Tyagaraja’s Tiruvottriyur Pancharatna Kritis – Some Thoughts

Note: This article of mine was published in the flute maestro T. R. Mahalingam’s centenary issue of Shanmukha earlier this year. The genesis of this article was when I was requested by Vidushi Dr. Premeela Gurumurthy to do a lec-dem on Tyagaraja’s Tiruvottriyur Pancharatnams earlier this year.

Tiruvottriyur is a northern suburb of Chennai.  If we travel by train to Chennai from any city or town on the Chennai – Howrah / New Delhi rail route, we encounter Tiruvottriyur’s railway station just as we are about to get ready to alight from the train as we would reach Chennai Central station in another 15 or 20 minutes.  Many times, trains arriving at Chennai stop at a signal at Tiruvottriyur (and later almost always at Basin Bridge!), causing passengers to get impatient!

Having grown up in Delhi and travelling to Chennai every summer holidays, I would always get to see Tiruvottriyur’s railway station.  Suburban stations and their slum-filled outskirts don’t really present a very prepossessing picture from our trains and unfortunately to me, Tiruvottriyur seemed to be no exception.  Having no relatives or friends living there at that time, there was nothing to engage me with the suburb; Tiruvottriyur was to be just ‘’a station’’, best only to be ‘’skipped’’ and that too, the faster the skip, the better!  It didn’t help that the change wrought in the southern parts of Chennai due to the IT boom, seemed for some reason, to have given the northern suburb a miss.

Later, however, my attitude was to undergo a drastic change.  As the years sped by, and I started performing, I realized that Tiruvottriyur is quite a hallowed place – with many saints having sung at the temple dedicated to Goddess Tripurasundari.  As it happened, I started regularly performing in Tiruvottriyur, thanks to a group of dedicated and passionate rasikas. And it was quite a surprise when I came to know that Tyagaraja has actually dedicated five kritis here, one of them being the ultra-popular and majestic Daarini telusukonti.  More about Daarini telusukonti, later.

Unlike his younger contemporary Muthuswami Dikshitar, who was always on the move composing and singing at various temples, Tyagaraja doesn’t seem to have travelled much, from whatever accounts we know of his life that have been handed down to us.  The bard from Tiruvaiyyaru seems to have undertaken one travel that we know.  We see from his compositions that this sole (?) pilgrimage comprised of Srirangam, Lalgudi, Tirupati, Kanchipuram, Tiruvottriyur, Kovur (both of them being suburbs of Chennai), and probably Sirkazhi and Nagapattinam.  He may have visited the last two separately as well.

Out of these, Srirangam, Lalgudi, Kovur and Tiruvottriyur have got the distinction of having five kritis composed by Tyagaraja.  Each set being named as a set of ‘’pancharatnams’’ was naturally, a given!

It is said that at the request of his disciple Vina Kuppaiyer, Tyagaraja visited Tiruvottiyur. Legend has it that Tiruvottriyur has been visited by none other than Adi Sankaracharya.  Subsequently, the list of saints and minstrels that visited Chennai’s northern suburb make an impressive list comprising Tirunjana Sambandar, Appar, Sundara Murthy Nayanar, and Pattinathar. So, Tiruvottriyur with its temple dedicated to Goddess Tripurasundari, also qualifies as a true ‘’paadal petra sthalam’’, akin to the well-known temples in the heart of the city located in Triplicane and Mylapore.

The Sanskrit name for Tiruvottriyur is Adipuram – the name occurs in four of the five kritis.  It is noteworthy that Tyagaraja chose to focus on the Goddess Tripurasundari in all his five kritis on Tiruvottriyur.  The Devi’s consort Adipuriswarar / Trivottrieswarar / and the composer’s namesake Tyagaraja, curiously doesn’t get any mention or a kriti in his favour!   In contrast, all the five kritis composed in Kovur and Srirangam are only on Siva and Ranganatha respectively.  Tyagaraja seems to have been more ‘’catholic’’ and gender-agnostic in Lalgudi, where three kritis are dedicated to Siva and two to his consort, Pravruddha Srimati.

Some Thoughts on the Kritis

1. Daarini telusukonti

Let’s start with Daarini telusukonti.  The kriti with its sprightly gait has been immensely popular on the concert platform.  G. N. Balasubramaniam was responsible for popularizing this expansive kriti, and then later his superstar disciple M. L. Vasanthakumari sang it extensively.  Daarini telusukonti is a kriti that has numerous sangatis in all its sections – the pallavi, anupallavi and in the charanam.  Usually in Tyagaraja’s kritis, it is the pallavi that has many sangatis, a few in the anupallavi and very less or no sangatis in the charanam.  Kritis like O Ranga saayi (Kambhoji), Chesinadella (Todi), E taavunara and many others, are good examples of this.  Some of the kritis have sangatis in the pallavi that run into double digits!  In these kritis, the charanam is usually a section that is just quickly sung and dispensed with.  Examples are Needayaraavalegaaka (Todi) and Naajeevaadhara (Bilahari) and Kaaruvelpulu (Kalyani).

One very popular kriti that has equal number of sangatis in all the three sections is Nagumomu in Abheri.  Likewise with Daarini telusukonti.  The charanam’s first line beginning with raajita mani gaNa… itself has about six or seven sangatis, depending upon the version! With such established and standardized sangatis, if the accompanying team is familiar with the kriti, the result is a true joyous synergy that results, especially if the mridangist and the upapakkavadya artist play with the necessary understanding.

From a 21^st century perspective, it is interesting that Tyagaraja chose to clothe the elaborate and majestic Daarini telusukonti in Suddha Saveri and not say, the more ‘’popular’’ pentatonic raga Madhyamavati.  Perhaps Suddha Saveri and Madhyamavati were equally popular back then that made Tyagaraja choose the former?  We can only guess.  My theory is that Tyagaraja probably came to Tiruvottriyur after he visited Lalgudi (and maybe even after Kanchipuram) and since he already had composed in Madhyamavathi at these two places (Deva sri – Lalgudi, and Vinayakuni – Kanchipuram), he perhaps chose Suddha Saveri for this grand composition.  Whatever the thought of the bard of Thiruvaiyyaru may have been, the Carnatic music world is definitely richer and consequently needs to be thankful that we have been bequeathed the grand Daarini telusukonti in Suddha Saveri.

Structurally, we could say that Arabhi and Suddha Saveri are similar ragas.  Suddha Saveri is a straightforward pentatonic raga having the arohana and avarohana as:

S R M P D Ṡ

Ṡ D P M R S

Arabhi’s structure is:

S R M P D Ṡ

Ṡ N D P M G R S

Arabhi’s arohanam is the same as Suddha Saveri and the avarohanam is sampoornam (having all the seven notes in the descent).  However, both the N and the G in Arabhi’s descent are just bridge or gliding notes, being almost invisible.  We must remember that the third Ghana raga pancharatna kriti in Arabhi – Saadhinchene, does not feature the nishada swara at all!  But even though the G is neither a sharp, nor a resting note in Arabhi, the phrase M G R with the gliding G is very characteristic of Arabhi.  The same principle applies to its Ṡ N D phrase as well.

However, Suddha Saveri differs markedly from Arabhi by emphatically and unequivocally proclaiming its pentatonic nature, especially in the Ṡ D and the M R combinations.  There’s absolutely no trace of either the N or the G in the descent of the former raga, thereby distinctly differentiating the two.  This is especially evident in the way Daarini telusukonti begins with an emphatic S D P phrase – something that Tyagaraja employed in his relatively shorter Kaalaharana (rupaka tala) as well.

2. Sundari ninnu varnimpa – Arabhi – Misra Chapu

Perhaps to underscore the differences between Arabhi and Suddha Saveri, Tyagaraja chose to create Sundari ninnu varnimpa in Arabhi?!  Set to Misra Chapu tala, the kriti is a wonderful description of the Goddess – that seems to echo ideas from Adi Sankara’s Soundarya Lahari. 

The 66^th sloka from Soundarya Lahari says:

vipanchyA gayantI vividhamapadAnam paSupatEh
tvayArabdhE vaktum calitaSirasA sAdhuvacanE
tadIyairmAdhuryairapalapita-tantrI-kalaravam
nijAm vINAm vANI niculayati colEna nibhrutham

One translation is:

Oh mother of all, when you start nodding your head, sweetly muttering, “good, good”, to the Goddess Saraswathi, when she sings the great stories of Lord Pasupati to you, with the accompaniment of her Veena;

She mutes the Veena by the covering cloth, so that the strings throwing sweetest music, are not put to shame, by your voice which is full of sweetness.

In the Arabhi kriti, shades of this are evident in the second charanam.  The Goddess Tripurasundari’s attributes put all the acknowledged paragons to shame:

caraNam 2

kanulanu kani siggupaDi gaNDu

mInulu vanadhi vAsamu sEyanAye

janani nI ciru navvu kAnti sOki

SivuDu-anupamamau SubhruDAye

minuku sommula cEla kAntula

merupulu kani nimishamu niluvadAye

kanaka-angi nI svaramunu vini vANi

magani jihvanu tA pUnikAye tripura (su)

This loosely translates to:

‘’Looking at Your eyes, the carp fish being ashamed, had to inhabit the seas;

Touched by the splendour of Your smile, Lord Siva had become incomparably radiant or white or spotless;

Looking at Your sparkling ornaments and the splendour of Your garments, the lightning would not last even for a minute;

Hearing Your voice, Saraswati had to occupy the tongue of her husband – brahma.’’

For the last line, my own interpretation is that, Saraswati, on hearing the sweetness of Devi’s voice, covered her veena, lest the strings would not be put to shame (Soundaryalahari) and she herself retreated to her abode, which is on her consort’s tongue (as proclaimed by Tyagaraja)!

3. Kanna talli – Saveri – Adi 2 kalai

Tyagaraja has composed numerous kritis in Saveri – one website lists out at least 18 kritis!  It’s curious that apart from Rama baana traana and to a lesser extent, Daritaapuleka and Tulasi jagajjani, the rest of the kritis are practically unknown.  Occasionally one gets to hear the tisra gati composition Balamu kulamu, but the others languish in oblivion. 

The kriti composed in Tiruvottriyur, Kanna talli fares slightly better but it isn’t well-known to the extent it ideally needs to be.  The kriti has everything going for it – a rakti raga like Saveri of course, a majestic adi tala 2 kalai gait, charanam in a madhyama kala tempo, and very appealing lyrics.  In this kriti Tyagaraja speaks to us, on his philosophy, about the impermanence and transience of life.  The human body may be decked with ornaments and given the best of food and nutrients, but it is after all, full of impurities and is not at all permanent:

kanaka bhUshaNamula peTTi mariyu

sogasu jEsi pAlu pOsi pencina

tanuvu satamu kAdu nirmala-

tanam(i)ncuka lEd(a)nucunu… (charanam 3)

In the second charanam, he makes a social commentary – something that he does in quite a few of his kritis; this is a major subject by itself, meriting a separate article!  He refers to ill-speaking and gossiping, fair weather relatives and how he resolves to stay away from them, with Devi Tripurasundari’s grace.

caraNam 2:

paluku manci kAni bAndhavulu mari

bAva maradulu-akkalu-anna tammulu

kalimi jUcu vAru lEmini

kanula kAna rAru anucunu

talacukonna venuka vAri mAyala

tagala jAlanu-ammA maru marIci-

kalanu jUci nIru-ani bhramasi

kandurA Adi pura vihAriNi nanu (kanna)

Looking at the ideas expressed in this charanam, we are reminded of an instance where Muthuswami Dikshitar says the same thing slightly differently with brevity in his wonderfully profound Vegavahini kriti on Saraswati – Veenapustaka dhaarini set to Khanda eka tala.  He says:

‘’narAdhamAnana vilOka SOkApahAM’’ – the one who eliminates the distress that comes from seeing the faces of mean, inferior men.

Great minds really do think alike!

Tyagaraja also felicitously injects the use of a proverb common to both Tamil and Telugu in the anupallavi.  He says:

vennayuNDa nEtikiyevaraina

vesana paDudurA tripura sundari (kanna)

Translated, this means, ‘’Will anyone worry about ghee when there is butter?’’  The butter being the reference to Devi Tripurasundari of course.

The common proverb in Tamil is “கையில் வெண்ணெய் இருக்க நெய்க்கு எதுக்கு அலையணும்”!!!

4. Sundari nannindarilo – Begada – Rupaka

Tyagaraja has composed quite a few kritis in Begada, an eternally appealing, bright and cheerful raga.  There are grand compositions like the popular Naadopasana, bringing out the importance of music and how the Trimurtis (Brahma, Vishnu and Siva) have attained their glory due to their ceaseless and incessant worship of naada (loosely translated as sound).  Then there is the contemplative heavy weight Lokaavanachatura, the attractive Neevera kuladhanamu, the sprightly Nee pada pankaja, with its fast-paced charanam in madhyama kala, and many others.

The composition on Devi at Tiruvottriyur in Begada is Sundari nannindari lo.  I don’t have much to say about this kriti except that it is a very musically attractive and appealing kriti, where Tyagaraja describes Devi’s attributes and prays for her grace.

5. Sundari nee divya roopamu – Kalyani – Adi

A slightly lesser known kriti when compared to the ever-popular E taavunara, Nidhichaala sukhama, Enduko nee manasu and others.  Despite that, the composition has a charm of its own.  Tyagaraja says he came all the way weary and anxious whether he’ll get peace of mind.

‘’alasi vaccina-anduku nA manasu

hAyi jendunA-ani-uNDaga’’

My theory is that he would have reached Tiruvottriyur after an arduous journey and hence this statement from him – perhaps this would have been the first kriti he composed after reaching Tiruvottriyur??

And his weariness abated slowly but surely, as his anxiety when he beheld Devi’s charming form as the celestial damsels salute her on the occasion of the vibrant celebration of the Friday prayers and celebrations.

‘’kala kalamani sura satulu varusagA

koluvu Sukra vArapu muddu tripura’’ (sundari)

The Friday celebrations, being special to Devi, is mentioned in Daarini telusukonti as well (danuja rAja guruni vAsara sEva – ‘Sukra’ being royal preceptor, rAja guru, of the asuras (danuja)).

Interestingly, this kriti seems to have two versions; the current version is sung in 1 kalai.

In his Kirtana Sagaram, Book III, published in 1961, Professor P. Sambamoorthy declares that Tyagaraja himself having sung this kriti ‘’from the anupallavi’’ and that the kriti was actually referred to as ‘’Mandagamana’’ (the opening words of the anupallavi) and not as Sundari nee divya roopamu!  Consequently, he asserts that this version is the correct version and the one which is now in vogue is a corruption – having amalgamated with some other composition with the same tune (varna mettu)!  T. K. Govinda Rao’s book on Tyagaraja’s kritis, gives both versions.

None of Tyagaraja’s kshetra kritis are composed in extremely rare or vivadi ragas, and his kritis on Tiruvottriyur are no exception.  He seems to have been satisfied in sticking to the rakti and popular ragas.  That’s probably because when he witnessed the darshanam of the Goddess – inspired by the sheer grandeur of Tripurasundari and the temple, he was perhaps automatically transported to the world of composing and the kritis that resulted were a spontaneous outpouring, rather than an intentional and thoughtful musical exercise. 

Ultimately, the Tiruvottriyur group kritis highlight Tyagaraja’s reverence for the goddess, blending lyrical poetry with musical richness, with each kriti explores different shades of emotion — from supplication and humility to celebration of divine power.

Mera Kuchh Saamaan Tumhaare Paas Padhaa Hai…

840 songs together! – pic originally from Filmfare

Disclaimer – I’m not going to write anything that close followers of Bollywood songs won’t know. This post is a compilation of the first few thoughts that ran through my mind when I heard she was no more in this world. Writing about her and her songs is subject matter for several books, not one or two…

Easily the Best in Bollywood. Forever.

Her voice and songs – so much part of my 1970s childhood. Especially the iconic national anthem at that time – Dum maro dum, and the relatively lesser known and unusual duet with Usha Uthup – I love you; songs from Apna Desh, Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Jawani Diwani… My Chennai-based cousin Gopal and I would rapturously record the songs from the radio, and from my father’s record player. This was our pastime in those decades when he would come to Delhi for his summer vacations.

As I grew older, it was a process of discovery. Coming across the outstanding songs of Teesri Manzil, for one, and several others. Discovering the astonishing range of songs that she sang for O P Nayyar that were to become perennial favourites, was another continuous process altogether. Starting from Yeh hai reshmi zulfon ka, Jaayiye aap kahan (both from Mere Sanam), the phenomenal Aayeeye meherbaan (Howrah Bridge), that truly exquisite Deewana Hua Baadal (Kashmir Ki Kali), and several others.

She emphatically proved that she wasn’t just the Helen-type-cabaret-song singer – although no one could have done those better than she did! I mean, I simply can’t imagine anyone else singing the iconic Piya tu ab toh aaja, or Do pal jo tere (Baharon Ke Sapne). The other genre that she got typecast with was the ”jhumka gira re, bareilly ke baajaar mein” variety. It seemed that she would appear in the film to sing only these numbers or the cabaret items, the rest of the ”main songs” were sung by Didi. This included the ”naughty” or the seductive ones, to which however, full justice was done, so much so that again, like the previous section, one can’t really imagine anyone else singing them. Two examples that immediately come to mind are ”aaungi ek din, aa jaaun” (Basera) and ”kya ghazab karte ho ji” from Love Story. There are countless examples of these.

Her classicism in songs from Umrao Jaan and many other films merit a separate post altogether.

With her voice mellowing and taking on a slightly husky tone in the later years, she was PERFECT in Gulzar’s Ijazzat – her sedate and sober Mera kuch saamaan tumhaare paas pada hai is nothing short of being marvellous. Most surprisingly and extremely contrary to type, there are four songs in this film, and ALL of them have been sung by her and her ONLY.

Coming to her Tamizh songs, I have to say, I’m NOT a fan of her pronunciation. However, the loyalist in me forgives the language deficiency and listens in delight to her spirited rendition of Oh butterfly for Ilayaraja in Meera. Ditto with that truly unique masterpiece of Ilayaraja – நீ பார்த்த பார்வைக்கொரு நன்றி from Hey Ram…

The list is endless.

Thank you Asha Ji/Tai for bringing the kind joy you did with your unique and powerful voice and your exquisite songs. A voice and talent like yours truly belongs to eternity. For decades, you poured life into melodies with a range of moods / rasas. You never faded, and you always possessed grace that moved effortlessly between playfulness and depth. Your songs did not merely play in the background of life, they became the background of our memories themselves. Your legacy is the unending echo of your voice, alive in every heart like ours that was fortunate to listen and appreciate.

🙏Om Shanti🙏

Pratapavarali – Indelible Identity Bequeathed by Tyagaraja

Note: This article was published in Shanmukha, Vol. LI, Issue No. 3. My thanks to Hon Editor Smt. Shyamala Sajnani and Editor Smt. Revathi R.

Vinanaasakoni in Pratapavarali by Tyagaraja is an example of an ekaika raga kriti.  Among his contemporaries and later in his sishya parampara, only the bard of Tiruvaiyyaru seems to have composed in this raga.    The kriti is attractive and has a sprightly gait, typical of Tyagaraja’s madhyama kala kritis, especially those starting on the samam eduppu set to Adi tala 1 kalai.  Examples of such breezy kritis starting on the samam eduppu are Niravadhisukhada (Ravichandrika), Brochevarevare (Sriranjani), Manasunilpa (Abhogi), Ni padapankaja (Begada), Tsaalakallalaadu (Arabhi) and many others.

Through his numerous creations, Tyagaraja showcased the manifold moods and qualities of many established ragas by composing multiple kritis in them.  For instance, we have so many kritis in Todi, each exhibiting a different facet of the raga.  Likewise each of his multiple compositions in ragas like Sankarabharanam, Bhairavi, Varali, Begada, Kalyani, and Kharaharapriya demonstrate varied hues of the respective ragas. 

It is also a well-known fact that Tyagaraja gave life to ragas that existed only in theory, by composing kritis in them.  Some of these ragas have two or more kritis composed by him – examples are Kokiladhwani (Koniyaade, Tolinenujesina), Suddha Bangala (Ramabhakti, Tappagane), Janaranjani (Vidajaaladura, Smaranesukhamu, Naadaadinamaata), Garudadhvani (Ananda Saagara, Tattvameruga tarama) and others.

Some ragas have only one kriti by him – the list of these ragas is pretty long!  Of course, I’m not considering melakarta ragas here; for example, kritis like Evvare raamayya (Gangeyabhushani), Prananaatha (Sulini), Paramaatmudu (Vaagadheeswari) – are the only kritis composed by him in these melakarta ragas.

The category where *only* Tyagaraja (and none after him) has composed kritis is most interesting.  These are called Ekaika Raga Kritis. 

Vinanaasakoni in Pratapavarali is one such example and it is this raga that we will examine in this article.  The kriti is relatively rare, although not entirely unknown, as musicians *have* rendered it.

Pratapavarali is a raga that is classified to be a janya of Harikambhoji – the 28^th melakarta raga.  A cursory examination of the Aarohana and the Avarohana immediately points us to a couple of other apparently similar sounding ragas.  What these are, we will see in a minute.

Pratapavarali’s Aarohanam – Avarohanam is:

S R M P D P Ṡ

Ṡ D P M G R S

Pratapavarali and Sama

We are straightaway led to think of the rakti raga that is immensely popular on concert platforms – that is Sama.  Sama’s arohanam and avarohanam is:

S R M P D Ṡ

Ṡ D P M G R S

So, structurally, it’s only the ‘D P Ṡ’ that differentiates Pratapavarali and Sama.  Hence to remove any ambiguity and to establish the raga immediately, Tyagaraja begins the kriti with the syllables ‘vi’ ‘na’ ‘naa’ set to the notes D P S in the lower octave.  This instantly establishes the fact that Vinanaasakoni is NOT Sama but something quite different.  This is further underscored by the fact that the word ‘vishwa’ in the pallavi’s second line beginning with ‘vishwa roopudane’ is set to ‘m p d p ṡ’ – again the usage of the ‘’d p ṡ’’ phrase.

And in the anupallavi, Tyagaraja begins with an emphatic declaration by setting the syllables of the word ‘’ma-na-saa…’’ to ‘’D P Ṡ’’, which really and truly proclaims the raga’s individualistic and melodic identity.

The yesteryears’ doyen, Madurai Mani Iyer has rendered this kriti.  Some years ago, I was fortunate enough to get the maestro’s recording of this kriti, and to my delight, he has rendered a few rounds of kalpanaswarams as well.  With the one and only Lalgudi Jayaraman responding to the swaras on the violin in his inimitable way, this clip shared by a good Samaritan rasika many years ago, is an absolute delight and sounds eternally fresh after even seven or eight decades.

A short while ago, I had sent this recording to my students, and asked them to identify the raga (I was certain none of them would have heard this kriti), and also if they saw similar facets of other ragas.  One condition I laid down that they should NOT google the kriti! 

I got varied replies.  While a couple of them *had* heard this kriti; responses with regard to similarity with other ragas provided some interesting perspectives.  The most obvious was the similarity to Sama, which I have referred to earlier.

Pratapavarali and Natanarayani

Another noteworthy response was the similarity to the raga Natanarayani.  Now Natanarayani is an interesting example in its own right.  Being a janya of the same Harikambhoji, Natanarayani is very similar to Sama – practically having the same Arohanam and avarohanam, except that it has an additional SA RI GA phrase in its ascent. 

Natanarayani – is S R G S R M P D Ṡ – Ṡ D P M G R S.

This raga has only one kriti by Muthuswami Dikshitar – Mahaganapate paalayashumam.  Like Tyagaraja did with Vinanaasakoni by establishing the raga with very first syllables of the pallavi, Dikshitar does likewise by emphatically placing the first two syllables ‘’ma’’ and ‘’ha’’ as M G (swaraaksharas, if we consider the syllable ‘ha’ to be sounding similar to ‘ga’), with the gaandhaaram being elongated.  This one phrase is enough to establish the fact that Natanarayani has a separate identity.  Sama does not have an elongated gaandhaaram anywhere in its structure – the G in Sama is usually a bridge note, not as much in the background as the almost invisible G in Arabhi (in the descent), but not as visible as the G in say, Sankarabharanam either! Great minds truly do think alike!

Balahamsa and Goudamalhar

A couple of other ragas proposed that sounded similar to Pratapavarali were Balahamsa and Goudamalhar.  Fair enough – both these ragas have the same Aarohanam as Sama – S R M P D Ṡ.  However the similarity ends there.  Balahamsa has a nishaadam in its descent and it has further a sharp ‘M R M G S’ that defines its individuality quite unequivocally.

Goudamalhar is a different story.  Although the ascent is the same, since it’s a derivative of Sankarabharanam, the descent has Ṡ N D M G R S.  The reason it was possibly suggested was that Saarasamukhi in Goudamalhar was again very closely associated with Madurai Mani Iyer!

It is difficult to bring in a separate identity to a raga like Pratapavarali, especially when there are close and formidable cousins like Sama, and to a lesser extent Balahamsa and Goudamalhar.  But the true and far-sighted genius that he was, Tyagaraja has brilliantly succeeded in this creative experiment with Vinanaasakoni; and consequently Madurai Mani Iyer in the 20th century.  I have heard this kriti rendered by the Bombay Sisters – Saroja-Lalitha as well.  My mother also taught this to her students back in the 1970s.

Regarding the meaning, in this song, Tyagaraja appeals to Rama that he be privy to the private conversations between the latter and Sita during a game of ‘’Chaturangam’’ (பல்லாங்குழி in Tamizh) the divine couple played.  A markedly different and heart-warming theme, to be sure!

Gopal Sapthaswaram – Maestro Ilayaraja Hits

Maestro Ilayaraja Golden Hits By Gopal Sapthaswaram

Singers:

Female: Sabitha, Vaanathi, Anusha, Varsha, Madhu Iyer

Male: Varshan Satish, Dinesh, Ananthu, Koushik, Naresh, Mookuthi Murugan

Date & Venue: 6:30 PM on Saturday August 31, 2024 @ Vani Mahal, T. Nagar, Chennai

I went to a film songs’ concert featuring a live orchestra concert after DECADES.  Why I eventually did go to such a concert yesterday merits a bit of background.

My father-in-law’s younger brother, N. Ravi, ran an orchestra of his own called K-Notes, which consisted of just the immediate family members, all bound by a common love and passion for music. I’ve participated in that troupe myself on various occasions.

Consequently, my wife, having grown up in that milieu, has always been fond of going for live shows.  She often watches snippets of such shows on YouTube, something which I’ve never had much yen for.  She would often ask if we could attend such a concert live and I have to say I had been consistently resisting her entreaties.  The reasons, according to me were:

1. If one has access to the original recording (which we all have now, thanks to the smart mobile phone), then why does one need to go for a concert featuring songs being rendered by different singers?
2. A couple of ‘’like-minded’’ film song buffs shared the same opinion and that sort of sealed my decision!

However, yesterday, on coming to know about Gopal Sapthaswaram’s concert title that would feature only Ilayaraja’s hits, I somehow felt that maybe going for the concert will not be a bad idea.  After all, it would be a nice change, I thought. 😊

As a Carnatic vocalist, I’m very vociferous about attending live concerts – this is something I have mentioned in several of my earlier blog posts.  In my opinion, nothing can beat the experience of listening to a live concert.  Similarly, the pleasure of going for a cricket match in the stadium and going for a live play – these are certainly experiences to be done LIVE.

To my sheer delight, yesterday’s Gopal Sapthaswaram concert was exactly that – the live experience for me featuring much-loved songs of maestro Ilayaraja and getting to listen to hitherto unheard and lesser-known songs was truly a wonderful experience!

The reasons were many.

1. The singers, without exception, were GOOD!
2. Most importantly, the song list was unusual – it was great to listen to numbers not usually featured in these kinds of concerts.  There were innumerable examples – I will talk about those as I give the list.
3. The usage of manual instruments.
4. The live chorus – this was the icing on the cake.  Especially in songs like Hey I Love You with that exquisite chorus in the 2^nd BGM, was *thrilling* to say the least.
5. The crowd – I was initially surprised to see the crowd that was already waiting to be admitted into the Vani Mahal auditorium. Clearly Gopal Sapthaswaram is Popular!  To me, it seemed like last December, how I would wait to get into a concert by either Sanjay Subrahmanyan or Ranjani Gayatri!  And concert experience levels goes up by several notches when you get into enthusiastic conversations with people seated next to you and when you hear songs being hummed by audience seated in the row behind for instance (this happened, for instance, with the song ”Oru jeevan azhaitthadhu)!

Let’s dive into yesterday’s concert list:

#              Opening Words of Song – Film

1. Enakku oru annai – from Ilayaraja’s album, released in 2013

This was sung by Varshan Sathish as an opening prayer song.  The similarity of his voice with that of the maestro himself was unmistakable!  Ditto with the other veteran singer Dinesh and K. J. Jesudas; and Mookuthi Murugan and Malaysia Vasudevan!  It definitely added enormous authenticity to the songs presented.

2. Nenjukkulle innaarunnu – Ponnumani

Gopal Sapthaswaram, when making the initial announcements, emphatically made the point that the concert would focus primarily on Ilayaraja’s early 1980s hits and some lesser known gems.  But the very first ‘’popular number’’ was this one from the 1992 released Karthik starrer Ponnumani!  After this one, however, they dived with gusto into the late 1970s-early 1980s!

3. Kurinji Malaril – Azhage Unnai Aarathikkiren

4. Nee illaathapothu yengum – Ilamai Kolam

5. Mazhai varuthu – Raja Kaiyya Vacha

6. Malare malare ullaasam – Un Kannil Neer Vazhinthal

This was an attractive number I was listening to after a long time.  One of Janaki’s best solos in my opinion, sung effectively by Sabitha.

7. Paadu nilaave – Udaya Geetham

I have heard this Udaya Geetham number sung by the diva S. Janaki herself in a live concert way back in 1986, when fortunate filmgoers that time were swamped on the all the sides by the exquisite musical onslaught of Ilayaraja those days!

8. Ananda taen kaatru taalaattude – Manipur Maamiyaar

9. Kuyile kuyile – Aan Paavam

Gopal Sapthaswaram had announced this as how the stanza is percussion, especially tabla oriented.

10. Valli valli ena vanthaan – Deiva Vaakku

This is a strong favourite – justice was fully done by Varshan Sathish.

11. Poo muditthu – Yen purushan thaan yenakku mattum thaan

12. Hey I love you! – Unnai Naan Santhitthen

An eternal favourite number that very few people know these days.  This was one of the many songs that made me fall in love with the maestro’s music upon release.  The 2nd BGM’s chorus, so well done, I’ve already mentioned earlier.

13. Chittu kuruvi – Chinna Veedu

An exquisite song, reminding me of another masterpiece by SPB – Susheela, Pattukkannam from Kaakki Sattai.  The overlaps at the end of this song, which is the icing on the cake, were perfectly executed!

14. Malargale – Kizhakke Pogum Rail

Definitely a lesser-known number from the popular film.  Again, Gopal Sapthaswaram avoided the popular Poovarasam poo and Kovil mani osai and performed this beauty instead.

15. Aatthoda poovarasa – Anbukku Naan Adimai

16. Poon thendral kaatre vaa – Manjal Nila

A rare combination of the original being sung by Jayachandran and Susheela.  I especially loved the way the second line of the Pallavi and the last line of the stanzas blends with the Pallavi’s first line – the vivadi touch through both the dhaivatams is superb!

17. Manathil yenna ninaivugalo – Poon Thalir

18. Vaa vaa anbe – Eeramaana Rojaave

19. Oru jeevan – Geethanjali

The spontaneous applause after the first line was rendered, was almost a given!

20. Siriyaparavai – Antha Oru Nimidam

21. Poove ilaya poove – Kozhikoovuthu

22. Manja nilavikku – Muthal Iravu

23. Maharajanodu – Sathi Leelavathi

24. Alaigalil Midhakkudhu – Antha Oru Nimidam

This was a song that I remembered even when watching the movie as a teenager for the first time.  The ragas seems to be a bit of a mixture of both Subhapantuvarali and Bhavapriya, but the end result (which is what matters), is a truly great song!  This was seamlessly and beautifully rendered yesterday.  Somehow, I feel compelled to add here, Antha Oru Nimidam as a film was utter TRASH – sheer bilge.

Balaji Ramanathan spoke at this juncture, and he pointed out some salient features of Gopal Sapthaswaram.  Noteworthy was when he spoke about the choice of songs last evening and how even the creator, i.e. Ilayaraja himself, would possibly not feature these kinds of songs in his own live concerts!

25. Neengaatha yennam – Vidiyum Varai Kaathiru

A song and movie that brings back memories of me going for this with my cousins at Devi Paradise theatre and we were denied entry as this was an ‘’Adults Only’’ certified film.  Half of us were admitted and those of us being debarred, had to settle for the Muqaddar Ka Sikandar remake, Amarakaviyam, starring thespian Sivaji Ganesan with his two leading ladies being young enough to be his daughters – Madhavi and Sripriya.  The less said the better.

26. Sendoorappoovae – 16 Vayathinile

27. Kanmani nee vara – Thendrele Ennai Thodu

This and Oomai Nenjin Sontham (Manithanin Marupakkam) are evergreen Malayamarutam favourites.

28. Thangacchangili – Thooral Ninnu Pochu

I watched this back in 1982 at Anand theatre (Mount Road) with my cousin Gopal and his friends, just before another cousin’s wedding the week after.  This particular song was the rage and listening to it yesterday, it sounded as fresh as ever.

29. Pattu poove – Sembarutthi

If I had to choose to create a ‘’ten favourite songs of Ilayaraja’’ list (it would be a very difficult list to create, to begin with), Pattu poove will surely make it in the top five.  I personally find this understated, apparently simple song, truly irresistible.  Credit goes to my sister-in-law, Vasanthi Ravichandran, who introduced this peerless number to me when she had recorded a cassette of Ilayaraja’s songs in the early 1990s.

30. Thaazhampoove – Kai Kodukkum Kai

Another rank favourite!

31. Veethala vetthala – Rosappu Ravikkaikaari

An effective closure, evocatively sung by Mookuthi Murugan.

In the middle of the concert, there was song video that was played, titled Thaai Manne, created by one of the sponsors, Ravi Murugaiah, effectively sung by Shankar Mahadevan with captivating visuals.

I have to say, this was my first experience of Gopal Sapthaswaram.  And for my wife, son and I, it certainly won’t be the last.

I later came to know from a fellow Ilayaraja devotee, Sriram V, that Gopal Sapthaswaram – well, let me reproduce his WhatsApp text to me here:

I don’t think I can say it better than that!

Exquisite Nagaswaram Recital

Nagaswaram – Pazhayaseevaram Kalidas with Koleri Vinoth Kumar

Thollamur M Rajaraman and Valavanur V R Kumaravel – Tavil

I was a bit late – I came to know afterwards that there was a ragamalika varnam rendered as the first item.

1. Paahi paahi baala ganapate – Hamsadhvani – Rupakam – Mazhavai Chidambara Bharati – Tuned by TMT (S, KS)

2. Kedaragaula alapana – Swamikku sari yevvare – Misra Chapu – Papanasam Sivan

3. Hindolam alapana played by Koneri Vinod – Saraswati vidhiyuvati – Rupakam – Muthuswami Dikshitar

4. Poorvikalyani alapana followed by Meenakshi memudam – Adi – Muthuswami Dikshitar

5. (Main) Geeta vaadya – Natakapriya – Adi – Thanjavur Sankara Iyer

6. Sarvam brahma mayam – Madhuvanti (Madhyama sruti) – Adi – Sadasiva Brahmedra (Tuned by??)

With the online information overload and concert content glut, going for live concerts presents its own challenges for a major section of the audience and rasikas. 

However, as a performing artist myself, and more importantly, as a rasika, I have always (and still do) believed in attending concerts LIVE.  This was especially underscored for me when I happened to go for a live show last month, of S. V. Shekher’s hit play Mahaabhaaratthatthil Mangaatha.  The impact of watching such a play live, cannot be overemphasized in words.  It merits a separate blog post!

When I came to know that Pazhayaseevaram Kalidas was slated to perform for Parivadini’s annual series, I immediately resolved to go for the concert.

How I came to know about this artist itself merits mention.  Nagaswaram vidwan Thirumayilai P. Varamoorthy is my family’s aasthaana nagaswaram artist.  Beginning with my son Dhananjay’s aayush homam (first birthday) back in the year 2004 (coincidentally, at Raga Sudha Hall!), Varamoorthy and his nagaswaram have been a staple in my family functions.

Last year in May 2023, Varamoorthy invited me to his son’s wedding.  Happily, the reception concert was a nagaswaram trio recital.  (Alas, wedding reception concerts are now fast becoming a thing of the past; it just seems to be cacophony and calling it ‘’fusion’’, whatever that last word means.)

Anyway, to come back to the wedding reception concert of Varamoorthy’s son, the recital was by Vyasarpadi Kothandaraman, along with Mylai Karthikeyan and Pazhayaseevaram Kalidas.  While Vyasarpadi Kothandaram and Mylai Karthikeyan were obviously known to me, having listened to them multiple times, I wondered about Kalidas.  And it was Kalidas’ performance that evening that was to indelibly etch itself in my mind.  I later tried to get his number to speak to him but drew a blank. Then Life intervened, but I never forgot the nagaswaram vidwan from Pazhayaseevam – situated somewhere on the Chengalpattu – Kanchipuram road…

When I saw that Parivadini had featured his recital in the annual series this month in August 2024, it was a given that I would be going to for the concert.

I was a bit late – I entered Raga Sudha Hall just as Kalidas was winding up the bright kriti pAhi pAhi bAla gaNapatE.  A composition in rupaka tala by Mazhavai Chidambara Bharati, set to tune so very tastefully in Hamsadhvani by the one and only T. M. Thyagarajan (TMT).  Hamsadhvani may have the evergreen Vatapi and several other compositions on Vinayaka and otherwise, but the sheer tuning genius of TMT proves yet again that, it’s all in the hands of who’s actually setting the lyrics to tune.  pAhi pAhi bAla gaNapatE can said to be ‘’yet another song on Vinayaka in Hamsadhvani’’, but TMT’s tuning skills ensure that this kriti sounds fresh, sprightly and with a lot of verve.  Plus, a brief but attractive chittaswaram to boot.  The chittaswaram is brief, unlike TMT’s chittaswaram for the kriti namAmi vighna vinAyaka (set to adi, tisra gati, again in Hamsadhvani), and adds just the right amount of spice to the brief Madhyama kala charanam.

Kalidas and his nagaswaram partner on stage, Koleri Vinoth, alternated kalpanaswarams in an attractive manner, with a delectable kuraippu.

Pazhayaseevaram Kalidas (L) and Koleri Vinoth (R)

Kalidas next launched into an expansive and attractive charming Kedaragaula alapana and followed it up with Papanasam Sivan’s popular swAmikku sari yevvarE in misra chapu tala.

A brief and succinct Hindolam alapana came next, played by Koleri Vinoth and the kriti played was Muthuswami Dikshitar’s Saraswati vidhiyuvati in rupaka tala.  The highlight of this was the way both Kalidas and Vinoth *ended* the kriti.  After completing the kriti, the duo played multiple sweeps of Hindolam alapana, with the Tavil in the background.  A completely new and delightful experience.

When Kalidas began Poorvikalyani alapana, I settled back into my seat, prepared to soak into this raga, probably as the main.  The way Kalidas developed the alapana initially, I really did feel as if Poorvikalyani was going to be the main raga for the evening.  However, as the alapana progressed, I realized, to my slight dismay, that he seemed to be in a bit of a rush to complete it.

So, the impression I finally got when the alapana was over, was distinctly the okay-I’m-done-with-the-raga-alapana-and-let-me-now-proceed-with-the-kriti kind of thing.

When they started Dikshitar’s mInAkshi mEmudam, I distinctly felt a bit let-down.  Here was a concert, whose foundation was laid so well with the alapanas of Kedaragaula and then the Hindolam item – then why was Poorvikalyani and that too a kriti like mInakshi given such a brief treatment?

That being said, I have to admit that I soon found myself enjoying the smooth and flawless rendition of the Dikshitar masterpiece – it was the first time I was listening to mInakshi mEmudam on the nagaswaram.

Expecting the usual niraval and swara kalpana at the mandatory line madurApuri nilayE, Kalidas and Vinoth, to my surprise, just wound up with the kriti.

Yay, that clearly meant there was something more to come!

Kalidas then played an emphatic phrase N D P M G…. and followed it up with G M P D N D P M G….

Ah okay, the main is going to be Kharaharapriya.  And with that thought I relaxed and leaned back on my chair.  However, the very next instant I was jerked back to the edge of the seat, when Kalidas followed the G M P D N D P M G…. phrase with G R R;  the rishabham being a distinct and an emphatic suddha rishabham.

The raga was Natakapriya! Wow!

And from this point onwards, it’s impossible not to go into hyperbole.  The alapana was astonishing, wonderful, brilliant – any number of similar words from online thesauruses can be used to fill this space, and STILL the Natakapriya raga alapana that Kalidas and Vinoth played that day by seamlessly alternating with each other several times, will defy all of them, simply because what he played just cannot be bracketed into a description by mere words.

For me as a rasika and also as a performer, it was nothing short of sheer joy!

The kriti – Tanjavur Sankara Iyer’s gItavAdya (adi tala) and the tani with the kuraippu in nadais other than chatusram and the final item – Sadasiva Brahmendra’s sarvam brahmamayam (Madhuvanti in madhyama sruti), seemed to bring this concert to an end too soon for my liking.

Later, after about almost a couple of weeks, I happened to chat on WhatsApp with veteran ghatam vidwan V. Suresh, who was part of the audience that day.  It was supremely gratifying to hear similar thoughts on the outstanding Natakapriya alapana from him!

Thank you, Parivadini and Lalitha Ram, for featuring this true gem of a nagaswaram vidwan, and his impeccable team, despite all the extant practical hurdles and challenges. 

We definitely need to hear more of Pazhayaseevaram Kalidas.

Three Ragas Resurrected by Tyagaraja

Note: This write-up was published earlier this month (Feb 2024) in the souvenir of the Thyagaraja Aradhana Festival 2024, Kozhikode.

There are multiple articles on how Tyagaraja was solely responsible for resurrecting a number of ragas by composing kritis in them.  In this article I wish to highlight three ragas and compositions that have personally appealed to me very much. It is also interesting to note how some of these ragas inspired successive generations of composers to compose kritis in them, and yet, how Tyagaraja’s kritis continue to be appealing and retain their freshness.

1. Nenarunchara – Simhavahini – Adi

As a teenager in the 1980s, I first heard this kriti sung by a senior vidushi in an All India Radio broadcast in New Delhi.  Two things ensured I was instantly attracted nenarunchara – the way the kriti was sung (what is commonly referred to as the kriti ”version”) and its sprightly gait.  The version of the kriti was especially appealing in the anupallavi.  After the first line sanakAdi yOgi bRnda vandya pAda was sung, the second line sAkEta vAsa sad-bhakta pOsha, contained a quasi swaraaksharam for the syllables sA and kE.  This immediately made me resolve to record, notate and learn this kriti!

Simhavahini is a janya of the 27^th melakarta raga Sarasangi. Structurally, the raga is straightforward. The aarohana – avarohana structure is linear, without any vakra pidi.  Simhavahini eschews the rishabham in the aarohanam, making it S G M P D N S’.  The avarohanam is sampoornam and matches that of its parent raga Sarasangi.

Hence ostensibly we could say that Simhavahini isn’t *very* different from its parent raga other than the absence of the rishabham in the aarohanam. 

nenaruncarA nApaini cAla

nI dAsuDanu kAdA SrI rAma

However, here is where Tyagaraja’s composing skills come to the fore.  In the common version I learnt, the words nenaruncarA, begin with the notes P M G,, R S.  Fair and straightforward.  In the next section of the Pallavi sahityam (nApaini cAla), the syllables ‘nA’ and ‘pai’ are couched in emphatic S and G notes, thus establishing Simhavahini beyond doubt.  The S G phrase in any raga, especially with the gandharam being the antara gandharam (G3) seems to emphatically have a flavour of its own.  Small wonder that ragas having S G in their structure bring a more assertive and a certain definitive relish.   We experience this in ragas like for example Bahudari, Amritavarshini, Sunada Vinodini and Nagaswaravali; and especially in rakti ragas Begada and Kannada.  To me it seems that Tyagaraja employs the same principle of exploiting the S G notes and succeeds brilliantly even in a relatively lesser sung raga like Simhavahini.  The S G phrase recurs regularly throughout the kriti and thus nenarunchara with its plaintive appeal by Tyagaraja to Rama to give his bhakta refuge, acquires a sheen of its own, quite different from its parent raga Sarasangi.

It is worthwhile to note here that Simhavahini and nenarunchara seems to have inspired the genius descendant disciple of the Tyagaraja sishya Parampara Patnam Subramanya Iyer to compose his brilliant Evarunnaaru nannu brochutaku in adi tala.  Patnam goes one step further and straightaway establishes the S G phrase in the first two syllables of the kriti’s pallavi!

2. sArvabhauma sAkEta rAma – Ragapanjaram – Adi

A rarely heard kriti in a rarely heard raga.  And yet, the kriti has an intrinsic charm as was evident to me on the couple of occasions I’ve had the opportunity to listen to this composition.

This particular kriti brings to fore an aspect of the varied expression of the sentiment of devotion of Tyagaraja – something his kritis are replete with and are well-known for.  The richness of feelings and moods impart to them a lyrical appeal and brilliance, and this is very evident in this charming kriti.

We all know that for anyone expecting a favour, the first thing needed is to catch the eye of the listener.  Once this is done, then the devotee longs for his lord to speak to him, and in this kriti, Tyagaraja yearns to listen to Rama’s charming words.

‘’O King of Kings!  Can you not heartily talk a few words to me?  The charming words you spoke before had not reached my ears and I have been uneasy with an unfulfilled desire.  Am I to keep on living, hoping to have that privilege on some further occasion?” (From Dr. Raghavan’s The Spiritual Heritage of Tyagaraja)

pallavi

sArvabhauma sAkEta rAma

manasAra palka rAdA dEvatA (sArva)

anupallavi

pArvatI ramaNArcita pAda ramA

pati vandya parAtpara dIna bandhO (sArva)

caraNam

muddu mudduga mATalADinadi

mundu rAka sadA veta jenducunu

kaddu kaddanucu cira kAlamunu

karagucuNDa valenA tyAgarAja nuta (sArva)

So, what is Ragapanjaram?  A janya of Harikambhoji (28^th melakarta raga), Ragapanjaram has the aarohanam and the avarohanam defined as:

S R M P N D S’

S’ N D M R S

Technically Ragapanjaram could be classified as a janya of Kharaharapriya as well.  However intuitively perhaps it ‘’sounds closer’’ to Harikambhoji and hence the classification of it being derived from Harikambhoji. On examining the aarohanam and the avarohanam, it is evident that apart from the P N D S’ phrase, Ragapanjaram is rather similar to the better-known Andolika!  Andolika with its instantaneous and continued appeal and consequent popularity of the intense and attractive Raagasudhaarasa, seems to have eclipsed Ragapanjaram!

However, to come back to the P N D S’ phrase and employing it skilfully throughout, it CAN ensure that Ragapanjaram and its compositions can very well have an identity of their own, quite apart from the more popular Andolika.

Tyagaraja seems to have realized this and has hence bequeathed us *two* kritis; Andolika has only one by him!  The second kriti in Ragapanjaram is varadA navanItASa in misra chapu tala and is completely in Sanskrit.  I have not heard this kriti so far.  It is clear that these two kritis by Tyagaraja are worth exploring further!

3. enta muddO enta sogasO – Bindumalini – Adi

An *extremely* popular kriti in an extremely popular raga that truly is well-deserved!  Bindumalini as a raga instantly captivates and musicians have revelled in playing alapana, swaras, ragam, tanam and pallavis, and tillanas.  Some of the renditions that I have personally enjoyed tremendously and have been inspired, are those by maestros Lalgudi Jayaraman, N. Ramani, U. Srinivas and Madurai T. N. Sheshagopalan.

And despite the potential of the raga, apart from Tyagaraja, it is curious that no one in his sishya parampara seems to have attempted creating any composition.  That include his direct disciples, second generation super vaaggeyakara Patnam Subramanya Iyer, and also the prominent composers of the early 20^th century like Mysore Vasudevacharya and Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar.

Enta muddo falls into the category of kritis where Tyagaraja unequivocally condemns Kaama.  There are numerous examples of this in his kritis. Menu jooci mosa (Sarasangi), his grand Natakurinji piece Manasu vishayanata and the well-known Todi kriti Emi jesite nemi, are a few examples.

Though he was immersed in Raama bhakti, the happenings of society around Tyagaraja did not escape unnoticed by him and he has captured his observations candidly in some of his kritis.  One very striking example is the popular Abhogi kriti Manasunilpa where, in the charanam he refers to a ‘’Somayaji’’ who conducted a yagna along with his spouse.  Tyagaraja questions how Somayaji will get the fruits of the yagna performed by him, if his spouse is running after beautiful/handsome paramours!!!  Clearly adultery was prevalent and was not lost upon our genius bard at Thiruvaiyyaru!  Tyagaraja ends the kriti by asserting that a person who’s a slave to lust and anger, no amount of tapas will be the saviour.

Coming back to Entamuddo, Tyagaraja is as blunt and outspoken as he can be.  The Pallavi begins innocuously enough with a routine theme – the bard asks if there could be anyone who can describe the magnificent beauty of the Lord adored by him.  In the anupallavi he moves into the theme that if someone is continuously engaged in thoughts of lust, that will definitely make him/her blind to the beauty of the adored Lord.

And the charanam is where things get really spicy!

atta mIda kanulu-Asaku dAsulai

satta bhagavata vEsulairi

dutta pAla ruci teliyu sAmyamE

dhurINuDau tyAgarAja nutuDu (enta)

Some moderate translations give the first line of the charanam to be speaking of people fearing their own mothers-in-law due to desire or lust.  However, upon examining the sahityam closely, the correct translation appears to be that people who are swayed by their lust are not even above eyeing their own mothers-in-law amorously! 

We must remember that in Tyagaraja’s times, child marriages were very common.  Hence it was natural for a mother-in-law barely in her 30s to welcome a son-in-law.  And this definitely would give scope for whatever Tyagaraja has stated in his usual forthright way, to happen!

Tyagaraja ends the kriti will the simile that the milk jug can never know the taste of milk.  I would interpret this as the people who are under the sway of lust are mere inanimate objects like the milk jug and will have no idea of tasting the exquisite bliss of the Lord.

Incidentally, the praasam in the charanam – atta, satta, dutta – gleefully employed by Tyagaraja is also worth noting!

Simhavahini, Ragapanjaram and Bindumalini – three drops in the body of Tyagaraja’s monumental work handed down to us.  Yet these shine as coruscating crystals, ever giving us rasikas the pleasure of these unusual ragas and the joy of experiencing and identifying with Tyagaraja himself, his various thoughts and ideas that he wished to convey though these compositions.  And he does it with such flourish and elan that we return to his kritis again and again and again!

Flying high, high, I’m a bird in the sky…

After my company Infocareer’s ‘’Info Thiruvizha 2.0’’ celebrations and fun activities were over at an ECR beach resort, I dropped senior colleague Yogen Chawla at the Chennai International airport that evening. Navigating the traffic through Sholinganallur amidst extremely overcast sky imminent with torrential rain, I just mentioned casually to Noida-based Yogen that I was scheduled to take the Tamil Nadu Express the following day (Sunday) and would reach Delhi on Tuesday, December 05, 2023.

‘’I’m coming only for a day, Yogen,’’ I told him.

‘’Any special reason?’’ asked Yogen.  ‘’Is this trip official or personal?”

“Personal.  I’m meeting some of my Hans Raj College classmates – and a couple of them I’m going to meet in person after 1994 – so that’s 29 years!’’

‘’Nice!  But do you know, I heard some trains have been cancelled due to the rains here in Chennai.’’

‘’Yes, I believe so, but the Tamil Nadu Express wouldn’t be one of them,’’ I declared with the usual confidence I had in the legendary superfast train connecting the Gateway of the South to the National Capital.

As I concentrated on navigating the heavy traffic at Sholinganallur junction, with the forced one-way due the ongoing metro construction, Yogen said, looking up from his mobile into which he’d been peering into for the past few minutes, ‘’Mohan, you’d better check. It says that the Tamil Nadu Express is also cancelled!’’

‘’The Tamil Nadu Express is also cancelled?!’’ I exclaimed incredulously.

‘’Uh huh.  At least that’s what it says…’’

As I exited Chennai airport after dropping Yogen off, I wondered what to do.  It looked like I would have to cancel my Delhi trip.  Flights would be horrendously expensive if I tried to book at this last minute.  As it was, Pradeep wasn’t coming (at least that’s what he’d declared till then), neither were Vikas or Anil.  Geetika, Manisha and Neetu – all the three would positively SCREAM if I told them I wasn’t coming as well.  Dare I back out?  Maybe I’ll just not tell them anything and perhaps ghost all their calls / texts – similar to how people generally do when they want to avoid awkward conversations? 

Anyway, I digress.  Back to the Delhi trip.  What on earth was I going to do?  How was I going to break it to the Hans Raj gang that I was also going to opt out?

As I ascended the Kathipara grade separator around 7:00 PM, the drizzle had by now turned into the usual November downpour Chennai is famous / notorious for, depending on the way you look at it.  Navigating the sharply curved exit on the left side from the flyover to descend to the direction of Guindy, I got calls from both my son Dhananjay and my wife, who gave me the tidings that the Tamil Nadu Express was in reality cancelled.

As I entered Saidapet, something made me call my go-to person for all matters concerning Indian Railways.  I called rail enthusiast Arun Pandian, wondering whether he was in Bangalore or Chennai and if he would be able to take my call.

To my relief he immediately answered.  Telling him my plight, I asked him what I could do and if I would really have to cancel my trip, a trip that I had planned several months in advance in discussion with my friends.

Arun, in his swift characteristic way, immediately suggested several options.

‘’Mohan don’t worry.  You’ll reach!’’ was the first thing he said.

The second thing he said, however, threw me into a bit of a disarray and I had to focus on driving in the downpour to reach home, which was only a few minutes away now.

‘’You could reach Delhi through a few options.  You could go to Guntakal by the Tambaram – Kacheguda Express and then take the Bangalore Nizamuddin Rajdhani from there.

‘’Or else you could go to Bombay and then take the Mumbai Central – NDLS Rajdhani,’’ was the second option he suggested.  He reeled off with practiced ease several other trains that included the Tamil Nadu Sampark Kranti – most of which Arun Pandian however vetoed himself.

‘’Best would be Mumbai. Go to Delhi via Mumbai,’’ he concluded as befitting someone completely at home with giving such advice on a daily basis.

‘’Go to Delhi via Mumbai???’’ I echoed.  ‘’And that too by *train*?  Are you mad, Arun?  And even if I agree to this crazy plan of yours, who the hell do you think is going to get me tickets at this short notice?’’

‘’Mohan, you please don’t worry about all that – let me see what all is available and I’ll come back to you.’’

‘’Yeah right.  Anyway, I’m also reaching home in a couple of minutes and let me call you after that.’’

That call to Arun was the defining call for the entire trip, as I was to realize.

Reaching home, I found my son and rail enthusiast in his own right, Dhananjay, eagerly awaiting to hear from me as to what my plan now would be.  I told him and Kala, Arun’s suggestion.  While Dhananjay was amazed at the novel suggestion to travel to Delhi via Mumbai, Kala, true to her nature, took it fairly calmly.

Within a few minutes, Arun Pandian called again. ‘’Mohan, tickets to Mumbai Central by the Chennai – LTT Express is waitlisted, but I suggest you book it.’’

‘’Okay,’’ I replied hesitatingly, far from being sure whether I would actually do that.  The concept of going to Delhi via Mumbai had simply refused to sink in.  And anyway, what about Mumbai to Delhi, I asked.

‘’Go up to Dadar, go over to the Western line, take a fast local to Borivali, and then take the BCT-NDLS Rajdhani.’’

It was evident that Arun Pandian was in right earnest, and it didn’t even remotely occur to him that I was not at all finding what he was saying, the least bit convincing.

‘’Arun,’’ I interjected desperately into his suggestions, ‘’is all this really practical?  Going to Delhi from Chennai via Bombay by *train*?  It sounds ridiculous!’’

‘’Of course its practical,’’ he exclaimed.  ‘’Why isn’t it practical?  You will leave by the Chennai – LTT Superfast in the evening at 18:20, reach Mumbai the next afternoon and then take the Rajdhani that evening and reach Delhi the next morning around 10:00 AM.  You’ll only be delayed by about two or three hours before and the same amount of time after, when compared to travelling by the T. N. Express.  You have to admit that!’’

Mulling over that, I had to accept that that did make sense and slowly a glimmer of hope started to form.

“I have done the same thing a couple of times myself in the past,” said Arun with satisfaction which perhaps proved to be the final trump.

After some more research on the trains regarding the connectivity at Mumbai, Arun’s final suggestion was:

• Take the Chennai – LTT (Lokmanya Tilak Terminus) Express up to Kalyan, boarding at MAS at 18:20 on Dec 3^rd
• Board the Mumbai CSMT – NZM Rajdhani at Kalyan at 16:45 on Dec 4^th
• Reach Hazrat Nizamuddin at 9:55 on Dec 5^th.

Which wasn’t a bad alternative at all, come to think of it, both in terms of the time of travel and the more importantly, the objective of reaching Delhi.

The major thing now of course, was the tickets.

As usual, Arun came to the rescue.  ‘’Go ahead and book your tickets by the Chennai – LTT Express – 3AC,’’ he instructed.

‘’But it’s waitlisted 36.’’ I objected.

‘’Just do as I say.  It’ll get confirmed.  In the worst-case scenario, it’ll come to RAC – at least you’ll have a seat.’’

‘’Well… okay I guess…’’

‘’Kalyan – NZM Rajdhani ticket is RAC in 2AC, but 3AC is waitlisted.  I suggest you book 2AC since it’s RAC and you have a full chance of getting a confirmed berth.’’

Thus, the torrentially rainy evening on Saturday, Dec 2^nd saw me surrounded by Kala and Dhananjay peering into the laptop as I booked these two tickets, not without a deep sense of misgiving that it was like embarking on a wild goose chase!

However, I needn’t have worried.  As Arun had foretold, when the charts were prepared the next afternoon, I had my 3AC tickets confirmed and I set out in the pouring rain into the OLA auto bound for Nandanam metro station on Dec 03.  The auto captain, (surprise! surprise!) didn’t demand any extra money, even in that downpour.  Reaching the metro, I heaved a sigh of relief – I would reach Chennai Central in time at any rate.  What happens next, was all His will!

Incidentally, I MUST mention that the metro fare from Nandanam to Chennai Central Metro was a mere Rs. 5 that day!!!

At Chennai Central before boarding the Chennai Central – LTT Express

The Chennai – LTT Express departed punctually at 18:20 hours.  Most of my co-passengers were bound for Pune, a few going up to Mumbai.  No one, I noted, seemed to have had the brilliant idea like me to travel to Delhi via Mumbai!

I have to say though, the Chennai – LTT Express did NOT impress with its run.  The seemingly low-priority train got progressively delayed and by the time we reached Solapur the next morning, we were already more than an hour behind schedule.  The non-stop run between Solapur and Pune was the highlight – I really enjoyed skipping Kurduwadi and fairly racing through Daund. 

However, exiting Pune, the train seemed to lose all its steam (not that it had much to begin with, quite frankly) and it just degenerated into such a slow pace that any local passenger train would have given it stiff competition.  Tension was slowly but surely beginning to mount – would I reach Kalyan in time to catch the Mumbai CSMT Rajdhani?

Khandala Station, beautiful it was though I was in no frame of mind to enjoy the landscape – WOULD I REACH KALYAN IN TIME was the only thought then.

Khandala station was reached at 14:39 hours.  The scheduled arrival time there is 13:04.  So we were 1.5+ hours late.  I still took comfort in the fact that the Khandala – Kalyan run for the train is only one hour and 12 minutes.  So ideally I would reach Kalyan by 15:50 – at least before 4:00 PM.

However, my faith in Lord Krishna was put to severe test.  At 3:30 PM, I found myself texting Arun Pandian that all his counsel and advice was probably going to go Waste (note the capital W) as I’m in all probability not going to be able to catch the Rajdhani.

”I have not even reached Karjat!” I positively wailed in my text to him.

Prayers at that instance didn’t go in vain, for eventually, after a lot of heartache and agony with regards to what I would need to do after I missed the connecting Rajdhani, I eventually did end up reaching Kalyan at 16:30 hours.

The astronomical relief I felt, just cannot be expressed in words!

Detraining on platform 7, I fairly rushed over to one of the shopkeepers at the characteristically crowded Kalyan railway station.  I was told that the Rajdhani would be arriving on platform 4.  Seeing that I had barely under ten minutes before the premier train arrived, I almost sprinted across to platform 4 using the fob and trying my best to avoid cannoning into fellow passengers, both local and long distance.

Reaching platform 4, I was able to breathe in ease!

Typical of Bombay and now Mumbai, I realise that local trains share the same platform with long distance trains, and never mind that those trains are even premier ones like the Rajdhani.  Hence, at platform 4 in Kalyan, I watched *three* local trains stop and proceed all in a matter of ten minutes before the arrival of the Rajdhani.  One of the locals was a fully airconditioned train, much to my delight.  It was the first time I was seeing one!

The Mumbai CSMT – NZM Rajdhani arrived at 16:50 – about seven minutes behind schedule.  What a comfort it was, to be sure, to enter the 2AC coach and find my lower berth and settle myself as the train picked up speed!

In the Chennai – Kalyan leg of my journey, I didn’t converse much with my co-passengers.  I don’t think I had much inclination to, either.  However, in the Kalyan – Nizamuddin section of the journey, the situation was completely different. I almost immediately was drawn into conversation with fellow travellers.  One was a middle-aged lady who was travelling to visit her daughter studying in Delhi.  Thanks to her, I got to have some scrumptious vada pavs which were specially delivered to her by someone known to her at Jalgaon.  Another co-passenger, a young mother with a four-year-old son, was on her way to Gwalior to take her MA English Literature exams.

Scrumptious vadapav complete with serving on banana leaf at Jalgaon – never mind that we aren’t meant to partake of food items from fellow passengers – I’m still alive and well, and the vadapavs were worth it!

I asked her if she was a native of Gwalior.  The city with its majestically imposing fort and history has always held a unique fascination for me.  Gwalior is an important station that the T. N. Express in her pristine avatar in the 1970s had always skipped and thus giving no end of satisfaction to passengers like me who revelled as the train quickly passed through without stopping. The city also has pleasant memories; the main one being the SPIC-MACAY mini-convention held in November 1989, when I got to interact with classical music enthusiasts all over India, getting to attend a live concert of Gundecha Brothers for the first time, nightly bonfires, et al.

My co-passenger said she wasn’t exactly a native of Gwalior, but a place away from that city, called Bhind.  Had I heard of Bhind?

‘’Of *course* I’ve heard of Bhind!’’ I exclaimed and the middle-aged lady seated opposite nodded in agreement.  ‘’Who hasn’t heard of Bhind?!’’ I added.

“Well, I didn’t realize Bhind is so well-known,’’ she replied rather surprised.

‘’My dear madam,’’ I declared, ‘’I was born and brought up in the Sholay era.  The Chambal river valley, Morena, Bhind and Shivpuri… are all legendary names that are part of the history of my growing up years!’’

‘’Oh!  But all that is history now.’’

‘’Yes,’’ I said smiling. ‘’I don’t think there are Man Singhs, Gabbars and Phoolans anymore.  And the fact that a young lady like you is travelling alone to Bhind with her young son, is proof, I guess that it’s become safe now.’’

‘’Yes, it’s much safer now.  Actually it’s always been like that as far as I know.  The era of dacoits is over.’’

I played the role of an active listener, hearing her life story, how she got married to a young Naval officer while still in the 12^th standard, how she wanted to pursue her education, and how she found it near impossible to do so, staying with her in-laws (some things don’t seem to have changed in our society, I regretfully noted) and how it was all panning our favourably for her.

The middle-aged lady in turn spoke of how she eloped with her husband in Mumbai (then Bombay), with only the clothes she was wearing and nothing else, how she set up home, how both her parents and her in-laws had found it extremely difficult to come to terms with accepting her decision and their slow acceptance and how it all eventually turned out well in the end.

Time flew.

And in the midst of such interesting conversations, there was rail fanning, the breath-taking Thull ghats, and racing through Devlali, Igatpuri and finally Manmad.  After having the vadapavs, as we exited Jalgaon, I moved to the door to not miss the experience of skipping Bhusaval.  Skipping Bhusaval to me is like a South bound train skipping a junction like Vijayawada – something completely unthinkable.  Even the Gitanjali Express in her heydays, the first commercial stop would be Bhusaval on the Bombay VT – Howrah run, after exiting the country’s commercial capital.

And that’s how I met railfan Arindam Mahapatra.  I didn’t think much of it when I initially I saw him with phone on his hand, ready to take pictures. 

‘’I would like to open the door,’’ I said to him politely. 

I still don’t know what made him say what he did, but he said, ‘’yes, we are approaching Bhusaval, and I’m waiting for taking a video as we sweep past the station.’’

‘’Wonderful! That’s exactly what I came to the door for!  I did it as we crossed Manmad.’’

‘’So did I.’’

That was it – we thereupon had a most interesting conversation.  Arindam was headed to Delhi for a family function.  His parents had already flown to Delhi from Mumbai earlier that day; typical of railfans, he had opted to travel solo by this Rajdhani.  I asked him why he didn’t travel by the BCT – NDLS Raj, and he said he didn’t get tickets in that.

Arindam eventually sent me videos of the Manmad, Bhusaval *and* the Itarsi skips.

Nothing like rail travel to strike up interesting conversations and who knows, you just might meet someone who shares a common interest – as it happened with me, whether it was vadapavs or train themselves.

With fellow rail enthusiast Arindam Mahapatra – the perks of train travel cannot be overemphasized

And I haven’t even mentioned the conversation I had with a traditional Mumbaikar travelling to Nashik Road, who owns a furniture manufacturing factory, who declared that she didn’t need a sophisticated CRM like Salesforce, so woe betide if I get salesy with her!

Mumbai CSMT – NZM Rajdhani eventually reached NZM at 11:00 AM, an hour and five minutes behind schedule.  As a train that was running fairly punctually till Gwalior that morning, I had no idea where it got delayed on the way between Gwalior and Delhi.  Anyway, All was well that ended well.  I came to know later from Arun Pandian that all north bound trains had been running late that particular day.  So that was that.

Detraining at Hazrat Nizamuddin, I made my way to the Sarai Kale Khan metro station as per the instructions of my niece Sadhvi.   The following were her instructions:

1. Pink line at Hazrat Nizamuddin metro going towards Majlis Park.
2. Get down at Durgabai Deshmukh south campus station
3. Take the 1km travelator which will take you to Dhaula Kuan station on the airport express.
4. Once you reach Dhaula Kuan, you will have to take the airport line going towards Yashobhoomi station
5. You will have to get down at Dwarka sector 21 station.

Getting off at Durgabai Deshmukh Metro Station I made my way through the massively long concourse to the Dhaula Kuan.  Thoroughly enjoying the walk + travelator, it took almost 15 minutes to the station serving the Airport Express metro.

Below are some pics of the skywalk, travelator and the airport express including Delhi’s atta biscuits:

Spending a few hours catching up with cousins you’ve grown up with, is always rewarding.  Excellent south Indian lunch prepared by Neeraja, plus the characteristic mouthwatering Delhi biscuits, set the tone for how the rest of the day and the evening would unfold.

As I made my way to Hotel Lemon Tree Premier to meet the gang, one thought had been running through my mind – whatever would we talk about?  After all, there’s only so much of ‘’do you remembers’’ one can exchange.  Some of us had met only a few years ago – others had met occasionally between themselves.  Would we really have that ‘’connect’’?  A whole night?  Maybe booking rooms was a sensible idea – if one got bored, one could always claim tiredness and go off to sleep.

Pradeep clicks the selfie with top row being Manisha, yours truly, Neetu and bottom L-R: Vandana, Kamakhya, Geetika and Gaurav

Ah – The Complete Selfie!

Karun clicks this one before I leave for the airport – ”as all good friends we talk all night…”

The upshot was, no one slept even a wink that night. The talk, laughter and the catching up was so intense that we decided to go down to the foyer of the hotel, where a separate dining area was cleared and made available especially for us.

Tucking into midnight snacks, we exchanged stories and life histories and updates. Some of them were truly impactful, which included fundamental lifestyle changes like transformation to vegetarianism, dramatic pre-wedding meetings and courtships, relocations to the US, relocating back to India from the US, carrying out caregiving for elderly parents and in-laws, coping with children and their various ambitions – it was basically discussion on life per se. 

As the final boarding call for my flight to Chennai was announced and I made my way to the departure gate from the lounge, I wrapped the muffler Karun’s wife Bindu had thoughtfully sent for each and every one of us. Thinking back to that afternoon-evening-night-late night-early morning get-together (for the lack of a better word) till I left for the airport to catch my flight back to Chennai, the one thing that perhaps expresses eloquently what I felt and still continue to feel is this all time favourite song by ABBA:

They came flying from far away (Karun, Gaurav and Geetika and also Pradeep, Vandana and Kamakhya flying in within India)
Now I’m under their spell (always have been – Manisha and Neetu)
I love hearing the stories that they tell (everyone gathered there)

They’ve seen places beyond my land
And they’ve found new horizons (true for each one of us, from their respective journeys)
They speak strangely but I understand (*grin*)

And I dream I’m an eagle
And I dream I can spread my wings

Flying high, high, I’m a bird in the sky
I’m an eagle that rides on the breeze
High, high, what a feeling to fly
Over mountains and forests and seas
And to go anywhere that I please

As all good friends, we talk all night (that’s what we did!)

There’s no limit to what I feel (or what we talked!)
We climb higher and higher
Am I dreaming, or is it all real

And I dream I’m an eagle
And I dream I can spread my wings

Flying high, high, I’m a bird in the sky
I’m an eagle that rides on the breeze
High, high, what a feeling to fly
Over mountains and forests and seas
And to go anywhere that I please

Happy New Year!

Concert Listening – Chennai December Season – 2022/23

I fell prey to COVID in 2021, when Delta was raging and the most valued and coveted thing was getting a hospital bed. Post recovery, my doctor categorically advised me to refrain from singing for some months, which stretched to the just concluded Chennai December Season.  Consequently, I did not perform this season.

As I have always thoroughly enjoyed going for concerts, I decided to attend as many as was physically possible two months back, in December 2022.  Free from the pressures of learning, practicing, follow-ups and performing, this was perhaps one season I attended concerts with a free will.  And I truly had a ball!

I wanted to create this post immediately after the New Year but life interevened and I thought I should definitely at least post it by Jan/Feb 2023!  So here goes…

I started my concert attending spree with Sanjay Subrahmanyan’s Tamizhum Naanum at the Music Academy.  Not surprisingly, he performed to a full house that culminated in a standing ovation.

# – opening words of song – raga – tala – composer

R – raga alapana

N – niraval

S – swarams

KS – kuraippu swaras

Concert 1

Sanjay Subrahmanyan – vocal

S. Varadarajan – violin

Neyveli B. Venkatesh – mridangam

B. Rajasekar – morsing

Concert Theme – Thamizhum Naanum

Date: Sunday, November 28, 2022

Venue: The Music Academy, Chennai

#	Opening words of the song	Ragam	Talam	Composer
1	tattvamariya tarama	Ritigaula	Adi	Papanasam Sivan
2	ullam irangi	Kanakangi	Rupakam	Suddhananda Bharati
3	karunai tandennai	Begada (R)	Misra Chapu	Mazhavai Chidambara Bharati
4	velaiyya dayavillaiyya	Saveri (N)	Adi	Kotiswara Iyer
5	Kaanakannaayiram	Nilambari	Adi, 2 kalai	Anai Ayya
6	Naavukkarasanai (main item)	Hemavati	Adi, 2 kalai	M. M. Dandapani Desigar
7	Raamanukku mannan mudi	Hindolam	Adi	Arunachala Kavi
8	Ragam, Tanam and Pallavi	Tilang	Tisra Triputa, 2 kalai	Kuzhalinithu yaazhinithu… (line from Thirukkural)
9	Vanna maadangal shoozh	Ragamalika (Mohanam, Kaanada, Hamsaanandi, Suruti)	Adi	Periazhwar (tuned by T. M. Thyagarajan)
10	Ninnaye rathi	Bagesri	Rupakam	Subramania Bharati
11	Seervalar pasuntogai	Ragamalika	Khanda Chapu	Annamalai Reddiar
12	tunbam nErgayil	Desh	Adi	Bharati Dasan
13	Eppo varuvaro	Jhonpuri	Adi	Gopalakrishna Bharati
14	Vaazhiya senthamizh

Tunbam nergayil was a request item, and naturally the vast audience went wild with shouts of glee as Sanjay started the Desh item!

Dandapani Desigar’s Naavukkarasanai was a hitherto unheard heavyweight – as far as I was concerned. The Begada kriti Karunai thanthennai’s mettu is similar to Kadaikkann vaitthennai, and I believe the former predates the latter.  Kaanakkannaayiram, with its elegant lyrics couched in wonderful Nilambari was special, as was the entire concert. Venkatesh’s understanding of the sahityam and his thoughtful playing added the synergy that the rasikas have come to expect in Sanjay’s concerts.

Concert 2

Dec 11, 2022

Sanjay – Varadarajan – Venkatesh – Anirudh Athreya

Kartik Fine Arts, Sunday, Dec 11, 2022

1. Eevasudha – Sahana – Adi – Tyagaraja – niraval at daasavarada
2. Kalyani alapana followed by Kantimati
3. Short Malayamarutam alapana followed by chandira oli, with niraval and swaras
4. Entacheluvaga – Yagapriya – Purandara Dasa (tuned by Sanjay)
5. Yadukulakambhoji alapana – Yaarendru raghavanai (this was the pièce de résistance for me in the concert)
6. RTP Sriranjani – Ragamalika swaras in Kannada, Brindavana Saranga
7. Jaya Jaya devi – a Swati Tirunal composition tuned by Balamurali in the raga Vallabhi.
8. A dramatic and high-energy Tamizh composition on Muruga – think it was Jhonpuri. Don’t know the composer.
9. Vaazhiya sentamizh followed by pavamaana

The elaborate Yadukulakambhoji alapana was a revelation.  That a raga like Yadukulakambhoji could be given the status of a Kambhoji… it was excellence personified.  Generally we find that other ragas like Kedaragaula or Kambhoji takes precedence when it comes to raga alapana expansion; Yadukulakambhoji is hardly given any attention in terms of elaborate raga alapanas.  And this is despite the fact there are many compositions of all sizes in the raga, ranging from the short chelimini jalajakshi and the few divyanama kritis of Tyagaraja to elaborate kritis like Adikaadu bhajana, Nee dayache by Tyagaraja and Dikshitar’s Divakaratanujam, the abhayamba navavarana kriti and the exquisite swarajati of Syama Sastri.  Sanjay chose to sing Arunachala Kavirayar’s delectable composition, Yaarendru raaghavanai.

Concert 3

Sikkil Gurucharan – S. Varadarajan – K. V. Prasad – B. S. Purushottam

Friday, Dec 16, 2022

Narada Gana Sabha

1. Lalgudi’s Valaji varnam

2. Sivaloka naathanai – Mayamalavagaula – Rupakam – Gopalakrishna Bharati (S)

3. Mokshamu galada

4. Santaana gopala Krishnam – Khamas – Rupaka – Dikshitar (R, N)

5. Baagaayanayya – Chandrajyoti (S)

6. Lalite – Bhairavi – Adi – Tyagaraja (R, N, S, KS, T)

7. RTP in Suddha Sarang – Misra Chapu – Ragamalika swaras in Vasanta, Kuntalavarali, Bahudari and reverse going back to Suddha Sarang

8. Tillana – Poorvi – n r n r g m g r s

9. Vaanattin meedu

A crisp and enjoyable concert.  This was the first time I was listening to a vocal version of Lalgudi’s Valaji varnam. I remember when Lalgudi’s album was released in the late 1980s (at least that’s when I got to listen to it in Delhi), the Valaji varnam sounded so fresh and unique. When I met Lalgudi at his house in 1992, the maestro himself talked about the varnam and the rasas behind it, especially the chittaswaram and the last ending phrase – S G P G S G N D chalamu… The special thrust on the last nishada swara, the way Lalgudi sang it while demonstrating the phrase, obviously will remain etched in memory.

Coming to the concert, the rapid-fire swara exchange between Gurucharan and Varadarajan for the fast-paced Baagaanayya at the charanam line was refreshing. I personally sing Baagaaya nayya at a relatively slower tempo; this relatively speedier version was different and pleasant.  The kuraippu in the Lalgudi Pancharatna kriti of Tyagaraja in Bhairavi was interesting; it was an ‘’oru swara ottu’’ kuraippu. Varadarajan’s responses with his usual aplomb, especially to the kuraippu, added to the interest.

Concert 4

Vijay Siva – S. Varadarajan – Trichy Sankaran – Alathur Rajaganesh

Saturday, Dec 17, 2022

Parthasarathi Sabha

1. Kaanada ata tala varanam – Neranammiti
2. Rama nannu brovara (N, S)
3. Nambikkettavarilo – Kalyani – Chapu – Purandara Dasa (R, N, S)
4. Short Viruttam followed by Sri kamalaambikayam – Sahana Navavaranam
5. Sri chamundeswari – Kannada – Adi – Mysore Maharaja (R)
6. Rakshapettare – adi – Tyagaraja – (R, N, S, KS, T)
7. Rama Rama – Vasanta – adi tisra nadai – Purandara Dasa
8. RTP in Jayantasena – Chatusra jhampa, chatusra gati
9. Viruttam – Jayantasena, Nilambari, Mand
10. Song having Vennila recurring throughout – Bharatiyar I think
11. Tiruppugazh in Gaula – Chapu
12. Pavamaana + loka samasta sukhino bhavantu

I really liked this concert for multiple reasons.  Vijay Siva is one who faithfully and tenaciously sticks to the excellent D. K. Jayaraman paathaantaram.  It was pure nostalgia to listen to the Sahana Navavaranam, which DKJ sir taught us in November 1990, thanks to my guru T. R. Subramanyam inviting the former to conduct a workshop for us students in Delhi.  Vijay Siva’s rendition was identical to how we had learnt it from the maestro himself and not surprisingly, I found myself humming along!  Ditto with Rakshapettare – another kriti that DKJ was famous for.

Apart from Vijay Siva’s music, it was a joy to listen to Trichy Sankaran’s mridangam. He was SUPERB. His understanding of sahityam and appropriate playing was thrilling, to say the least.  The applause for his tani refused to die down.  Vijay Siva pointed this out to the mridangam maestro who, completely unmindful of the low but steady applause, had bent his head down to concentrate on fine tuning his mridangam.  On being told by Vijay Siva that the applause was for him, Sankaran raised his head enquiringly, turning his head to the audience, and the moment he did, the applause intensified by several decibel levels! It was an a-ha moment!

Having listened to Varadarajan play for Sanjay in numerous concerts, plus having the privilege of him teaming up with me multiple times, I was eager to watch and listen to him play for a couple of other artists this season. And I was naturally not disappointed. It was a differently elevating experience to watch him in action with other vidwans. In this particular concert with Vijay Siva, Varadu was his usual efficient self, scoring in the alapanas of Kalyani, Kannada, Bhairavi and Jayantasena.  Varadu’s responses especially for Kannada and Jayantasena alapanas and the taanam stood out.

Concert 5

Jayanthi Kumaresh – K. U. Jayachandra Rao – Trichy Krishnaswamy

Music Academy – Thursday, Dec 22, 2022

1. Kanchadalaayadaakshi

2. Elara sri krishna (one single long aavartanam of swaras and korvai)

3. Nannu vidichi (R)

4. Nee paadame gati – Nalinkanti – Rupakam – GNB

5. Amma raavamma (R, S, KS)

6. RTP in Vasanta Bhairavi – Ragamalika swaras in Sriranjani and Ravichandrika and tani

The tani was special – the mohra was unusually done in Tisram instead of the usual chatusram.

7. Teruvil varaano

8. Lalgudi’s Hamsanandi tillana

9. Kamakshi loka sakshi – Syama Sastri’s gitam in Madhyamavati

A very melodious and raga-bhava soaked concert. Highlights were the fairly elaborate Ritigaula, the expansive Kalyani and Vasantabhairavi alapanas, the riveting swaras for Ammaraavamma and the RTP, plus the superb tani of course. It really seemed as if Jayanthi and the veena are one, such was the synergy of the music produced.

Concert 6

RaGa – L. Ramakrishnan – Delhi Sairam – Chandrasekara Sarma

NGS Saturday, Dec 24, 2022

1. Pancha maatanga – Malahari – Rupaka – Dikshitar (S)

2. Maataa innum – Sriranjani – Adi – Papanasam Sivan (R, S)

3. Meenalochana brova – Dhanyasi – Misrachapu – Syama Sastri (N)

4. Santamuleka – Sama – Adi – Tyagaraja (R, S, T)

5. A Purandara Dasa kriti in Bahudari

6. RTP in Jyotiswarupini – chatusra rupakam, tisra nadai, Ragamalika swaras, …

7. Short Viruttam – Vasanta, Sindhu Bhairavi followed by venkatachala nilayam

8. Abhang

The concert was excellence personified.  Sama alapana especially stood out for me; plus the outstanding niraval for meenalochana brova, where Ranjani and Gayatri seamlessly alternated with each another, rapidly exchanging their turns without fumbling and at the same time, fully showcasing the Dhanyasi’s raga bhava and the sahitya bhava in all their glory; the Jyotiswarupini alapana, plus tanam, pallavi niraval…

The graha bhedam was done on the Ragamalika swaras – starting with Gambhiranata, they moved to Hamsanadam and to Neela. They quickly and skilfully alternated the ragas, neatly juxtaposing one another.

Listening experience was further enhanced with friends sitting along with me – Anantha Viswanathan, student Harish Seetharaman, Vinay Nair, and Aditya.

Concert 7

Priya Sisters – M. A. Krishnaswamy – Patri Satish Kumar – Udupi Sridhar

Parthasarathi Sabha, Dec 24, 2022

We were a bit late for the concert. As I entered with my friend Anantha Viswanathan and Harish Seetharaman, the duo were singing Parimala Ranganatham (Hamirkalyani) – it was great to listen to this kriti after a very long time indeed. Patri Satish Kumar’s sensitive playing for this kriti in particular, stood out.

• Enati nomu phalamo – Bhairavi – Adi – Tyagaraja (R, N, S, KS)

• RTP in Lathangi – Adi Kanda gati

• Iyye metta kadinam – Punnagavarali

• An Annamacharya kriti in Khamas

The elaborate Bhairavi alapana, the niraval at sundarESa suguNa bRnda and the RTP were the multiple highlights.  The Pallavi, constructed by Guruji Shri T. R. Subramanyam, which the sisters announced, was rendered with finesse, with all the embellishments characteristic of how typically TRS would do.  Ragamalika swaras were sung in Kanakangi and Lavangi, where the raga mudra appearing in the Pallavi line was replaced by these two ragas respectively.

Concert 8

Mysore Brothers – Music Academy morning concert, Sunday, Dec 25, 2022

Thiruvaarur Bhaktavatsalam

Vaikom Gopalakrishnan

1. Baagaayanayya

2. Marivere – Anandabhairavi (R, S)

3. Marivere – Lathangi (R, S)

4. Maanasa sancharare

5. Balagopala (R, S, T)

6. RTP in Kapi (Ragamalika swaras in Kambhoji and Behag)

7. Bhajan in raga Haricharana (this was Hamsanandi with the suddha madhyamam added)

8. Bhaagyada Lakshmi baaramma – Madhyamavati

The Mysore Brothers never disappoint!  Commencing rather unusually with a very slow-paced and sedate, but consequently an *extremely* attractive and almost meditative rendition of Baagaayanayya, the duo played wonderful alapanas for Anandabhairavi, Lathangi, Bhairavi and Kapi.

The Haricharana is the same as the dwi-madhyama raga Suryashri as per Thanjavur S. Kalyanaraman.

Concert 9

Dec 27, 2022

Sanjay – Varadarajan – Venkatesh – C. S.  Venkataramanan

The Music Academy

1. Nee intha mayam- Dhanyasi- Adi- Sivan

2. Rama ninnuvina – Sankarabharanam – Rupakam – Tyagaraja

3. Ranganayakam – Nayaki – Adi – Dikshitar

4. Pahi parvata- Arabhi – Adi – Swati Tirunal

5. Nadanilai- Gayakapriya – k chapu – Kotiswara Iyer

6. Neepadamulanu – Nata bhairavi – Adi – Muthiah Bhagavathar

7. Nanubrovamani – Yamunakalyani – misrachapu- Bhadrachala Ramadas (Original in Kalyani, retuned in Yamunakalyani by Sanjay himself)

8. Desh RTP

9. Enu madidaRenu – Salagabhairavi- k chapu – P dasar

10. Tiruppugazh Anudamuru- sindubhairavi

Vintage Sanjay concert – the elaborate Natabhairavi being the highlight and of course, the expansive Desh alapana.  The Rama ninnu vina was different – Sanjay chose to sing swaras and *then* render all the charanams.  The lesser heard Nee intha maayam pada varnam of Papanasam Sivan with its evocative lyrics and superb Dhanyasi, was refreshing, to say the least.

Concert 10

Lalgudi GJR Krishnan and Vijayalakshmi – B. Harikumar – Guruprasanna

Dec 30, 2022 4:00 PM

Charsur

Theme – Siva

1. Sambho mahadeva – Bouli – Rupakam – Neelakanta Sivan
2. Saama gaana lolane – Hindolam – Rupakam – Papanasam Sivan (S)
3. Chintaya maakanda – Bhairavi – Rupakam – Dikshitar (R, S)
4. Biraana brova – Kalyani – adi tisra nadai – Tarangambadi Panchanada Iyer (R, N)
5. Devasri – Madhyamavati – Misra Chapu – Tyagaraja (R, S, KS, T)
6. A medley of short raga alapana sketches – Kapi, Sama, Sivaranjani and Ragesri followed by Lalgudi’s Ragesri tillana – adi talam

I really enjoyed the Kalyani and the crisp Birana brova in particular.  I’m always partial to the tisra gati – something about it makes me want to swing along! The expansive Madhyamavati and especially the kuraippu for Devasri was vintage Lalgudi school!

Concert 11

Saturday Dec 31, 2022

V. K. Arun Kumar – M. Vijay – S. J. Arjun Ganesh

Naada Inbam

1. Tulasidala mulache – Mayamalavagaula – Rupaka – Tyagaraja (S)
2. Mohanakara – Nitimati – Rupaka – Kotiswara Iyer (R)
3. Paramapurusham – Lalitha Panchamam – Adi – Swati Tirunal
4. Akshayalingavibho – Sankarabharanam – Misrachapu – Dishitar (R, N, S, T)
5. Emani vegintune – Huseni – Adi – Tyagaraja

Unfortunately, I had to leave during the Huseni kriti.  It was a traditional, and no-nonsense and hence a satisfying concert.  Personally for me, Nitimati alapana and the relatively lesser heard Mohanakara was refreshing!

Concert 12

Sunday, Jan 01, 2023

Four-Hour Morning Concert

Sanjay – Varadarajan – Venkatesh

Brahma Gana Sabha

1. Kambhoji ata tala varnam – Swati Tirunal
2. Dayapayonidhe – Jaganmohini – Adi- Meesu Krishna Iyer (S)
3. Sivakama sundari – Mukhari – Adi – Papanasam Sivan
4. Betta melondu – Narayani – m chapu- akka mahadevi (R)
5. Velum mayilume- Sucharitra – Rupakam – Kotiswara Iyer
6. Himagiritanaye – Suddha Dhanyasi – Adi – Muthiah Bhagavathar
7. Kamalapadamalar – Harikambhoji – Adi – Papanasam Sivan (R, N, S, T)
8. Sri Satyanarayanam – Shubhapantuvarali – Rupaka – Dikshitar
9. RTP in Saaramati
10. Amma Yashoda and Maavallagaadamma – Khamas – Adi – Chittoor Subramanya Pillai
11. Karpooram naarumo – Khamas
12. Ninnaye rati – Bagesri
13. Petrataayi tanai – viruttam in Behag followed by Aadum chidambaramo
14. Darbari Kaanada tillana
15. Pavamaana

A concert lasting exactly four full hours, with all the audience remaining till the end, and without an upa-pakkavadhyam!  Sanjay was besieged with requests from rasikas post the RTP.

The highlights for me were the following:

1. The sedate and unhurried start with the Kambhoji Ata tala varnam
2. The racy Daya payonidhe with crisp swaras
3. The expansive Harikambhoji alapana, the wonderful rendition of Kamalapadamalar, the niraval and the swaras
4. Everything about the RTP
5. The sheer enjoyment with which Sanjay rendered the thukkada section – especially Amma yashoda and maavallagaadamma!
6. Listening to a live concert in the company of friends is always, ALWAYS a joy. I had with me veteran rasikas A. Chandrasekaran, Usha Chandrasekaran, Koushik, and Anupama; plus Ramesh Subrahmanyan sitting in the row ahead.

A veteran rasika summed it up accurately and we filed out of the superbly designed aesthetic R. R. Sabha auditorium – the three on stage were probably triplets in their previous birth!

It was truly a Fitting Finale to my concert listening this Season!

Todi – Transcending the Infinite

Note: This article has been published in the current issue (April – June 2022) of Shanmukha – the quarterly journal of the Mumbai-based Sri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts & Sangeetha Sabha.

Todi – Transcending the Infinite

To a Carnatic music rasika, the name Todi conjures multiple thoughts and emotions including:

• One of the most well-known ragas
• Eternally appealing
• A raga that possibly anyone can identify just by singing two notes – or perhaps just the oscillatory gamaka of the gandharam is enough; hence a raga that can arguably be identified by just one note!

And as it is with anything popular in our world, it has its share of criticisms (though thankfully this is not much) especially in the last few years.  The following comments surface from some rasikas when the artist starts the delineation of this raga:

• ‘’Oh no, not Todi again!’’
• ‘’I have already heard six Todis in the last five days this Season!’’
• ‘’If you dare to sing Todi, I will switch off the mike!’’ I was actually threatened with this in so many words by a veteran organizer and rasika before I ascended the stage for my concert.

So why have I included the three apparently ‘’anti-Todi’’ statements?  It is just to underscore the fact that the staleness of a raga, or it being overdone and hence perhaps boring the rasika, is totally left to the artists themselves.  It therefore becomes an even bigger responsibility for them to still keep the audience interested with yet another rendition of Todi.

Let me recount here, a concert by a veteran musician that I had attended just before the pandemic.  Midway during the concert, when the raga alapana was begun, the rasika next to me (who also happens to be a good friend) involuntarily exclaimed in dismay, ‘’don’t tell me it’s Todi!’’

I refrained from reacting – for two reasons.  Being a musician myself, Todi can never sound even remotely stale to me no matter how many times I hear or render it.  And secondly, I was naturally eager to know the kriti that would be rendered.

As the alapana progressed, I stole a look at my neighbouring rasika who, I could see was drawn into the raga alapana delineation in spite of herself and her ‘’anti’’ stance.  And finally when the expansive and imaginative alapana ended to a thunderous applause, we exchanged glances.  Both of us spontaneously broke into smiles at the same time.  Her smile was a clear acknowledgment of the excellence and the freshness of the just-concluded alapana!

That concert’s particular raga alapana proved yet again, perhaps for the nth time, the expansiveness and the truly infinite potential and scope of Todi and its marvelous ability to take the rasika on yet another elevating journey, for the (n+1)th time!. The enchantment of Todi that transports us to a different realm, is such that even when it ends, it has taken an irrevocable hold on us. We continue to think about it for days / months / weeks / years afterward.  We are definitely different people and I would emphatically say, better people after such experiences.

Such is the grandeur and profoundness of Todi with its limitless scope for elaboration.

Small wonder that there are never-ending anecdotes, legends and stories about this perennially appealing raga.  P. Sambamurthy writes how Todi Sitarama Iyer sang the raga for eight consecutive days.  Nagaswaram maestro T. N. Rajarathinam Pillai’s Todi forays are legion amidst the Carnatic music fraternity.

With such being the scope and the appeal of the raga, it’s a no-brainer that Todi has simply innumerable compositions.  Countless varnams and kritis in multiple talas, both small and delectable; and majestic and expansive, swarajatis, padams, javalis, jatiswarams and tillanas.

In this article, my intention is to highlight a few of my favourite compositions in this raga.

As usual, let’s start with Tyagaraja.

It would not be a hyperbole to declare that Tyagaraja’s compositions in Todi span literally every nuance of this 8^th melakarta raga.  Barring the rishabham and the madhyamam, Tyagaraja has begun a composition in Todi in every other note of the sapta swara ocatave.

Some examples are:

Madhya shadjam – aaragimpave and ninnuvina sukhamu gaana, both in rupaka tala

Gandharam – gatineevani, adi 2-kalai

Panchamam – chesinadella marachitivo – adi 2-kalai

Dhaivatam – daachukovalena – misra jhampa

Nishaadam – nee daya raavale gaaka – adi 2-kalai

Note: daachukovalena and nee daya raavale gaaka are wonderful examples of kritis that begin with an emphatic swaraakshara.

Taara sthaayi shadjam – emani maatlaaditivo / tappi bratiki

Let us look at a few of Tyagaraja’s creations.

1. Munnu raavana – misra jhampa tala, 2 kalai

Definitely a lesser heard kriti.  The challenging double kalai misra jhampa tala is perhaps another dampener.  But great masters have rendered it – doyens Alathur Brothers would revel in this kriti, their crisp rendition of the misra jhampa tala double kalai ostensibly rendered with utmost ease and comfort. I have heard renditions in single kalai also, but this kriti’s grandeur with its sprightly gait, comes out fully if rendered in double kalai.  In recent times Sanjay Subrahmanyan has rendered it with his usual élan.

Well-known scholar, the late Dr. Raghavan has categorized this kriti under the section of the Sanchari Bhava in Bhakti Yoga; and says this kriti falls into the category of ‘Dainya – Dainyokti’ – plaintive pleading.  The bhakta goes through a roller-coaster of emotions at various times.  Tyagaraja addresses Rama plaintively saying that his offering sanctuary to Vibhishana and Sugriva; and protecting Prahalada should not be just history; but rather that history should repeat itself by you protecting me.

Having said that this is probably a very rare instance of a kriti that has Ravana’s name woven into the pallavi!

2. Aragimpave – rupaka tala

A fairly well-known kriti.  During worship rituals in our daily life and on special festival days (Ganesh Chaturthi, Varalakshmi Nombu, Saraswati poojai, etc.), the naivedyam – the food offering, forms a vital part.  Indeed, many of us wait for the naivedyam so that one can partake of the various goodies prepared on the festive days!  Milk is an indispensable offering in our naivedyam rituals and the pallavi in this kriti requests Rama to accept the milk offered as naivedyam.  In fact, this kriti itself specifies the naivedyam aspect of Tyagaraja’s worship.  In the anupallavi, Tyagaraja requests Rama and Sita to partake of the sanctified butter, along with the milk.

The charanam is interesting.  The first two lines are:

sAramaina divya-annamu

shaD-rasa yuta bhakshaNamulu

Loosely translated, it says that the naivedyam also comprises tasty rice, which is sacred, along with eatables that are imbued with the six rasas – or flavours.  These six flavours are – sweet (madhura), sour (amla), salt (lavaNa), bitter (kaTu), pungent (tIkshNa), astringent (kashAya).

Ideally our food needs to have each of the six flavours in order to make a meal complete and nutritious.  It’s quite evident that the modern concept of a ‘’balanced diet’’ was very much part of the daily life those days.  Meals comprising the shad-rasas will not only be wholesome and leave nothing wanting, but also ensure that we do not crave for other ‘’between-meal’’ snacks.  Of course, with the advent of junk food easily entrenching itself firmly in our lives through the various door delivery apps advertised ad nauseum on YouTube and in our TV channels, the story now is a far cry from how it was. It is to Tyagaraja’s credit that the importance of having the six flavours in a meal is underscored most tellingly in this kriti.

Mudicondan Venkatarama Iyer has added some really beautiful sangathis to the pallavi of this kriti. The pallavi actually has ‘’two bouts’’ – it rendered starting from the Madhya shadjam with the few sangathis.  This is followed by the opening words Aragimpave being rendered from the madhya dhaivatam and a few outstanding shadja – panchama varja sangathis, bring the pallavi to a most effective close.  A similar example is the very popular Rama ni samaanamevaru (Kharaharapriya), with the two bouts of sangatis in the pallavi.  Chakkani Raja (Kharaharapriya) has three bouts!

3. Chesinadella marachitivo – adi tala, 2 kalai

Speaking of Mudicondan Venkatarama Iyer, I had to include this kriti.  My mother having been the student of Mudicondan, learnt this from him and subsequently taught it to me.  It gave me the opportunity to examine, realize and ultimately appreciate Mudicondan’s sheer scholarship in adding and polishing the aspect of the ‘sangathi’ per se. 

It is common knowledge that Tyagaraja’s kritis give scope for ample addition of sangatis. Examples include – the ever popular O Rangasaayi (Kambhoji), Daarini telusukonti (Suddha Saveri), Naa jeeva dhaara (Bilahari), Karuvelpulu (Kalyani) and many, many others.

Chesinadella emphatically falls into this category.  The pallavi’s first sangati begins sedately enough, but with the addition of each sangati, both the performer and the listener are taken on a wonderful exploratory rollercoaster ride into the world of Todi.

Mudicondan Venkatarama Iyer’s notation, as taught to my mother, has a total of eight sangatis in the pallavi. Each sangati progressively increases in complexity.  Sangatis #7 and #8, touch the taara sthaayi madhyamam and panchamam respectively in delectable madhyama kala progression of notes, along with a touch of a couple of brigas (palugal) adding the just right amount of spice.  The second half of sangati #8, the portion of O Rama Rama sort of rounds up the intensely involved and an in-depth pallavi exploration with a mellow closure.

A couple of points on the charanam.  This kriti, like the earlier Munnu Ravana, has multiple charanams, but it is the last charanam that is usually sung.

caraNam 3

rAma SrI tyAgarAja prEmAvatAra sItA

bhAma mATalu telpu bhImAnjanEya brahma (cEsina)

Once again, the sangati aspect makes the Todi in this kriti and in this portion shine in full glory.  The words bhAma mATalu telpu are couched in beautiful gamakas with the panchama being eschewed.  The initial gamaka sangati then gives way to the next madhyama kala sangati, which in turn passes the baton to the subsequent briga-laden sangatis.  My Guru late Shri T. R. Subramanyam (TRS) would often recount how T. N. Rajarathinam Pillai would play this particular portion, with his supreme command over the nagaswaram, holding rasikas in absolute thrall!

The line ‘rAma SrI tyAgarAja prEmAvatAra sItA’, lends itself beautifully for niraval singing.  And coming to kalpana swaras, TRS himself would be highly creative.  He would sing swaras at three places – at the beginning of the line – Rama, at prEma and again at either avatAra or at sItA.  That’s the scope of manodharma available, if one cares to just explore a little more!

In conclusion, I would say that Chesinadella is one fine example of a kriti where the creative genius of Mudicondan Venkatarama Iyer in chiseling outstanding sangathis get displayed to the fullest, adding another shining crystal to the world of Todi.

4. Mahaganapatim vande – Muthuswami Dikshitar – rupaka tala, 2 – kalai

Let us switch gears now and look at Dikshitar’s exceptional contributions.

Dikshitar’s popular kritis are Sri Krishnam (Adi) and of course the really beautiful, scholarly and meditative Kamalamba Navavarana Dhyana kriti – Kamalambike. Relatively lesser known gems include Daakshaayani (Rupaka) and Sri Subramanyo (Adi).

Mahaganapatim is a kriti that maestro G. N. Balasubramanian (GNB) often sang in his concerts and consequently, TRS who considered GNB as the main inspiration included it in his repertoire as well.

The first thing that strikes us about this kriti is the emphatic and resonating swaraakashara start.  The syllable ‘ma’ from the word mahaganapatim begins tellingly on the madhyamam, thus perhaps filling in the ‘’void’’ (for the lack of a better word) left by Tyagaraja by not composing a kriti in Todi beginning on the madhyamam!

This kriti is packed with so much of information that a separate treatise is required to cover all the aspects of Ganesha dealt with by Dikshitar.  I will just highlight a couple of the musical aspects.

The anupallavi’s second line ‘’AnandadaM taM-Eka dantam’’ is one of the many highpoints of this kriti.  The word Aanandam slowly makes its way up the plain taara sthaayi gaandhara note; and then the word eka is a magnificent jaaru from the taara sthaayi gandhara to the Madhya sthaayi dhaivatam (a consonant pair of notes) and then the music again sweeps from the madhya sthaayi nishaadam to the madhya sthaayi gandharam – once again wonderfully demonstrating the natural samvaaditva of the notes of Todi.

Let us examine the madhyama kala passage in the charanam.

suparNa vAha sEvitaM sura guru guha bhAvitaM

kapittha-Amra panasa jambU – kadalI phala bhakshitam

As with all of Muthuswami Dikshitar’s creations, the madhyama kala passages are truly a delight and this one is no exception.  The last line before the pallavi spreading over two avartanas of the rupaka tala 2-kalai is a personal favourite:

kapitta – vilaambazham (wood apple), aamra – mango, panasa – jack fruit, jambu – naaval pazham (blackberry or the more well-known name of jaamun), kadali – banana and phala – fruits.

bhakshitam – eats

That’s an impressive array of fruits that Ganesha loves to eat, according to Dikshitar!  Fundamentally, Ganesha is fond of eating and eating good food (modakas are special to him as we all know).  I would like to go further by saying – no rigorous fasting for him, no struggles with the mind when the stomach howls with hunger like a wolf.  One can have one’s fill and propitiate Ganesha, he will still rush to us with ten times more eagerness compared to the proportion by which we propitiate him!

The music of the ending part ‘kadali phala bhakshitam’ again, reaches a glorious taara sthaayi plain gandharam, gracefully descends with some extremely elegant shadja and panchama varja phrases and majestically returns to the pallavi.

Mahaganapatim, with its Upanishadic references and the stories of the Puranas (why Krishna worshipped Ganesha is an example and makes for a separate story) that abound in this kriti, is truly a marvel that only Dikshitar could have conceived and executed with his characteristic genius.

5. Raave himagiri kumaari (swarajati) – Syama Sastri – adi tala – 2 kalai

Mandhara Sthaayi Marvel!

Syama Sastri and his three swarajati masterpieces in Bhairavi, Todi and Yadukula Kambhoji need no introduction to the Carnatic music fraternity – musicians and rasikas alike.  I just felt compelled to include the Todi swarajati here and share a few thoughts on this superlative creation. 

The first is the wonderful and sublime beginning on the mandhara sthaayi dhaivatam.  Personally, there’s something about the mandhara sthaayi per se that transports me to another world.  The first line of the swarajati, raave himagiri kumara kanchi kaamaakshi, is completely in mandhara sthaayi with just a couple of reaches into the madhya sthaayi rishabham.  After establishing the splendorous madhara sthaayi world, the second line just inches towards the gandharam for a couple of aksharas, before returning to the grandeur of the first line.

Consequently, pallavi of this swarajati needs to be rendered totally in mandhara sthaayi ONLY.  The reason I emphasize this is because a few musicians have rendered and continue to render (to my dismay) the pallavi in the taara sthaayi.  This unfortunately spoils and pollutes the tranquil, meditative mood of the intended mandhara sthaayi of Syama Sastri.

Two of my favourite portions of this swarajati occur in the third and the fourth charanam.  The third charanam comprises of the words kaama paalini neevegatiyani koriti – koniyaaditi vediti.  The portion up to the word koriti comes to rest on the madhya shadjam with the ‘ti’ syllable reposing on the ‘sa’.  Then the second section begins with counts of three with the swaras Ri Ga Sa, Sa Ri Ni, Ni Sa (Raave).  I don’t really know how to describe the apparently simple music here, but the effect that the unexpected counts of three and the soft caress of the Todi notes finally blending into the mandhara sthaayi dhaivatam truly is ethereal.

The fourth charanam consists of the words:

kAmitArtha phala dAyakiyanETi birudu mahilO nIkE tagu

The first thing that strikes us is the swarakshara laden beginning – the syllables kA, mi and tA.  However the surprise is that the syllables:

ya ki ya nE , ,

Ti bi ru du , ,

ma hi lO nI , , 

kE ta gu (rA)

The syllables in the first three lines above are all sung in counts of six and the last three syllables kE ta gu beautifully and seamlessly fuse back into the pallavi.

This shows that while devotion and raga bhava are the mainstays of Syama Sastri’s compositions, he also intelligently and unexpectedly introduced subtle mathematics into his creations!

6. Paahimaam ksheerasaagara tanaye – Mysore Vasudevacharya – adi tala – 2 kalai

I have written enough in previous articles about the genius of Mysore Vasudevacharya as a composer and how instantly charming and attractive his compositions are.  Hence I will dive straight into this brilliant creation of his in Todi.

pallavi pAhimAm kSIra sAgara tanayE mOhanAnga vAsudEva jAyE anupallavi dEhi mE mudam maNimaya valayE gEhamAviSa mAmakam sadayE

caraNam virinci sharvAdi sampUjitE sarOjadaLa nayana samshObhitE virAjamAna hEma vasanayutE varAbharaNa bhUSitE sumahitE Madhyama Kala (Swara Sahityam) darahAsayutE muni vinutE sharaNagatEpsita kalpalatE nirupama saundarya pUritE nikhila kalyANa guNa bharitE

This kriti begins on the madhya sthaayi shadjam, which is the first huge plus about this kriti.  The lyrics in Sanskrit composed on Goddess Lakshmi are absolutely euphonic and are a joy to listen, render and contemplate.  While Mysore Vasudevacharya considered Tyagaraja as his role model as a composer, this kriti seems to have been inspired by Syama Sastri and his composing technique (for the lack of a better word).  While the Todi conceived by Vasudevacharya flows so very mellifluously, it is the swara sahitya passage that is the icing on the cake.  Similar to Syama Sastri’s swara sahitya passages (O Jagadamba, Palinchu Kamakshi, Marivere and several others), this kriti has a beautiful swara-sahitya passage as well. 

A couple of rare usage of words ‘gEhamAviSa mAmakam sadayE’ in the anupallavi, add additional interesting touches.  This is required to be interpreted as:

AviSa – Enter (and dwell in)

mAmakam gEham – my house

**********************************

These are just a few glimpses into the world of Todi.  It was not easy for me to select the kritis to highlight here – there are simply too many in Todi, each having its own distinct charm.

My Guru Shri TRS would often say, ‘’Kalyani is an ocean, E tAvunara is just a drop!’’

The same thing applies to Todi, even more so perhaps, in terms of the sheer number of compositions. 

Other Favourites

Some of my other favourites are:

Endudaaginaado (Misra chapu, Tyagaraja), another kriti with the pallavi dwelling on mandhara sthaayi, depicting the agony of separation of the bhakta from his ishta devata.  Musiri Subramanya Iyer was known for his soulful renditions of this kriti. The bonus is a lovely slow tempo chittaswaram.

Gatineevani (Adi 2-kalai, Tyagaraja) – a kriti that shot into prominence through Lalgudi Jayaraman; the maestro’s polish of this kriti and renderings are not surprisingly, truly remarkable.

Ninne nammi naanu (Misra Chapu, Syama Sastri) – one more popular masterpiece by the eldest of the Trinity.  Subbaraya Sastri’s additional swara sahityam adds to the beauty.

Appane kapaali (Rupaka, Kotiswara Iyer) – a short kriti and a very rare one at that, by the pioneering 20^th century composer in Tamizh. This kriti contains descriptions of the charm of Mylapore and its beautiful streets in Chennai that add to the interest.

The jewels by Papanasam Sivan – the very popular Karthikeya gaangeya and Taamadamen swami, both in Adi tala 2-kalai, and the wonderful Tanigai valar saravana bhava in Khanda chapu tala.

Enneramum oru kaalai tookki (Adi 2-kalai, Muttu Tandavar) – a relatively lesser heard delectable heavyweight in Tamizh, with a wonderful madhyama kalam. Happily, this kriti has gained a bit more popularity in recent times.

And yet, as TRS sir would say, all these are just drops in the ocean of Todi!  I have not even touched upon the numerous varnams in this raga composed in various talas, the padams, javalis, jatiswarams and tillanas.

Todi is raga that commands a universe of its own.  Within its defined structure, the scope is rendered so vast as to transcend all boundaries.  And we who have experienced the joy of listening and appreciating this magnificent raga through its myriad compositions and raga alapanas, and still continue to do so, can consider ourselves truly blessed.  Our birth has definitely not been in vain, for we have been shown that this is what divinity could be.

ABBA – The Glorious Comeback!

Cover of the beautifully and incredibly detailed ABBA biography by Carl Magnus Palm

It’s common knowledge that this Swedish-based group took the popular music world by storm in the 1970s.  And oh boy, how they really RULED the pop world for the next ten years!  The ABBA-mania, for instance, that they generated in Australia leaves one gasping and totally stunned when we watch the video footages available now on YouTube.

They called it quits in 1982. Their song lyrics in their last album The Visitors unequivocally reflected the end of the group.  This was especially evident in songs like When All Is Said And Done and in their last 1980s hit single One Of Us.  A lot has been written about this.

Growing up in New Delhi, India in the 1970s, listening to ABBA was very much a part of my life then.  Songs like As Good As New, Voulez Vous, Eagle and the wonderful Gimme Gimme Gimme took hold in equal proportion along with Vivid Bharati’s Jaymala Karyakram, Binaca Geet Mala and Sangam Karyakram, plus Carnatic music of course.  I remember rushing madly to watch ABBA – The Movie in nearby Chanakya theatre on its release.

Post ABBA’s breakup, there were the hits by other artists of the 1980s that would occupy my pop music listening time.  But apart from the hits per se, when I tried listening to other songs by these artists, I realized rather to my dismay that none of them really appealed to me.  Also, I remember growing tired pretty quickly of even the then acknowledged hits of the 1980s.

In that scenario, I guess it was the time for me to return to ABBA and rediscover their music.  Towards the end of the 1980s, a friend of mine lent me cassettes of their Greatest Hits and Voulez Vous albums, setting in motion the rediscovery process that would continue unabated well into the future – till today, in fact. 

And it was SHEER JOY!  I found myself instantly captivated by the melancholic Knowing Me Knowing You, identifying with the thoughtful nostalgia of I Wonder, fascinated by the gorgeous refrain of ‘’Take it easy, take it easy, try to slow down girl’’ in the foot-tapping Does Your Mother Know, and floored by the complex and differently styled Summer Night City.

“How the heartaches come and they go and the scars they’re leaving’’ sung emotively in Chiquitita still continues to tug at the heart strings. 

I’ve always loved to conjecture – the ‘’Disaster and disgrace’’ caused in the caustic The King Has Lost His Crown; the poor monarch who realizes that ‘’sud – den – ly, the world is upside down!’’ 

“As all good friends, we talk all night’’ from Eagle is truly ME; embodying the numerous all-night conversations I’ve had with my own friends and cousins!

After these albums, I was ready for the next one that made its way to me – and this was the iconic Super Trouper.  I will never forget the first-time joy experienced listening to the exquisite opening harmonies of the title song and Frida’s marvelous execution.  Listening to Super Trouper the first time was the proverbial ‘a-ha’ moment.

As the years progressed, I went on a buying spree of ABBA albums.  In the late 1990s, after moving to the south Indian city of Chennai, one of the first things I did was to buy their albums from the now defunct Landmark – Ring Ring, ABBA –The Album, Arrival, and The Visitors.  Songs I discovered for the first time and songs rediscovered and the ensuing joy and bliss, merits a separate post!

ABBA is a group and a brand that has truly stood the test of time (cliché to be pardoned!).  Nothing else can explain the euphoria of their millions of global fans, on coming to know that they have finally gotten back together.  This is despite their earlier constant proclamations of ‘’we won’t be getting together again’’ and that they would like their fans to ‘’remember them as they were’’, which in my opinion was understandable and I suppose justified.

Their two new singles ‘I Still Have Faith In You’ and ‘Don’t Shut Me Down’ garnered one million plus hits on YouTube within a matter of a couple of days of their release.  This is surely the testimony to the Swedish group’s enduring popularity and their permanent presence in the hearts and minds of their fans and followers.  The album Voyage to be released two months from now and their concert in London scheduled next year, are eagerly awaited.

Thank you for the continued music ABBA, I definitely still have faith in you.  If you take a chance on me, I would emphatically proclaim how you showed clearly that people need hope, loving, trust, love, faith and a helping hand!

From me and all your other millions of fans around the world, let me declare:

I’ve Been Waiting For You!