What is it that makes a particular ragam emote a specific rasa and another raga a totally different rasa? Of course it is the swarasthanas that make up the scale. But swarasthanas make up only the scale and a 'Ragam' in the Indian system of classical music is more than just a scale. A ragam in Indian classical music is a melodic scale, defined not only by the notes it is made up of, but also by other characteristics such as the gamahams (microtones between notes) and most importantly - the swara sanchara that is the defining aspect of the ragam. It even differentiates ragams that have similar if not the same notes. A perfect example would be Thodi and Sindhu Bhairavi. Ever wondered how the ancient Indian texts define a system of 22 notes making up an octave, though practically we know of 12 notes? The answer lies in gamahams - the microtones that is the life of our Indian system of music. More of this in a later post maybe!
Saramati: I heard this ragam the first time at a concert of Sanjay Subramaniam, if I remember correctly and I thought he was singing Natabhairavi, but I was not too sure. Sangeethame Amara Sallapame from the Malayalam movie - Sargam is brilliant piece of work in Natabhairavi, but I think there's a touch of Saramati here and there.
Initially I thought Sanjay Subramaniam was jumping notes which artists usually do. But the 'S N2 D1 M1' and the 'R2 G2 M1 G2 S' routine was coming up too many times!!! And I had heard Natabhairavi at an earlier concert of OST. And the phrases vaguely reminded of a film song, which I later found out to be 'Padariyen...' from 'Sindhu Bhairavi'. A quick googling later I came upon an exquisitely sculpted ragam with an essence that was intoxicating.
For those who are not in the know, Saramati is a janya of Natabhairavi:
Arohanam - S R2 G2 M1 P D1 N2 S
Avarohanam - S N2 D1 M1 G2 S
It has exactly the same notes in the Arohanam as its parent, but with the P and the R2 omitted in the avarohanam. It is this omission that makes the passion in the ragam more prominent along with the D1 and N2. The two phrases which I mentioned earlier are the ones that gives Saramati the touch of pathos yet at the same time makes it brim with ecstasy. Though it contains all the notes from its parent, it is so different from it.
The most popular krithi in Saramathi would have to be Mokshamu Galada, composed by Thyagaraja, set in Adi. Please do listen to a beautiful rendition of the krithi by Lalgudi here.
Ilayaraja also has used this ragam in all its beauty in the song 'Padariyen Padipariyen...' showcasing all the possible nuances of the ragam. He has even shown his cheekiness by adding a touch of Thodi in the second charanam in the line - 'Sonnadhu thappa thappa...'. While I don't mind a sensible 'corruption' of the ragam to add beauty to the song, since this is not strictly classical music to follow 'tradition', what I don't digest is the fact that while Ilayaraja could get away with this, much hue and cry was raised over ARR's 'Ennavale' and others.
What prompted me to write this post, made me fall in love with ragam again is this amazing rendition of the krithi above by the Madras String Quartet. A simple orchestration done beautifully complementing the emotion of the song, blows me away every time I listen to it. Saramati at its best:
It's a pity that there are not many krithis or other compositions in Saramati. I am yet to see a main piece in Saramati - an RTP perhaps. Is that 'cos Saramati is not one of those 'main piece' ragams?! That is yet another debatable topic - which ragams are best suited for the main piece. Maybe another post! :) But till then, happy listening to Saramati.
Saramati: I heard this ragam the first time at a concert of Sanjay Subramaniam, if I remember correctly and I thought he was singing Natabhairavi, but I was not too sure. Sangeethame Amara Sallapame from the Malayalam movie - Sargam is brilliant piece of work in Natabhairavi, but I think there's a touch of Saramati here and there.
Initially I thought Sanjay Subramaniam was jumping notes which artists usually do. But the 'S N2 D1 M1' and the 'R2 G2 M1 G2 S' routine was coming up too many times!!! And I had heard Natabhairavi at an earlier concert of OST. And the phrases vaguely reminded of a film song, which I later found out to be 'Padariyen...' from 'Sindhu Bhairavi'. A quick googling later I came upon an exquisitely sculpted ragam with an essence that was intoxicating.
For those who are not in the know, Saramati is a janya of Natabhairavi:
Arohanam - S R2 G2 M1 P D1 N2 S
Avarohanam - S N2 D1 M1 G2 S
It has exactly the same notes in the Arohanam as its parent, but with the P and the R2 omitted in the avarohanam. It is this omission that makes the passion in the ragam more prominent along with the D1 and N2. The two phrases which I mentioned earlier are the ones that gives Saramati the touch of pathos yet at the same time makes it brim with ecstasy. Though it contains all the notes from its parent, it is so different from it.
The most popular krithi in Saramathi would have to be Mokshamu Galada, composed by Thyagaraja, set in Adi. Please do listen to a beautiful rendition of the krithi by Lalgudi here.
Ilayaraja also has used this ragam in all its beauty in the song 'Padariyen Padipariyen...' showcasing all the possible nuances of the ragam. He has even shown his cheekiness by adding a touch of Thodi in the second charanam in the line - 'Sonnadhu thappa thappa...'. While I don't mind a sensible 'corruption' of the ragam to add beauty to the song, since this is not strictly classical music to follow 'tradition', what I don't digest is the fact that while Ilayaraja could get away with this, much hue and cry was raised over ARR's 'Ennavale' and others.
What prompted me to write this post, made me fall in love with ragam again is this amazing rendition of the krithi above by the Madras String Quartet. A simple orchestration done beautifully complementing the emotion of the song, blows me away every time I listen to it. Saramati at its best:
It's a pity that there are not many krithis or other compositions in Saramati. I am yet to see a main piece in Saramati - an RTP perhaps. Is that 'cos Saramati is not one of those 'main piece' ragams?! That is yet another debatable topic - which ragams are best suited for the main piece. Maybe another post! :) But till then, happy listening to Saramati.
1 comment:
Wonderful post! It is indeed a beautiful Raga and VS Narashimhan (the amazing man who played on IR's HTNI and a humble and unassuming human being who I had the pleasure of spending some time with) and the Madras Strings guys no doubt made it stunning. So sad the video has been removed!
Thanks for the insights! I agree that the Thodi/Marka Hindolam in the Paadariyen song in SB was kinda weird, but did add to the beauty. Perhaps IR was showing some kind of Bedham as opposed to beautifying the piece. I do remember the song caused as much controversy as Ennavale though - I was a very young kid but my Dad spoke of it a lot from his readings during that time in the 80s when we resided in Africa!
Blessings to you in 2008
aSHANTI OMkar
www.OMkari.net
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