POINT OF VIEW

Goodbye , Hello Kokilapriya

BARADWAJ RANGAN takes a no longer common or the newer could prompt you to ask, especially look at the popular trend of main -s that have cropped up? If we if you have grown up with the old pieces in rare raga-s. are referring to older raga-s not in masters, “But why, in the first place?” vogue, I find that many of them— For many of those stalwarts, a ikkil Gurucharan doesn’t seem like Narayanagaula— do lend Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi (RTP) was a to believe me when I say he’s themselves to elaboration. The same time to invoke what Sulochana calls, the inspiration behind this cannot be said of the newer ones, “the age-old, immortal raga-s— like story. His email to this effect ends S which seem to give scope only for , , with a semicolon followed by a permutations and combinations.” , Todi, Kalyani.” So today, dash and a closing parenthesis— He reveals that he is not a fan of when Jayashri confesses to delinea- the universal emoticon for a wink, raga-s that are mere scales, and that tions of , Hamsavinodini, suggesting that I may be kidding. and — that But then I take him back to his rustling in your head could well concert at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan be from an image of the audience earlier this year, when he announced “A dessert frantically thumbing through their midway, “The main piece I will be can’t become Venkatamakhi charts to figure out the singing is a in the identity of these raga-s— it makes you raga Kokilapriya.” In a trice, he a meal.” pause. What are the causes behind wasn’t a singer so much as a scientist the shift. Is it the audience? Is it the in a laboratory holding a strip of — Sulochana Pattabhiraman artist’s desire for experimentation? litmus paper— for one section of Is it because there are so many con- the audience instantly saw red, certs these days that “differentiation” flinching at the very idea of a main the rare raga-s he has presented “have becomes necessary? Jayashri says it’s piece in a raga other than a Todi or a been mostly older raga-s that may a bit of everything, along with “the or a Bhairavi. This may be not have been used for pallavi-s willingness and confidence to try.” the ultimate taste test— the ultimate before— raga-s that have a swaroopa indicator of belonging to (or, at beyond the -.” “I think the artist’s desire for least, leaning towards the preferences Then, as if to restore the balance, he experimentation triggers this cycle,” of ) a particular generation of music adds, “I still believe that the major says Gurucharan. He or she presents listeners. Likening the main piece raga-s are the kings for pallavi rare raga-s to provide that element of of a concert to the main course singing.” ‘differentiation’ in the repertoire, and of a feast, the critic Sulochana this, in turn, educates the audience The elaboration in these clarifications Pattabhiraman perhaps speaks for and they start asking for more such this set of rasika-s when she offers numbers.” Perhaps befitting the a culinary metaphor: “A dessert can’t generation he belongs to, he drives become a meal.” “It is very home his point with a technological But there are an equal number of allusion. “Today’s audience is highly rasika-s who are game for refreshing educated. They are constantly experiments— and Bombay Jayashri to sing and hear improving their raga database.” He speaks for this brave new generation says that rare raga-s have developed an when she discloses, “It is very a rare raga increasingly loyal following. “In fact, refreshing to sing and hear a rare raga some people even ask me to postpone during the main piece. I do it often.” during the announcement of the rare raga’s Her contemporary, T.M. Krishna, name to the end (of the piece) so agrees that “it is very interesting to the main piece...” that they can keep on guessing. It is sing pallavi-s in rare raga-s,” but he — Bombay Jayashri a healthy sign and I feel rare raga-s mulls over the qualifier ‘rare’. “Are must occupy a place in concerts in a we referring to old raga-s that are non-intervening fashion— that is,

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not necessarily taking it up as the remembered for the experience and main piece but presenting the raga newness.” swaroopa and the song as a welcome “Rare raga-s That point about boredom with change.” must occupy familiar raga-s is something Krishna It is tempting to put this young a place wouldn’t exactly agree with. “There is trend before an older rasika— and a belief these days that singing rarer Sulochana declares that you cannot in concerts in a raga-s with complicated arohana- enjoy something you don’t understand. avarohana is much harder than going When I protest about the apparent non-intervening for a Sankarabharanam. I believe that inflexibility of this pronouncement, reinventing something that exists is she relents. “At the very least, the artist fashion...” much harder.” He feels that the rarer must introduce the raga, specify the — Sikkil Gurucharan raga-s can be sung for a change and as arohana-avarohana, tell the audience a challenge for the artists themselves, about the family it belongs to and “but they cannot become the norm.” introduce them to the prayoga-s, she means by ‘colour’. “If a raga Gurucharan talks about one such the jeeva swara-s.” She quietly adds has to have colour, there must be challenge while performing recently that Semmangudi had an allergy to at least half-a-dozen kriti-s in that in Australia. “I had to sing a pallavi in vivadi raga-s, and veers off on a slight raga. With Todi, for instance, there most of the concerts. The words were tangent about her guru. “He used to are so many kriti-s, and there are set and I was looking for a suitable say, “These days, the papers and the so many different take-off points. raga. I came across an ashtapadi notebooks reach the stage even before One begins at sa, one at ri, one at sung by Tanjavur Kalyanaraman in the the artist does. And now it’s the ga... The singer has so many options.” raga Suddha Sarang. It immediately laptop age. How ridiculous! What is struck the right note and the pallavi to prevent korvai-s being formulated The singer— or the player of the was set in the same raga. I had already on the computer? Where is the raga— is what matters, feels Gowri. included main raga-s like imagination?” But she does agree that “Someone like Ravikiran can make and Todi in the concert, so this there is a need for introducing vivadi Vagadeeswari sound like meditation. would be a lighter— but interesting— raga-s, “like , Ganamoorti, Someone less gifted can make it crash experiment. Moreover, the raga was ... There are beautiful around like pebbles in a tin can.” Yet, extremely catchy. It went well with kriti-s in these raga-s.” Then the she says— echoing an argument that the lyrics of the pallavi.” caveat again: “They are needed, but finds favour with almost everyone— not as a main piece.” that with so many concerts packed The experience appears to have left Gurucharan with an insight into the Sulochana remembers older singers into a festival, “a rare raga can grab employment of rare raga-s. “If you who did employ the rarer raga-s. your attention and liven things up.” “MLV used to sing RTPs in Malavi That’s the reasoning behind Jayashri’s already have a big, elaborate raga as the and Gamanasrama (a raga that is not selection of Pavani for her RTP main piece, it would be ideal to have heard much because her daughter during a December-season concert at such rare raga-s for the pallavi. They Poorvikalyani is more accessible to Mylapore Fine Arts. “When we look can be delineated in a crisp and non- the ear) without boring audiences. at December, when we do something repetitive manner. But if the pallavi But you need an artist of her calibre from 7 to 10 concerts, I am bored is itself going to be the main piece, to bring out the colour.” Fellow-critic with constantly singing Todi or I would rather choose a popular and Gowri Ramnarayan makes the same Sankarabharanam. I imagined the rakti raga so that it can be presented point, but with the instance of an artist audience would be bored too. So I in all its grandeur. Nothing can match from a newer generation. “When tried to do a pallavi with the word their beauty.” Krishna has his own— Sanjay [Subrahmanyan] sings a Pavani. It was very challenging and and somewhat overlapping— rules rare , he endows it with new for me and for my co-artists.” for handling rare raga-s. “Choosing a character and an intellectual She adds that one can make [listening rare raga for a pallavi is fine as long component. Less gifted artists to rare raga-s] interesting enough as the raga itself does have scope for simply scamper up and down the to not invite boredom, and “what’s elaboration, especially during tanam scale.” Sulochana explains what important is that the presentation is singing. If the scope is limited, the

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pallavi must be kept crisp. A pallavi bring out every shade of these raga-s, already dealt with a Kambhoji or a in a rare raga must be tried only after they have also been handled by seniors Bhairavi as the main piece, throwing one practises singing ragam, niraval, in a variety of styles, which serves in a or a as tanam and kalpanaswaram in all as reference. And because this isn’t another (earlier) alapana. A fun the major rakti raga-s like Surati, the case with the rare raga-s, Gowri raga— with sparkling swara-s and and so on.” says, “Sometimes, even frontline exciting rhythms— makes a welcome vidwans tear a limited raga to shreds Gowri points out a problem with change in the pallavi.” And somehow, by overstretching it. Repetition is rare raga-s. “Few artists know how to we’re back to discussions of main unavoidable in such raga-s, but the handle them. Rare raga-s have their pieces being delineated in the big smart singer will know how to hide shape and form, mood and feeling, just raga-s— and Gurucharan reinforces it through canny modulation, well- as familiar raga-s do. Individuating this faith. “They will always remain paced glissades, pauses, karvai-s and the rare raga-s— especially the rare big as long as there is , arresting permutations.” vivadi raga-s— is an art in itself, simply due to the immense scope since there is so little ‘kelvi gnanam’ of What she means, in other words, is they offer for elaboration. Each time these raga-s. So the artist has to work that these repetitions can be made you present the raga alapana, you harder to avoid a monotonous replay part of a deliberate design. “One come across a sangati or a sequence of phrases gathered from the one or can’t do much emotionally with a which you might not have explored two compositions in the raga.” This, of Kamalamanohari or a , before. And if you want to present the course, is never a problem with a Todi but we can have fun with them. It’s same sequence the very next day in a or a Kalyani, for not only are there great when such pallavi-s are offered concert, it might elude you. Such is many, many big kriti-s that define and in a concert where the artist has the dynamic nature of these raga-s.” n

Selected Violin maestro T.N. Krishnan to receive the ‘Bharat Ratna M.S. Subbulakhmi Memorial “Sangeetharatna” award’ on the inaugural day of Geethanjali- 2007, second annual music festival of Sri Lalithakala Academy Foundation, Mysore, KAVI KOKILA MANJARI – A Set of Two CDs 6-8 May in Mysore. with Printed Text of Sanskrit Compositions of Kavi Kokila Dr. V. Raghavan on different deities, the Carnatic Music Trinity, the Sage of Kanchi & H.H. Sri Jayendra Died Saraswati, poet Vallathol and Kerala, World Peace & Unity, Mother India…. R. Yagnaraman (84), well- Sung by V. Sumithra. Price: Rs. 200 per pack known sabhanayaka, Secretary Contact: Dr. V. Raghavan Centre for Performing Arts (Regd.), No.1, 3rd Street, of Sri Krishna Gana Sabha Bhaktavatsalam Nagar, Adyar, Chennai 600 020. Ph: 24430344 & 98414-30344 from 1956; recipient of many awards including Kalaimamani, Seva Ratna, Kala Poshaka, and the first Sankarabaranam M. Venkatakrishnan Memorial award of the Sruti Foundation for his role in promoting the performing arts; 3 April in Chennai.

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