajamukha at Mandell theater on October9,2004. The ballet featured classical as well as folk andcontemporary dance styles. Through Gajamukha DrJayanthi Raman portrayed the stories on Ganesha, theelephant headed deity of Hindu epics.The production unfolded with a pure dance piece inthree different classical styles Bharathanatyam, Kuchipudiand Mohini Attam immediately followed by anitem the music for which was composed by PadmavibhushanDr. Balamuralikrishna. The interesting story ofhow Lord Ganesha gained his elephant head was narratednext. Following was a contemporary dance numberrelating the waxing and waning theory of the moon,which was presented with a tone on humour. The dilemmaof Nandi in judgment of the winner in a gamebetween Shiva and Parvathi was done well. The balletconcluded with a worship of Lord Ganesha duplicatingthe rituals commonly seen in the temples of South India.Parts of the music for the ballet were compositions ofAdyar Lakshman, Dr. Balamuralikrishna, Lalgudi-Jayaraman, Bhagavatulu Seethrama Sharma, Ganesh,Rajhesh Vaidhya and lyrics by Dr. Pappu VenugopalaRao and Professor V V Subramanian. The ballet waspresented with live music with O S Arun (Vocal), RajheshVaidhya (Veena), V K Raman (Flute), N K Kesavanan Radhakrishnan (Percussion).In my personal opinion, the contemporary segment didGajamukha: A ReviewMeena Pennathuryear of great cultural programming.The author wants to thank Sri M.M. Subramaniam forproviding the names of all the music artists, Viji Swaminathanand T. Sarada for assisting me with details ofsome other relevant information about the different programsincluding names, songs, and dances.The author regrets his inability for not recording thenames of all the dance participants. He wants to assurethe readers and the performers that he is very appreciativeof their contributions and enthusiastic participationthat have made the Sruti Day memorable.Sri Parasaran is a chemist by profession, is a regularcontributor to Sruti publications. He is a long time lifemember of Sruti and an avid music enthusiast.not fit well with a devotional theme of the ballet,though I might have been more tolerant of the same in asocial setting. Narendra Kumar dida brilliant job as a mouse carryingLord Ganesha after a heavy mealand once again he was good asNandi. The dancers were very efficientand quick in their costumechanges The lighting and stagesetting was very well executed. Thelive music was not all that I hadexpected. Out of four stars I wouldgive this ballet a rating of two stars.Meena Pennathur is a connoisseur of classical musicand a regular contributor to Sruti publications.

28 Sruti Ranjani, 2004Pu. Ti. Narasimhachar, A Creator of Exquisite Operas in Kannadaiversity has in many ways contributed to the richnessof Indian culture, but it has also had someDnegative effects. The profusion of languages has nodoubt given us many outstanding literary works butunfortunately some of the best writers and their worksin a given language are hardly known outside itsboundaries. One such figure is Pu. Ti. Narasimhachar,a highly acclaimed Kannada poet, creator of exquisiteoperas, essayist, and aesthete, whose birth centenary isbeing celebrated all over Karnataka this year.H. Y. RajagopalGitanataka or OperaPutina has composed 23 operas. Most of these arebased on classical themes drawn from the Ramayanaand Mahabharata and Bhagavata (such as Ahalya,Sriramapattabhisheka, and Gokula Nirgamana) butthere are also a few celebrating the beauty and joys ofnature (such as Sharadvilasa and Vasanta Chandana).Many of these have been produced over the radio andon stage.Narasimhachar was borninto an orthodoxSrivaishnava family in1905 at Melukote, a holytemple town in Karnataka.This was the place thatsheltered the great Ramanujaduring his exile inKarnataka in 12 th century.After his early schooling inMelukote, Narasimhacharwent to Mysore for highereducation, where he cameunder the influence many outstanding scholars at theUniversity of Mysore, the most notable of whom wasProfessor M. Hiriyanna, under whom he studied Philosophyand Sanskrit. It is to him that he dedicated hisfirst volume of poetry. That was a remarkable period inthe history of Kannada literature when it was undergoinga sea change and a new genre of poetry, known asNavodaya Kavya, was being created under the leadershipof Professor B.M. Srikantaiah. Putina (as Narasimhacharcame to be known) absorbed a great deal of thezeal and fervor of the new movement but conditioned itwith his own introspective outlook. He very sooncaught the attention of those that were at the forefrontof the movement, such as Masti, the great story-tellerand mentor to many a future literary celebrity, as wellas that of critics and scholars and went on to producesome of the most outstanding works of prose and poetry,and, what is of particular relevance to us here, theopera. His works stand out both in quality and quantity.His collected works fill three volumes, each about800 pages long. He is highly respected for his scholarlywritings, especially his interpretation and advancementof the Rasa theory, which he has expounded in hispoetical work Rasaprakasha.The remarkable thing about these operas is that themusic manifests itself as an integral part of the play, asan organic element of it. The musical content of theseoperas is as noteworthy as the lyrical. To the ubiquitousquestion whether the words came first or the music, hisanswer is very interesting: “When my mind is in a certaindisposition, it is swarmed by musical notes. Theseare not the recollections or the imprints of some greatmusic I had heard in the past but melodies I had neverheard before. In the stillness of the night they haveglowed like stars in the vast space of my auditory universe.I have cast words at them in order to catch them.Isn’t a song born after all of the union of the note andthe word? Word is a cloud and the note the lightningthat enlivens it. Word is the net and the notes are thebirds ensnared in it.” And he has gone to great lengthsto capture those midnight birds, as many instancesshow. With a beating heart he has gone to V.Doreswami Iyengar, the famed veena player known forhis sensitivity and delicate touch, early in the morningto tell him of the notes and phrases he heard in thenight, not resting until the maestro got them right on hisveena. Narasimhachar was not a trained musician in theformal sense but he had a tremendous intuition, an instinctiveand uncanny appreciation for the right noteand the right sanchara. He had heard some of the bestmusic of his day and his contemplative mind must haveabsorbed its quintessence into its innermost recesses.Nor were the words he cast to catch those melodiesordinary by any means. In most musical compositionsthat one hers these days the text is mostly a collectionof clichés and have no poetic value. Narasimhachar’ssongs are an exception. They are excellent lyrics too.B.V.K. Sastry, the erudite music and art critic, narratestwo incidents that attest to his intuitive musical ability.At a workshop he had organized under the auspices ofthe Karnataka Music and Dance Akademi, the object

Sruti Ranjani, 2004 29was the exploration a single raga, Todi, in all its aspectsas depicted by various compositions. One of thesongs chosen for discussion was Narasimhachar’s“Sharadeeshobha,” from his opera, Sharadvilasa. Itseems when MLV, one of the leaders of the workshop,heard it, she was so struck by the novelty of the handlingof the raga and the structure of the song, shewanted to know more about the composer of the songand his compositions. She asked if he were a performingmusician and when told that he was a famed poetand writer who never had any formal training in music,she wondered how he must have acquired such exquisitemanodharma. In the other instance narrated bySastry, Semmangudi, in his capacity as the chief producerof music for All India Radio, once visited theBangalore station, when one of Narasimhachar’s operas,Deepalakshmi, was being rehearsed. When heheard one of the songs, Are Mohana, in Kamach, hewas curious to know who the composer was. Whentold about Narasimhachar, it seems he exclaimed thatsuch a composition couldn’t have come from anyoneless than a great musician.V. Doreswami Iyengar was associated with Narasimhacharfor many years and had nothing but admirationfor his extraordinary conception of raga. He has saidthat it turned out to be a blessing that Narasimhachardid not have formal training in music otherwise hemight have lost that bold, adventurous, and fancifulspirit in his exploration of ragas. Narasimhachar experimentedwith raga combinations and creation of newragas and used them to remarkable effect in his operas.Some of the new ragas he created are Yaman-Behag,Rituvilasa, Vasanti, Sanjivini, Harini, Gandharalola,and Rishabhavilasa. And there are several unnamedones too. Theirs turned out to be a great collaboration -with sensitivity and patience, Doreswami Iyengar wasable to respond to Narasimhachar’s musical impulseand capture those unusual notes.Gokula Nirgamana has for its theme the maturing ofKrishna. The action takes place on the last night thatKrishna spends in Gokula. Those idyllic days of sportingwith shepherd girls, of music and adventure areabout to be over. Krishna is on his way to taking onthe larger role of the redeemer of the world. Afterplaying his flute all night long, he leaves it in a thicketon the banks of Yamuna, planting a seed of hope in theaching hearts of his beloved Gokula men and womenthat he may yet come back someday in the future, pickup that flute and play. Some of the most beautifulsongs of Narasimhachar are to be found here, his veryfirst opera. Krishnana kolalina kare (Sindhubhairavi),Kolalanudu Govinda (Ranjani), Sakha Hari(Kharaharapriya), Akko Shyama (Pantuvarali) and severalother songs from this opera became extremelypopular and have remained favorites for generations oflisteners. In this as well as his other operas, one canclearly see that his songs are rooted in chaste classicismbut take on a special aura, a resplendence of theirown by the freshness of his approach to the raga. Inthe radio production of Sriramapattabhisheka, BalamuraliKrishna and Srirangam Gopalaratnam renderedsome of its songs most movingly.Narasimhachar was a truly enlightened man. True tothe best Indian tradition, he combined both adhyatmaand science in his view of life. A happy man with aloving wife and a large family, he enjoyed the friendshipsof some of the most eminent men of letters of hisday. He won many honors for his literary achievements,including the most coveted Pampa Prashasti ofthe Government of Karnataka (named after the great10 th century Kannada poet, Pampa), honorary D.Litt. ofUniversity of Mysore, Padmasri from the Governmentof India, Fellowship of the Central Sahitya Akademi,and commemorative volumes dedicated to him. Towardthe end of his life, he could not see or hear toowell. Maybe, his trusted companions, the ragas, kepthim company to lighten the burdens of old age, I sometimeswonder. He passed away in Bangalore in 1998,leaving behind a remarkable treasure house of literatureand music for generations to enjoy.Personally, it has been my great good fortune to havemet him several times here as well as in India. Narasimhachar’sdaughter Padma and her husband Dr. H.V.Rangachar live in New Jersey and are well known tomany members of the Indian community of this area.My wife Vimala and her sister Dr. L.G. Sumitra hadthe unique distinction of learning the songs of GokulaNirgamana directly from Narasimhachar and popularizingthem. We are grateful for his memory.It would be most rewarding for our artists and writersof neighboring regions to explore Narasimhachar’soperas. Maybe there are others like him in other languagestoo waiting to be explored and such an explorationwould greatly enrich our art and culture.Dr. H. Y. Rajagopal, a founder member of Sruti, is anengineer by profession and a music enthusiast. He hasserved on several Sruti managing committees.

30 Sruti Ranjani, 2004The author of this article comes from HindustaniClassical Music background. As such, the focushere is centered around Hindustani Classical Musicians,which will be obvious from the examples setforth .However, it is entirely possible to find similarexamples in Carnatic Music and other forms of Art.The author wishes to make it clear at the outset that heis an admirer of the recognized artist mentioned in thisarticle and many others. The tone of the article is suggestiveof empathy for the deserving, but unrecognizedones.Recognized artists, for the purpose of this article, arethose who are fully recognized and generally famous.Indeed many or most of these Artists may be outstandingin their field. Deserving Artists, on the otherhand are pre-eminent and excel in the quality sought intheir field, but may not be widely recognized. This phenomenonhas existed for not just decades , but perhapsmillenniums. This can be easily perceived in the comparisonof the mighty Arjun and Karna or Ekalavya,who of course could not grow up to the potential underthe circumstances that existed at the time. No matterwhat the field is, there are always the famous ones whoare virtually worshipped by the followers. On the otherhand there may be others who are equally or more proficient,but generally unnoticed or not recognized tothe full extent. An attempt is made here to illustrate theabove mentioned point with two examples, one fromthe medieval age and the other from the 20th century.Many readers must have seen the movie "Baiju Bawra".The theme of the movie is not a fiction. It is based onthe life and music of a great Musician called "Baiju" or"Nayak Baiju" of extraordinary musical ability. Manyscholars credit Baiju with the introduction of"Dhruvapada", which is considered as the predecessorof the modern Hindustani Classical Music System( Alater name for "Dhruvapada" is Dhrupad, which is invogue even today.) However there are other scholarswho are of the opinion that Nayak Baiju did not introduceDhrupad, but was a big time contributor to DhrupadSystem. Today we have two styles of North IndianMusic. The most popular style is Khyal Gayaki . Mostof the time, we, in U. S. A., as in India, hear KhyalGayaki. The other style is Dhrupad, which was verypopular during the period of Emperor Akbar whosecourt musician was the great Miya Tansen. Comingback to the equally great, but not fully recognized inthe same proportion was Nayak Baiju, who dedicatedRecognized Versus Deserving ArtistsJayawant Bantwalhis life to Music, developed new Raags and composedmany compositions. He was Miya Tansen's contemporary,although a bit senior. Just like Tansen, he was atremendous performer and was endowed with YogicConcentration. As legend has it, Miya Tansen couldcause rain to come down with a Raag known as MeghMalhar or cause candles (or the equivalent) to light upwith a Raag called “Deepak.” It is said, Nayak Baijuhad the same powers . Both musicians had several accomplishments.But the point, here is, Baiju could notachieve the same degree of success and fame, as Tansendid. Of course the distinguishing factor here wasEmperor Akbar. No attempt is made here to take anythingaway from Miya Tansen, who was not only extraordinary,but had earlier displayed remarkable wisdomand courage in Gwalior, which paved the way tosmooth continuation of Music.Another example is from the 20th century. This is in thefield of the percussion instrument Tabla. Acharya PanditTaranath Rao Hattangadi (1914-1991) was one ofthe greatest Tabla Masters. He was famous. But thefame and recognition that he achieved were not commensuratewith his contribution to the art. Pt Taranathjiwas born in Mangalore and moved to Bombay rightafter High School. He started learning Tabla under PanditVishnuji (a competent teacher and Bombay-trainedTabla Player), at the age of 4, which continued until heleft Mangalore. His final Guru in Bombay was UstadShamsuddin Khaan Saheb. Taranathji had a total of 44years of training under his belt. He was the most soughtafter Tabla Player of Bombay and later became themost sought-after teacher. He played with all the leadingArtists of India many a time. This included Pt RaviShankar, U. Ali Akbar Khan, their Guru, the Great U.Allauddin Khan Saheb, U. Hafeez Ali Khan (Amjad AliKhan's father and Guru), Pt Pannalal Ghosh, any Artistone can think of, like Pt Suresh Babu Mane, U. BadeGulam Ali Khan, U. Amir Khan, Smt Hirabai, SmtGangubai, Pt Bhimsen and many, many others. PtTaranathji was considered Guru of Gurus. Ustad AhmedJaan Tirkwa was not only his senior, but also afriend and discussed Tabla with him from time to time.Pt Ravi Shankar held him in high regard and made himthe Professor of Percussion in his School in Bombayand later brought him to U. S. A. in 1968. Taranathjialso trained other great Tabla Players in rare Taals sothat they could provide accompaniment to the renownedArtists, as he was not in a position to do that atthat particular time, due to Bursitis.

Sruti Ranjani, 2004 31Taranathji is said to have taught more than 2000 students,who are active in different parts of the world. Hetaught percussion in Los Angeles area for nearly 13years. He has accompanied countless number of Artists.He has performed on the BBC Television. At theage of 75, he gave a Tabla Solo at a Television Programin New Jersey, which lasted nearly 45 minutes. Thisauthor had the honor of accompanying him on the Harmoniumat that Program. He was also an accomplishedplayer and teacher of Pakhawaaz. He also played Mridangamand had the honor of spending time with Vidwanand Guru Mani Iyer of Palghat. He invented FiberglassTabla. He could make Tabla and taught this Art toa few disciples. He has composed dozens of TablaBoles, like Kaydas, Tukdas, Parans, Relas, Gats, etc.He has composed Taals like Jagadamba (19 Matras)and Rishi Taal (22 Matras).He was highly regarded by other Musicians and Scholarsand was awarded titles like, Sangeet Koustubha,Tabla Wizard, Vadan Kushal, etc. However , unfortunately,he did not have the good fortune of receivingthe most coveted titles like Padma Vibhushan or evenPadmashree, although other Artists who looked uponhim as their Guru or who received direct or indirecttraining from him, were more fortunate. PanditTaranathji dedicated his entire life to Tabla, performanceand teaching. He pursued this art with a spiritualzeal. He used Tabla and rhythm as a vehicle to Perfection.Material benefits were not important to him. Howeverto reach the pinnacle of success, in terms of recognition,in a subjective world , often it takes more thanart, dedication and ability. It would be of benefit tohave "Akbar" on the side. After all, the meaning of Akbaris "Great"!Jayawant Bantwal, a connoisseur and teacher ofHindustani Music, is an accomplished Tabla player andhas accompanied many world renowned musicians.PReflections on Music by Sangeetha Kalanidhi Shri R. K. Srikantanrimarily, music is an art to be listened to carefullyand not read about. Even the most expertly writtenbook on music cannot go beyond one-way communication,i.e. it cannot offer an interactive learning experience.Music most fully mirrors man in all his infinitevariety. A music performance is an incarnation of aseries of ideas implicit in the work art.Listening is a rare talent like any other talent or gift. Itvaries in degree from person to person.A work of art does not grow old; it is outside time andspace. Art is a human experience. It excels life, enhancesit and gives meaning to it. It is both personaland beyond the personal. Art is essentially related toemotion and synthetic in its outlook.Music education is a liberating force, and it is also ademocratizing force, cutting across the barriers of casteand class, smoothing out inequalities imposed by birthand other circumstances.Of late, there is a tendency to lay greater stress on themanipulation side of music than on the aesthetic side.The primary appeal of music as of any art is to the emotion.To make music mechanical is tantamount to killingit. That is why we lay greater emphasis on Bhava.A Raga though based upon Swaras and grouping ofSwaras is something very much more than these; theSwaras are the form but the life of the Raga is itsBhava. To bring out the Bhava of a Raga requires skilland inner sensitiveness. A composition is the embodimentof Raga Bhava and Sahitya Bhava. The structuralexcellence brings out the Raga Swaroopa while renditionalexcellence brings out both the Raga Bhava andSahitya Bhava.“When art, which ought to be a vital impulse vibrantwith life and scintillating with upwelling emotion, descendsto formalism and conformity with rigid intellectualpatterns and formula, its death knell is sounded.Art in India has always been considered a sacred function;music and devotion went always hand in hand.”Rigid and disciplined practice, efficiency, transparency,uncompromising attitude in maintaining high classicaland traditional values, is a must for a student and a successfulperformer. In a performance, the team shouldshare interests, values and goals. There should not beone-upmanship between them. A performance shouldbe rich, full and keep the audience anchored. Supremeconfidence in oneself and innovative ability is the enginefor good results and success.Sri R. K. Srikantan is a very well known musician andmusicologist, and needs no introduction. He wasawarded the Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1996.[Extracted from an interview by Dr. Dinakar Subramanian.]

32 Sruti Ranjani, 2004As a rasika, deconstructing a Pallavi (in a RagamTanam Pallavi) has always been a challenging aspectin appreciating a Carnatic concert. I completelyunderstand that deconstruction is not a prerequisite fora pleasurable aural experience of the Pallavi, rather justan added value. With that disclaimer, I humbly attemptto explicate some of the terminology and rhythmic intricaciesinvolved in a Pallavi.Ragam Tanam PallaviRajee Ramanresolution of a tala), respectively.Nadai or GathiNadai/Gathi predicates the number of aksharas in thetala. The familiar Adi Tala is Chatushra (4) Nadai/Gathi– the other variations are Thisra (3), Khanda (5) andMisra(7). There are DwiNadai Pallavis with the purvangaand uttarangas in different nadais.As often noted, Ragam Tanam Pallavi (RTP) is thepiece de resistance of a concert. It rightfully deservesthat eminence. RTP is a touchstone of an artist's versatilityand virtuosity. The word Pallavi is derived fromthe three syllables Pa - Pada (words), La - Laya(rhythm) and Vi - Vinyasam (variations). After the almostfree-form improvisations in Ragam and Tanam,Pallavi involves elaborating (Neraval) a single line ofsahitya set to one full tala cycle (avarthana), followedby Kalpanaswaras. Here’s a quotation from BRC Iyengar’sbook on a definition of Pallavi. “Accommodatinglimited sahithya within the frame work of a completeavarthana of any thala, which is ideally suited for innovationand creativity, in a variety of eduppus(commencing point) and gathis, and set to definedgraha, can be called a shuddha Pallavi.”In short, Pallavi proceeds thus: an elaborate neraval isfollowed by Trikalam and Kalpanaswaras. Some of theterms and their significance in a Pallavi follow.Angas:-A Pallavi has two sections (angas), the poorvanga anduttaranga. The point of division of these two sections iswhat is called the arudi (also called pada gharbha). Thegap between the arudi and the commencement of theuttaranga is Vishranti (resting time).Eduppu:-The eduppu (commencing point) may be at variouspositions, like samam (with the beat of the thala),atitham (before the beat) or anagatham (after the beat).Pallavis commencing at athitham or anagatham (for e.g.1/4, 1/2 or 3/4 after or before Samam) are naturallymore difficult to deal with.Kalai:-Pallavis are also set to 2-kalais, 4-kalais or even 8-kalais. This means each akshara in the sahithya is computedas 2, 4, and 8 matras (Matra is the lowest timeJaathiJaathi of the Tala denotes the amount of beats that alaghu can take. For a lack of a better explanation, Aditala is Chatusra Jaathi Triputa Tala, Khanda Jaathi Triputa-a beat and 4 finger counts and a Misra JaathiTriputa– a beat and 6 finger counts.Let’s consider a Khanda Jaathi Triputa Tala TisraNadai 2 Kalai Pallavi.Khanda Jaathi Adi tala implies a total of 9 counts(considering the four finger counts).Tisra nadai means 3 matras per akshara2 kalai requires 2 aksharas per count.Hence the total matras for this pallavi- 9 x 3 x 2 = 54As you can deduce, a different combination of thenadai, kalai and jaathi can lead to the same number ofaksharas. For the question of whether a Pallavi can berendered in more than one tala the answer is theoreticallyyes, but a whole lot is dependant on the aestheticsof the sahitya.Anuloma, Pratiloma and Viloma Kramas- TrikalamTrikalam as the name indicates means 3speeds or kramas.Pallavis can be a veritable playground for mathematicalinnovations. There are many interesting and innovativepallavis (for e.g. ragamalika pallavis, gopuchha yatipallavi etc.) that deserve an article to themselves.Hope the above gives a peek into the complexities involvedin performing a Pallavi that is intellectually andemotionally stimulating. My references have been primarilyweb-based including the newsgrouprec.music.indian.classical, Sangeetham.com and Carnatica.net.Any corrections are welcome.Rajee is a software engineer by profession, and a connoisseurof classical music and dance.

SRUTI EVENTS IN 2004March 6, 2004April 9, 2004Thyagaraja Aradhana. Musical tribute to the composer by Sruti Members. Featuredartist: Professor Subbulekshmi & Kalyani Ramani Radhika Mani on the violinand Suresh Ramachandran on the mridangam.An Evening of Indian Classical Music by Ustad Shujaat Khan on sitar and DebashishBhattacharya on slide guitar. Accompanied by Shubhankar Banerjee &Shubhashish Bhattacharya on the tabla.May 8, 2004 Carnatic Vocal Concert by Vijay Siva. R.K. Shriramkumar on the violin, and J.Vaidyanathan on the mridanga.May 9, 2004June 6, 2004July 11, 2004September 11, 2004October 3, 2004October 9, 2004October 30, 2004November 20, 2004December 4, 2004Workshop and Mini Concert by Dr. N. Ramani with C. S. Anuroop on the violinand Dr. P. K. Swaminathan on the mridanga.A Carnatic violin Concert by Kalaimamani A. Kanyakumari with Embar Kannanalso on the violin, and Thiruvarur Vaidyanathan on the mridanga.Movie: The Speaking Hand: Zakir Hussain and the Art of Indian Drum and a sitarconcert by Shafaatullah Khan; Pandit Ramesh Mishra on Sarangi and Amit Das ontabla (presented with International House).Carnatic Vocal Concert by Sanjay Subramanian with Nagai Muralidharan on theviolin and Mannargudi A. Easwaran on the mridangam.A classical guitar concert by Pandit Brij Bhushan Kabra (presented by DelawareMusic Lovers in collaboration with Sruti) accompanied by Ustad Kadar Khan ontabla.Gajamukha - A Dance Event by Jayanthi Raman and Dance Ensemble withbharatanatyam, kuchipudi, mohiniattam, folk and contemporary dances.Carnatic Rhythm Ensemble Event by Padmabhushan Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman(Mrudangam) accompanied by Nemani Somayajulu (Jalatharang), E. M. Subramanian(Ghatam) Nagai Sriram (violin), and Mattanur Sankarankutty (Chenda) Unnikrishnan(Thimila, Edakka and Sanku).Sruti Day by Local Talent. Neelothpalambike Navaavarnams of Dikshitar. Musicby different composers presented by three local groups; dance by individuals andgroups.Murugaratnamala by Sri. T. N. Bala and Group followed by the General BodyMeeting.