Once is enough

Someone told me this anecdote about how a singer was singing Sabhapathiku veru dheivam (composition of Gopalakrishna Bharathi in the raga Abhogi) in a concert. The charanam of the song goes like this:

‘Oru tharam Sivachidambaram endre uraithal podhume’

Translation: It’s enough to utter Sivachidambaram once  (to attain salvation).

There are a number of sangathis (subtle variations) in this line and it’s repeated  a few times. The mridangam vidwan whispered “Oru dhadava sonna podhumnu sollitu naal anju dhadava sollitele”. (You said it was enough to utter it once but you have already uttered it 4 to 5 times).

TNK and MDR

At SIFA, we recently had a T.N.Krishnan concert a few weeks back. It was in fact the final concert for 2006. After the concert, we were having dinner at one of the committee members’ house and I had a chance to talk to Shri TNK. I was naturally curious about MDR since MDR was supposed to have admitted in private that TNK and UKS were his favorite accompanists.

TNK revealed something that increased my already high regard for him a few thousand notches higher. Apparently, Mali was supposed to play in a concert with TNK as an accompanist and he played truant as usual, not showing up for the concert. It was TNK who recommended MDR as a replacement!! I was like whoa. Mentally I was thinking, “May God keep you alive as long as possible”. Apart from that he told me that MDR lived and breathed music and was a simple man.

Even if TNK had done nothing else in his whole life, he’d still be the person I’d respect the most among living musicians.

Frog in a well

I’ve not written in a long while which is so typical of me. I’ve been quite busy being lazy that I couldn’t find time to blog though I’ve had quite a few interesting thoughts come to my mind in the past few months.

Abbreviations:

MDR – M.D.Ramanathan

MMI – Madurai Mani Iyer

GNB – G.N.Balasubramanian

Ariyakudi – Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar

SSI – Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer

KVN – K.V.Narayanaswamy

TMK – T.M.Krishna

TRS – T.R.Subramaniam

I think I may be a little too prejudiced when it comes to Carnatic music possibly influenced by my propensity to sing along with the music most of the time. I’m at a stage in Carnatic music where I’m not ‘qualified’ enough to understand the greatness of GNB, Ariyakudi or Alathur’s music but have gained sufficient listening experience to abhor (extremity is a passion of mine) the music of Yesudas, Aruna Sairam et al. The latter stems from being a passionate listener of MDR, MMI with frequent visits to SSI, TRS, KVN, S.Balachander to name a few. MDR and MMI were stalwarts in their own right with MMI having a mass following then and now. MDR, on the other hand, has come to be appreciated only recently though he did have a few dedicated fans then. Regardless, both these musicians were unorthodox in their own right. MMI developed a distinct style of his own, introducing ‘la la’ phrases in his alapanas, predominantly singing sarva laghu swarams and from my observation, not laying too much emphasis on the krithi rendition. MDR distinguished himself by his slow pace (when speed was the name of the game), nonchalant and laidback approach to music using the krithi itself as a vehicle for manodharma.

This is just a theory and I’d be glad if people can prove me wrong. The common factor in both their music is that, from a musician’s perspective, it’s difficult to learn from them. Though MMI was successful as a performer, his success was primarily due to his ability to present complicated music in a simple manner thereby making it appealing to the layman (depends on the layman though ). It is difficult for someone to mimic his style and become as successful. The fact that TVS has done a fairly good job of it is laudable but he is still considered by some to be a poor copy of his uncle. Again, I don’t blame him given that he had the unenviable task of carrying on his uncle’s bani and trying to be different at the same time. The same logic applies to MDR and in his case it’s fairly obvious that no musician is going to succeed singing at his pace. I have heard people criticizing TMK for singing too slowly. (D’oh!! Just when I was thinking that that was the best part of his music).

So, this alienates me from people who are learning/have learnt music since they tend to listen to say GNB, Ariyakudi more. But having listened to MDR, MMI, I also cannot listen to Yesudas, Santhanam since they don’t sound very good to my ears. This alienates me from a lot of newbies and people who seek less from music than me. Understandably, it’s difficult for newbies to appreciate MDR or MMI. Due to the reason mentioned in the beginning of this post, I also do not tend to listen to female artistes much except MLV. This puts me in a position where the number of people I can relate to, in terms of music, is a handful.

Well, I forgot the point I was trying to make. I leave it to the reader to make his own conclusions.

Kamboji or Thodi?

This is a funny incident that goes back to my early days in listening to Carnatic Music, sometime around 1999 or 2000. My repertoire of ragas that I could recognize was very limited and it was very difficult for me to identify a raga during the alapana itself. I somehow did better during the krithi, especially if the krithi was similar to a popular song in that raga. Also, I used to predominantly attend the concerts of TVS and he used to sing a lot of MMI songs. So, identifying the ragas was not a problem.

My brother and I decided to attend a concert of Trichur Ramachandran once. Since Krishna Gana Sabha was nearby, we sneaked in during the middle of the concert. After singing KaLala nErcina, he took up a raga for elaboration. That was when the fun started. We tried identifying the raga. First, we thought it was Kambodhi since that was the raga we were most familiar with. But after listening some more, we decided it was Thodi but we weren’t sure. We continued to try and fit in other ragas like Bhairavi, etc. but still we thought it didn’t really sound like any of the ragas we had recognized. Finally, we decided it must be either Kamboji or Thodi.

There was a Mama (Uncle in Tamil) sitting in front of us. Apparently, he had identified the raga and was enjoying it with gusto. After much deliberation, we decided to risk the embarassment and ask him. I slowly whispered into his ears “Mama, idhu Kambojiya illa Thodiya?” (Uncle, is this Kamboji or Thodi?). He gave us a “What the heck?” look and thundered “Ayoo, idhu Saveri”!!!!!

Carnatic Kadi

Q: Why was the Bhagavathar singing only ragams without a Nishadam in the concert?

A: Because his Knee (Ni) was weak.

Ignorance is bliss or is it?

I’m not sure how to start this post. I am in a dilemma as to how far back in history I should go, to give readers a perspective of my progress as a listener and subsequently an understanding of the primary objective of this post. I shall try my best to provide a succinct summary of my formative years though I would like to write in detail about those stages, which a rookie might find useful.

During the first few years of my introduction to CM, I predominantly listened to Madurai Mani Iyer and subsequently T.V.Sanakaranarayanan, his nephew. I sometimes listened to the odd Santhanam, GNB or Ariyakudi tape but they did not appeal to me as much as MMI or TVS did. Especially MMI. TVS’ concerts provided me a glimpse of what MMI’s concert would have been like. My interest slowly progressed from plain listening to identifying ragas to singing snatches of the song, mostly the pallavi line.

It was with the introduction to MDR’s music that my inclination for singing really grew. His laid-back, vilamba kala approach to krithi rendition made me sit up and listen to the song whereas with MMI or TVS I used to eagerly wait for the swara prastharams to start. I slowly started singing along more than I used to and also to look up the sahithya of krithis, much to the chagrin of my roommates. This was also the time when I started to learn more about the theoretical aspects of Carnatic music such as the melakartha ragas, janya ragas, shruthi etc.

This compounding interest has grown to a point where I can sing a full krithi along with the singer without having to lookup the lyrics. I have memorized quite a number of krithis by repetitive listening alone. But this should not be misconstrued that I sing well. My singing is marked by a notable lack of shruthi, sense of laya, apaswarams etc. Naturally I’m embarassed by this and would like to fix the problem. This would entail learning Carnatic music from a good teacher. I would like to learn atleast the basics to have a better understanding of what I’m singing.

Now comes the conundrum that I’ve been trying to solve in my head for the past few days. While learning CM might enable me to appreciate it better, I’m also worried about a particular quality that I have noticed among listeners who have learnt music. They are quick to pounce on minor flaws in a concert and deem the artist as a no good while I might have found the concert perfectly enjoyable. I’ve been embarassed several times when I’ve proclaimed a concert as good only to be told that there were signifcant sruthi lapses. Should I care? Should it change my perception of the concert and the artist? Would I be bogged down by the technical details in a krithi rather than enjoying its beauty? Would I end up looking for flaws in a concert?

I’m rather worried about the negative influences since I primarily listen to MDR and MMI and both are known for their unorthodox approach to CM. Definitely, the learning would enable me to appreciate Ariyakudi, GNB better than I currently do. But would it make me enjoy my favorites less? What am I appreciating in music now? What am I looking for in music? Is it the music itself or is it the intellectual outlet that music provides? I’m definitely missing something here. It should be possible to understand and appreciate music with an open mind. I do miss understanding the technical aspects quite frequently. I know I should be aiming to strike a balance between the enjoyment of the music itself and the technical aspects of it.

So the next question is when does one gain the maturity as a listener to strike such a balance? I wish I could find a teacher who’ll help me go past these self-doubts and provide me a tutelage that would help maintain this balance. But the current pedagogical methods for teaching CM do not provide me that confidence. I’m probably too inquisitive and wanting to know too much too soon. If I decide to start learning, it brings up new questions. Should I just learn the basics or should I try to get trained to atleast the level of a amateur? Should I make my intentions known to my teacher? What would be the commitment level of the teacher if I told him/her that I just want to learn the basics? Ideally, I would like to be nurtured and trained like a professional.

Music serves as a great outlet for my creativity, satisfies my intellectual hunger and provides an inspiration for bhakthi while constantly reminding me of its spiritual nature. If learning CM is going to improve the quality of this experience, I’m all for it. I shall know only after I take the plunge.

-Sri

Guru Smarana

M.D.Ramanathan (MDR) was a disciple of Sri Tiger Varadachariar. MDR’s bhakthi for his Guru is legendary. He gets very emotional talking about Tiger. It’s no wonder he pays obeisance to his Guru in whatever way possible.

I recently listened to a moving Manasa Guruguha in Anandabhairavi.  To hear him sing it, it’s almost as if Dikshithar sings it. The composition itself is a very beautiful one. In particular, the last part of the charanam goes like this:

Nathwa Sree Guru Charanam

Kruthwa Namasmaranam Jithwa Moha varanam

Mathwa Thwadeka Sharanam

 

Prostrate (“nathwa”) on His feet (“guru charanam”) ;

Mediate (“kruthwa”) on His name(“namasmaranam”);

Conquer (“Jithwa”) the veil of illusion(“Moha”),

and Think (“Mathwa”) of Him as your (“thwa”) sole (“eka”)  refuge (“sharanam”).

Source: http://www.ecse.rpi.edu/Homepages/shivkuma/personal/music/manasaguruguha1.htm

He sings those lines and proceeds to meditate on those lines. He was a person who really lived those words. I could sense the emotion in his voice when he sings those lines. Truly a great soul!!

Fluffing your lines

Recently, I attended a concert by Karthik Lakshminarayanan and Kaushik Lakshminarayanan, two upcoming youngsters, organized by LOTUS (LOcal Talent UnderScored). It was an excellent concert featuring Mamava Meenakshi in Varali, Tulasi Jagajanani in Saveri (requested by yours truly), a beautifully rendered Tulasi Bilva and a mind-blowing Akhilandeshwari. The violinist Krishna Parthasarathy was quite upto the task and the mridangist Sriram Raghavan’s playing was delightful throughout the concert.

Well, I managed to provide a brief review of the concert. But I wanted to bring up another important issue in this post. There have been endless debates on musicians having the lyrics of the song in front of them. I normally take the stand that as professionals, they should be memorizing the lyrics, especially because it’s difficult to write down the sangathis. Also, I feel that one just learns a krithi to be able to sing it on stage without actually understanding the meaning of the song. If one makes an effort to understand the meaning and the emotion that the composer tries to convey, they shouldn’t forget the lyrics, right?

On this note, I started paying closer attention to the sahitya on my runs and found some glaring mistakes by some of the popular names in CM. For example, BMK leaves out a whole charanam in Dudukugala, interchanges charanams in Endaro. In Taye Ezhaipaal, Sanjay sings

naayEnum paalanRi engE selvEn
pOdum ini muDiyaadu unadaDi
pOdu aDaiya idu pOdu varam aruLi

instead of

naayEnum paalanRi engE selvEn
naLina mruduLa sukumaara manOhara
saraNayugaLa maruLa taruNamiduvE en

(Lyrics: http://www.karnatik.com/c1544.shtml).

and then corrects himself. In Brochevarevare, he again forgets one of the charanams and interchanges it. Coming from professionals, this is a bit disappointing. While we need to applaud their ability to learn and memorize thousands of krithis, we should also expect some professionalism from them. In this respect, I have come to think that it’s probably a better idea to have the lyrics in front of them so that they don’t change the meaning of krithis or forget them entirely. This would enable them to sing with a lot more confidence I guess.

As long as they do not write down kalpana swaras like some artists have been known to do, they should be fine.

How it all started!! (Part 2)

The time has come to write part 2 of this rather interesting (yeah, right) story on how I became interested in Carnatic Music.

So one day I was watching Thillana Mohanmbal, a popular Tamil movie. In that movie, Sivaji Ganesan plays a Nadaswaram vidhwan. The story is set during the British rule. He is invited to play in a Zamindar’s house but at the last minute is told that he can’t play since the English sahibs wanted to dance. A short-tempered Sivaji storms out and finds that a huge crowd of villagers had gathered in front of the Zamindar’s house to hear his playing. After some prodding, he starts playing outside the Zamindar’s house which disturbs the Englishmen’s dance. They challenge him to play something to which they could dance and he starts playing the famous English note also known as Madurai Mani Iyer note (important). The crowd starts dancing to the music and everyone is happy.

The English note was composed by Sri Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar, a renowned Harikatha exponent and composer in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Madurai Mani Iyer, who spent some time under the tutelage of the Bhagavathar popularized this composition in his concerts. Almost all of his concerts ended with the English note followed by the Mangalam and even if he did not sing it, the crowd invariably demanded it and he always acceded to their request.

After that scene in the movie, my Mom told me about the significance of the English note and made me listen to the original version by MMI. I found it very enjoyable and out of curiosity started listening to the other songs in that tape. The contents of the tape are:

1. Thathvamariya tharama – Reetigowla (Yes, the same Madisekaran Magane)

2. Nijamarmulanu – Umabharanam

3. Maa Janaki – Kamboji

4. Sarasamadana – Kapinarayani

5. Sarasamukhi – Gowda Malhar (Garuda Malhar)

6. Eppo Varuvaro – Jonpuri

7. English Note – Sankarabharanam

What an awesome cassette!! That was it. I had become hooked to CM!! I kept listening to that tape again and again. Whether it was MMI’s magical voice or his simple style or my age (teenager) or the music I’ll never know. Am I glad that my Mom made me listen to that tape? You bet!!

How it all started!!

Anyone who knows me even a little knows that I’m obsessed with Carnatic Music. This obsession leads me to sing along to the music which can have a strange effect on your brain depending on the kind of person you are. . The primary reason for that effect should be attributed to the fact I have no formal training in Carnatic Music. So, this post is about how it all started.

When I was a kid, I had no inclination towards music at all. I never hummed a tune, never listened attentively to any piece of music . Well, not entirely true because when I was 2 years old I was supposed to have played around with a small Casio keyboard. But I don’t have any memory of that though I have a picture of that. My parents are very much interested in CM though they didn’t have any formal training either. My Mom likes emotion-packed krithis sung by the great M.S.Subbulakshmi though she lends an ear to other artists too. My Dad is more indulgent and sings quite well. He has a gifted voice and he often comments that if he hadn’t become a businessman, he’d have become a musician. I’m sure he’d have done quite well in that field too.

My brother who is 4 years younger to me was thought to be more musically inclined than me. Can’t fault anyone for thinking so. My first tryst with CM was when my cousins who had started learning music, came to our house and my grandmother asked them to sing. They started singing the Sarali Varisai (beginner exercises). One particular line goes “Sa Ni Dha Pa, Sa Ni Sa Ni Sa Ni Dha Pa” if I remember correctly. My mother tongue is Kannada whereas I was born and brought up in Chennai. So I’m fluent with both spoken Kannada and spoken Tamil. Now, Sani means cowdung in Tamil and Dhapa means fat in Kannada. So you can see how it’s an obvious source for leg-pulling. Endless torture of my cousins this way led my folks to confirm their suspicions of my musical inclinations.

My Dad always used to hum this particular line “Madisekaran Magane” from the song Tatwamariya Tharama by Papanasam Sivan. I remember asking sarcastically as to who this Madisekaran was and why he was calling his son. Madisekaran is Lord Shiva and Magane means Son in Tamil. So this krithi in praise of Lord Ganesha refers to him obviously. To think of how that song would affect me later.

This has already been a long post. I’ll continue with the rest of this rather interesting story that you are so eager to read, in my next post.

-Sri