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 8th 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
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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 20th 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.