The Must Academy iT D ft^ ra s ' ,/!• 1 ’ &( fiv * % '■
I <— •' Hi, > A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE SCIENCE AND ART OF MUSIC
V o l . XVII 1946 P a r t s M V
EDITED BY
T. V. SUBBA RAO, B.A., B.L., AND V. RAGHAVAN, M.A., PH.D.
PUBLISHED BY ? THE MUSIC ACADEMY, MADRAS ‘KESARI KUTEERAM BUILDINGS* ROYAPETTAH, MADRAS Annual Subscription:—Inland Rs. 4; Foreign 8 shs. Post Paid. CONTENTS
PAG! The XIX Madras Music Conference, 1945 : Official Report • •• ...... I— 4C Music Phonography by J. Srinivasa Das, Venkatsgiri... 41 — 5C The Intonation of Karnataka Raga Melas by Vidwan Hulugur Krishnacharya ... ••• 51— 57 The Therapeutic Qualities of Music by Rao Bahadur N. M. Adyantayya ...... 58— 65 Gopala Nayaka by K. V. Ramachandran...... 66- 73 The Categories of intervals or Sruti-Jatis by Alain Danielou ...... ••• 74— 79 Survival of the Useful and the Beautiful in the Realm of Music by Prof. P. Sambamoorty 80— 89 Music at the time of King Sahaji of Tanjore— A. D. 1710—by K. Vasudeva Sastri ...... 90— 96 Some leading Music Systems by C. S. Iyer ... 97—103 The Ragas of Saramrita by T. V. Subba Rao ••• 10-1—134 Sri Muthia Bhagavatar by T. V. Subba Rao ... 134—140 The Manner of “Applause” in Ancient Indian Stage by Prof. O. C. Gangooly ...... ••• 141 —144 A Note on ‘Applause in Ancient India’ by Dr. V. Raghavan ...... ••• 144 148 The Useni Svarajati by Dr. V. Raghavan...... 149 156 The Padas of Sri Svati Tirunal by S. Venkatasubramonia Iyer ... * r'7—169 In Memoriam ...... ••• 170 Book Reviews ...... ••• 171 173 A Kriti of Sri Muttuswami Dikshitar Ed. by Vidvan Mudikondan Venkatarama Ayyar ...... 174—176 "HE XIX M ADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE, 1945 OFFICIAL REPORT
THE OPENING DAY 2 2 -1 2 -1 9 4 5 The Nineteenth Session of the Annual Music Conference inducted by the Madras Music Academy was held at the Sri andaresvara Hall and the National Girls’ High School, lylapore, Madras. Sri Raja Shanmukha Rajeswara Setupati Avl., e Rajah Saheb of Ramnad, opened the Conference, and Vidvan laharajapuram Visvanatha Ayyar presided over the delibera- ons of the Experts’ Committee. The proceedings commenced with prayer sung by the stu- ents of the Academy’s Teachers’ College of Music.
M essages
Dr. V. Raghavan read the messages received for the success the Conference. Dr. Rm. Alagappa Chettiar, who had opened the 18th ssion and had announced a donation of Rs. 16,000 to the cademy, said in the course of his message :— ” I was looking forward to this evening’s function with great thusiasm but I am compelled to deny myself the pleasure of taring my friend, the Rajah Saheb of Ramnad. The Sethupathi imsthanam has long and treasured association with music, art id culture of South India and it is indeed a happy augury that e Rajah Saheb should have consented to participate in the pro- edings and give his patronage and blessings to the Academy, un sure the Music Academy will march on from progress to ogress and ever keep the ideals sacred and pure regardless of e attacks by uniformed taste or criticism. I take this opportunity to congratulate you upon your stead- .tand persevering service to Carnatic music.” 2 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XV His Highness the Raja of Pudukottah wished the Conferem success. Sri V. Swami Iyengar, Mayavaram, wished in the course « his telegram success to the opening function and the Conference. Messages were read also from Vidvans and Experts, S Sarasvati Bai, Marungapuri Gopalakrishna Ayyar and Pro Ranade of Poona.
Welcome Address
Welcoming the Rajah Saheb of Ramnad, Sangita Kalanidl T. V. Subba Rao said :
“ S i r , W e offer you a hearty welcome to this, our Nineteent Annual Music Conference and trust that with your sympathy an co-operation we shall be able to mark yet another stage in th progress of our high endeavour. “ Your inspiring presence amidst us is a source of grer encouragement in the work of promoting Indian Culture. Th illustrious house of Setupatis has patronized the Tamil Sangar with uncommon zeal. Unprejudiced by narrow considerations c petty parochialism, it always helped to advance the cause c classic Carnatic Music. Maha Vaidyanatha Ayyar, Patna1 Subramanya Ayyar and Ramnad Srinivasa Ayyangar were a fe< of the distinguished Vidvans who were received and honoured k your grandfather Sri Bhaskara Setupati. To the same ancest< belongs in no small measure the credit of discerning the merit < Swami Vivekananda and deputing him to America to represei Hinduism in the Parliament of world religions. “ Young as you are, you have already given proof of outshii ing your forefathers in maintaining the noble traditions of yot house for fostering Art and Learning alike. The Madura Collej is indebted to you for the munificent donation for the constru tion of the Science Block of buildings. Lovers of music fe assured that Sangita will receive consideration no less generoi from the distinguished scion of the house renowned for the me liberal patronage of music, \RTS I— IV] THE XIX MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE, 1945 3 “ With sincere regard for your taste, culture and enlighten- ent, we request you to open this, our Nineteenth Annual Music Conference.” Sangita Kalanidhi T. V. Subba Rao then requested the Rajah Saheb of Ramnad to open the Conference. OPENING ADDRESS
Declaring the Conference open, The Rajah Sahib of Ramnad said :
“ L a d i e s a n d G e n t l e m e n , I thank the members of the Madras Music Academy for having honoured me with the task of opening the 19th Session of the Conference and for the warm welcome they have accorded me, When I said "the task of opening the Conference,” believe me, I did mean it. Taking into consideration the high and distin guished personalities who had this privilege in the past, I tremble and wonder how I came to stand before this august assembly, conscious as I am of my own limitation and of the enormity of the responsibility that has been thrust upon me 1 Well, I can only lay the blame on my ancestry. Neither my attainments in the field of music, nor my record of public service could have attracted your able and shrewd President, Rao Bahadur Sri K. V. Krishnaswami Iyer, to have lured me to this position. However, I am comforted by the feeling that the responsibility is his; he too seems to anti cipate that the Law of Heredity will prove true in my case. I must at the outset say that the practice of having laymen to Open the Conference, and the specialists to preside over the pro ceedings, is a very useful convention, for it represents the two essential factors found in society, i.e., the producers and creators on the one hand and the consumers and appreciators on the other. It is always good to have the layman’s point of view placed before an assembly of connoisseurs who alone are capable of catering to their needs without transgressing the accepted canons of techni que, law, or "Shastra,” as you may call it, belonging to that art. By associating with experts, even laymen will have something to rn and feel elevated. It is an undeniable fact that Art, when s pure and genuine, is able to pierce the innermost recesses and 4 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XV reach the consciousness of the spectators and listeners, eve though they may not have the necessary technical perception ar training. So it is a welcome idea to have a place, however small that may be, for a layman in a Conference of this kind. 1 am an admirer of Art, in general, and Music, in particular; and I may be termed an ardent votary of the latter, though I am not qualified to claim any scientific knowledge. However, 1 want to place before you certain aspects which strike my mind. All Art in general purports to represent the search for Truth through Beauty, but, for our purpose let us take only Music which is the greatest of the Fine Arts. Music has in itself a blending of Art, Culture, Religion and Philosophy. One who has made a com parative study of all arts cannot but be struck by the grand and unique place Music occupies among the galaxy of arts. An illustrious predecessor of mine has aptly contrasted the art of music and the arts of sculpture and painting. The statuary finish es a statue or the painter a picture, and we do admire the work of art; but then there is no scope beyond, whereas in Music every time, a musician has to recreate in multiple forms, and its scope is also illimitable. Therefore, 1 do not think 1 am wrong when 1 say that, while all arts are fairly static, the art of Music alone is dynamic. From this we can understand why our ancestors have called the Ultimate as “ Nadabrahma.” No doubt, many devotees have reached that Ultimate and have become realised beings, through the vehicle of Music. What can be nobler than the instance of the great Saint Tyagaraja who lived in our midst in the 19th century and before whom, it is claimed, Sri Rama actually appeared ? Our Music has a tradition and an import, and it is our duty to preserve it, cherish it, and treasure it. We cannot afford to dally with it and allow it to degenerate. We must all confess that we have been westernised in our outlook; but still I ask you honest ly, “Can you take to Western Music ?” Do not think that 1 am deriding Western Music. To be frank, we do not get that impulse and reaction when we hear Music other than our own. Westtrr Music may sometimes imitate the sounds of Nature, like * sighing of the wind, the rustling of the leaves, and so on; » PARTS I— IV] THE XIX MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE, 1945 5 Indian Music is subjective in character and is nurtured in the in trospective experiences of the soul. Our Music is ideal, and it is hard to comprehend realism in it. A simple combination of a few notes one after another produces a profound emotional effect. Have we not experienced multiple feelings such as the sensual, the emotional, the intellectual, and the spiritual, while listening to our Music? Of course, the imaginative faculty of the listener has to develop the idea according to its richness and capacity.
Till the beginning of the twentieth century this glorious art of Music was patronised mostly by the Royalties of our country. It must be said that it had its own advantages. These artists were looked after well and were provided above want, so that they might devote their time solely to the development of the art without feeling the pinch of the stomach. They had ample leisure and that afforded them opportunity to develop their talents to the highest perfection possible to them. But now, of course, Sabhas have come into existence. The advantage in this is not at all disputed, since it gives chance for more number of people to hear and appreciate the art several times over. But then let us com pare both. While the former institution enriched the artists and perfected the art, the latter only enriches the audience, and the consequent degeneracy in art is slowly creeping in by the back door, due to the hurried visits of these Bagavathars from Sabha to Sabha which do not give them the leisure necessary for ‘Sadhakam’ or practice which is the only way to attain the per fection or the height which they are capable of. By their having too numerous performances their health which is an essential factor to have sweetness or ‘Jeevan’ in their voice or ‘Sariram’ gets impaired. Take the present case in our Music world. Why can we not lookback beyond four or five musicians at the most as the outstanding artists? I am certain it is due to the malady I have mentioned above. So what I would like to suggest is a happy blending of all these factors, that is to say, that the rich and wealthy persons should come forward and patronise these musicians, especially the young and talented ones who show promise, and that these Baghavatars in turn concentrate more on the development of the art, and that the Sabhas should continue 6 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSlC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII to propagate good Music and provide fare for the public at large. When I said that the rich and wealthy should patronise, 1 did not mean the number of performances they could provide for these artists. But they should place these artists above pecuniary wants and thus curb their tendency to hunt for money sacrificing the divine gift they have in them. I am glad that already the Rulers of our Native States like Their Highnesses the Maharajas of Mysore and Travancore are doing a great deal in this direction and 1 take this opportunity to appeal to other Maharajas, Rajahs, Zamindars, and other noble men of South India to follow the lead given by these illustrious two and come forward with their generous gesture for this noble cause, which is our pride and which is of national significance and importance. I appeal also to the artists not to fritter away their time bartering away their divine talents. Music is twice blest—it blesseth him that gives and him that takes, and I only want them to be alive to that. In fine, Music should not be made mercenary. If my appeal bears fruit, I will be the happiest man and so will you be, I am sure. That will be the day when a solid foundation is laid for the glori fication of our Music for all times, and that certainly is a happy consummation devoutly to be wished. I have said what I wanted to say on this aspect, and now you cah dub me as a dreamer if you think it impracticable, but then I shall persist in being such a dreamer.
1 now turn to a topic of current controversy in the field of South Indian Music—since subdued from the virulence it had at the beginning—the feeling imported and exploited on the score of language, which is verily a poison that will destroy the ancient and glorious art of Music, like other communal, religious, and language differences that have destroyed and are destroying the peace and unity of our motherland. Ladites and Gentlemen, believe me, I hail from a family who have rendered service to Tamil Culture, and your humble servant is the President of the Madura Tamil Sangam to-day. Nobody will be more glad than I to see the revival of Tamil culture and its development in all aspects, but still this controversy I deplore for two reasons: —(1) the over emphasis on language, which is not after all very essential for PARTS I— IV] THE XIX MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE, 19 4 5 7
Music and (2) trying to develop one phase of music by a new movement at the cost of a completed whole which is already in existence. I shall deal with them one by^ one. (1) Songs are but a mixture of Music and Poetry. Naturally, as Music predominates, the other element must suffer. And it is the modulatory vibrations that appeal to our senses more than the poetry itself. Trying to balance both will amount to doing justice to neither. All arguments about the importance of •Sahitya* are utterly puerile in relation to the highest type of Sangeeta. Those who feel the necessity of words to interpret the sentiment of the Mode are those that are insensible to the ex quisite natural appeal of Absolute Music. Any radical thinking person must accept that in Music proper it is the sound and not the sense that counts, and that naturally leads to the inference that ‘Raga’ alone is the purest Music and that composition where ‘Sahitya’ is canvassed is a by-product. To substantiate what I have stated above, I shall just quote what that great immortal Indian poet, Sri Rabindranath Tagore, says about Indian Music:— "Our Music, as it were, moves above the incidents of daily life, and because of it, it is so full of detachment and tenderness as if it were appointed to reveal the beauty of the innermost and unutterable mystery of the human heart and the world.” He says further "Song is glorious in its own right. Why should it accept the slavery of words? Song begins where words end. The inexplicable is the domain of Music. It can say what words cannot, so that the less the words of the song distract the song, the better.” Let me not mar the beauty of the above in trying to expatiate on it; so I leave you to draw your own conclusions.
(2) In trying to develop the Tamil Isai Movement, methods which are not salutary are adopted. As a point in instance the authors of the movement insist upon the artists singing a Tamil song first and so on. Some of the artists, I know, have conscien tious objections to do the same, as they have been taught by their Gurus to begin the ‘Katcheri’ or performance in a particular way 8 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII and their Guru Bakthi is very great, unlike the'disciples of modern days. And these artists are being persecuted and the public are denied opportunities of hearing these artists who have unsurpas sed talents and established reputation. We can have no objection for a set of enthusiastic people promoting Tamil Isai, if contro versies of such a kind and methods of persecution are dropped. But then it must be with the listeners to elect to hear the Music they like. Tamil Isai can serve the people who like Tamil Songs obviously with a desire to understand the ‘Sahitya,’ but the pro moters shall not question the other set of people who are musi cally minded. After all the compositions in Telugu and Sanskrit now sung are mostly those of the famous Musical Trinity, Tyagaraja, Syama Sastri^ and Dikshithar, all of whom were born in Tamilnad. Is it fair for anyone to taboo these divine singers just because their compositions are mostly in Telugu—the most mellifluous of the Dravidian Tongues—which they found to be the most suitable vehicle of Music? I would personally be glad if Tamil Compositions could be promoted to such an extent that they might rank with any pf the compositions of those celebrities from the musical point of view. I strongly appeal to the pro moters of the Tamil Isai movement to drop the linguistic fight in the domain of Music. We have enough troubles, and it is high time that we learn to be united in the midst of diversities. Lastly, I congratulate the Music Academy for all that they have been doing for Music and I wish them Godspeed, and pray that they may grow from strength to strength so as to be of greater service to the Music world to the delight and satisfaction of all Music lovers. One word more and I shall have done. I understand that important discussions take place here to improve and set up a standard for Music with the approval of scholars. I wish the decisions arrived at here are adhered to, and respected by the artists. I have to say this because, from my conversation with one of the leading artists, I learn that some of the artists adopt methods which are considered ‘Asastrikam’. For instance, the singing of ‘Raga’ at the end of a set of notes or ‘Svaram’ is not sanctioned ,by ‘Sastra', or law of Music, I believe. Another thing that has come to my notice is Sruthi PARTS I—-iv ] THE XIX MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE, 19 4 6 9 Bhedam which I presume is of doubtful sanction. If this ‘Sadas* were to agree with my suggestions giveh above and such other suggestions that may be placed before them with the best of motives to improve the standard of Music after careful considera tion, then let them frame their resolutions in unequivocal terms, and see to it that their resolutions are followed in practice. I do not want to indulge more in this line, lest I should be considered presumptuous and I may be pardoned even for this disgression. I apologise to you for having taken so much of your time. 1 have great pleasure in declaring the Conference open.” The Rajah Saheb then handed over to Rao Bahadur K. V. Krishnaswami Iyer, President of the Academy, Rs. 5,000, his generous donation to the Academy and declared the Conference open.
Vote of Thanks Mrs. Alamelu Jayarama Ayyar thanked the Rajah Saheb of Ramnad for his generous support to the activities of the Academy.
Election of the President Sangita Kalanidhi Tiger Varadachariar proposed Vidwan Maharajapuram Visvanatha Ayyar to the Presidentship of the 19th Conference. Vidwan Chittoor Subramania Pillai, Sangita Kalanidhi T. L. Venkatarama Ayyar and Vidwan Kalidas Nilakan- tha Ayyar spoke in support of the proposal. Vidwan Maharajah- puram Visvanatha Ayyar was duly elected President.
Presidential Address In his presidential address, Vidwan Viswanatha Aiyar, after thanking the Music Academy for conferring on him the honour of presiding over the Conference, said that the development of fine arts in South India was well known. It would not be any exag geration to say that the art prospered much in the Cauveri area and Tanjore had earned a special fame for Carnatic music. Those who had practised Carnatic music could easily understand and practise European and Hindusthani music, whereas it was 2 10 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII always difficult for the votaries of the other kinds of music to understand Carnatic music. In the Carnatic music handed down to us by the great masters, the distinguishing features of the other kinds of music had been incorporated and the composi tions of our great musicians like Sri Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastrigal gave ample proof of this. The subtle beauties of sruti, raga, tala, and svara are the special glory of Carnatic music. After describing the fundamentals of Carnatic music, the President drew attention to the development and growth of sahitya and to the compositions of the three great masters in which all the beauties and niceties of Carnatic music had been illustra ted. He then referred to the tendency among some of the present day musicians to deviate from the traditional methods and stated that it should be the duty of organisations like the Music Academy to' revive and conserve the old traditional methods. The presen t day Carnatic music could be divided into two kinds, namely rend ering kritis of great composers, and singing ragas and svaras. At present many of the kritis of Tyagaraja were sung in ragas other than those in which he had composed them ; or, if the nanjes of the ragas were formally preserved, the musical texture was altered by the introduction of alien svaras. The Academy should discuss and settle what the correct mode should be in each case. And Vidwans should follow the decisions arrived at by the Academy. In the present day performances, ‘raga alapana’ was not occupying its proper place. He had heard the giants of an earlier day who gave raga and pallavi a prominent place in their concerts ; and in those days he too had done the same ; but due to changing times and tastes of the general public, he had to adapt himself to the present conditions and could not give such prominence to alapana. It was the duty of the Academy to restore the raga alapana to its rightful place in musical performances. ' ' >:V; i." .* ■- ' \ ... . '# r ^ ' Another disquieting feature was the miserable plight of pal- lavi singing, and tana singing. These were the keystone of our music and if they were allowed to disappear, our music would degenerate into mere entertainment. PARTS I— IV] THE XIX MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE, 19 4 6 11 The taste for Carnatic music among the public had grown a great deal and this was proved by the large increase in the num ber of Sabhas and performances given. This growth had engen dered a fear in the minds of the music lovers that standards might be lowered. This should be prevented at all costs. The President next referred to the language controversy in music and the Tamil Isai movement. It was the contention of the support ers of the movement, he said, that the language of their kritis should be such as would be understood by the hearers. Before considering this question, he desired that they should consider the place of sahitya in Carnatic music. Of course in instrumen tal music much importance was not given to sahitya. Even in vocal music, sahitya figured very little in alapana or in the sing ing of svara, tana and pallavi. In Carnatic music sahitya had always a place essentially secondary to Sangeeta. If they looked at the compositions of the three great musicians—Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastrigal—they would find that more prominence was given to the musical structure than to the words. These three musicians, besides being great poets, were also great composers and even if they took away the sahit- yas from the kritis, the music would still be captivating. It had been said that even animals were charmed by music. From that it followed that the vital thing in music was the nada and not the sahitya. We Tamilians had always appreciated this and been catholic in out tastes, singing in the past songs in other languages ; and there was no need to be ashamed of it. The President next referred to modern compositions in music and said that only those which would bring out the characteristic features of the particular raga should be sung in public performances. Only pieces composed by those who were musicians as well as poets would be worth while. The modern practice of one man writing the words to another man’s music could not be produc tive of good music. In conclusion, the President referred to the good work done by the Music Academy in the matter of having annual conferen ces to discuss varied subjects connected with music, and in the matter of publishing rare books on music, like Chatvrdandi Pra- 12 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII kasika. Such organisations had been a source of strength to musicians and he hoped that our vidwans would greatly support the efforts of the Academy. He considered it a great fortune to preside over the conference, as his guru, Sri Umayalpuram Swami- natha Aiyar, had occupied the same chair a few years ago. He was also glad that the Rajah of Ramnad was opening the con ference. In ancient days music had royal patronage and even to-day they had royal patrons like the Maharajah of Mysore, the Maharajah of Travancore, the Maharani of Travancore and the Rajah of Ramnad. He wished the conference every success.
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The proceedings commenced with prayer by Sri Srinivasa Rao, B.A., B.L., who Sang ‘Bharati’ in Devamanohari. * Condolence Resolutions The following resolution was moved from the chair :— “This conference of the Experts of the Music Academy, Madras, places on record its profound sense of the great loss sustained by the world of Music in general and the Music Academy in parti cular, by the passing away of Sangita Kalanidhi Gayaka Sikha- mani Dr. L. Muthiah Bhagavatar and Sangita Kalanidhi Ponniah Pillai and offers its condolences to members of the bereaved families.” Vidwan Valadi Krishnaier and Rajyasevanirata Sangita id- wan Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer spoke on the resolution. The resolution was passed, the members standing. Congratulatory Resolution Sangita Kalanidhi T. V. Subba Rao moved the following resolution :— “This conference offers its felicitations to Rajyasevanirata Vidwan Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer on the conferment upon him of the title ‘Rajyasevanirata’ by His Highness The Maharajah of Travancore and begs to convey its gratful appreciation to His Highness The Maharajah of Travancore.” PARTS I— IV] THE XIX MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE, 19 4 5 23 The President, Maharajapuram Visvanatha Iyer, Vidwan Valadi Krishnaier, and Vidwan Parupalli Ramakrishniah Pantulu spoke on the resolution, eulogising the endowments and services of the Vidwan. Vidwan Srinivasa Ayyar thanked the Academy and speakers. Demonstration of the Kiritis of the late Mahama- hopadhyaya Yagnaswamy Sastrigal Vidwan Talainayar Nagarajan then gave a demonstration of the compositions of the Late Mahamahopadhyaya Yagnaswami Sastrigal.' He rendered the following pieces ; — Thyagaraja in Hamsadhvani, Sarasiruha in Begada, Devi Dehi in Kalyani, Kanu Gati in Dhanyasi, Bhakti Vasyata in Abhogi, Kachana Kechana in Kedaragoula. Mr. Swaminatha Iyer accompanied on the violin and Sri Somanna on the Mirdangam. Sri T. L. Venkatarama Iyer thanked Vidwan Nagarajan for the demonstration. The “MUSI-GRAP*, a system of music phonography devised by Sri T. Srinivasadas of Venkatagiri. Introduced hy Sangita Kalanidhi T. V. Subba Rao, Mr. T. Srinivasadas of Venkatagiri Town read a paper on ‘ Musi-Graf * a system of writing down music as quickly as it is sung or played devised hy him. * The principle is : A reel of paper moves over a writing pad with the aid of a simple automatic paper winder at a slow uniform speed ; a metal scale is fitted across the pad, the scale having a slit graduated and marked with the svaras. As the paper moves on, the student is simply to hold the pencil in the slit and move it between the svaras, according to the time and pitch of the piece of music which he is out to record. A graph line results on the paper which can afterwards be read. By a course of graded exercises the student will acquire the ability to write and read music accurately and with ease. Sri C. S. Iyer explained the paper in Tamil by comapring the device to the mechanism of the automatic recorder of weather or * Tlie full text of his paper is published elsevrhere in this issue. 24 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII temperature. He said Svaragnana and Talagnana are necessary even for this proposed graphic representation. Sri T. L. Venkatrama Iyer proposed a vote of thanks to Sri T. Srinivasadas. THE THIRD DAY 2 5 - 1 2 -1 9 4 5 Saveri Raga The discussions of the Expert Committee of the Music Academy, in connection with the 19th Conference, were continued today Tuesday 25th December at the National Girls’ High School Hall, Mylapore, with Vidwan Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, the President, in the chair. The discussion of Saveri Raga was taken up, at the instance of Sangita Kalanidhi Tiger Varadachariar though the Raga had been discussed in the 1930 and 1932 Con ferences. Sangita Kalanidhi Sri T. L. Venkatarama Iyer read out the earlier decision. Tiger Varadachariar sang the Gita ‘Janaka- suta’ in which occurred the prayoga “Ma Ga Ma”. He added some more sancharas illustrating these prayogas. He opined that the ‘Ni and Ga’ will have varying pitches according to the sancha ras, sometimes higher and sometimes lower. The prayoga ‘Sa Ni Sa Ri’ also occurred. Vidwan Parupalli Ramakrishniah Pantulu sang the same gitam without ‘Ga Ma* prayoga. Vidwan Piratla Sankara Sastry differed and sang the same Gita with ‘Ga Ma’. But he added that Ga Ma is not used in Varna and Ragalapana. Vidwan Ramaniah Chettiar agreed that 'Ga Ma’ may be used. Vidwan Tiger Varadachariar read out from the Sampradaya Pradarsini the portion relating to Saveri in support of his own position. He also sang the raga at length, to illustrate the various prayogas and to bring out the emphasis that Saveri is a Rakti Raga. Prof. P, Sambamurthy observed that the version given by Tiger Varadachariar was old and should be retained. PARTS I— IV] THE XIX MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE, 19 45 25 Vidvan Ramanaiah Chettiar referred to ‘GaMa’ as a rare fine prayoga occurring in Gamaka. Vidvan Bharatam Nallur Narayanaswamy Iyer wanted to know whether ‘Ma Ga Ma* occurred in the Tara Sthayi, and also desired that the limits of Tara Sanchara for this Raga be fixed, as no composition of the Vaggeyakaras seem to go up to the Tara Sthayi. Tiger Varadachariar said that Tara Sanchara is permissible and Vidvan Valadi Krishnaiar and T. V. Subba Rao agreed to that view. T. V. Subba Rao opined that the prayoga ‘Ma Ga Ma’ be noted as an ‘Arshaprayoga \ It is a general principle that when a raga takes the lakshana of 4 Tara ' above the octave there is no limit to tara sanchara. though compositions do not range beyond tara madhyama. At this stage it was mentioned that Pa occurred in the Tara Sthayi in a Varna and Kirtana of Patnam Subramania Iyer. Mansala Jagannatha Rao drew attention to a portion of a Pada of Kshetragna having higher sancharas, 4 Sa Ri Pa Ma Ga Ri Sa ’. The President observed that in the prayoga 4 Sa Ri Pa Ma Ga Ri Sa ’ the Ma has its support in Pa and Vice versa. ‘Ma Ga Ma’ was admissible according to him, though one should use it with a great deftness. Vidvan Ramaniah Chettiar objected to *Ma Ga Ma’ but % approved of 4Ga Ma4 as an ‘Alpaprayoga*. The President said that 4 Sa Ni Sa Ri ’ also occurred and was appropriate to Ragabhava. Sri Ananthakrishna Sarma of Mysore wanted to know whether 4 Ga and Ni ’ could be prolonged. Sri Hulugur Krishnachar quoted Bharata to say that Antara and Kakali could not be prolonged, and were by nature Hrasva Prayogas. It was decided that the Arohana and Avarohana of Saveri were 4 Sa Ri Ma Pa Da Sa * and 4 Sa Ni Da Pa Ma Ga Ri Sa. * ‘ Sa Ri Pa Ma Ga Ri Ga Ma Ga Ri Sa ’ is an Arshaprayoga to be used, if at all, cautiously in accordance with Ragabhava. The appropriate Srutis of 4 Ga, Ni * and 4 Ma * are to be learnt from Lakshya. 4 It) THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII THE FOURTH DAY 26-12-45 The discussions of the Expert Committee of the Music Academy, in connection with the 19th Conference, were continued today. The President, Maharajapuram Visvanatha Iyer, was in the chair. Kapi R aga The Lakshana of Kapi Raga discussed last year was taken up for further discussion. Sri T. L. Venkatrama Iyer read out the earlier decision on Karnataka Kapi and Hindustan Kapi. Vidvan Parupalli Ramakrishniah Pantulu quoted from several texts, the Raga Lakshana, the Sampradayapradarsini and the Chadurdandiprakasika. He said that the word Kapi was used loosely. He referred to a Varna in Karnataka Kapi learnt by him from his Guru and distinguished from the Kapi in vogue which he characterised as Desya Kapi. He mentioned that the songs of Tyagaraja were also, as sung today, in Desya Kapi. He then sang the old Varna in Karnataka Kapi ‘Nirajakshi* in Atatala which had touches of Durbar, but which the Vidvan showed by singing several sancharas, as being distinct from Durbar, for instance the prayogas ‘Ri Ga Ma Pa* and ‘Ri Sa Ri Ni Da Pa Ma Ga Ga Ri Sa*. Further discussions of this was adjourned to Thursday 27th December. Demonstration of Raga, Tana and Pallavi by Sangita Kalanidhi Dwaram Venkataswami Naidu. Sangita Kalanidhi Prof. Venkataswami Naidu then gave a demonstration in Ragalapana, Tana and Pallavi in Subha Pantu- varali Raga, taking a Pallavi in Chaturasra Triputa 3/4 Yeduppu. In the end he played Bilahari, Dwijavanti and Behag, as also an Ashtapadi in Sindhubhairavi. The Professor was assisted hy his pupil Marella Kesavarao and was accompanied by Tuni Venkataraju on the Mridangam, Sangita Kalanidhi T. V. Subba Rao, in thanking the musician on behalf of the public and the Academy, observed that Sri PARTS I— IV] THE XIX MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE, 19 45 27 Naidu Garu waked his violin to living ecstasy and made it speak with the articulation of the human voice and that his renderings were superb beyond description. THE FIFTH DAY 27-12-45 The discussions of the Experts’ Committee of the Music Academy, in connection with the 19th Conference, were continued today with the President, Maharajapuram Visvanatha Iyer, in the chair. J \7t * \ M' v ' ,*5 K api Raga The discussion of Kapi Raga was continued. The President requested the Vidvans to render compositions in Kapi known to them. Vidvan Piratla Sankara Sastry sang a kirtana in Chapu by Veena Kuppier, 'Sripati Nannu’ which had the following prayogas: ‘Sa Sa Ri Ri Ga Ga Ma Ma Pa: Da Ni Sa Ni Da Pa Ma; Pa Ma Ga Ri Ma Ga Ri Sa; Sa Ri Ga Ma Ri Pa Ma Pa Da Ni Sa: Sa Ni Da Pa Ma Ga Ma Ri Sa.' Tiger K. Varadachariar agreed with this version of the song. Mansala Jagannatha Rao said that Kapi Raga had for Arohana ‘Sa Ri Ma Pa Ni Sa’ and for Avarohana ‘Sa Ni Da Ni Pa Ma Ga Ri Sa/ He maintained that Antara Gandhara and Kakali Nishada did not occur. He sang the Tyagaraja Kriti “Rama Raghukula” without Anatara ‘Ga ’ and Kakali ' Ni.’ He also sang a Padam of Kshetragna “Innallu Theliyanaithi” with out Antara Gandhra and Kakali Nishada. The Padam had the following prayogas :—‘ Sa Ni Ni Da Ni Ni Sa,' Ni Ma Pa,’ * Ri Ga Ma Ga R i,’ Pa Da Ni Sa.’ Vidvan Bharatam Nallur Narayanaswami Iyer said that the above version differed from the Kapi of the other Kshetragna Pada “ Adarenimovi’‘ and referred to the fact that we have three versions of Kapi current viz. Karanataka Kapi, Kapi without Anya Svaras, and Hindustani Kapi having Anya Svaras. T. L. Venkatarama Iyer did not agree with the view that there were three varieties of Kapi but said that there were only 2 8 THE JOURNAL OR THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII two, viz. Karnataka Kapi and Hindustani Kapi. He also read out the discussions on Kapi in the 1933 Conference. Vidvan Salem Doraiswamy Iyengar sang the Tyagaraja Kriti “Anyayamu Seyakura*' in which occurred ‘Ri Ga Pa Ma Ga Ri Sa* very often, besides ‘Ga Ma Pa Ma Da Da Da Ni Sa Ri Ga Ri Sa’ in Anupallavai, without Anya Svaras. He also sang a Javali ‘Vaddani Nenantini’ to illustrate modern Kapi. Vidvan Maharajapuram Visvanatha Iyer sang the same piece ‘Anyayamu Seyakura’ with ‘Ri Sa Sa Ni Sa Ri Ri Ga Ma Pa Da Pa’. He pointed out that it may have Durbar Chaya, but was in fact different. Tiger Varadachariar said that his version of the song was different and included Kakali ‘Ni’ and Antara ‘Ga’. Vidvan Parupalli Ramakrishniah Pantulu observed that the two versions Kapi and Karnataka Kapi were existing from old days. In reply to a question he also referred to the Varna he sang on the previous day in Karnataka Kapi having apparent touches of Durbar as hailing from the heart of Tanjore having been handed down to him through his own Guru from Manambu. chavadi Venkatasubbier. Hulugur Krishnachar gave a historical account of Kapi. He said that the name Kafi is not old, having been mentioned for the first time in South India by King Tulaja in his work in the middle of the 18th Century. Kafi is a Persian word meaning ‘perfect’ or ‘full’, and is hence used for the Sri Raga scale of Sarangadeva. It is a puma Raga and the pure Kafi is devoid of Anya Svaras even in Hindustani. But in Hindustani also, there are two other mixed types where melodic considera tions have let in Anya Swaras. Further discussion of Kapi Raga was adjourned to Saturday. Demonstration by Sangita Kalanidhi Tiger K. Varadachariar Sangita Kalanidhi Tiger K. Varadachariar then gave a demonstration of Ragalapana, Tana and Pallavi, in Kapi. He took Kapi with Antara ‘Ga’ and Kakali ‘Ni’ and dealt with the Ragaat great length singing both Tana and Svaras. He then p a r t i — iv] th e xix m a d r a s m usic c o n feren c e , 1945 2 9 sang Mohana, Simhendramadhyama, Garudadhvani, Saveri (with the sancharas Sa Ni Sa Ri), Bilahari, Dhanyasi, Arabi, Kedara, Kanada, Puma Chandrika and Mukhari, In the last he sang Neraval and Kalpana Swaras with the line ‘Inakulapati’. Sangita Kalanidhi T. L. Venkatarama Iyer proposed vote of thanks to Sangita Kalanidhi Tiger Varadachariar on behalf of the Academy and the public. THE SIXTH DAY 28-12-45 The Experts' Committee of the Music Academy, Madras, met today at 12-30 with the President, Vidvan Maharajapuram Visvanatha Iyer, in the chair. Voice Culture Mr. Balakrishna Rao of Bombay in his lecture on Voice Culture stressed the importance of assuming a correct posture of sitting in the production of voice and tones of Akara. A Hindusthani Raga Demonstration Mr. Kapileswari Sastry of Bombay, pupil of Ustad Abdul Karim Khan, gave a demonstration of a few Ragas of the Hindus tani system to bring out the fundamental unity of the Hindus thani and Carnatic systems of music. He rendered Bhairav corresponding to Malavagoula scale and derivative Ragas there from like Kalangada, Gunakali, Jogia and Ramakali. In the Jogia corresponding to the Carnatic Saveri, the Antara Gandhar was just touched in the Avarohan. He rendered Sudh Kafi corresponding to the Carnatic Karaharapriya and demonstrated. It did not take any foreign notes. He further illustrated some misra varieties of Kafi like Sindhura. Next he rendered Madhumadhav Sarang and Brindavani Sarang. Tirukkural set to Music Brahmasri Mayavaram Visvanatha Sastrigal sang verses of the Tamil classic of Tiruvalluvar, Tirukural, set to Raga and Tala by him. He rendered pieces thereof in Poorvakalyani, Malavi and Mohana. 3 0 th e jo u r n a l of t h e m u sic a c a d e m y [v o l . XVII Sangita Kalanidhi T. V. Subba Rao thanked Messrs. Bala- krishna Rao, Kapileswari Sastry and Visvanatha Sastrigal lor their expositions. THE SEVENTH DAY 29-12-45 The Svati Tirunal Day The Academy celebrated the Svati Tirunal Day on 29-12-45. Sangita Kalanidhi T. V. Subba Rao spoke on Sri Svati Tirunal; Sachivottama Dr. Sir C. P. Ramaswami Ayyar presided; Vidvans rendered kritis of Sri Svati Tirunal. The proceedings commenced with the singing ol prayer by Mrs. Anantalakshmi Satagopan. Sangita Kalanidhi T. V. Subba Rao spoke on the life and compositions ol Maharajah Svati 1 irunal'— “ Friends, 1 consider we are very fortunate in having Sachivothama Dr. Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer in our midst to preside over this func tion. I have come to entertain a belief, perhaps superstitious, that no activity in which he participates can ever fail to bear fruit. He is an eminent lawyer, statesman, administrator and scholar. Above all he is a supreme artist, for his thoughts, words and deeds are full of beauty, grace, elegance and refinement. There is a perfect style in everything about him and style is the very essence of art. We are, therefore, proud that the celebrations of this day are held under his presidency. The life and contributions of the Maharaja are so well- known that I do not feel it necessary to say much. I should pre fer to let his compositions speak for themselves; yet in order not to break a custom I feel bound to say just a few words. The royal composer had the unique distinction of being vested with sovereignty even before birth and was on that account called ‘garbhasriman’. Ascending the throne in 1829 in his sixteenth year he reigned till 1847 when he was called to join the lotus feet of Lord Padmanabha and has left behind him lasting memory of his greatness. We are not now concerned with his PARTS I— IV] THE XIX MADRASj MUSIC CONFERENCE, 19 4 5 31 glory as administrator and the good he did to the people of Travancore, but with the larger benefits which he has bestowed upon mankind. His compositions are the solace and delight of all lovers of music and persons spiritually disposed. His pieces of varied kinds number over three hundred and are in as many as six languages and include kirtanas, padas, varnas, tillanas, raga- malikas and prabandhas. The kirtanas combine the many excellences of Dikshitar and Tyagaraja. In the employment of Samskrita, in the abundance of sahitya, in the beauties of svara- kshara and svarasthana varna where svara and syllable coincide, in the mingling of svara and solkattu, he bears great affinity to Dikshitar; in the structure of the kirtana, his compositions resem ble those of Tyagaraja in the identity of the dhatu of the anupallavi with that of the second half of the charana. The songs of the Maharaja have the same sparkling liveliness of spirit and move ment as is found in the kirtanas of Tyagaraja in contrast with massive dignity of Dikshitar's music. It seems clear that the regard he had for these two master composers found expression in his pieces which in sahitya were inspired by the one and in sangita by the other. Apart from these qualities, they possess simplicity, ease and charm which have made them popular. They breathe a spirit of deep religious fervour and move the listener to devotion and ecstasy. The services which a composer or poet renders to humanity at large are immortal. Men of action whatever their achievements are soon forgotten. Their glory endures, if at all, only for their celebration in song or poem. Emperors and monarchs have reign ed over the earth. Who remembers them today? On the other hand Sudraka, Harsha, Raghunatha Naik and Tulajaji have made themselves immortal by the works they have left behind them. All these were princes, but are remembered this day only for their artistic and literary creations. Great as has been the kingship of Maharaja Svati Tirunal, yet greater is his fame as composer. True sovereignty lies not in the domain over land and water but in the sway over human hearts,” Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer felicitated the -Academy for re membering and recognising the compositions of Maharaja Svati 32 th e jo u r n a l of the m u sic a c a d e m y [v o l . XVII Tirunal, who was not only an eminent composer but a great administrator. The Maharaja was surrounded by traitors, and he fought those internal foes as well as the British. He knew astro nomy, improved the Travancore observatory, and introduced legal reforms in the state. He had composed not only kirtanas, but also long musical poems and series like the Ajamilopakhyana and the Dasara songs. In conclusion Sir Ramaswami Iyer emphasised the fact that the hold of the music of our composers like Tyagaraja and Svati Tirunal, Dikshitar and Syama Sastri was due to the fact that it was rooted in heaven, Urdhvamoola, and that even as Tyagaraja turned to Rama as his prop, Svati Tirunal turned to Lord Padmanabha. Rao Bahadur K. V. Krishnaswami Aiyar proposed a vote of thanks to the Chairman and requested him to convey to Their Highnesses the Maharaja and the Maharani of Travancore the gratitude of the Academy for the patronage they were extending to the Academy. Leading Vidvans, including Maharajapuram Viswanatha Aiyar, Semmangui Srinivasa Aiyar, G. N. Balasubramaniam, Madura Mani, Srimathi Pattammal, accompanied by Chowdiah, Rajamanickam Pillai, Panchapakesan, Palghat Mani, Palani Subramania Pillai and Somanna rendered the kirtanas of Svati Tirunal. Sangita Kalanidhi T. L. Venkatrama Aiyar thanked the Vidvans. EIGHTH DAY 30-12-45 The discussions of the Experts’ Committee of the Madras Music Academy were continued on December 30, with the Presi dent, Maharajapuram Visvanatha Aiyar, in the chair. Therapeutic Value of Music Rao Bahadur N. M. Adyantayya read a paper on the “Therapeutic value of musical sounds.”* He mentioned the references in old literature and traditions of Egypt, Greece and India to the curative properties of music and * The full text of his paper is published elsewhere in this issue. PARTS I— IVj THE XIX MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE, 1945 33 said that modern science in the West has proved that all such belief is well-founded. He quoted from the reserches of many European and American scientists on this subject of harnessing music for curing the ailments of man. The investigation into the build of raga is bound to bear fruitful results. It has been found in the West, he said, that supersonic sound has energy which can be tapped even for melting metals. He appealed to the Academy and the University, as also to musicians, psychologists and doc. tors, to interest themselves in this subject/ A Lecture on Bharatam Vidvan Bharatam Nallur Narayanaswami Aiyar then gave a lecture on Bhava, Raga and Tala. He explained Rasa and Nayaka- Nayaki classification. He sang and demonstrated, “ Sambhu- Natana ” (Dance of Siva), a piece he had composed at the in stance of His Holiness Sri Sankaracharya of Kamakoti, out of the ‘Siva Tandava Storta” of Patanjali. A Paper on Intonation Vidwan Hulugur Krishnachar then read a paper on “Intona tion” and “ Determination of the values of the correct Svara- intervals.”* Sangita Kalanidhi T. L. Venkatarama Aiyar thanked Mesrs. Adyantayya, Narayanaswami Aiyar and Krishnachar on behalf of the Academy. On behalf of the Experts’ Committee, Mr. Ven katarama Aiyar congratulated Vidwan Hulugur Krishnachar on the title of “Vidya Bhushan” conferred on him by the Sanskrit Association of Ayodhya in recognition of his researches in Sans krit music works. THE NINTH DAY 31-12-45 The discussions of the Experts' Committee of the Music Academy, Madras, in connection with the 19th Conference, con cluded on this day. The President was in the chair. * The full text of those papers are published elsewhere in this issue. 5 34 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII A Talk on Voice Culture Dr. Sankaranarayana Aiyar, who gave a talk on “Voice Cul ture,” emphasised the need to preserve health. Vidwan Bharatam Narayanaswami Aiyer and Sangita Kalanidhi T. L. Venkatarama Aiyar took part in the discussion and emphasised the time- honoured practice of doing Sadhakam in the early morning. The Concluding Function The President, Maharajapuram Viswanatha Aiyar, in wind ing up the proceedings thanked all the Vidwans for having assis ted him in the deliberations of the Experts' Committee and in the conduct of the competitions. He congratulated the competitors. Vidvan Piratla Sankara Sastri referred in appreciative terms to the work of the Academy, and wished the Academy further success in the future. Vidvan Parupalli Ramakrishniah Pantulu referred to the various activities of the Academy, the College, the discussions, the Journal, the competitions and the concerts and the enormous interest that the public took in these, as was evi denced by the large audiences. Vidvan Salem Doraiswami Iyengar paid a tribute to the Pre sident of the Conference, Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer. Bharatam Narayanaswami Aiyar pleaded for the inclusion of Bharata Natya among the discussions of the Experts’ Committee in the future years. Vidvan Valadi Krishna Aiyar also associated himself with the sentiments expressed by the previous Vidwans. The President of the Academy, Rao Bahadur K. V. Krishna- swami Aiyar thanked all those who had helped the Conference. Mr. T. V. Subba Rao expressed appreciation of the services of Mr. K. V. Krishnaswami Aiyar to the Academy. The Academy Sadas The Academy Sadas for the conferment of the title of ’Sangita Kalanidhi’ on the President of the Conference and for the award of diplomas to the successful students of the Academy’s Tea chers’ College of Music and of Medals to the winners in the Music competitions held in the mornings during the conferencet PARTS I— IV] THE XIX MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE, 19 4 5 35 was held in the afternoon on this day under the distinguished chairmanship of Dr. S. R. U. Savoor, Director of Public Instruc tion, Madras. A large gathering of prominent Vidvans and lovers of music was present. I he Sadas commenced with a prayer song. Sri E. V. Sundara Reddy announced the Sadas and the pur pose for which it had been convened. Sangita Kalanidhi T. V . Subba Rao presented Vidvan Maha rajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, the President of the year’s session and the recepient of the title of Sangita Kalanidhi. Sangita Vidwan Maharajapuram R. VISWANATH a IY E R “Born on the 15th of September, 1896, in the village of Maharajapuram in Tanjore District, Son of Brahmasri Ramayyar who was proficient in Carnatic Music. Exhibited his musical gifts at a very early age. Underwent 'Gurukulavasa’ under San gita Kalanidhi Umayalpuram Sri Swaminatha Iyer, and Palani Sri Rangappayyar, a music and ghatam vidwan. Has to his cre dit a musical career extending over a period of thirty years. Has ■been honoured by several states including Mysore and Travan core. Noted for his fine Kalpana and Raga-alapana. Prominent among his disciples is Rajyasevanirata Sri Semmangudi Srini vasa Iyer.” 3 6 THE jo u r n a l of t h e m u sic a c a d e m y [v o l . XVII The President of the Sadas then conferred on Vidvan Viswa natha Iyer the title of ‘Sangita Kalanidhi’ and presented to him the Sanad and the insignia of the title. Sangita Kalanidhi T.L, Venkatarama Aiyar, Valadi Krishna Aiyar, and S. Venkateswaran next addressed the gathering, congratulating Vidvan Viswanatha Aiyar and paying a tribute to his talents, orginality and proficiency in Carnatic music, Sangita Kalanidhi Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer’s reply Vidvan Viswanatha Aiyar replied suitably thanking the speakers and the Academy for the honour done to him, which he considered was a fitting tribute to the divinity in Carnatic music and to his Gurus. gwwS jS efl'SQjjs ervGnuuSmr 19qj^ j LL&iri5rrC.u)~iib(&) Gr&rcfosr& 1. Vocal Music : Gentlemen M. D. Ramanatha Iyer, B. a ., Sri M. Sudarsanam Iyengar I Award Kalakshetra, Adyar 2. „ II Award K. S. Rajam, The Music Academy, Madras Student, Music Academy 3. ft t» Ladies Kumari Sarada, Mrs. N. V. Raghavan I Award T. Nagar, Madras (The N. V. Raghavan Mejmorial Medal) 4. »t ft II Award C. Jayamani, The Music Academy, Madras Mylapore, Madras 5. Violin 1 Award M. S. Gopalakrishnan, Sri K. Srinivasan Mylapore, Madras (The Kasturiranga Ayyangar Memorial Medal) 6. & 7. „ Two additional S. Rajalakshmi, T. Nagar, Madras The Music Academy Madras Awards C. Seetamma, Tirupati 8. Vina I Award S. Kalpakam Sri V. Nagayya Gopalapuram, Madras (The Dhanam Memorial Medal) 9. Modern Compositions C. Jayamani. Sangita Kalanidhi T. L. Venka- I Award tarama Ayyar (The Muthiah Bhagavatar 1945 Memorial Medal) 10. II Award S. Radha, The Music Academy, Madras. Mylapore, Madras. 11. Tamil Songs Ladies V. Vedavalli The Gramaphone Co. I Award % t Competition W inner Donor of Medal OB 12. Sri Svati Tirunal*s V. Vedavalli Mrs. Alamelu Jayarama Ayyar Compositions (Maharani Setu Parvati Bai Ladies I Award Medal) [VOL. ACADEMY MUSIC THE OF JOURNAL THE II Award Kamala Rajagopalan The Music Academy, Madras 13. Purandaradas Padas Kumari Sarada Sri U. Sitarama Rao (Mysore Cafe; I Award Sri Govinda Das Memorial Medal) 14. Pallavi Singing Kamala Rajagopalan Sri Kowtha Suryanarayana Rao I Award 15. All Round Best Kumari Sarada Rao Saheb T. D. Narayana Iyer Competitor. (The T. A. Doraiswami Iyer Memorial Medal) I ■ ■1 X PARTS I—IV] THE XIX MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE, 19 4 5 39 Award of Diplomas Sri T. S. Vaidyanatha Iyer, Correspondent of the College, then presented the successful students of the Teachers’ College of Music of the Academy. He appealed to the public and the Education Department to give greater support to the College. Dr. Savoor gave away the diplomas to the following successful students :—I Class—K. R. Lakshmi, S. S. Parvathi, S. Visvanathan II Class—S. Apitakuchambal, K. R. Jayalakshmi, R. Jayalakshmi, V. Minakshi, K. Rukmini, N. Sakuntala Devi, P. K. Svarnambal, K. Narayana Panikkar, T. K. Raman Kutti Menon, K. V. Sampath, The Raja Annamalai Chettiar Gold Medal for the best student was awarded to S. Visvanathan. Dr. Savoor's Address Dr. Savoor expressed his great pleasure in witnessing the activities of the Academy for promoting the cause of Indian Music and on the tremendous impetus it had given to popularise Carna tic music. He was glad to hear, he added, that Vidwan Viswa natha Aiyar was a product of their ancient system of Guruparant- para education. To learn real music such a system was an excel lent one. It was a process of the grace of the Guru coming down to the disciple. The principle of that system was that the disciple would not get real and true education unless he completely sur rendered himself to his Guru. Modern education had lost sight of it, owning to the large-scale production of degree holders. What ever be the value of that system to the present-day education, for learning fine arts, especially good music, such a system was really useful. Proficiency in the fine art of music could only be passed from a real guru to a real sishya. It was only then one could attain the highest standard in art. Good music would have to come from within and that it was born of the contact of the human soul with divine grace through the process of complete surrender. The mind of the singer had got to be attuned to divine grace. 40 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. X V l! Sri E. V. Sundara Reddi proposed a vote of thanks and the Sadas was dissolved. THE TENTH DAY 1—1—46 The Members’ Day. The Academy celebrated the Members’ Day in the morning on the New Year’s Day. The Academy was at home to Sangita Kalanidhi Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer (The'President of the Conference), the Raja Saheb of Ramnad (the Opener of the Con ference) and Dr. S. R. U. Savoor (the President of the Sadas), After light refreshments, Dr. Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer who graced the occasion with his presence felicitated the Royal Pat rons, Patrons and Members of the Academy who were the reci pients of New Year Honours, H. H. the Maharajah of Mysore, H. H. the Maharajah of Travancore, Dr. Sir Rm. Alagappa Chettiar, C. V. Narasimham, O. B. E. and others. The function concluded after a programme of music by Members and their children. : Is 3m J t# a*-*,, ' * '* h ' * -'■#% ■ tSp' fas& ms £4 |isd 1 - . ivf? . M •' iM S'*'* 1 ljl. MUSIC PHONOGRAPHY J . S r i n i v a s a D a s , V e n k a t a g i r i Writing music on the one hand is almost an impossibili mean, correctly and in detail. Especially alapanas which (unlike songs which have definite talas) are not set to time divisions —to matras. Writing it as quickly as it is sung on the other hand is still more an impossibility, whatever shorthand symbols and characters and rules one may employ. Any method which does not enable an accurate reproduction is not worth con sideration. There is only one way to meet both these difficulties and simplify the whole thing. It could be expressed in a sentence: one could understand the whole principle in a tick even though I take so many laborious pages to explain it. It is such a simple and natural way that one cannot believe that it did not occur earlier to man. See the rough sketch enclosed. With the aid of a simple automatic paper winder a reel of paper, say three inches wide, moves forward over a writing pad at a slow uniform speed, say, at half an inch per second. A metal scale is fitted horizontally across the pad. There is a slit in the middle of the scale run ning lengthwise. The slit is marked with degrees, the degrees representing the music notes. The pencil tip inserted in the slit of the scale touches the paper moving underneath and draws & line on it. And what the student does is to move the pencil in the slit according to the time and pitch of the piece of music which he is out to record. * Now Music proper has two dimensions; i.e. it falls within only two axes (the X axis and the Y axis, time and pitch) just as the Dhoti (cloth) which we wear whatever its pattern and design has only two yarns put in right angles to each other, the warp and the weft, the pitch dimension and the time dimension. Without the one the other is a zero. 6 42 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII To indicate the pitch the student in this system moves the pencil (darts it) to the relative degree in the slit and* to indicate its time length he merely stops the pencil there for exactly the same length of time so that at that relative point on the Y axis a correspondingly long vertical line results on the paper underneath by reason of the paper moving forward at a slow uniform speed. Take any piece of music; it has got a successive group of pitches or notes (svaras). Take up each svara in order and denote at what point of relative time it comes and for what length of time it stays. Do this until the last svara in the piece is over and you have written an accurate record of the piece. Barring voice or tone modulations, the whole problem resolves to this:— What svara comes next? When does it come? When does it go? Answer these questions from the first svara to the last and there is no detail you have omitted except perhaps the talam (when there is one) which even if it is not separately expressed is fully covered and implied in the answers under the three simple heads given above. And to record it according to this system of phonography the student only moves the pencil in the slit to the first required svara at the required point of time (relative time) and stops it there only for the required amount of time and then he moves it to the next required svara at the proper point of time and keeps it there again for the required amount of time and so on and so forth and there! he has written down the music! A graph line is thus drawn on the paper in which the Y axis is the pitch and the X axis is the time relative and which constitutes a correct picture of the piece of music. These technicalities and calculations need not frighten us. They are mere playthings for our instinct once it gets used to it. The student in short is only to play the pencil in the slit of the scale PARTS I— IV] THE XIX MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE, 19 45 43 al most exactly as the veena player or the violin player plays his finger over the wire. And to read the work, he, let me say for explaining the principle, rolls back the paper to the original position and makes it move underneath the scale over again, in the same manner as it first moved at the time of writing but at a more convenient (i.e. slower) speed. As the slit of the scale intercepts the moving graph line he only sees a point in the slit moving between the degrees in a time frame and this live point is music silent! For reading purposes the paper can be moved by hand. With some practice the student can read the work even without the aid of the intercepting slit. Tala (time mark) can be indicated in the following manner ; He taps the pencil (it must be a specially arranged pencil) with his index finger at the right moment and a dot or a short horizontal |ine of a different colour is deposited on the paper immediately to the left of the pencil tip. This requires some preliminary practice on the part of the student. Or, talam can be indicated more easily by a tap with the left thumb. It must be so arranged in this case that the tap with the left thumb strikes a dot or a short horizontal line of a different colour on the paper immediate- ly to the left of the pencil tip where-ever the pencil tip happens at the moment to be. For all this it will be better to fit the scale with a slide with two pencil holders or ink pots with nib points in it, one for writing svara and the other for striking tala as stated above. The slide also renders the pressure the pencil lead exerts on the paper light and uniform. Inks may be preferable to pencils. A course of graded exercises will train the student’s hand, sight and mind and accustom him gradually to the system and give him the ability to write and read music quickly and accurate- ly with utter ease. One who can play upon a musical instrument especially will pick this up very easily. Young students quickly grasp the principle and enjoy lessons in silent music. ■ ~ a: f \a-i *>»»,.* jdi A 3\j| 44 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII Appendix As shown in figure 3 there will be 27 equidistant degree points marked on the slit of the scale covering one full middle scale (middle octave with its 12 notes) and part nearer it of each of the lower and higher octaves. Out of these degrees the svaras Sa, Ma and Pa are given distinguishing marks as shown in the figure to help us place or discern every note in the slit instantaneously without elfort. Also because in the Scale’s (Music Scale’s) very construction and nature the 8th note Pa and the 6th note Ma are next in importance to the key note Sa. On the edge of the upper lip of the slit in the metal scale there will be against each note a very small groove or depression and on the edge of the lower lip there will be a groove against every Sa, Ma and Pa. See figure 3. The grooves without causing obstruction to the pencil as it flashes past them, only help the pencil to find the degree points, The grooves thus helping, the student’s hand gets used to the distances and he is enabled to play the pencil in the slit without actually looking at it. For the present, the distance between two degree points may be taken as half a centimeter and the speed at which the paper is to move as, say, half an inch per second. As for the simple automatic paper winder, 1 am sure that there is some standard arrangement or other for it already, one that works off a spring motor or better still off battery cells such as are used in torch lights. Or one can be made up to order. Paper economy may be effected in the following or other ways. 1. Each side of paper may be used twice or perhaps thrice with pencils or inks of different colours and (in order to avoid a clash between the lines of the first, second and third writings) with slightly changed scale positions. 2. An arrangement can be made whereby the movement of the slide in the scale will by means of reduction gears get, say, halved and a line of only half its length will actually result on the paper. That means to say that if the slide is moved 2 centi- FART I— iv ] THE XIX MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE, 1945 45 meters to the left, then the hidden pencil tip which is in touch with the paper will move only one centimeter to the left. If the scope is thus reduced, we can do with a paper only 3 inches wide or even less. Otherwise we will need a paper 5in wide if we want to have 27 notes, each half a centimeter apart. 27 notes should be sufficient. Just to show how songs recorded under this system would roughly be like, I enclose two sheets with outlines of simple easy songs written on them in graph.* I have prepared special section sheets by means of which we can easily (not quickly) draw graphs of songs. I have also prepared a special paper folder—it is en closed—through which if we slowly draw or slide these graph sheets we can follow the music which the graph denotes. In these enclosed graph sheets, it may be noted, the vertical dimension (the X axis) is in a much more enlarged scale than what it would be if it was recorded with the aid of the automatic paper winder with the speed of the paper set at half an inch per second. The folder is to be opened and the graph sheet inserted in it in such a way that both of them will remain interlocked while the graph sheet is being slided slowly through the folder. (See the attached slip). There is an opening C C F F in the left flap of the folder and through this window you can see part of the graph line on the sheet. Put the folder with the inserted graph sheet on the table. Hold the folder fast by pressing it down with the thumb of one hand at point A and hold the graph sheet at point B with the other hand and slowly draw B away from A and at the same time watch where the graph line touches the lower edge of the band C C on the folder which is marked with degrees to represent the various svaras and which forms the Y axis. You will observe that as the sheet is moved on, the graph line hits the edge C C at various places; the point in the graph line which touches the horizontal line C C will, as the paper is moved on, shift to and tarry at the various svaras and if we read those svaras so 4 6 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII touched by the line in the same sequence and with the same res pective time lengths we get the music the graph line represents. If you want to draw the paper back then hold the folder fast by pressing it down with one hand at point D and hold the sheet at point E with the other hand and draw it down i.e., draw E away from D. NOTE It may also be noted how it is simpler to write or to read music in this form [and if some shorthand symbols (a few simple short-hand symbols are enough) are employed in place of these longhand characters S R G M etc. it will be still more easy]. The vertical lines here denote matra boundaries in the tala; they are equidistant. Double lines in red are tala strokes (loud strokes) and pencil lines are silent strokes. A svara must be read exactly at that point in the tala where it is written here whether on a matra line (loud or silent) or between two matra lines. A svara’s place in the talavarta and its time length can be read quickly in this form. If this form is not already in use, I submit it for con sideration. This sheet together with the bit of tracing paper enables us to readily find out the duplicates of various Ragas. It readily shows how one Raga changes into another Raga if its Sa is shift ed from one pillar of it to another pillar of it though everything is the same. We can see how Mayamalavagowla is Simhendra Madhyama in its Ma grama Simhendra Madhyama is Mayamalava Gowla in its Pa ,, Mohana is Madhyamavati in its Ri „ t» is Suddha Saveri in its Pa ,, Suddha Saveri is Mohana in its Ma ,, BiLahari is Another Raga in its Ri , is Another Raga in its Da 4 , ... - Sree Raga is Other Ragas in its other gramas ' And so on. PARTS I— IV] THE XIX MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE, 19 4 5 47 ‘Writing pad Scale With the S/it Paper moving up JScale Writing Pad Feeding Roll V)in ding Roll The Scale jnilh fhe 5/if and Ihe grooves S/’—Vr*"."'" "' <%/»■"— v **\y...... THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII Showing the Music Scale and some Ua^as. A&olxana and Name of S v a r a s Avon oAa na - N * - N T - — »J I i ;+ L i < i iV Y axis - Pitch S w Q p a m s PARTS 1— IV] THE XIX MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE, 1945 49 5 0 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL, XVII R a ^ a m * . T h a i a m i S R2 M'P D2 5 2 + 4 = 6 X3 °k/) «c3 y d — cm io^tng^(vinfinvo« 1 Nidi:> rt) FJ> 1W Fj> ID H> PP 3 n p o Ip ft JfffMtpPMMR Ft :> 5 firm n ft K $ © s 7ftMF{>Dl& p s i ; ip flfM® 9 P MI1 D $ K ; t RR 11 J; r *m R ft i id ID IP I) 13 0 > s $ HP f t' 2 r© PI) 15 3 i:> SDI) P TIPI) f:mr r 16 ertcfe Ra^amtSR'M'PD’S* S t f ^ P M W S T h a l a m £ + 4=6 i s is m p o f N D P M 3 G R 5R6 Ft M 5 l:> f) •!> ip ::> : > ts 7SRG FL 3 i3 I p p n lids Rt 5RC5 ft ft // \ 2 e n d s The Intonation of Karnataka Raga Melas By Vidwan Eulugur K r is h Na c h a r y a , Member, Experts' Committee, Music Academy. In a paper I submitted last year I indicated the correct method of fretting instruments. I propose in this short article to write about the practical use in Raga Melas of correct intervals as limited by the application of the 22 Sruti Siddhanta* 1 have made it clear in my first article that all Svarasthanas (notes produced at the frets) except Sa may each be looked upon as standing for two alternative notes—for twins which between them maintain the shortest interval the human ear can perceive and identify—the difference of the 2 srutis which constitute the inter val being not capable of altering the Svarasthana. 1 give below for the sake of reference the serial order of the sruits with their pitch-values in cents:—1, Pramana Sruti = 4 amsas. ^harata’s Centsfor Bharata’s Pramana cents for Ut Ser. Ser. Sruti Technical European each or amsas Frets on swaras Remarks for bo No. & Svara name cents, for internal Pramana or vina from sruti & svara. 1 Srutis (Pitch) srutis. Bharata’s Adhara cents Shadja 1 Adhara Shudja Adh. Sha. 2 Eka Sru Ri. Eka Sru Ri 90 90 3*75 15 7 15 Sudha 3 Dvi Sru Ri. 1st 3 Dvi Sru Ri 22 112 1 4 5 19 Gamakayukta W 4 Tri „ Suddha Ri 70 182 2*75 30 Su C 11 I 2nd o J Ch&tus ,» Cha Sru Ri 22 204 1 4 5 34 Ga. Yu G Suddha Ga 90 fC 6 PancHa ,* Ga 294 3*75 15i 3rd 49 Su -< 21 7 Shat Sadh Ga 22 316 1 53 Ga. Yu > 45 r 8 Sapta „ Antara Ga 70 386 275 H I 4th 64 Su 9 Ashta „ „ Chyuta Ma Ga 22 408 1 4 5 68 Ga. Yu o 10 Nava „ Ma Sudha Ma 90 498 3 7 5 83 Su H 1 5 l 5th K 11 Dasa 99 Kaisika ,, 22 520 1 4 5 87 Ga. Yu m 12 Ekadasa „ ..Pa Prati „ 70 590 275 n i 6th 98 Su s 13 Dvadasa „ „Pa Kaisika „ 20 610 1 4 } 102 Ga. Yu G 113 Su i— I PARTS I— IV] THE XIX MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE, 19 45 53 Out of the 3 intervals of different values of the Sruti Scale the Shortest of 24 cents (as against 22 cents which is incorrect) is called Pramana sruti, the middle Kaisika sruti of 66 cents and the largest of 90 cents known as Eka-sruti. The smallest interval Pramana-sruti is too small to constitute an independent note which can be sung. But whenever it is preceded or followed by the Kaisika sruti of 66 cents it becomes Ekasruti and gives a different Swarasthana by dropping the sruti note which intervenes between the two intervals of 24 and 66 cents. So the Ekasruti of 90 cents is the shortest interval employed in constituting a Scale or Raga-Mela. The next bigger interval is of 114 cents and is called a Dvi-sruti which is composed of the Eka-sruti of 90 cents and the Pramana sruti of 24 cents. This Dvi-sruti interval is also composed, at some places of the Sruti Mandala, of the three intervals of 24, 66 and 24 cents i.e.. two Pramana-sruti and one Kaisiki-sruti. The Dvi-sruti interval exists therefore in the Sruti Mandala in both the above forms and their values may be cal culated from the values of the component srutis. To make the point clear we may consider the Chatus-sruti interval. In this there are 4 srutis—2 of 24 cents, 1 of 90 and 1 of 66 cents ; and their order may be either 90, 24, 66 and 24 cents or vice versa. In this case whereas the interval of 90 cents represents 1 Swara sthana the other interval although it is of 114 cents composed of the three srutis of 24, 66 and 24 cents respectively is technically called a Dvi-sruti but is calculated as three srutis. In the same way although the interval known as Ekasruti is composed of the two srutis 66 and 24 or the other way it is styled as Ekasruti but calculated as two srutis. The next large interval which can constitute a singable interval is Tri-sruti of 180 cents. It is composed of the three intervals of 90, 24 and 66 cents or vice versa. There is no place in the Sruti Mandala where the two srutis of 90 and 66 cents are adjacent or occur next to each other as there are altogether 11 pra-srutis constituting the Swarasthanas (excepting Sa of course), each of them being followed or preceded by these intervals of 90 and 66 cents or vice versa. The next interval of the Singable Scale is Cha-sruti of which mention has been made above. The next larger interval which can occur in a Raga-Mela is of 294 cents and is known as the Pancha-sruti. 54 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII This is composed of two standard intervals in two alternative ways—either as Dvi-sruti + Tri sruti or as Cha-Sruti + Eka-sruti i.e., of (114+180) cents or (204+90) cents respectively. The next larger interval is Shat—Sruti of 318 cents, which is obtained by adding a Pramana Sruti to Pancha Sruti. Thus (294 + 24) cents — 318 cents. Then comes the interval called Sapta-Sruti of 384 cents, which is made up of the two standard intervals, the Chatus Sruthi and Tri-sruti of 204 and 180 cents respectively. This is the largest interval which can occur in a Raga-Scale according to Bharata. By adding to this interval a Pramana Sruti of 24 cents, the Ashta-Sruti interval of 408 cents can be obtained and be used as a Pratinidhi-Swara for the preceding Sruti viz., Antara Gan- dara as stated by Pundarika, Somanatha, Ramamatya and certain others. This Sruti existed in the Sama-gana Scale. Bharata how ever has rejected it and given preference to the previous Sruti of 384 cepts as it has acoustically a more harmonious effect. Next comes that most important interval—the Nava-Sruti of 498 cents. This is Sudha Madhyama bearing to the fundamental note the mathematical ratio of 4 : 3. There are eight intermedi ate srutis between Suddha Madhyama and the fundamental note. This interval must exist between any sruti and the ninth after it is in the range of Srutis of a Grama. This relationship of two notes known as Sa-Ma Samvada. In the same way the interval consti tuted by Nava-Sruti * Chatus-Sruti becomes Suddha Panchama. The relationship between the fundamental note and Suddha Pan chama is otherwise known as Sa-pa Samvada. This interval corresponds to the ratio 3 : 2 and is obtained by a combination of the ratios 4 : 3 and 9 : 8, the Nava Sruti and the Chatus Sruti. 1 may state here that to each Sruti of our Grama there should exist two other srutis on both sides of it separated by an interval of 4 : 3 and two srutis again before and after it separated by an interval represented by the ratio 3:2. In other words except the four srutis between Suddha Madhyama and Suddha Panchama each sruti in the same saptaka or scale has two notes bearing to it the ratios of 4 : 3 and 3 : 2 in ascent as well as in descent. The four srutis between Suddha Madhyama and Suddha Panchama have corresponding to each of them one sruti at an interval of PARTS I— IV] THE XIX MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE, 19 45 55 4 : 3 in the ascent and oife sruti in the descent. So the total number is 23. The twenty-three srutis thus considered do alone completely cover or account for all the musically possible notes of the different scales obtained by taking the seven murchanas each starting with a different fundamental note. In order to be able to say that a scale is correctly intonated it is necessary that all the seven notes of each of the seven Murchanas must coincide with the srutis of the Grama. If this condition is ignored the scale will be incorrectly intonated, the seven murchanas obtained by transposition will give many other srutis which will be strangers to the established sruti scale. Starting with Sa, Eka Sruti Rishabha is the first swara sthana. To continue and complete the scale we must take a Chatus Sruti or a still larger interval (and not a lesser interval) to constitute the next swarasthana ga ; or the Pancha Sruti may be used and by this addition we arrive at the Antara Gan- dhara, from which Sudha Madhyama is at an interval of Dvi Sruti. Out of the interval corresponding to the ratio 4 : 3 or known as Sa-Ma Samvada bhava if the Pancha Sruti is taken away there remains the Chatus Sruti interval. This latter interval may be split up into two intervals of 90 and 114 cents but not into the interval Sa-Ri of 114 cents and Ga-Ma of the same number of cents ; because, both these Dvi srutis add up to 228 cents and by the deduction'of 228 cents from 498 there remains an interval of 270 cents which is neither Chatus Sruti nor Pancha Sruti; and when the seven murchanas are obtained from a wrongly intonated scale there will be no place for this interval of 270 cents in the Sruti Scale or Mandala as a result of taking two notes of 114 cents each one after the other. If however the intervals of Sa-Ri and Ga-Ma are adopted as indicated by me above they will pro duce no new srutis foreign to the established one. .This rule should therefore be strictly observed when the first and fourth swarasthanas are employed to build a scale in which Suddha Madhyama exists. When Suddha Madhyama is absent from the scale, the Prati Madhyama should be taken at Sa-Ma Samvada from Suddha Ri. This rule applies equally strictly in taking Dha a nd Ni in the upper half of the scale. Thus when Ri and Dha 5 6 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII are Eka Srutis, Ga and Ni may be taken at Cha. Sruti, Pa. Sruti and Sha. Sruti, intervals; when the same Ri and Dha notes are Dvi Sruti, Tri-Sruti, Cha. Sruti, Pa Sruti intervals may be used for the places of Ga and Ni respectively. In this way the scale will be correctly intonated. I give below the possible varieties of intervals between sa-ri-ga-ma-pa. The bracketed scales represent the same mela with difference of Pramana sruti assigned to the same Swarasthana. sa ri ga suddha ma pa sa ri ga prati ma pa 1 4 4 4 C 1 4 5 2 2 3 4 4 \ 2 3 6 1 2 4 3 4 I 1 4 6 1 1 5 2 4 C l 5 4 2 1 6 1 4 ] 1 6 3 2 2 5 1 '■ ni 4 I 2 5 4 1 when the scales begin with Rishabha, Trisruti or Chatus sruti, there will not be an interval of greater value than a chatu-ssruti between Ri-ga or Ga-ma. The above rules are applicable to the intervals between the notes pa-dha-ni-sa also- The above ex amples are taken from scales having no Vivadidosha. These rules are even applicable to scales having Vivadidosha between sa-ga or Ri-ma, as in this case they become the first and thirty-sixth melas of the prastara respectively. In such a case the two intervals having Vivadidosha amount to a Chautssruti while the remaining interval will be a Pancha sruti. The Chatussruti interval allotted to the pair of vivadi notes should be split into two intervals of Eka-Sruti and Dvi-Sruti or vice versa respectively for sa-ri-ga or ri-ga-ma. The same rule is applicable to the pairs of interval groups for pa-dha-ni and dha-ni-sa. In the case of prati madhyama only the two intervals between ga ma pa are inter changed. I now take up the melas which are not incorporated in the Prastara of Venkatamakhi viz., the melas which take suddha ma and vikrita pa or pratinidhi swarasthana—the only swarasthana which is situated between suddha ma and suddha pa—the two PART I— IV] THE XIX MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE, 19 45 57 intervals between ma-pa-dha are to be interchanged, wbile the other intervals are manipulated by the same rules that have been described above. Before the mela prastara was formed for the first time and brought into practical use by Pandita Pundarika Vitthala of Karnataka in the middle of the 16th Century, the scale building purpose was served through the system of Grama* Murchana-Jati-Paddhati of Bharata which alone had been able to generate as many as 264 Ragas mentioned in the Sangita Ratna- kara. Even today the majority of the most popular and melodious Ragas which are current have been derived through the system of Bharata and we should be very proud of the untarnished features found in them although the ancient ragas such as Sankarabharana, Bhairavi, Kambhoji etc. have been allotted to the scales of the mela prastara they have still maintained their original forms as they have been sung by the ancients through inspiration and handed down to us by tradition. So any action by way of altering or modifying the traditional form of such Ragas if attempted will not only ruin the melody itself but will create discontent amongst music lovers and disregard for such music. My object in reading or writing these articles on such possibly dry subjects and boring the public is the evident duty which we all owe to ourselves of protecting the public from being blown off the track by foreign influences and forces.* * For example let us take the results of modern acousticians where the difference of 22 cents between the major tone and the minor tone of Western Music is taken as the Pramana Sruti of Bharata. His actual progression of srutis however produces all the Pramana srutis (that occur in the sruti scale) of 24 cents only. In this way the total number of Pramana srutis comes to the Beautifully, correctly and easily demonstrable round number of 50; whereas if the Pramana sruti is taken as 22 cents the total number of Pramana Sfutis iff tbe Saptaka comes to the awkard and complicated number 54*54. § &k:urnx& ‘toH .'jlaum I© THE THERAPEUTIC QUALITIES OF MUSIC R a o B a h a d u r N. M. A dyaN tayya Member, Experts’ Committee, Music Academy It has been known throughout the ages that Music has certain healing powers and various beliefs and legends have grown up around musical notes and melodies and several miraculous cures have also been reported. These are not confined to India alone. They have been recorded in Arabia, Greece, Egypt, Persia, Rome and other countries. For example, the Egyptian medical record of 2500 B.C. mentioned the great influence of music on the human body. Later, Homer wrote that music stopped haemor rhage in Ulysses. Martimus tells us that music stops fevers. Thates of Crete removed pestilence by playing on the lyre. Dis orders of the ear were cured by a Greek named Aesculapius. It is also recorded that Xenocratis cured lymphatics while Aura- liapus cured sciatica. In Babylon, David played divinely on the barp and his, performance petrified the animal kingdom. Bu Al> ■ Sena of Arabia who was a Hakeem, has expounded music as a healer of incurable diseases in his book called “Shafa”. Pytha- gorus preached that music cured ailments and inspired the mind for intellectual pursuits. Coming to India we have records of the great powers possessed by thechantings of the Sama Veda set into appropriate music. Goutama Buddha expounded his great teachings through the medium of his Veena. Tan Sen and Beju Bawra during the time of Akbar, the great Mohal Emperor, excited fire and melted stones by their music. There are other legends equally interest ing connected with devotional songs of great saints. These are legends and beliefs which have been handed down to us from ancient times. But these beliefs could not have survived the ravages of time without an element of truth in them. Legends apart, what are the historic facts? We have many such in our re cords. They are in no way less emphatic on the curative value of music. For example, the Upanishads say, “Let me sing for the PARTS I— IV] THE XIX MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE, 19 4 5 5 9 immortality of the Gods, for the desires of mankind, for securing grass and water, for ailment, for self and for Heaven, etc.” Napoleon attributed his defeat in Russia to the orchestral music of the Russians which so inspired their men that the best French Regiment could not cope with their onslaught. Emperor Jehangir who suffered from insomnia could never sleep without the sound of four Thamburas resounding in the four corners of his bed room. It is recorded that Nawab Ali Khan, the great grand-father of the present ruler of Rampur was struck with paralysis and the court musician played Jejevanti on the veena for three years and cured the malady. There are other facts recorded in which the power of music has been demonstrated. What is the kind of music and what are the effects of each kind and under what circumstances each has its maximum effect, whether the effects of a particular type of music are physical, physiological, or psychological or whether they are complex effects of a chain reaction. These are the points on which no scientific data exist. A scientific investi gation is necessary and the object of this paper is to excite interest and to induce the Music Academy or the University to award scholarships for research on the therapeutic value and qualities of Ragas and melodies. Modern science and analytical methods of investigation have advanced and new instruments and new appliances are available for measuring and analysing the physical and emotional effects I and sensations of sound and music. Music is composed of sounds which are either super-imposed on one another to produce har mony or follow each other in different sequences and in different rythms and with different modulation, all or each of which, may form a melody. A series of individual melody combinations may form a combined melody, just as a series of beautiful phrases and words may form a sentence conveying a complete idea or sentiment. While considering music we must not forget that it is an art sublime and no amount of analytical data would help in producing the artistic temperament; but science alwa ~ comes in when art has left its mark. The scientist finds reasons and classifies what born art has produced. The artist, therefore, need not be afraid that the moment the analytical methods are found to 6 0 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII classify and explain his art from a scientific stand-point his art will die. No; but his art would have been made more useful in being directed on the right channels for the right uses and not wasted away as now or as has been the case in the past. We do not want to “throw pearls before swine” as the phrase goes. If we can analyse the music of the Ragas and the melodies of our great composers and musicians we may be able to use them for elevating and benefiting a larger number of deserving people who may need the special therapeutic values of a particular Raga or melody. Writers on Music have said that Tan Sen, the great musician of Northern India, classified from out of 30,000 melodies then existing, about 200 ragas as having distinct and special charac teristics and identity and accordingly various commentators have attributed peculiar emotional effects to different Ragas. Even in Arabia in ancient days it was usual for the priests to be taught music and medicine together so that the former may aid the latter. Music touches the deepest chords of the human soul and transports one to a higher and nobler plane. It has been said by Atia Begum in her book “Sangit of India” that Ragas have been known to possess the capacity of curing ailments, of subjugating wild animals, controlling the elements and exciting many feelings. V arious Ragas do possess certain characteristics but these have not yet been analysed or isolated on a scientific basis. For example, it is said that Sohini excites tears, Behag creates a sense of joy, Jayajayavanti cures paralysis, Nut excites valour, Deepak ignites fire, Megh brings on rain. It has been recorded that Tan Sen sang Megh Rag and brought on rain, that Biju Bawra sang Deepak and lamps lit up shining, that Samos Khan sang Shri Rag and stones melted, that Surej Khan sang Jaya jayavanti and cured paralysis, that Haridas sang Asavari aud venomous snakes were subdued. Hosts of other stories and- anecdotes are associated with great musicians of the past. What ever the truth or the accuracy of these stories connected with the past musicians, it cannot be denied that music has a multifold effect on matter and mind both of a psychical and physical nature. What these effects are and how they function individually and PARTS I— IV] THE XIX MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE, 1945 61 O r\ collectively on matter and mind is a problem which has to be tackled by modern science. Modern researches in the science of sound vibrations, of electronic oscillation, of the production and utilisation of super sonic sounds, i.e., sound having frequencies beyond the range of audibility, have shown that by concentrating sound vibrations of certain frequencies, metals like brass, copper, lead, tin etc.. can be melted. Small sound furnaces have been designed and used for smelting purposes. It has also been scientifically recognised that a practised and cultured voice contains not only sounds of the fundamental frequency corresponding to the svara produced but also several other sounds of higher frequencies superimposed on the fundamental. It is these supersonic sounds of higher frequencies that give quality to the voice which we call timbre. The magic power of these higher sounds and their combinations produce the various physical emotional and psychological effects. We have several examples of such effects which have been re corded in the various legends and beliefs mentioned earlier in this discourse. As far as I am aware no scientific research or investi gation has been made so far on the physical, psychological and curative effects of different kinds of music and different Ragas and their combinations. I recognise that, science apart, music is an art and must remain so. Musical compositions and their rendering are the works of born geniuses and artistes like Tya garaja, Dikshitar, Shama Shastri, Surdas, Haridas, Tansern Adarang, Sadarang, Mira Bai, etc. These create the art and science follows to build up and explain the rational theories behind their creation. Now we know for the past 4,000 years several geniuses have come and gone and left their mark on the musical world; but science has not yet come to our aid in analysing and evaluating their wprks of art. Certain empirical tests have been made and therapeutic effects have been noted by experimenters. For example, Mr. B. Bellamy Gardner of America has recorded by experiment that nervous complaints obtained relief froih stirring tunes and military marches. A Russian Doctor, Dogial, made a study of the psychological effects of music and found that ♦ THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII (1) Music influences the circulation of blood, (2) that blood pressure is increased or reduced, (3) that the frequency of the heart-beat is increased, (4) that the variations coincide with changes in the breath ing, (5) that the variations of the blood pressure depend upon the pitch, loudness and tone of music, and (6) that where the blood pressure varies the peculiarities of the individual are accentuated. It was also found that when blood pressure is increased a larger supply of blood is sent through the body. This gives warmth and nutrition to the body and therefore helps one to restore him self to health. In July 1891, the Guild of St. Cecilia made empirical trials on patients and found that calmness of mind, alleviation of pain and sleep were induced by music. This proves that music is of use in medicine. Results of trials made in prisons and mental hospitals have proved that ailments connected with the mind can be treated satisfactorily by music of the right kind. In America the pshchological effects of music have been empirically obtained by carrying out experiments on various types of persons and the psychological reactions on the motor centres have been measured by delicate instruments like the Einthovan Galvanometer, Kymo- graphic drum for muscular tension, electro-cardiograms, cathode ray oscillographs etc. It has been found that on hearing music certain heart action is set up and this differs in degree in each individual. It also differs in its reaction between classic music and popular music. The sensorial basis of musical appreciation is different in different individuals. Again in each individual the rate of rise or decrease in the emotional and psychological reac tions with repetition of the same music is different in classical music as against those of a non-classical nature. Tests and experiments such as these may give us a clue in the distinction between classic music and non-classic music PARTS I— IV] THE XIX MADRAS MUSIC CONFERENCE, 1945 65 and may lead us on to ap p raise melody. What is melody and how can we compare one melody with another and what is the standard or unit by which we can compare one melody or the combined effect of several individual melodies following one another ? A combination of harmony may also create a melodic effect. What is this melody then ? Is it a complete, sensation and if it is so can we isolate the various elements or the quantum of each constituent of the complex ? Science has set standards to measure loudness, intensity, powet etc. It may still find standards to measure melody. The effects of melody are sensorial and in this sensorial effect the singer and the sung are a unit, like the transmitter and the receiver If either of these is defective or otherwise unsuitable the effect of the music is vitiated. It is well known in the physics of sound that the ear drum, by resonating with an incoming sound can generate its own sympathetic sounds which with the original may set up a melody of its own. Here is an explanation of the phe nomena often seen in musical circles that even when favourites sing third class music it is genuinely appreciated and applauded. If melody is relative and is the result of two variables namely the singer and the sung it may be possible by a process of elimina tion to isolate the basic feature of melody, in other words, the soul of melody in music. We may define melody as a series of notes in a particular order, rhythm and modulation to form an aes thetic unity ; but apart from this definition we have no means of measuring or evaluating its qualities. A scientific investigation on the problem of melody as it affects the motor phenomenon of the I', human mind and the cell activity of the body has to be made. It will give us a clue to the curative value of Indian Ragas and incidentally afford a basis for classification. It has been men* f tioned above that Tan Sen classified about 200 Northern Indian Ragas on the basis of their emotional effect. Whatever the cor rectness of this classification the fact remains that a rational ► basis such as the emotional, psychological or therapeutic is more useful than that of a purely mathematical. If further research is undertaken it may be possible to classify melodies, tunes and ragas purely from their therapeutic values. Thus I L 6 4 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY fVGLi XVII a materia-medica of music might be prepared. In America, a movement was started sometime ago to represent music in terms of colours and certain melodies were said to be associated with certain colours. The same belief had existed in India also from time immemorial but only in another form. Instead of a Raga being represented in a particular colour it is represented in ancient India by a picture. In Arabia, each note or svara of the scale is represented by a colour and connotes a temperament. It is indeed reasonable to presume that the effects of colour on out motor centres are the same as the effects of sound on the ear drum which also excites the motor centres in the same way. Thus the sensation sources are simultaneously excited by the eye as well as by the ear. It is perhaps for this reason that the sensa tion level of a drama is higher, i.e., even when the music is second-rate the sensation level is reinforced by the effect of sight which also seems to act on the same motor centre. Max Sohoen—an American—conducted an empirical study of 20,000 mood-change charts from 200 records and found that music produces a change in the existing state of listner. These changes were classified into 9 categories, namely, (1) dreamy, tranquil, soothing and soft, (2) sentimental, passionate, yearning, pleading and melting, (3) sad, pathetic, tragic and mournful, (4) solemn, spiritual, grave, (5) cheerful, gay, joyful, (6) graceful soaring, spnghtly, (7) spirited, exciting, exhilirating, (8) martial, majestic, (9) sensational, thrilling. The conclusions of Max, Sohoen are that (1) music produces a definite effect and the most dominant of the effects is a feeling of rest, and (2) that vocal music has greater powers of producing effects than instrumental music. All these experiments have 'touched only the fringe of the problem. They have found the reactions of musical records of western melodies but not of Indian PARTS I— IV] GOPALA NAYAKA 6 7 According to Capt. Willard, Gopala sang a Gita so beauti-* fully with his wonderful voice that no one could compete. Anti cipating this Sultan Allauddin had Amir Khusru hid under his throne—a rather uncomfortable hiding place for Amir Khusru— from where he could listen to Gopal and plagiarise without Gopal being aware of it. It also fits in with the character of Allauddin to have hit upon such a device for overcoming the invulnerable Gopal. Subsequently Amir Khusru sang a Quaval and Tarana in imitation which greatly surprised Gopal and deprived him of a portion of his due honours. Prof. Habib of Aligarh quoting from Maulana Shibli, who relies on a Persian translation of Raga Darpan by Manik Lai of the time of Aurangazeb, describes the very incident as follows: “ Naik Gopal was a musician of all India fame in the time of Allaudin Khilji. He had sixteen thousand disciples who used to carry about his litter on their shoulders. Invited to the court of the Khilji emperor, Gopal gave demonstration of his Ragas at six different sittings, during which Khusru was hiding under the throne. At the seventh sitting, Khusru confronted Gopal and invited him to show his powers. He claimed that all Gopal’s Ragas had been previously invented by him and his imitation was so perfect as to bewilder the Hindu Master.” Mr, S. N. Haidar Razvi writing in Islamic culture, Vol. 15, page 33, observes that “Amir K b its r;: while referring to a musical competition with a celebrated musician of his time Gc- ”la Nayak, says that he could defeat his opponent proving his own mastery of both poetry and music, that he had already composed three volumes of poetry and if he were to write on music he could have composed three volumes on that science too. But Prof. Md. Wahid Mirza of Lucknow who describes this very fragment states that it narrates the poet’s contest with a musician regard ing the comparative excellence of the two arts of poetry and music; and he mentions neither the name of Gopala Nayak nor Khusru’s alleged threat to defeat him. Neither does Prof. Hahib who quoted this identical fragment, relying on Daulat Shah. Since, Prof. Md, Wahid Mirza has kindly translated the fragment THE JOURNAL OF TrfE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVlt for me and the translation bears out my assertion that it has nothing to do with Gopal Nayak. It would therefore appear that Mr. S. N. Haidar Razvi of the Osmania University has embel lished the passage somewhat in his zeal for Amir Khusru. Amir Khusru was the court poet and chronicler to AHaud- din. A man with great aesthetic perception and amazing powers of expression, an artist to the core and one who had also great regard for Truth, Amir Khusru was a prolific writer of tracts, essays, letters, poems and fables not to speak of his voluminous official literary output. Had Amir Khusru really won a stu pendous victory such as is attributed to him, one may take it that he would have celebrated it with an epic. But nowhere does Amir Khusru refer to such a victory, though such contests we are told, were a favourite pastime of the age and Khusru himself had promoted many such. Amir Khusru claims to have made a thorough study of the Persian system of music and states that if he had cared he could have written a book about it. He refers also to many Persian musical instruments. The opinion of such an authority on the music of the Hindus is worth knowing. This is what he says : “Hindu music, the fire that burns heart and soul, is superior to the music of any country. Foreigners even after a stay of thirty or forty years in India, cannot play a single Indian Raga correctly. Hindu music charms riot only men but beasts also. Deer have been.hypnotised and hunted simply by music.” Qn the music of a harpist from Devagiri, he says “The music is such that each stroke of the plectrum makes venus cry with jealousy like her own harp. Though of Hindu origin, in beauty they are all heavenly and of houri descent”. All which with reference to Hindu music of the 13th century which Khusru heard, was literal Truth and no exaggeration. Hindu music of the 13th century was such a wonderful labyrinth of melodies and rhythms and forms and instrumentation, that it would have been a tremedous feat if Khusru had been able to understand some of them in the course of forty years as he says himself,. The claim that he had invented Gopal’s Ragas is on a par with the little trick under tbe throne attributed to him and would not bear a moment’s reflection. The Ragas attributed to Amir Khusru are Fa r t s i— i v ] g o p a l a n ayaka 6 9 either wholly Persian or wholly Hindu or a mixture of both; to have invented melodies that were in existence in the Persian and Hindu systems from time immemorial, was something that no one could have done. It is quite another matter to have derived new combinations from them. Khusru’s eloquence about his knowledge of Persian music and strange silence about his knowledge of Indian music and the absence of mention of Gopala Nayaka in his writings and Khusru’s undistinguished infatuation for Hindu music and what we know about Hindu music of that period and the glimpse we have into the genius of Gopala Nayak, all contradict the facile assumption that in the musical contest, Khusru had the best of it, especially when we remember the cir cumstances under which the victory is said to have been won. Relying on Perisian and Arabic authorities, Mr. Atiya Begum says that Hindu music, the origin of all music, crept into Persia, then to Greece, then Arabia from where it was again brought back to India blending itself with the parent stock. The Mahomedan invasion marred and checked Hindu thought she says, but the strangers according to her, adopted Hindu music, though they changed it somewhat. In describing the music of the Abbasid period, she says “the Greek and Persian elements based on ancient Hindu Music came to Arabia and caught the vast empire of the Caliphs’’. If this were indeed so, it would account for the lyrical and ecstatic terms in which Amir Khusru—himself a master of the Persian system—describes the parent system of the Hindus. No wonder that with his aesthetic perception, Amir Khusru sensed the greatness of Hindu music and was so captivat ed by it as to become a diligent votary of it and, when he was expert enough, even to compose Dohas in a mixed Vrija-Persian dialect later on, though he did not consider these very important. This would explain his oft quoted verse that though a Turk he does not derive his inspiration from Egypt and that hie does not' speak of Arabia and that his lyre responds to the Indian theme { only. This would explain also why Malik Kafir carried away over ten thousand musicians and dancers and their Brahmin teachers and settled them in Delhi under Allauddin’s orders as Col. P. T, French and Rajah S. M, Tagore state; it would like- 7 0 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY {VOL. XVII wise explain why Allauddin Bhamani Shah brought away a thousand singers from a Hindu temple in the Carnatic which he had overrun: and why Feroze Shah Bhamani stipulated that Vijianagar should deliver to him two thousand singers and dancers both male and female. This Feroze Shah was of a pious turn of mind and he adored Hindu Music because it lifted his mind to contemplate divinity. By the way one of the finest little books ever written on Indian music is that by Mrs. Atiya Begum with an unerring and instinctive perception of aesthetic values that one misses in the writings of others. Of Gopala Nayaka nothing is known practically and what little we know is derived from two stray references to one of his compositions by Kallinatha; but that little is so wonderfully suggestive of the man’s greatness that I am tempted to explain it here. Gopala was a musical architect and one at least of his compositions was like a colossal temple in sound. Like those nameless builders and carvers in stone and bronze of India’s past, Gopal has been consigned to oblivion and his name lingers only in Kallinatha’s reference and Venkatamakhi’s allusion. Commenting on a music form called Raga Kadambaka. Kallinatha following Skrangadeva describes a variety ca lied Svastika made up of four metres and four Talas with a new Raga for each foot or half verse or verse or Tala or metre. The next class called Nandyavarta had eight metres, eight Talas and an appropriate number of Ragas. The next class employed sixteen meters, sixteen Talas etc. The fourth class called Bhrgmari was made up of thirty two metres, thirty two Talas and an appro priate number of Ragas. Kallinatha calls this a Maha-prabandha and it would appear that though this music form employed a multitude of Talas and metres, it found employment for even a greater multitude of Ragas and if the composer optionally re quisitioned additional Ragas, it was reckoned a merit and not a fault. The Ragas were the most important feature of this class of compositions—the reason why this form came to be called Raga Kadambaka and not Tala Kadambaka nor Vritta Kadamabaka. PARTS I— IV] g o p a l a n a y a k a 71 These thirty-two Talas comprised thirty-two independent com positions (Prabandhas) with all the six essentials or optionally with less, in properly patterned sections bridged over by passages of Svara orTena or Pata. Pata again was derived from thePataha of two kinds, the Udukka, the three Pushkaras, the conch, the cymbal and a host of minor instruments, each with a syllabic language of its own. The composer could also draw upon instru mental forms and formulae from the vast ensemble of stringed instruments. In the direction of rhythms and Ragas the entire repertoire of Marga and Desi Sangita were at the com poser's disposal. He had,likewise an entire armoury of meters as modified to suit musical expression to choose from. He could in addition compose in Gadya form as well. It is not unlikely that the Raga Kadambaka was Gopala Nayak’s magnum opus for his famous contest at Delhi; if it were indeed so, it looks as if Gopala challenged Allauddin through music to smash this colossal temple in sound if he could, as he had broken countless others in stone. It would certainly have taken six sittings as mentioned by the Raga Darpan. The name of his first Tala is suggestive of the easy mastery and self-confidence of one who had known the Truth called Sangita in all its entirety. Gopala Nayaka, we are told, created his opening song in two halves in Malavasri Raga and Simhanandana Tala. Malavasri, one of the eight Ghana Ragas, was considered auspicious. It has survived in the Carnatic tradition and resembles Ritigaula. Tyagaraja has at least one song in it. The Mai Sri of the north is different of course. Gopala Nayaka’s second song was i* Velavali Raga and Darpana Tala, lacked the Pada but had all the other five essentials. This Velavali was probably rather the northern Bilawal from which the southern Bilahari is derived, than the southern Velavali which retains its name as Cauri Vela vali in the scheme of Pandit Subharama Dikshitar, but is called Gauri Manohari in the Singalachary-Govinda scheme. The third song was in Dhanasi and lacking Birudas, had the other five essentials. This Dhanasi, was probably the northern variety resembling Bhimplasi. A Prabandha in the Grama Raga 72 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. xVlI Revagupta and Kudukka Tala was part of this great composition which Kallinatha refers to in defining the Kudukka Tala. Lacking the text of this great composition, I have tried to reconstruct it from the angle of musical form only, without refer ence to what Gopala Nayaka did express through this chain of thirty two songs. From the one specimen of his compositions printed below, I hazard the statement that Gopala was a poet of the highest order with remarkable gifts of imaginitive expression. From the fragmentary description above, one could visualise what a mighty, almost superhuman, feat it was to have improvised a song in such proportions, involving not only extraordinary gifts of composition but also reservoirs of knowledge of theory and art in all their ramifications, ancient and modern. If there ever was a musical super-man Gopala Nayaka was one. If an audience of modern Vidvans and scholars both northern and southern, could not follow a description of this fragment of his Raga Kadambaka with elaborate explanation, one wonders how much of it, a foreigner like Amir Khusru would have understood, to have been able to imitate even after listening to it surreptitiously from under Allauddin’s throne and how exactly a Quaval and a Tarana would have sounded against this marvellous edifice of Gopal’s creation especially when Khusru admits that a foreigner could not duplicate a single Indian Raga even after forty years. To Khusru was vouchsafed a vision of just one or two facets of the Truth called Sangita; pitted against him was a super-musician, one who had seen the whole Truth in all its facets ancient and modern and who was the greatest exponent of' the music which Khusru considered supreme and superior to any other in the world. It was the most unfair competition in the history of musical competitions, Amir Khusru is said to have introduced the Sitar into India. In bis voluminous writings Khusru does not make any such claim; and among the musical instruments of Persia there is none resembling the Sitar. On the other hand the ancient Vina Chitra had just four strings—a Karnataka variety of it is yet in vogue in northern Karanataka; India of the thirteenth century had no need to borrow her Vina from Persia as though her wealth of stringed PARTS I— IV] GOPALA NAYAKA 7 3 instruments were not enough. In fact the ‘Universal history of Music admits that Amir Khusru changed the name of the Hindu instrument into Sitar. Similarly the music form Khyal is attri buted to Amir Khusru and Sultan Hussain of Jaunpur. But as 1 have shown elsewhere the Dhenki prabandha called Yugmini with a slow and a fast part have been described by Sanskrit writers centuries before Amir Khusru. It is quite possible that Khusru was captivated by this form to which he gave the name of ‘Khyal (whim, caprice) and that Sultan Hussain composed many Khyals in addition to patronising the form. Again it is said that Amir Khusru invented the Tarana and Trivat made up of meaningless words, as he did not know Sanskrit. But both of these are forms of the Karana prabandha employing the drum language of two kinds of drums and if meaningless words had been employed there were such words as had been prescribed. To return to Gopala Nayaka, a diligent search might yet bring to light some of his compositions. In 1937 the writer listened to one from a brother of the late Ustad Nazirruddin in Sanskrit in a Raga called Hejas but did not take a copy. The singers of Dhruvapads are most likely to have them as Gopala is reputed to have composed many Dhruvapads. I append below a song in Kambavati and Chautal from a book named ‘Raga Vilas’ by Dr. Ananata Shantaram malve. This book contains many compositions of Tan Sen, but without the score. Gopala Nayaka’s reference to Gorakhanath, pushes the latter’s date by at least 50 years or a century from 1350 assigned to him by Misra brothers according to Mr. Iswari Prasad. ST W ft a w II T O 0 II ^ 3 ^ itwf, TO II II II 11 11 T O 0 II 10 THE CATEGORIES OF INTERVALS OR SRUTI-JATIS BT A l a in D a n i e l o u There are two main approaches for the interpretation of ancient texts on music. Some believe that the ancient musicians may have had peculiar tastes and enjoyed intervals and musical forms which to us appear unpleasant dissonances, while others consider that there are some fundamental laws of consonance which, being physical laws, must be true for all men at all times, and they allege that there is no reason to suppose that these laws were not valid for ancient Indian music. The fact that a few medieval works give confused or inaccurate definitions of the intervals may not necessarily mean that music and musician were wrong but only that theoricians had insufficient means for the analysis and recording of intervals. This should not surprise us, since most modern books on Indian music give for Srutis lists of vibration-numbers which are grossly mistaken, as can easily be shown with the help of accurate instruments for the measuring of intervals. An example of the way in which books can be mis leading can be understood from the following occurrence. In the 19th cent, a German physicist made a mistake in his learned calculations on the resonance of horns. The figures he gave implied that a horn in E flat would need to be 18.77 meter (over 56 feet) long. This enormous mistake has however since been reproduced in technical treatises on instruments in several European languages, nobody having ever taken the trouble tc verify the calculations. We can easily imagine the scholars of the future making beautiful theories on this giant trumpet and the people who blew it, just as they make superior assertions on the odd scales which pleased the ear of the ancient musicians 'Unless there is definite proof to the contrary, we shoul never take it for granted that the ancient musicians ever wei astray from the fundamental consonances, which are the easies FARTS I— IV] THE CATEGORIES OF INTERVALS OR SRUTI-JATIS 75 intervals by far to play and to recognize accurately. On the other hand we can easily make room for certain difficulties in analys ing or measuring intervals leading to slightly inaccurate defini tions. Before we attempt to interpret ancient authors we should do them the courtesy of having ourselves a sufficient knowledge of the physical possibilities of sound which they may have been at pains to describe. We may then suddenly discover that what seemed at first to be an arbitrary classification turns out to be merely a slightly odd way of expressing some fundamental law of physics. The Sruti-jatis or categories of intervals, classified according to the kind of expression they convey, are given with some amount of variety in different Sanskrit works on music. These have given rise to various interpretations accompanied often with alleged frequencies which, fortunately, convey nothing to the reader—nor usually, I believe, to the writer either. It may be therefore of interest to see whether any classifica tion similar to that of the Sruti-jatis can be obtained from the physical study of intervals. According to the method given by Bharata for the tuning of the Vina, there is very little doubt that the old Pramana sruti was the interval we now call comma. If we tune the different notes of the scale by successive fifths (panchama-samvadi“ 3/2) which is the most consonant and easiest of all intervals to tune,— we obtain, after the third fifth, intervals which seem high. 1 o obtain intervals more consonant with the starting note we have to lower by one comma (81/80) the intervals obtained by fifths. This is one of the basic problems of music which we find ex pressed and solved in different ways in the musical theory of all countries. The Natya Sastra is not sufficiently explicit to allow us to say for certain that tneShadja and Madhyama grama should thus correspond to what we know now as the Pythagorean and the Harmonic scales with the typical difference of one comma in most of their intervals, corresponding with a Cosmic, Solar-Lunar, ? 6 THE JOURNAL O# THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVli active-passive character on one side, and an emotional, Mars- Venus, desire-enjoyment character on the other. It is however very probable that the differentiation of the Gramas must origin ally have been of that order, since this is the only kind of really fundamental difference which fully justifies a classification into Gramas. The First Sruti-Jati If we follow the simplest mode of tuning by ascending fifths we obtain a series of intervals which all have a similar expres sion. The first five intervals of this series, beginning from Sa, are : (1) Panchama (3/2), (2) Rishabha (9/8 or 32/23), (3) the high Dhaivata O which we may term Dha+ (27/16 or 33/24), (4) the high Gandhara or Ga+ (81/64 or 34/26), (5) Ni+ (243/128 or 35/27). Further intervals are not used in music because they come to be almost identical with simpler intervals, as we shall presently see. All these intervals have a common character. They all ex press sunshine, joy, activity, but rather on an abstract plane. They form what we may term, in the Chinese way, the Solar aspect of the cosmic series. We can see that, from the point of view of number, they all correspond to ratios made exclusively of the successive powers of 3 divided by corresponding powers of 2. This is the first Sruti-Jati or class of intervals. The Second Sruti-Jati If starting again from the original Sa we proceed by descend ing fifths (or ascending fourths) we obtain the five intervals : (1) Madhyama (4/3 or 2a/3) ; (2) the common Komala Nishada— which we may term Natural Komala Nishada or Ni kn (16/9 or 2 Note (l):“ The notes of the more usual diatonic scale will be marked n (natural), or be without sign. The notes raised by one, two and three commas will be marked +, + + , + + +. Notes lowered by one, two, and three commas will be marked PARTS I— IV] TrfE CATEGORIES OF INTERVALS OR SRtJTI-JATIS 77 The common character of all these intervals is one of moon- fight, peace, passivity. They form the lunar aspect of the basic or Cosmic series. They all have as denominator the successive powers of 3 with corresponding power of 2 as numerator. The Third Sruti-Jati The intervals of the double (ascending and descending) series of fifths were, as we have seen, rather abstract in expres sion : and the ascending ones often high in pitch. If we bring the high Dha+ (27/16) down to the more consonant and softer harmonic Dha (5/3) and then proceed by fifths as before, taking this Dha as a new basis, we obtain a series of intervals which all are one comma (81/80) below those of the basic series. The ascending fifths of this new series are rarely used in music be cause of their exaggeratedly weak character. They are the Ri— (10/9 or 5 x 2/32); Pa-(40/27 or 5*23/33): Sa—(160/81 or 5 x 25/34) and Ma—(320/243 or 5*25/35). On the other hand the descending series contains some of the main intervals of music which are, beside the basic Dha 5/3, (1) Ga (5/4 or 5/22): (2) Ni (15/8 or 5 x 3/23); (3) the low Tivra Madhyama, M a -T (45/32 or 5 x32/25) and (4) Ri k—135/128 or 5 x 33/27). All these intervale, have a common character of soft emotion, enjoyment, satisfaction, that is the experience of the qualities shown by the secdnd or descending series. We see that the last interval is here c t '} 4 Ri k...like the 5th One of the basic descending series. In fact thesev tW intervals are practically identical, their difference being only of 019 savarts (1 '96 cents) that is about 1 /10th of a comma, 1 /50tH of a tone. Any further fifth would in practice coincide with those of the other series. And therefore the development of fifths in this type of scale is by the very nature of things limited to five. We may note that all the intervals of this series show a common feature of having the number 5 as numerator multiplied by powers of 3/2. / 7 8 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII The Fourth Sruti-Jati By a similar process if we raise intervals of the basic series by one comma, we obtain a series which has 5 as denominator multiplied by the powers of 2/3. These intervals will express passion, desire etc., that is, the experience of the qualities shown by the first series. We obtain first, as basic note, the high Gak + (6/5 or 2x3/5), Of the ascending fifths (Ni k+9/5, Ma+ 27/20. Sa+ 81/80, Pa+ 243/160), only the first one is normally used in music, the others being harsh and brutal. The descending series on the other hand has beautiful passionate intervals 1) Dha k+ (8/5 or 23/5) : Ri kn (16/15 or 24/5x3); 3° Ma T* (64/45 or 26/5*32): (4) Ni+ (256/125 or 28/5*33). The Fifth Sruti Jati A series two commas above the basic series gives extreme harshness and is hardly used in music. But the series two commas below the basic series has five intervals which express intense sadness and distress and are used in the most moving Ragas. The basic note of this series , is Ma T—(25/18 or 52/33*2). Then come Ri k —(25/24 or 52/3*23); Dha k—(25/16 or 52/24) Ga k—(75/64 or 53><3/26) and Ni k-(22*/?2& or 5ax33/27). The circle of Srutis At we 1 -.w the fifth note of each series melts into the next oeries. If we now take two other series, the - - - or + + +we find that they are both practically identical. Thus is completed the cycle of the possible intervals in the comma scale. This gives a total of fifty-three possible Srutis (which become the old 66 if we introduce at each half tone the intermediary sounds called quarter tones). The last series as well as the + + series are not normally used in music. We remain therefore with five groups of intervals having different types of ratios and corresponding to iifferent categories of expression, as can easily be ascertained PART I ~ I V ] THE CATEGORIES OF INTERVALS OR SRUTI-JATIS 7 9 on any instrument (or the measure of intervals. This classifica tion includes all the simple intervals which are used in music. It seems beyond doubt that the theories of Sruti-Jatis or categories of intervals—Madhya, Ayata, Mridu, Dipta and Karuna must have been based on this physical fact and correspond respectively to the above series. The dropping of some intervals less frequen tly used and some amount of confusion in the works of medieval writers which may not have been well conversant with the arith metic of sound, should not deter us from keeping in mind that the Sruti-Jatis were a physical fact before being a theory of the Sanskrit writers on music. SURVIVAL OF THE USEFUL AND THE BEAUTIFUL IN THE REALM OF MUSIC ^ • By P r o f. P. S ambamoorthy . Just as in biology we have the theory of the ' survival of the fittest’, we may enunciate the following theories for music—the 'survival of the useful* in the domain of theory and the *survival of the beautiful' in the domain of practical music. As one reads through the history of Indian music carefully and analyses the contents of the various works written during the last two thou sand years, and examines the programmes given by musicians in the courts in the past, one realises the truth of these two state ments. In the domain of musicology, only those theories and concepts which were logical and useful and appealed to the musi cal sense have stayed. All the rest became a thing of the past. Such obsolete concepts and theories are now of mere academic interest. Likewise in the sphere of lakshya or practical music, posterity has cared to remember only the beautiful compositions. We still remember and sing with reverence the Ashtapadis of Jayadeva because of their inherent beauty. There were a number of composers in the medieval period after Jayadeva, but their compositions have been forgotten totally or at best only some of them are remembered and sung. The numerous types of Pra- bandhas mentioned in the Brihaddesi, Sangita Ratnakara and later works have all sunk into oblivion. The brilliant Padas and Kritis of the composers of the modern period came like an ava lanche and swept overboard all those compositions whose claims to musical permanence were of doubtful character. The com positions of Tyagaraja and other classical composers are destined to live till eternity because of the inherent beauty in them. The emergence of the Janaka-Janya system of Raga classifi cation, a system which is both logical and scientific, made all other earlier systems of Raga classification pale into insignifi cance. There is nothing in the earlier systems of classification p a r t s i — i v ] s u r v iv a l of th e u s e f u l ih m usic 81 which is not covered, absorbed or implied in the all-embracing Janaka-Janya system. The enunciation of the scheme of 72 Melas served to clarify, regularise and crystallise some of the earlier nebulous ideas. The Grama-Murchana-Jati system, the Suddha- Chhayalaga-Samkirna system, the Raga-Ragini-Parivara system, the classification into Purusha, Stri and Napumsaka ragas, Suta Ragas, Dasa ragas and Dasi ragas, Parsavadeva’s classification in Raganga sampurna, Raganga shadavas, Raganga audavas etc., .the classification into pan (u«wr) and tiram (fdjDii*) and all other earlier systems of Raga classification are now of only academic interest. Ragas have been there although they attained their full stature and form later in the hands of geniuses like Tyagaraja. The Janaka-Janya system also pavpd the way for the creation of new Ragas. It is also a truth that a more logical and comprehensive concept supersedes an earlier illogical or imperfect concept. The later concept that a Mela should have a Krama- sampurna Arohana and Avarohana, if it is to maintain its significance as a generator of Ragas, was found logical and came to be readily accepted. Thus the earlier Asampurna melas gave way to the later Sampurna Melas. The absurdity of elevating a janya raga to the status of a Mela and make it the parent (Janaka) scale for another Janyaraga of an equal status was realised and the scheme of 72 Sampurna- sampurna scales was readily accepted. This scheme of 72 scales is not only of logical interest but also of interest from the point of view of world music, since the 12 notes of the gamut are known and universally used in all the civilised systems of music. When the word ‘Raga* with its fuller melodic connotation and significance came into use in the post-Bharata period, the earlier word ‘Jati* naturally lost all importance. ' The absurdity of calling the Rishaba and Dhaivata of the Sankarabharana raga as Panchasruti ri and Panchasruti dha by some scholars of the 16th and 17th centuries became patent. With the emergence of the correct and seK-explanatpry names, Chatussruti Ri and Chatussruti Dha, the above terms were given a go-by. It is a matter for pity that some scholars innocent of 11 :1_ lln IIMIII III„, 8 2 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII practical music, should go to the length ol literally interpreting the terms Panchasruti ri, and Panchasruti dha and opining that Sankarabharana (one of the old and most wellknown ragas) took the notes of frequencies, 32/27 and 16/9 (actually Bhairavi ga and ni), in the place of the notes 9/8 and 27/16. Useless concepts like the classification of Ragas into Uttama, Madhyama and Adhama, enunciated by Ramamatya and endorsed by Somanatha have naturally fallen this desuetude. The utility of the Katapayadi formula, the Bhuta sankhya, the reference to the Tala angas, Drutam, Laghu, Guru and Plutam by their initial consonants, da, la, ga and pa, the representation of the varieties of a note by resorting to the vowel change in its solfa name, have been recognised. Such mnemonics are good aids to memory. How cleverly these devices have been employ ed, will be clear to any one who peruses the nomenclatures for the 72 Melas, 12 Chakras, 24 Srutis (as given in the Sangita Sara Sangrahamu), 33 Talas (pika-vati nomenclature) and also reads the slokas for the 108 talas. The present meaning associated with the term Bhashanga raga is of recent origin. Ragas which took foreign notes had distinctive individualities of their own and musical recognition had to be given to them. The term Bhashanga raga came in hand for the purpose and was used to signify such Ragas. The earlier meaning of the term Bhashanga raga was something different. A concept which was once useful might in the light of the subsequent development of the art become archaic or useless. The concepts of Graha svara and Kriyanga raga are instances in point. In ancient music i.e., in the harp age, the term Graha svara meant the note on which the Murchana or the Jati commenced. It should be remembered that in ancient music, the idea of the fundamental or the Adhara shadja was unknown. The harp was tuned to absolute pitch and to a fundamental scale in three octaves. The other scales were performed by the shift of the tonic note to the appropriate string. With the emergence of the PARTS I— IV] SURVIVAL OF THE USEFUL IN MUSIC 8 3 concept of Adhara shadja, all the Ragas and melodies in them came to be performed to one tonic note. Vainly did the authors of the Lakshana gitas of the post-medieval period cling to this term. They said that Shadja was the Graha svara for many Ragas. In a few cases the mention of the name of the Graha svara gave the clue to the most apt note on which melodies can commence in that Raga. Thus the mention of ni by some and dha by others as the Graha svara for Bhairavi coincides with the fact that many compositions in Bhairavi commence on ni and some on dha. But we cannot ignore the fact that a good number of important places in Bhairavi also begin on ri (Raksha bettare of Tyagaraja, Ni padatnule of Patnam Subrahmanya Iyer and Ika nannu brova of Pallavi Seshayyar). All the other items mentioned under the Trayodasa lakshanas for Jatis have been incorporated in the later detailed Lakshana of Ragas. The term Kriyanga raga has now lost all significance- The confused meanings given for this term by scholars during the medieval period only prove their anxiety to give some intelligible meaning to it. Any way, the fact remains, that the present study of the Lakshana of a Raga is very comprehensive and includes within it every aspect of the Raga, expressly or impliedly given expression to, by earlier musicologists. In South Indian music at present, the term Suddha svara, refers to the lowest-pitched variety of a note. Thus of the varie ties of ri, ga, ma, dha and ni (sa and pa being fixed notes and not admitting of varieties), the lowest pitched variety in each case is termed the Suddha svara. Thus Kanakanki, which takes all Suddha svaras, is the Suddha scale of South Indian Music. This concept of a Suddha svara which is entirely different from the ancient concept was found logical and accepted by scholars :>f the post-medieval period. Gandhara Grama Although the Grama-Murchhana-Jati system is now obsolete *nd is absorbed in the same or slightly modified form in the later •>mprehensive Janaka-Ianya system, still let us not forget the 8 4 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII fact that it is this antiquated system that proves beyond doubt that India had an accurate tone-system in the distant past. It also proves that the early musicologists of India knew : (1) the method of deriving scales by the process of Modal Shift of Tonic; (2) the cycle of fifths (which includes within it the cycle of fourths as well—the fourth being an under fifth]; (3) the consonant and dissonant intervals ; (4) the values of the different musical intervals ; and (5) that they used heptatonic and transilient scales. The experiments described with the Dhruva vina and the Chala vina prove conclusively that the ancients had a precise knowledge of such subtle intervals as 256/243 (puma sruti), 25/24 (nyuna sruti) and 81/80 (pramana sruti), not to speak of the larger intervals like 16/15, 10/9 and 9/8. Gramas were heptatonic scales with notes of definite fre quencies. They were the earliest known scales and were analo gous to the present-day Melas. The interpretation that Grama meant a collection of all the notes used in a scale is a later one and was given when, with the emergence of the concept of Raga and Raga classification, the term ceased to be of any significance. Of the Shadja, Madhyama and Gandhara gramas mentioned in early literature, the Gandhara grama is the earliest. It is refer red to in the Mahabharata and in some Puranas. It became obsolete by the time of Bharata and Dattila. Bharatha refers only to the Sa and Ma gramas. Naradi Siksha refers to the Gan dhara Grama and this fact makes us conclude that this smal work was written before the Natya Sastra. It is a pity that faulty interpretation of the ancient texts ha< led some scholars to opine that Sa grama signified singing wit Shadja as Sruti or the tonic note ; Ma grama with Madhyama a the tonic note (i.e. singing in Madhyama sruti), and Ga grama wit Gandhara as the tonic note. Equally wrong is the interpretatio> that Sa grama signified Murchhanas in the Mandra sthayi (lo* /IVAL OF THE USEFUL IN MUSIC 85 ten Ma a signified Murchhanas in the Madhya sthayi and Ga grama signified murchhanas in the Tara *tave). Although there is a unanimity of opinion he values of the notes of the Sa and Ma gramas, a confusion with regard to the values of the notes na. The three Gramas had their respective deities mu and Mahesvara). The basic Murchhana in each one that started from the Svara name of the Grama, rama it was Uttara Mandra which started from Sa ; % it was Sauviri which started from Ma : and in Ga as Nanda which started from Ga. Amongst the later ich mention the three Gramas, may be mentioned the idi Prakasiha and the Svararnava the reputed work /agaraja had access to. ay be incidentally mentioned that the word Grama gave he word gamut in the English language. Gamut is ut (ut is doh or shadja) = gamma sa or Sa grama. .11 the three Gramas were heptatonic scales and took the which occurred in the cycle of fifths. The frequencies of the notes that figure in the three Gramas as follows: 8 r g m P d n $ grama 1 10/9 32/27 4/3 3/2 5/3 16/9 (182) (294) (498) (702) (884) (996) Ma grama 1 10/9 32/27 4/3 40/27 5/3 16/9 (182) (294) (498) (680) (884) (996 Ga grama 1 16/15 6/5 4/3 40/2/ 8/5 9 1 (112) (316) (498) (680) v8 I 4 ) O' (The fractions give the ratios of the frequencies of the n to sa as equal to 1 ; and the figures in brackets give the vaiut I the notes in cyclic .cents). In Sa grama the Panchama stood on its final or ulti sruti and in Ma grama on its penultimate sruti. The values $ here for the Ga grama are from the Sangita Ratnakara. Sarnge himself quotes Narada Muni for the values given by him. 86 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACAD1 in the Ratnakara the Ga grama is referred to ah gramas, it is evident that with the Suddha svars the basic scale, the Ga grama notes were evaluate portions read as follows :— “Gandhara takes one Sruti from ri, which mei reduced from its Trisruti value to the Dvisruti vali also takes one Sruti from Ma, which means that the by a Sruti; i.e. its value is raised to 6/5 from 32/27,. quence, the origingal interval of 9/8 that existed betv ma now becomes a Tiisruti interval of 10/9. The D1 Sruti from Pa, which means that the pa gets reduced i quency 40/27 : the Ni takes one Sruti from Dha which r. the Dha gets reduced to 8/5 ; the Ni also takes one S Tara shadja, which means that the frequency of Ni gets ed from 16/9 to 9^5”. (Note: When from a lower note, a higher note § takes a Sruti, it means the lower note gets flattened by th interval. When from a higher note, a lower note gains 6 a sruti, it means that the lower note itself gets sharpei increased in pitch by that Sruti interval). Here also the term Sruti is not a fixed mathematical c tity. Where a note is said to take one Sruti from a lower no; from a higher note, the reduction or increase in pitch must bt one of the recognised values of Ekasruti intervals. The reduo tion or increase should be by such a value that the resulting note hould be a musical note belonging to the cycle of fifths or tian* irths. The arguments that held good concerning the experi- serial its relating to the Dhruva Vina and Chala Vina held good j also. Thus when Ga took one Sruti from ri the reduction ered by ri was by the interval 25/24 (16/15 x 25/24*= 10/9)^ larly when Ga took one Sruti from Ma, the increase in pitch ed by Ga was by an interval of a Pramana sruti 81/80 (32/27 l/80—6/5), a the Ga grama, the pairs of notes, sa and ma, ri an6 dha and d ni were Samvadis. The interval between Ga and Ma* ’ARTS!— IV] SURVIVAL OF THE USEFUL IN MUSIC 87 stween Ma and Pa and between Ni and Sa was the same; i.e. X 1 '0/9 or a Trisruti interval. To us who are accustomed to regird Sa and Pa as Avikrta svaras, the very idea of singing the diminished Panchama with the letter pa may seem ludicrous, but in ancient instrumental rr usic, the idea of performing to one Adhara shadja was not known. In the harp age, the Ga grama as also the Ma grama were quite workable. That was the age of Jatis, when the idea of a Raga with all its melodic implications and possibilities had , not yet dawned. The Ga grama bereft of the reduced Panchama wc.uld be the scale of Suddha Todi (s r g m d n s) and could have be en played admirably on the harp. Excepting for the fact that the note 40/27 could not from its very nature be used along with the perfect fifth 3/2, it was perfectly a sound note which could follow the Suddha Madhyama or precede the Dhaivata, when the change of the fundamental from Sa is visualised. After all the Grama, like a Mela, was only a scale and intended to provide bases for possible Ragas. The Gandhara grama was in course of time ignored because its Rishabha, Gandhara, Dhaivata and Nishada were re-discover- ed in the Murchhana Uttarayata of Sa grama, and its reduced Panchama 40/27 in the Madhyama grama. The Svaras of the Ga grama can even now be heard in the Vedic chants (not the Sama gana) of the Vaidikas of South India. In all the three Gramas, the initial notes of the Murchhanas were in the downward order. The first Murchana (Uttaraman- dra) of Sa Grama began from Sa; the first Murchana (Souviri) of Ma grama began from Ma and the first Murchana (Nanda) of Gr grama began from Ga. It is possible that the three Gramas we’; called Sa grama, Ma grama and Ga grama re-|pctively, because in each case the immediate higher and loj.er notes of each of those three notes (Sa Ma and ga) were thecorrect Udatta and Anudatta svaras in the three Gramas—thrrj and ni of Sa grama; the reduced pa and ga of Ma grama anj Ma and ri of Ga Grama. The fact that later scholars t^c yalues of the 88 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [v o l . X V lf notes of the Ga grama in terms of the notes of the Sa gramsi, need not create the impression that the Ga grama is later than tb e above two Gramas. It is but natural that they should hav e attempted an evaluation of the notes of the Ga grama in terms of the notes of the Sa grama, which was then in existence. That the frequency of the fifth note of the Ma grama w&s only 40/27 and not 64/45 is beyond question, since it is clear ly mentioned that there was a Chatussruti interval between this note and the Dhaivata above. If it is conceded that the reduced panchama is 64/45, then we have to subscribe to the absurd pro position that the Chatussruti interval had two values in one and the same scale. The acceptance of the interval 64/45 would also mean that an interval greater than a major tone (9/8) Was used, which was not the case in the early heptatonic scales. Such intervals occurred only in transilient scales. Further Bharata mentions (si. 21—Chap. 28) that this reduced Panchama in the Ma grama bore a Samvadi relationship to the Rishabha (19/9) which again proves that its frequency must have been 40/27 i.e., 10/9 x 4/3. The note 40/27 occurs as the eleventh note in the cycle of fourths or under fifths. In the experiment relating to the Dhruva vina and Chala vina, it is clear that in the first stage, the flattening of the Panchama (perfect fifth) of the Sa grama vina by a Sruti, to convert it into Ma grama vina or sharpening of the fifth note of the Ma grama vina by a Sruti, to ' convert it into Sa grama vina, was by a Pramana sruti interval ) 81/80. The rider was given, that between the reduced Pan chama and the Dhaivata above, there was a Chatussruti interval. If the Panchama was reduced to 64/45 the reduction' would not K be by one Sruti but by about a semi-tone, 135/128 or a Nyuna- dvisruti interval. The reduced Panchama, is significantly enough tejwed to as the Kaisiki Panchama, Trisruti Panchama and M rid u K ' hama which terms are all self-explanatory and only confirm the‘?ct that this note was only slightly less than perfect fifth a^ did not differ from it by such a large interval as 135/128. In the^a grama, the reduced Panchama alone was Vikrta which med18 t^iat ot^er n°te8 were of the same frequency as these Sa grama. frARTSi— IV] SURVIVAL OF THE USEFUL IN MUSIC 89 Medieval and post-medieval scholars m their anxiety to find a pl?ce for the Kaisiki Pa in the later tone system, identified the rediced Pa of Ma grama, with the Varali madhyama 64/45. But there is no doubt that the frequency of the Svopantya sruti of the Panchama of Ma grama was none other than the note of fre quency 40/27. The notes ri, ga, dha and ni of the Ga grama, were re-discovered in the Rishabha murchhana of Sa grama; Shadja and Suddha ma of Ga grama also occurred in Sa grama. The only note left out was the reduced Panchama. In order not fc> lose sight of it and also to give a fresh lease of life to it, it was fncorporated in the Ma grama. Whereas the Ni murchhana of Sa grama gave our Sankarabharana, the Ni murchhana of Ma grama gave the exact major diatonic scale of European music, with its Trisruti dha 5/3. If you imagine a Sa grama vina and a Ma grama vina wherein the frets are so placed that the notes emanating from them give respectively the notes of the two Gramas, the first fret giving the note Sa, the second Ri, the third Ga and so on, it will be found that when the open string of the Vina, in each case is taken as the tonic note or Adhara shadja, and placed, the Sa grama vina will be found to give the Sankarabharana scale and the Ma grama vina the major diatonic scale of the West. It is possible that the major diatonic scale evolved in this manner. : i The merit of the Sa grama lay in the fact that it took a pair of symmetrical tetrachords, separated by the interval of a major V tone, a feature not noticeable in the other two Gramas. In other words, the graphs of the two tetrachords in the Sa grama would be exactly alike. Tyagaraja clarified the two Ragas Bhairavi and Kharahara- I a, by incorporating in the former the Gandhara and Nishada c a grama and in the latter the Gandhara and Nishada of Ga { na. The statement made by many scholars in the past that t Ga grama has gone to Indraloka need not be taken literally. MUSIC AT THE TIME OF KING SAHAJI OF TANJORE—A. D. 1710. Discovery of New MSS. Material—The Lakshya & Lakshana of Music Collected and Composed by King Sahaji of Tanjore and his Musicians. K. Vasudeva Sastri, b.a., Sarasvati Mahal, Tanjore. Of all the Mahratta Rajas of Tanjore, King Sahaji, the eldest son of Venkoji, was the greatest man of letters and patron . ■ ■ ■ .r.v v : '!:> of learning and arts. He it was who planted the colony of learned men in Tiruvisainallur known also by the name of Sahajirajapuram. Most of the grants of Inam to learned families in the Tanjore District were made by him. He has been eulo gised in scores of Kavyas and many hundreds of songs all of which are now preserved in the Sarasvati Mahal Library, Tanjore. That the saintly - Ayyaval of Tiruvisainallur who, according to tradition, performed the miracle of bringing Ganga Devi to appear in a well at Tiruvisainallur,—that he thoug* fit to write a biography of King Sahaji is proof enough of his great ness, King Sahaji was a great Telugu scholar and poet. He was also a great musician, a prolific composer in Telugu and Sanskrit. He has left some 20 Telugu dramas interspersed with songs, in addition to hundreds of stray pieces in Sanskrit, Telugu and Mahratti. He was a great Bhakta of Sri Tyagarajasvami of Tiruvarur, the Somaskanda muhurta of Lord Siva, the guardian deity of Indra and Muchukunda Chakravarti* It is said that every day, he would have his midday meal only after learning that the Ucchikalam worship in Tiruvarur was over—which fiact was made known to him by a series of guns arranged at intervals of a few miles between Tiruvarur and Tanjore. He had his own circle of musicians and had collected aim ost all the Gitas, traditional Alapas, etc. of almost all the Ratgas PARTS 1 - I V ] MUSIC a - OF KING SAHAJI OF TANJORE 9 1 current in his time in about 20 manuscripts all of which are now preserved in the Sarasvati Mahal Library in B. No. 1 1 572 to 11592. These MSS. cover more than 5000 pages of palm leaf. In addition to this collection of Lakshya. King Sahaji has, with the help of his musicians determined the Lakshanas of all the Ragas current in his time. These Lakshanas are contained in 10 manus cripts. (B. No. 11548 to 11555, 1 1620 and 11621). Of these B. No. 11620 contains the decided views of King Sahaji himself. 1 shall first describe the contents of the 10 Lakshana manus cripts and then deal with the 20 Lakshya manuscripts. In 11620, the author has selected 20 Ragas as Mela Ragas and grouped the then current Ragas, 100 in number, under them. In the preface, the portion relating to the authorship is partly missing, but the word Sahaji appears therein. The authorship however is made abundantly clear by the colophon at the end of each mela, which runs as follows:— • 'Jti Sri—Bhosalakula—avcitamsa— Sri Saharaja—sasanka— prakasita—Desakshi—mela—vivekah Shodasah.’' The word prakasita is significant showing the punctilious regard for truth and modesty of that great king. King Tulaja, his brother who subscribes himself as the author of Sangita Saramrita (recently published by the Music Academy, Madras), has bodily taken most of the Raga Lakshana of King Sahaji, leaving off some valuable hints about Sancharas and adding a few words of his own here and there. It is strange that he has not acknow ledged the source of his compilation. It is worthy of notice thf the same number of Ragas are treated and grouped under aim the same melas in Sangita Saramrita as in this manuscript. T difference in the Melas is this. This manuscript mentions while Sangita Saramrita speaks of 21 Melas but gives on1 w Sangita Saramrita has left off Todi Mela and Kalyani M' giving the Lakshana and has added Velavai as a Mr is taken as a Janya of Malavagoula in this manuscr for this difference, the Mela grouping is almost th 9 2 THE JOURNAL OF THfc. .-ADEMY [VOL. XVII which is left out in the Sangita Saramrita has only 2 Janyas in this MS., namely, Nagavarali and Punnagavarali. Kalyani has no Janyas. The Vikirta svaras mentioned in this manuscript as in the 9 other manuscripts of Lakshana are greater in number than those in the 72 mela theory. Every musician has felt that the Svaras of the 72 mela system are not enough to cover all the Svaras in vogue in our Ragas; and King Sahaji and his musicians have there fore advisedly retained 4 more distinctions than the 16 Svaras. Thus we have 4 Rishabhas, 4 Dhaivatas, 4 Gandharas and 4 Nishadas in these MSS. Among the Rishabhas and Dhaivatas, we have the Suddha, Chatussruti, Panchasruti and Shatsruti Svaras. Among the Gandharas we have the Suddha, Sadharana, Antara, and Chyutamadhyama Gandhara Svaras. The present day Antaragandhara Svara is named Chyutamadhyamagandhara, which is more in accordance with Sangita Ratnakara, and the name Antaragandhara is given to the Svara in the next lower sruti, which is also in accord with ancient texts. Similarly among Nishada Svaras we have the Suddha, Kaisiki, Kakali and Chyuta shadja Nishada Svaras. The name Kakali is restored to its ancient connotation and the present day Kakali is called Chyuta- shadja Nishada. It is clear that the author of the 72 melas had no option but to ignore the distinction between the Chatusstruti and Panchasruti Rishaba and Dhaivata, and the distinction betweer the Antara and Kakali on the one hand and Chyuta madhyama and Ghyutu shadja on the other; for otherwise they woult PARTS I— IV] MUSIC AT THE HME OF KING S ^ A J I OF TANJORE 93 them on 19 melas that were then popular. King Sahaji whose collection of Lakshya includes Gitas of Venkatamakhi on some of the well-known Ragas, has not thought fit to popularise the 72 melas ; nor has Sangita Saramrita popularised the 72 melas. The popularisation of the 72 melas has therefore to be assigned to Dikshitar and Tyagayya because they began to convert some of the Melas into Ragas and compose Kritis in them. King Sahaji’s musicians have constituted 9 other Lakshana manuscripts embodying 9 different views, here is a healthy independence seen in each manuscript. Cogent reasons are given in some of them for the conclusions. One uniform feature of these Lakshanas is that Lakshya quotations are made from (1) Alapas (2) Thayas (3) Gitas (4) Suladis and (5) other Prabandhas. It is clear that at one time, these five Lakshyas of each Raga were being regularly learnt and memorised by each musician. This brings us to the Lakshya collection, which consists of 20 manuscripts each covering some 230 pages. They contain the following types of Raga expansion 1. Alapas. The Alapas are given in Svara notation in the shastraic order of (1) Ayattam (2) Eduppu and its Muktai (3) Udgraha and its Muktai and (4) Sthayi. This order and the special rules for each of them are not now generally known nor are they current in practice. Such of the present day musicians as have received their tuition from proper Guru paramparas have had the methods of their masters well impressed in their minds, and they do the Alapa very well. But the majority of the musicians have not had such benefit and the result is that Raga Alapana is now performed in a haphazard manner. Of Alapas, we have in these manuscripts some half a dozen or more pieces for each Raga, possibly by different traditions. A study of them will help pre sent day Vidvans to do their Alapas with fome method. More especially axe the Alapas of the following Ragas valuable as these Ragas are at present difficult of manipulation for want of more than one or two Kritis in each Raga. 94 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII 1. Abheri. 21. Malla Madhyamavati. 2. Ardsadesi. 22. Madhavamanohari, 2. Bauli. 23. Nagadhvani. 4. Bhinnapanchama. 24. Narayani. 5. Chhayagoula. 25. Narayanagoula. 6. Dipaka. 26. Poornapanchama. 7. Gurjari. 27. Poorvagoula. 8. Gandharapanchama 28. Padi. 9. Gundakriya. 29. Ramakriya. 10. Hindolavasanta. 30. Regupti. 11. Hejjajji. 31. Samantam. 12. Kannada Bangala. 32. Salanganata. 13. Kannada Goula. 33. Salagagoula. 14. Malavasri. 34. Salaga Bhairavi. 15. M&ngalakaisika. 35. Suddha Desi. 16. Megharanji. 36. Suddhavasanta. 17. Maruva. 37. Takka Raga. 18. Mallamaruva. 38. Valavali. 19. Mechabauli. 39. Vasantabhairavi. 20. Malla Salaganata. 40. Surasindhu etc. 2. Alapas with Tam and Nam : This is called * gatra dandi ’|| in some of the mss. This is evidently intended for being played on fche Vina, The Tannakajra is given below the Svara notation. The Alapa is given in its order of Ayattam, Eduppw and its Muktai, Udgraha and its Muktai and Sthayi. 3. Thayas: The word fhaya which is the Prakrit ren dering of Sthaya means a Raga phrase. The term has now gone out of use. We can translate it a h' lSu)- in Tamil. In northern music, the characteristic phrases of Ragas are nowadays called ‘ pakd ’ or ' catch \ Formerly, the Thayas of; the various Ragas appear to have been systematically arranged and regularly learnt by students as they now do the Gitas and Varnas. For, in the Lakshanas of Ragas described already, the opinions are sup ported by quotations from Thaya as well as from Alapas, Gita, Suladisand Prabandhas, implying that all these are set forms known to everybody. The Thayas, their description and classi- ARTS I— IV] MUSIC AT THE TIME OF KING SAHAJI OF TANJORE 95 cation occupy a good deal of space in Sangita Ratnakara. (Vide ang. Rat. chap. 3 vv. 95-185). The Thayas are classified in vo ways. The first classification has in view the method of pro- ucing them vocally or in instruments. There are 10 names ider this head in the Sangita Ratnakara. The second classifica- on has in view the function of the phrase. Under this head we ave 33 names. Added to these which are said to be well nown, there are less known names, -some 53 in number. I shall dw give a few of the names. Under the first head we hear of ,) Dhala sthaya akin to the gamaka ' Dhal\ (2) Vahani sthaya, kin to the gamaka called ‘vali ’. (3) Vadya sabda sthaya or those hrases which have the peculiar quality of instrumental music Under the second, we hear of (1) Bhajana sthaya, or the hrase in which the Raga assumes its form (2) Sthapana sthaya or e phrase which plants the feet of the Raga as it were firmly and kes it forward like an elephant’s walking etc. Pundarika itthala’s work on music (No. B. 6602 of Sar. Mahal Lib.) men- ons this term and confines itself to only 7 names (vide vv. 4-128 ibid). } These Thayas will greatly help in . fixing the Sancharas of le Ragas and their study is nowadays very necessary because ispect for tradition is fast losing its hold on the minds of singers nd we may soon reach a stage of perfect anarchy in music. 4. Khandikas : These are compositions with words, shorter form than Gitas. The Khandikas are not very many in mber and are given with Svara notation. f 5. Gitas : Gitas given here are pretty old and include hose of Purandara Das and Venkatamakhi. There are also lahratti Gitas composed apparently either by Sahaji or his -»urt musicians. Each Raga is represented by a good number of tas and they have to be published at once for preserving and riching our standard Lakshya pieces. At least those relating to e so-called Apoorva ragas of to-day must help our musicians at ce in their present helplessness in singing those Ragas, 9 6 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XV 6. Sooladis: W e have in this Library a number o f: anuscr. * , containing Sooladis of Purandara Das and others. These are co tained in manuscripts other than those referred to hitherto. Bi most of them have no Svara notation. The Sooladis containc in the Lakshya manuscripts under notice contain Svara notati( but they are not very many in number. 8. Prabandhas: Some of the well-known ancient Pr bandhas are represented under this head. They are not ve. many in number, but they are very valuable for tracing the hi torical development of our musical pieces. In addition to these collections, we have hundreds of kri by King Sahaji on Sri Tyagesa and hundreds of others by sever composers on King Sahaji. In fact, the literary and musical cc lection pertaining to King Sahaji and the Vidvans of his cou will cover numerous printed volumes and they form the m« valuable contribution to culture during the Mahratta reign Tanjore. •• -' $ SOME LEADING MUSIC SYSTEMS By ' C. S. A y y a r Part II At the end of my article with the above Heading in Volume XIII of the Journal of the Music Academy, while reviewing the book of Mr. Bhatkhande ‘A Comparative Study of some of the Leading Music Systems of the 1 5th, 16th, 17th and 18th centuries*, I desired to say something special about Ramamatya’s Svaramela- kalanidhi (1550 A.D.) and Somanatha's Ragavibodha(1609A.D.), the first two writers on South Indian or Karnatik music, as dis tinguished from other writers on Hindustani music. I have since had the advantage of reading Mr. M. S. Rama- swami Ayyar’s learned introductions and English translations of the verses of these two books published in 1932 and 1933 respectively. For the sake of ready reference, the notation which I have already followed and propose to follow here for the svaras, may be given as below: Sa-ri-Ri-ga-Ga-Ma-ma-Pa-da-Da-ni-Ni-Sa. to represent the twelve svaras of the octave, arising from the frets of the vina (South Indian) following the notation adopted by Mr. H. A. Popley in his book ‘Music of India* so as to ensure a clear understanding of the subject throughout India. The 22 srutis will be represented as below: Sa—(ri-ri)—(Ri-Ri)—(ga-ga)—Ga-Ga)—(Ma-Ma)—(ma-ma) 12 12 12 12 18 13' Pa—(da-da)—(Da-Da)—(ni-ni)—(Ni-Ni)—Sa. 12 12 12 12 {vide Dages 24 apd 30 of this Journal Vol. XIII.) 13 9 8 THE JOURNAL _0F THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII The ancient suddha scale, as has been already pointed out, was of the svaras Sa-Ri-ga-Ma-Pa-Da-ni -Sa with relative 111 11 frequencies, 1, 10/9, 32/27, 4/3, 3/2, 5/3, 16/9 and 2, the original Sama gana scale but sounded in descent. This is the modern Karnatik Bhairavi raga, as sung today in ascent. Taking up the earlier book of Ramamatya, it is apparent even on first reading that a change in nomenclature has come in for the suddha rishaba and suddha dhaivata of Karnatic music, since he fixed them as occurring in the raga Mayamalavagaulai i.e., the svaras, ria and da* respectively, (according to the deno mination above) with frequencies 16/15 and 8/5 respectively, were designated suddha svaras for the first time as against the previous ratios 10/9 and 5/3 respectively. The following chart I, drawn up from his verses at page 83 of Mr. Bhatkande’s book is worth a closer study, in the circum stances, vide also verses 21—23, page 52 in Mr.M.S. Ramaswamy Ayyar’s Edition. This chart should be studied in relation to the relative frequencies obtained on the six frets of the four strings. The asterisks and @’s will be clear on reading the explanation given, so as to enable the reader to follow the pro cess of placing frets for obtaining coalescence. Let us reconstruct in our imagination how Ramamatya would have placed the six parallel frets under the four strings men tioned by him, vide line A. The entire musical world knows that shadja or (suddha shadja as he puts it) coalescec with suddha madhyama, their relative frequencies being 1 and 4/3. Similarly the panchama coalesces with the higher shadja, the frequencies being 3/2 and 2 respectively or 3/4 and 1 respec tively in the lower octave. It is worthy of note that in this experimental study of coale scences, he has not placed the seventh fret which will give the f’anchama (the true fifth) on the two shadja strings, and the b'vher shadja on the madhyama string ! ! In the matter of the experiments one always proceeds from the known to the unknown—the open strings sa/ma and sa/pa PARTS I— IV] SOME LEADING MUSIC SYSTEMS 9 9 1 - ' ' ...... O* * have to be tuned, to be in sruti, or made to coalesce in unison with the help of the ear by twanging the two strings sa and ma one after the other, the open strings sa and pa being similarly tuned together by observing the coalescence or merging of the notes. If the reader follows in the chart from * to 8 asterisks, and subsequently from @ to seven @s he will see exactly the process of fretting. A brief explanation will be given to under stand this process, the order of the fixation of frets being as shown below : N.B.—The open strings can be seen to coalesce by mere twang ing shortly after each other but in the matter of notes obtained on the frets, the coalescence is observed by sounding them on two different strings, at different posi tions according to age long practice. Order of fixation. 1st item v—5th fret wherein kaisiki ni is obtained.' 2nd item iii—3rd fret wherein sadharana ga and suddha dha ... are obtained. 3rd item i—1st fret wherein suddha ri and chyutapanchama ma are obtained. 4th item vi-6th fret wherein chyuta shadja ni is obtained. 5th item iv—4th fret where chyutamadhyama ga and suddha ni are obtained. 6th item ii—2nd fret where suddha ga is obtained. It will be noticed that the suddha pa obtained on the 2nd fret on the ma string will fall off slightly in pitch. By the very fact that he has not put the panchama fret on the shadja string, 1 am very confident that this was the process by which he fixed the frets on the shadja and panchama strings i.e. mandra sa tantri and anumandra pa tantri; and it stands fairly to this day according to his method in madhyamela vina in South India, as the madhyama string is no longer used on the Karnatik vina.—vide his verses 73—76, page 53 of Mr. Ramaswamy Ayyar’s edition, defining the said vina for playing all ragas. 1 0 0 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY (v o l . XVII CHART 1. t. TT— “ITT IV A. Suddha ma Su sa Suddha pa Suddha sa Meru ProbaB * or order c Bridge. fixatioi Freq. 4/3 i of 3/2 i. Chyutapan- <-Su ri Su dha Su ri Prathama (3) chama ma *** *** saarii *** 1st fret. Freq. 1024/729 256/243 i of 128/81 or 45/32 ii. Su pa Su ga Su ni Su ga Dvithiya (6) saarii 2nd fret 40/27 Freq. 3/2 ?? 10/9 } of 5/3 HI. Su dha Sadharana Kaisiki ni sadharana Tritiya ** ** (2) ga ga- saarii 3rd fret. Freq. 128/81 32/27 a of 16/9 IV. Su ni Chyuta- Chyuta Chyuta Chaturta (5) madhyama shadja madhyama saarii ga ni ga 4th fret. Freq. 5/3 5/4 i of 1 5/8 v. Kaisiki Suddha Suddha sa Su ma Pancha (1) ni ma ** ma saarii *** ** 5th fret. Freq. 16/9 4/3 i of 2 - 1 VI. Chyuta Chyuta Suddha ri Chyuta^- Shastha (4) shadja panchama panchama saarii ni ma * * * * ma 6th fret. @@ **** Freq. 15/8 45/32 or 1024/729 256/243 Mandra Mandra sa anumandra anumandra ma tantri tantri pa tantri sa tantri String Number 4 , 1 Su stands for Suddha. N.B.—The frequencies in Col. IV will be half of those in Col. II. ’ARTS I— IV] SOME LEADING MUSIC SYSTE. MS 101 " W m - CHART 2 5 | The order of fixation of fr^ts being different . I II H i TV | V. Suddha ma Su Sru Suddha paSuddha sa Meru Probable or order of Bridge. fixation. Freq. ;i 4/3r<|rV 1 \ of 3/2 Chyutapan- Su ri Su dha Su ri Prathama cha ma @@@ @@ saarii @@ 1st fret Freq. 729/512 16/15 \ of 8/5 or 64/45 i. Su pa Su ga Su ni Su ga Dvithiya *** ** ** saarii 2nd fret *req. 3/2 9/8 *of 27/16 di. Su dha Sadharana Kaisiki ni Sadharana Tritiya ga * ga saarii @@@@<# 3rd fret 7req. 8/5 6/5 * of 9/5 /. Su ni Chyuta- Chyuta chyuta Chaturta shadja ni *** madhyama madhyama saarii ga*** *** ga 5th fret. r / *** ***# Freq. 27/16 61/64 iof 243/128 /. Kaisiki Suddha Suddha sa Su ma Pancha ni ma ma saarii 5th fret. req. 9/5 27/20 1 or 4/3?? 81/80?? Chyuta Chyuta Suddha ri chyutapan- Shastha shadja panchama chama ma saarii *♦ + * mani I 6th fret 729/512 or req. 243/128 64/45 16/15 Mandra mandra sa anumandra anumandra ma tantri tantri pa tantri sa tantri tring ■lumber 4 1 Su stands for Suddha. N.B.—The frequencies in col. IV will be half of those in col. II, 102 THE J OURtfAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII There is another methodJ by which the six frets could have been placed and Chart-2 explains i*he process, the order of fixation being different and as below : Order of fixation. ' ‘ .| 1 st item ii—2nd fret where suddha ga and su m '* ob tained. 2nd item iv—4th fret where chyutamadhyama ga and chyuta shadja ni are obtained. 3rd item vi—6th fret where chyuta panchama ma and suddha ri are obtained. 4th item i—1 st fret where suddha dha is obtained. 5th item iii—3rd fret where sadharana ga and kaisiki ni are obtained. 6th item v—5th fret where from kaisiki ni, suddha ma is obtained, which gives a slightly higher fre quency than the open ma string. It will be noticed that this process will give the higher frequen-T cies in the twin notes which can be obtained on the frets of the vina, but this has not been the way he has adopted, as has already been said. In this connection, I have to withdraw the statement that Ahobala knew the svara obtained by the division of 1 /5th of the 8tring> made by me at page 104 of my article in the Journal of the Music Academy Vol. XI, 1940 on ‘Quartertones in South Indian Music’, while in fact he did not know of it. Ahobala really fixed the (South Indian) Antara gandhara or the tivra gandhara (which he denominated as Vikrith svara) in a panchama relationship to the dhaivata, the latter being obtained in a panchama relation ship with the rishaba regarded as Panchama’s panchama—vide pages 29 and 35 of Bhatkande’s book under review, where fre quency ratios are given for tivra gandhara and others. SOME LEADING MUSIC SYSTEMS 4 0 3 lamatya thus accidentally struck upon the 5th upper giving the frequencies, when pressed at those points, as a harmonic antara gandhara, and 5/3 the Trisruti dhaivata. , this fact that led to the great advances in South Indian ;sic. Ramamatya however, for the reason that he fixed the suddha rishaba as that occurring in Mayatnalavagaula, blundered into the statement that Panchama’s panchama (frequency 9/8) is the sneha sruti rishaba, while it is only the chatusruti rishaba accord s'. g to the modern parlance. Later writers have also reiterated h e same blunder, and now it has been set right, by renaming Pi anchama’s panchama as chatusruti rishaba e. g. Subbarama Di kshitar—vide para 14 page 26 of the chapter Sangita Lakshana Sa \ngrahamu, of his ‘Sangita Sampradaya Pradarsini’. The article on Somanatha will appear in a subsequent issue. a m (Continued from the previous Volume) Tulajendra makes it clear that in Sri raga Dhaivata is alpa. He gives sancharas and points out permissible and non-permit sible prayogas in accordance with Gita, Prabandha, Thaya ai m Alapa or the chaturdandi as well as Suladi. Shadja is mention* sd as Graha, am£a and nyasa. The following is given as Shadja Sthayi in Thaya: Sa Sa ni t m, ri ga ri ga ri sa, sa sa ga ri sa, sa ri sa sa sa ri pa pa pa ma ri r na ma pa pa ni ni pa, ma pa ma pa ni ni sa, ni sa ri ga ri ga ri sa, sa ni ri ga ri sa ni sa ga ri sa, ga ri sa, sa ri sa sa sa pa ni ma pa i ma pa ni ni ga sa, ni ni ssa, ri ga ri sa sa ni sa, ri ga sa, sa ni sa. Thaya prayoga is as follows :—ri ga ri sa, sa ni pa, pa ni pa, _ pa ma ri ma ma pa, ma pa ni ni sa, ni sa ri ma ma pa pa ni, ma pa pa sa sa ssa ni pa, pa ni pa pa ma, ma pa ma ri ri ga ri sa. You will find the second set of svaras given above is nearer modern usage. The Sthayi sancharas which are given in the 'irst set conform to the ancient orthodox mode of rendering which is not now followed as such. Next Svara Khanda is given as : ri ma pa ni sa, pa ni pa ma pa, ma pa ri ri ga ri sa. The Prabandha prayoga is given as : ri ma pa ni pa pa ma ri, ma ri sa sa ni pa, ga ri sa sa ri pa. Then he mentions sa sa ni dha pa dha ni pa ma ma ppa as occuring in Udgraha. The modern practice, however, is to use the dhaivata not in the initial phrases but only in one or two of the final sancharas. He takes care to caution that in this raga the svaras do not proceed as sa ri ga ma or as ma ga ri sa. It will be seen how the Sri raga has continued unchanged for centuries. Tulajendra was in fact deriving the lakshana of it as contained in old compositions and the raga as illustrated there in no way differs from the modern version of it. The author praises its antiquity and classifies it as an evening PARTS I— IV] t h e r a g a s o f s a r a m r it a 105 kgfcr."- raga. Now, rightly or wrongly the noon seems to claim it more often than other parts of the day. S3 Venkatamakhi enumerates the same svaras for Sri Raga mela. His statement of the- dhaivata being chatussruti though correct according to modern conception was from his point of view a mis take, for in giving the srutis of Dhaivata, he says they are five. In all other ragas for the same note he uses only the term Panchas ruti Dhaivata. It might interest you to note that the mela by means of which you first become acquainted with twenty-two srutis, is also the mela bearing number twenty-two in Venkatamakhi'g scheme of seventy-two melas. Venkatamakhi is also of opinion the raga is sampurna with ga and dha varja. The exact signifi cance of this statement is, as we have already seen, explained by Tulajendra. In Sangita sudha too the raga is described as taking the same notes as mentioned above, and the various stages of alapa are detailed as in the case of all ragas it discusses. Rama- matya has nothing new to say. He had named the srutis of the • notes of Sri raga mela in the same manner. Somanatha who is generally very clear in his sruti discussions mentions this raga as taking tivratama madhyama./ This is obviously a mistake. Pundarika Vitthala who wrote works both on the southern and northern systems of music describes Sri raga as Tulajendra has done, but appropriately calls rishabha and dhaivata as chatus- srutis. Lochana Kavi who wrote his book Raga Tarangini in the fTteenth century mentions only twelve scales of which he gives hairavi as the first. He is more a lakshanakara of the northei system than the southern. It may be assumed that during his time hat divergence whose increase began after the era of Purandaradas a century later, was not very marked. The Bhai- ravi described by Lochana Kavi is not the Bhairavi of the present Hindustani system which corresponds to our Todi, but the ancient niddha scale corresponding to our Kharaharapriya scale or from the precise sruti point of view, our Bhairavi in its aroha. In fact Lochana Kavi was well aware of the Bhairavi as rendered by us for he expressly refers to the use of Komala dhaivata in Bhairavi and has no hesitation in condemning it as improper and not plea sing- The Bhairavi of Lochana Kavi is thus the Sri raga which we 14 106 THE JOURNAL OF THE MU9IC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII have been considering and corresponds to the Kafi Thata of the northern system and he is clear that it was the suddha scale. It looks, therefore, very probable that long ago Bhairavi had its avaroha exactly like its aroha without komala dhaivata. When in course of time komala dhaivata crept in and came to stay in the avaroha and upon analogous principles in certain sancharas of aroha also. Tyagaraja thought fit to resurrect the old Bharavi as Kharaharapriya with a slight sharpening of ri, ga, dha, and ni to give it a distinct form. Those who can recall “Viriboni” varna as rendered at the beginning of this century can perceive how komala dhaivata has been making inroads into Bhairavi. The first janya raga described under Sri raga mela is Kannada Gaula. Its graha, amsa and nyasa are nishada. It takes all the seven notes though their gati is vakra both in aroha and avaroha. It is supposed to be an Upanga. The people of Utkala like it much. Its udgraha prayoga is as follows: sa ni pa dha ni sa ni ni sa, ri ga ma ga ma pa ni ma, pa ni ni sa, ni pa ni pa ma, pa ma ga ma ma ga ga ma ma pa ni ni, sa ni pa, ni pa ma pa ma, ma ga, sa ri ga ma ma ga sa. Shadja sthayini in Thaya is: ma dha ni sa ssa, ni ssa, thaya prayoga is, ma ma pa pa pa ni pa ma, pa ma ma ga, ni ri ga ma ma sa ni pa. Gita prayoaga is; pa dha ni sa sa ni dha pa ma ga ma pa ni dha ma ma ga, sa sa ni pa. Gitantara prayoga is: ni sa gga ga ma, ggama gari sa. In Suladi is found the prayoga: pa dha ni pa ni dha pa, ma ga ma, pa ni dha ma ma ga sa ni pa. Venkatamakhi makes mention of Kannada Gaula as janya of Sri raga mela, as sampurna and according to some without madhyama in aroha. He also mentions its graha, amsa and nyasa as nishada. It is one of the ragas which Sangita Sudha derives from the book of Vidyaranya but it puts it under Samanta mela which is stated to take the same notes as Gurjari or Mala* •. gaula. Ragavibodha of Somanatha has no raga corresponding to it. That book gives Karnata gauda also called Karnata as one of the melas. Though its name sounds very close to Kannada gaula, it is a different scale altogether and corresponds to Yagadhisvari. Svaramelakalanidhi mentions Kannadagaula as one PART I— IV], THE RAGAS OF SARAMRITA 1 of twenty scales given by it. Again it is not the Kannada gaula of Saramrita. It is the same as Somanatha's Karnata gauda, that is with shatsruti rishabha, antara gandhara, tivra dhaivata and kaisiki nishada in addition to sa, pa and suddha madhyama. Pundarika Vitthala’s Karnata gauda is same as Somanatha’s. Lochana Kavi makes no mention of Kannada gaula. He mentions Karnata as one of his eleven scales. That Karnata is no other than Hari kambhoji or Khamaj thata. From the Janyas given under it there appears to be room for thinking that sometimes the sadharana gandhara was used in substitution of antara gandhara. Karnata as a janya of it, being no other than the precursor of modern Kanada of the Carnatic system was perhaps taking either sadharana gandhara or antara gandhara according to the phrase. Echoes of this rendering might be noticed occasionaly at the present day, not however in the sense of approved usage. Jayajayavanti which Suddha desi is a janya of Sri raga meia, sampurna with shadja for graha, amsa and nyasa. In the aroha, gandhara is langhana. In the phrase dha ni sa ri ga ri ri gandhara is the highest note and ■* thereafter there is descent. The implication in this phrase is permissible. The modern usage is also in perfect accord with this interpretation, pa ma pa ga ri sa, ri ga ma pa (here there seems to be a violation of the rule or very probably a mistake in the manuscript) ni dha pa dha ni sa, ni dha pa ma, ni pa ma ga ri sa, ni dha pa ma sa. These are Udgraha prayogas relating to sthayini. The Thaya prayogas are ni dha sa sa sa dha sa sa, dha ri sa ri, ni dha sa sa, dha sa sa dha ri sa ri, pa ma pa ma ga ri sa, ga I ri ri ri dha sa sa, dha sa sa. Vakra prayagas of dhaivata in aroha and panchama in the avaroha are characteristic of the raga. There is no published piece of Dikshita in this raga. Tyagaraja’s two songs in this raga "Endu kaugalintura” and “Raghunandana** are fairly well known. Other works on music do not refer to this raga. It is evident that the use of suddha dhaivata in this raga is not warranted by authority. Iff W I p #€| Tulajendra gives a brief description of a raga which he calls Madhyama grama raga. Anything corresponding to it is not found in the chapters in other books dealing with ragas of the post-grama period. It is said to be the janya of Sri raga mela, sampurna, with shadja for graha amsa and nyasa. Its sancharas are given as : ni dha pa ma ga ri sa ri sa ri sa ri sa ri sa ri sa, ri ga ma pa dha ni ma, sa ni dha pa ma ga ri sa ri ri sa ma. No authority by way of Gita, Thaya or Prabandha is cited. No com position of any kind in that raga is or was ever known to exist. Sangita Sudha speaks of Madhyama grama as one of the seven Sue dha grama ragas. It is scarcely necessary to point out that the grama ragas as such ceased to be current and had transformed therns$lves into de?i ragas by overcoming the rigid rules 112 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC'ACADEMY [VOL. XVII prescribed for their alapana. If there was a Madhyama gra ma raga at the time of Tulajendra it certainly could not have been the grama raga of the era before Bharata. The next raga mentioned by Tulajendra is Saindhavi. It was nothing unusual for certain ragas like Saindhavi to be described as a Madhyama grama raga. We are not now on the question of justification of such description which appears to have been not uncommon. The authorities textual or personal which Tulajendra consulted in the preparation of his work in all probability gave a description of Saindhavi as a Madhyama grama raga. Then in the actual prepara tion of the text that which was an attribute became a substantive and Madhyama grama raga ceasing to be descriptive of Saind havi. became an independent name for a raga. A common verse of lakshana and sanchara were improvised and incorporated. It is not suggested that Tulajendra was himself the author of the fabrication. He might simply have copied the fabrication of another, and it makes no difference as to the nature of the sup posed raga. As already stated Saindhavi is next dealt with. It is a janya Of Sri raga mela, shadja is its graha, amsa and nyasa. It is ordinarily sung in the evening. It is alleged to bring Success to war efforts. Its svara gatis are given as follows : Sa ri sa, ri sa nini, dha ni sa ri, sa ri ma ma pa dha pa ni dha pa, sa ni dha pa ma pa ma ga ri, ma ma ga ri ri sa. The name Saindhavi is given to many of the 264 rags of Ratnakara. It is mentioned as one of the six Upangas of Varali, and as Bhasha of Malava Kaisika, Panchama and Bhinna Shadja. Srinivasa Pandit approximates it to Salaga Bhairavi by making ga and ni varja in aroha. Venkatamakhi and Govinda Dikshita do not refer to thi: ■ a modern raga. Somanatha gives it as the Janya of Sri raga. Svaramela Kalanidhi does not refer to it. Pundarika Vitthala in Sadraga Chandrodaya gives Saindhavi as the janya of Sri Raga and in Raga Manjari as a janya of Malavakaisiid. The melae or the ragas are the same, for Malavakaisiki is defined as taking the same notes as are taken by Sri Raga. Sangita Sara Sangraha PARTS I— IV] THE RAGAS OF SARAMRITA 113 probably a, work of the early 19th or late 18th century gives the aroha of Saindhavi as: ni dha ni sa ri ga ma pa dh* ni sa and avaroha as: sa ni dha pa ma ga ri sa ni dha ni sa. Sampra- daya Pradarsini makes the aroha and the avaroha full and regular. As usual it gives a Gita of Venkatamakhi but no other compositions. Certain comparatively recent publications that appeared at the beginning of this century or at the end of iast century give the aroha and the avaroha of the raga as: ni dha ni sa ri ga ma and pa ma ga ri sa ni dha ni sa. A large number of folk songs appear to possess this arohana and avaro- hana. Padas of Kshetragna and others are found in this raga. They rather favour the folk version of the raga. It is common in Bengal and Orissa to sing the first Ashtapadi of Jayadeva in the Baindhavi raga of this limited range. In sbme of the northern districts of this province, one can hear the whole Ramayana in folk verse set to this restricted type of Saindhavi. It is no base less inference to draw that apart from the raga as described in classic books there existed a folk version of it which is far older ind the description of it as belonging to Madhyama grama when ipplied to the antique version will not be meaningless when it is iemembered that other scales of limited range rightly or wrongly, are similarly described. Kaphi is the next raga described. It is a janya of Sri raga mela. It is sampurna with shadja for graha, amsa and nyasa. It is to be sung in the evening and is auspicious. The author speaks of the svaragati in aroha and avaroha as niraghata or unlimited. It is needless to give the sancharis of a Raga whose course pur ports to be regular without restriction. Tulajendra cites prayogas from Alapa and Gita. Other writers do not mention this raga. The description of it as given by Tulajendra exactly corresponds to the raga Kafi as it prevails in the classic renderings of the northern system of music. There is no doubt the two, the northern and southern Kaphi, are the same. The present render ing of it in the south with antara gandhara, suddha dhaivata and kakali nishada, whatever its popularity, is not warranted by classic tradition or authority. Sampradaya Pradarsini gives a !< 15 • 1 1 4 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII * composition each of Muthuswami Dikshita, Virabjiadrayya, Srinivasayya, Bhachrachalam Ramdas and Sesha Iyengar in this raga. All the compositions favour prayogas like pa ma ri ga ma ri, sa ni pa and dha ni pa. In the Gita of Venkatamakhi printed in the same book these sancharas are conspicuous by their absence. In respect of every raga mentioned in the book, Subbarama Dikshita gives the Lakshana sloka stated to be of Venkatamakhi, murchanas in aroha and avaroha, a Gita of Venkatamakhi anc' Subbarama Dikshita’s own sanchari, whether or not compositions of Muthuswami Dikshita are given. Thus the Lakshana sloka arid Gita of Venkatamakhi are given for every raga. In the Chaturdandi Prakasika, Venkatamakhi though he claims to have formulated seventy-two melas, names and briefly describes only the melas and ragas that were current in his time. It is main tained by those who seek to support the genuineness of th* Lakshana slokas and Gitas, that in a work yet unpublished purport ing to be written by Muddu Venkatamakhi the Lakshana slokas and Gitas are recorded. But what still requires explanation i the total absence of even mention in Chaturdandi Prakasika, c f those ragas which were supposed to have been later defined to Lakshana and illustrated in Lakshya gita. It is strange thaTi when Chaturdandi Prakasika long before its publication was referred to by numerous writes, no notice should have been taken of the work containing the Lakshana slokas and Gitas assuming such a work existed. Under these circumstances the authenticity of the Lakshana slokas and Gitas is liable to be questioned. Tyagaraja is reported to have composed many pieces in Kaphi raga and the printed books contain several of them, but their rendering however is not only discrepant but spurious in many cases. If the story about his compositions in Ananda Bhairavi be true, similar circumstances might probably have influenced his desire to have them withdrawn from currency. At any rate the great composer could not have contemplated with equanimity the debasement which Kaphi raga was undergoing in his days. But the delicacy of his sentiments is no obstacle in the enterprise of those professedly loud in their admiration and veneration for the FARTS I~IV] THE RAGAS OF SARAMRITA saintly singer, to recast his sahitya in gross and ugly moulds of vulgar counterfeit. To come back to Tulaiendra, it seems doubt ful whether his examination of this raga was as careful as that of Sri Raga. He seems to have been content to state the lakshana formally and say the svara gati as niraghata. If he had taken care to investigate he would have found that some characteristic phrases were vakra. Tulajendra’s notice of Huseni is somewhat brief. He says it is born of Sri raga mela, is sampurna, has shadja for graha, amsa and nyasa, and is sung in the evening. He gives its svara gati as follows: ri ga ma ga ri ga, ri ga ma pa ni ma ni dha pa ma, ni dha ni sa> ni dha pa ma, pa dha ma ga ri sa, ri ga ri ri ri sa, ri ga ri ri ssa. It will be found that the sancharas given here look thoroughly modern. The proper emphasis laid on rishabha brings . out the form of the raga effectively. Most of the Sanskrit works - do not refer to this raga. If the name means anything it must be in origin foreign to the Hindu system of music being derived from Persian sources. It is curious, however, that the ancient Dravidian pan ‘Tnisai” bears close affinity to it in name and melody. Sangita Sara Sangraha gives its aroha and avaroha as full and regular. No enumeration of lakshana can convey the least idea of the raga which has a characteristic complexion and peculiar pada prayogas like pa ni dha ma. In Sangita Sampradaya Pradarsini, in addition to a Gita by Venkatamakhi, a Prabandha of his is also given; a kirtana of Dikshita is given as well as the famous svarajati of Adippiah so often in evidence in Bharata- natya with sahitya fitted into it by Meratur Venkatarama sastri and two padas of Kshetragna including “Alagite”. The Yettu- gada svaras of the svarajati, ri, ri ri for which the Sahitya is ou, rou, ra goes straight into the very heart of the raga. The Kirtana of Tyagaraja “Rama Ninne” and “Sri Raghu Kula" of Ramnad Srinivasa Iyengar are fine representations of this raga which for pure rakti is second to no other. Occasionally when the dhaivata is just touched from panchama or madhyama the flat variety is used. The growing tendency to extend the use of the flat dhaivata cannot but destroy the beauty of the raga. 116 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII With Huseni end the janyas which are sampurna. The next janya which is a shadava is Sriranjani. Born of Sri raga mela it has shadja for graha, amsa and nyasa. The Varja svara is panchama. It is sung in the evening. The svara gati as illust- rated in Udgraha prayoga is as follows: ma ga ri sa ri, ni dha ni sa ni sa, ga ri ga ma dha ma ni dha ma, ni dha ni sa dha sa, ni ni dha ma, ni dha ma, ma dha ma ma, ga ri ga ma, ri ri sa sa, ni dha ni sa sa. The older writers do not mention this raga. It looks as if it came into vogue about the beginning of the 18th century. Sangita Sara Sangraha gives the arohana as sampurnt which however, does not accord with usage old or new. Th< Sampradaya Pradarsini gives it as a regular shadava. It calls this raga Bhashanga which according to its definition means a raga which takes a note foreign to its mela. But nowhere in practice is the foreign note to be found. It is surprising how Subbarama Dikshita came to consider this raga as Bhashanga. The book gives in notation one kirtana, and one daru in Telugu, of Muthuswami Dikshita. A chauka varna of Ramaswami Dikshita is also given. In a foot-note to this composition it is stated that in the charana the second set of svaras was composed by Sama Sastri, third, by Chinnaswami Dikshita and the fourth, by Muthuswami Dikshita. It is needless to say that if the sets of svaras were composed by all these composers, the chaukavarna must remain unique in the history of compositions. When, however, all has been said who can fail to associate the Sriranjani raga with Tyagaraja ? It is chiefly through his pieces that the raga is now known to the world. No composition of the com poser not merely in this, but in other ragas too, can ever compare with “Marubalka” in structural beauty. His other pieces “Soga- 8uga'\ “Bhuvi nidasudane”, “Sari evvare" and “Brochevarevare'5 have all attained high celebrity. If today you hear a piece ih Sriranjini, you may be sure it is one of Tyagaraja’s, or one which is an imitation of it. Sriranjani resembles in great part the raga “Bageswari” of the Hindustani system except for the slight use of the Panchama and the peculiar graces of the latter. The next shadava raga described by Tulajendra is Malavasri. it is born of Sri raga mela. Shadja is graha, amsa and nyasa. PARTS I—IV] THE RAGAS OF SARAMRITA 117 Rishiba is varja. It is mangalaprada or auspicious. It may be sung always. It is supposed to be a Raganga raga. In the arohsna while there is madhyamadi shadava tana there are no tanas beginning with shadja or gandhara. In the avarohana there are the shadjadi murchana and nishadadi shadava tanaS; ma pa dha ni sa, sa ga sa are arohini, sa ni ni dha, ni dha pa ma ma ga sa are avarohin, Kataka Prayogas. Kataka, as you know, is a set tana primarily intended (or rendering on the Vina. Ancient tanas known also as chitta tanas exist (or all the well-known ragas. These tanas are the most authoritative illustrations of form of ragas. Ni sa ni dha ni dha pa is Thaya prayoga. After giving other Thaya prayogas Tulejendra gives the Gita prayoga as: ni ni dha ma ma ga sa, sa ni ni dha pa ma ma ga sa. Chaturdandi Prakasika mentions and describes the raga. Saramrita's definition is only a reproduction of Venkatamakhi’s. Sangita Sudha speaks of the raga to the same effect. Ragavibodha mentions it as a janya of Sriraga, which is curiously enough supposed to take two madhyamas. Ramamatya also classifies it under Sri raga mela. Sadraga Chandrodaya also mentions it in the same manner. In the Sangita Sara Sangraha the arohana of the raga is given as “sa ma ga ma pa ni dha ni pa da ni sa and avarohana as: sa ni dha ma ga sa. Evidently the aroha as given seems to incorporate a sanchara. In the Lakshana sloka cited in Sampradaya Pradarsini “dha” is said to be varja in aroha. The common sanchara in the aroha, pa ni dha, appears to conform to this lakshana. In the avaroha, panchama seems varja in some sancharas. Tyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshita have composed in this raga. Devamanohari is the next shadava janya of Sri raga mela. Gandhara is varja in it. Shadja is graha, amsa and nyasa. In the aroha the dhaivata is passed over. The Udgraha prayoga is given as:—ni sa ri ma ma pa ma pa dhani ma ma pa, t* ni ni sa, ni pa dha ni pa, pa ma ma pa ma ri, ma ma ri ri ri sa ni sa ri, dha ni ni pa, ma pa ni ni sa, ri ri pa ma ri, ma ma ri ri sa, sa ni ni sa. Thaya prayoga is given as :—dha hi pa ma pa pa ni ni sa ni ni pa, dha ni pa ma pa pa. You will find here that the rule relating to the omission of dhaivata is not illustrated in these 1 1 8 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII piayogas. It is evidently a later growth. The Gita prayoga cited makes this point clear. It is less antique in character and is as follows :—ri ma pa ni ni pa, ma pa ni ni sa, sa ni dha ni pa ma pa ma ma ri ri ri sa ni dha ni pa ma ri sa. The modern prac tice is for the svaras to ascend as sa ri ma pa dha ni sa and descend as sa ni dha ni pa ma ri sa. The vakra prayoga “sa ni dha ni” is well illustrated by the Gita prayoga quoted by Tula- jendra. It cannot, however, be said that a phrase like pa ni sa would altogether be wrong. Only modern usage does not very much favour it. This does not appear to have been noticed by other writers. If this means anything the raga cannot have existed from remote antiquity. Sampradaya Pradarsini contains one kirtana of Muthuswami Dikshita, three songs of Tyaga raja “Kannatandri, “Evarikai” and “Kulabirudu” are current in this raga. More recent composers too have produced pieces in this raga. Its popularity appears to be on the increase. Various sahityas are put into the familiar varna-mettus of this melody. Subbarama Dikshitar calls this a Bhashanga raga. if it is bhashanga according to his own definition, it is nowhere made clear where the foreign note comes in. In fact there is no foreign note in this raga. It is quite faithful to its mela. Jayantasena is the next raga discussed by Tulajendra. It is born of Sri raga mela, a shadava, rishabha being varja. Shadja is the graha, amsa and nyasa. Its svaragati in LJdgraha is as follows : ma ga sa ni dha ni dha pa ma pa ni ni sa sa, ga ga ma dha pa ma ni ni sa, ni dha pa ma ma ga ma ga sa. In the avarohini shadja tanas are found the following prayogas : Sa ni dha ni dha sa. This raga is not mentioned by older Sa..0«.*.i. n>. w.o w«v.ch> Venkatamakhi. Raghunatha in Sangita Sudha claims it as his invention says it is shadava with rishabha as varja and it is janya of Bhairavi mela. if this lakshana is correct the character of the dhaivata in this as in other ragas changed from komala and tivra. Venkatamakhi gives the same lakshana as is given by Tulajendra except that ma is graha, amsa and nyasa. Sangita Sara Sangraha gives its aroha as: sa ga ma pa dha sa and avaroha PART r— iv] t h e r a g a s o f s a r a m r it a 119 as: sa ni dha pa ma ga sa. The Sampradaya Pradarsini does not notice this raga. Tulajendra’s observation that there are many padas and darusin this raga seems open to question. It looks as if the author made a note of this kind in respect of some other raga like Huseni and it crept into this raga. There is only one piece now current and it is a kirtana of Tyagaraja beginning “Vinata- suta ". Other well-known composers who came after Tyagaraja do not seem to have handled it. The kirtana of Tyagaraja conforms to the lakshana of the raga as given in Sangita Sara Sangraha. It differs slightly from Tulajendra's version in that nishada is varja in arohana. But even in these cases it is usual for the classic treatises to call the raga shadava. If a note is present either in the aroha or avaroba it is not said to be varja in the raga. But Tulajendra has generally been careful to note such varja pra- yogas in his explanation though not in the verse defining lakshana; In this case, however, he makes no such reference to the absence of nishada in the arohana. Evidently, the omission of nishada in the aroha was the result of a later development than when Tulajendra recorded its lakshana. The prayogas cited by him proceed rather as pa ni sa than as pa dha sa. */ Manirangu is the next raga described. It is from ’ri raga mela. It has shadja for graha, amsa and nyasa. t is a shadava I raga,; dhaivata being varja. Tulajaji does not sas that gandhara is varja in aroha but it is to be gathered from the , vogas given by him. It is strange that even in the case of this ell-known raga he does not mention by way of explanation the absence of gandhara in aroha. He gives the svara gati from Alapa as : ni sa ri ga ga ri ni, ni sa ri, ga ri ri sa ni, sa ri ma pa ma pa ni, sa ni pa ma ga ri, ri sa sa. Gita prayoga is given as follows : ri ma pa pa ni pa ma ma, pa pa pa ma ga ri ri ga ri ri sa ni sa ri ni sa ri sa sa ni sa. The other Sanskrit writers do not mention this raga. Sangita Sara Sangraha gives the aroha as : sa ri ma ga ma pa ni sa and avarhoa as : sa ni pa ma ga ri sa. A simple aroha as sa ri ma instead of sa ri ma ga should be sufficient. “Mamavapatta- fchirama*’ of Muthuswami Dikshitar and “Ranidiradu" f Tya garaja have become famous pieces in this raga. It is unfortunate 120 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII that some of the very recent compositions in this raga, though not incorrect in svaras, have failed to grasp the spirit of the melody. This fact, if anything, serves to bring out clearly that it is the chaya or complexion of the raga, not the svaras alone, that have to be understood and mastered. Madhyamadi is a janya of Sri raga mela. It is a clear ouduva. Gandhara and dhaivata are varja in it. It is sung in the evening. Its beauty is most perceived in the flute. Tulajendra adds by way of clarification that its svara gati in aroha and avaroha is avakra. But really the svara gati need not necessarily be even. In the freedom of sancharas Dhatu Prayogas are not uncommon, particularly where vadi samvadi relationship could be employed with effect. He gives Udgraha prayogas as follows : pa pa ma ma pa ni pa pa ma ma ri ma ma, ri ri ma ma pa pa ni ni sa, pa ni pa ni pa pa ma ri, ma ri ma ri ri sa ri ri sa ri ri sa ni, sa ni pa ni sa fi ri, ma ma pa, ni pa pa ma ri ma ri, ma ri ri sa ni sa sa ni pa ni sa ri, sa sa ni pa ma ri sa sa. Gita prayoga is : ri pa ma ri ma pa sa sa, sa sa ni pa ma, pa ma ri, sa ri ma ri ri sa ni. Madhya, madi, which we now call Madhyamavati, is a very ancient raga noticed and described by most writers. Venkatamakhi's sloka from Chaturdandi Prakasika is cited by Tulajaji almost in en tirety. Venkatamakhi mentions madhyama as graha, amsa and nyasa. The remark that this raga is best enjoyed in flute Venkatamakhi’s. This remark is fully justified for the notes of Madhyamavati even as those of Kambhoji are produced in the flute naturally without any effort. As the name implies it is likely that in the long past, before the scales were all assimilated to one gamut proceeding from shadja, this raga was played begining from madhyama. Sangita Sudha also has the descrip tion of the raga as in Chaturdandi Prakasika. Pundarika Vittala puts this raga under Kedara which would correspond to Sankara- bharana mela. This makes nishada tivra. Somanatha classifies it under Mallaru which also corresponds to Sankarabharana mela. Ramamatya treats it as a janya of Sri raga mela. In the south the raga has kaisiki nishada while the north favours kakali nishada for it. The oldest version had probably kaisiki nishada. In the simultaneous progressions of fourths and fifths * PARTS 1 —IV] THE RAGAS OF SARAMRITA f 21 this is the earliest raga to be derived for it is obtained after the first progression, the second progression completing the scale of Karaharapriya or Sri raga. Thus producing the offspring before the parent as if the child is the father of man. It is well to remember that a raga is spoken of as Janya only for classification and is in no sense indicative of its later birth. In fact most melas derive their name only from the old and well-known ragas spoken of as Janyas thereof. Thus Madhyamadi whose notes can be formed after the first progression of fourths and fifths. by which I that its notes are shadja, madhyama, madhyama of madhy- oanchama, panchama of panchama, the last reproduced in *idhya saptaka, is, from the point of view of concord of its ?with shadja, of the highest degree of harmony On the pie of samvadadvaya. This raga, therefore, by tradition priately closes a concert so as to leave the sweetest im- on at the end on the listening minds. In this view the sub-f stitution of Kakali for Kaisiki nishada in the northern phase of the raga must be a later change. In the south the raga has under gone little alteration. The present practice is to render it in the noon rather than in the evening. All the master composers have produced fine pieces in this raga. Sampradaya Pradifsani gives only one song of Dikshita. Tyagaraja has Composed several songs in it. Of them “Alakalalla”, “Ramakatha* , “Evarichirira”, “Venkatesa," “Adigisukham” and “Nadupai” have attained widfe popularity. Sama Sastri’s “Palinchu Kamakshi” is a classic in this raga and is now extensively rendered. Puraftdaradasa’s “Lakshmibaramma" combining great beaiity and simplicity, Was at one time a favourite in every Hindu household. This song as an invocation to the goddess of prosperity enshrined in a very auspicious raga coming from the first great composer and Pita- maha of Carnatic music was believed to bring good luck to all who rendered it. I hope the song will become popular again. r The last raga classified under Sri raga mela is the ouduva raga called Dhanyasi. Ri and t ha are Varja in it. ft is a raganga sung in the morning and is auspicious. Its svaragati in aroha a n d avaroha is avakra and regular. The Udgraha prayoga is ma ga sa ni sa ga ma pa, pa ni pa ni sa; Tara shadja tana pra- 122 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII yogas are : ni pa ni ni sa ni pa ma ga sa. Thaya prayogas are : pa ma ga sa, ga ma pa ma ga sa, ga ma pa ni pa ma, ga ma pa ma ga sa, ga ma pa ni pa ni ni sa ni pa, pa ni pa ma ga ma pa ma ga sa. The Gita prayogas are : ga ma ga ma pa ni, pa ni sa ma ga sa, sa sa ni pama ma ga sa This raga is not the Dhanyasi raga as it is now understood, but what is known as Suddha Dhanyasi or some times also known rightly or wrongly as Udaya ravi chandrika, in which is the well-known song of Tyagaraja, "Entenerchina.* Venkatamakhi's Lakshanasloka for this raga is the same as is re peated in Saramrita. Sangita Sudha has almost indentic*! "***» tion to make. Shadja is graha, amsa and nyasa for it. Bu ^ mentions the name of the raga as Dhanasi instead of. rm It speaks of it as ouduva and quotes Vainika Sam s s { authority. Raga Vibhodha calls it Dhannasi. Svar»- *jp nidhi gives the name as Dhanyasi. Pundarika Vitth»t 0, Dhanasri. All these classify it under Sri raga ns 8i raga though it bears the name as given by Pundarika Vitthala is an entirely different raga. With Lochanakavi it is one of the 12 mela ragas. Its notes are those of our Pantuvarali or Kama* vardhini. We ought not to confuse the Dhanasri of Lochana kavi with Danyasi of Saramrita. Sangita Sara Sangraha calls this raga “Sindhu Dhanyasi” and curiously enough this is the name mentioned for the kirtana of Tyagaraja “Entenerchina” in the edition of songs by Narasimha Bhagavathar. Srinivasa Pandit in his Raga tatva vibodha gives this as the janya of the suddha scale (Sri) and mentions that ri and dha are varja in aroha. It is very probable that even before the time of Puran- daradas the raga Dhanyasi was developing from a strict ouduva raga into what we now call an ouduva sampurna or what the ancients would call a sampurna though with a variety of rishaba and dhaivata different from the corresponding notes of the scale under which Dhanyasi was classed. As this new development of the raga became more; popular, numerous compositions appeared in it. Purandaradas composed many songs in the altered form of the raga, which is, of course, modern Dhanyasi. Bhadrachala Ramadoss, Tyagaraja and Padam composers like Kuppuswami Iyah produced many beautiful songs in them. The introduction of flat rishaba and flat nishada in the avarohana heightened the t»ARTS !— IV] t h e r a g a s o f s a r a m r i t a 123 beauty and emotion of the raga and was found suitable for highly devotional type of music. Thus the new Dhanyasi eclipsed the old. It was left to the great composer Tyagaraja to vivify the old raga Dhanyasi as it existed before it had attained earn* purnatva by composing a song of high significance. To distin guish the raga as revived the most recent lakshanakarAs have chosen to call this raga Suddha Dhanyasi. The re-christening of it by some as Udaya ravi chandrika is perhaps meant to elimi nate confusion, though it must be confessed that the character of nishada is overlooked by these well-meaning people. /*»W rn i « St. ri, ,* .H , Now Tulajendra, having finished Sri raga mela and if.s janya ragas, considers Nata raga mela. He begins by saying that of the notes of this mela, sa, ma and pa are suddha, rishaba and dhaivata are shatsruti, gandhara is antara and nishada is kakali. Of this mela the principal raga is Suddha nati. It is sampurna and bhashanga, not, indeed, in the modern sense. It omits dhaivata and gandhara in avaroha. It is sung in the even ing. Its svaragati both in the aroha and the avaroha is straight. The Udgraha prayoga is : sa sa sa ni pa ma, ri ga mapa dha ni, sa sa ni pa, pa pa, ni pa ni ni. Other prayogas are : sa sa ri ri, ri ga ma pa dha ni, sa sa ni pa, sa sa sa sa sa, ri ga ma pa ni pa sa sa. In the muktayi of Thaya is found the prayoga : sa sa sa ni pa sa sa sa sa ni. The prayoga in Prabandha is : ga ma pa sa sa, ri sa sa ri sa sa, ni sa sa ni pa ma ma ri sa. The suladi prayoga is : sa sa ni pa ma ma ri sa sa sa. Venkatamakhi after mentioning the aforesaid Lakshanas says shadja is vadi, panchama is samvadi, rishabha and dhaivata are anuvadis and gandhara and nishada are vivadis. The last two notes are called vivadis because they Come, one between shatsruti nishada and madhyama and the othrr between shatsruti ni and sa with only a resultant semitonal interval each side between. In other words these notes bring about a succession of three semitones consecutively. The addi tion of ri and ni to the varja svaras in the avaroha is evidently a mistake. Sangita sudha gives the same lakshana and like Cha turdandi Prakasika mentions the mela of Nata first. Tulajendra mentions Nata as second, only for the reason, he considered it \ 124 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY {VOL. XVII auspicious to mention “Sri” first. In the fifty melas and ragas of Vidyaranya described in Sangita Sudha it is the first. It is als one of the fifteen melas given therein. It is called Natta. It is derived f^m Pinjari considered to be a Ehasha of Hindola which itself is traced to the Grama ragas. It is in this sense that Venkatamakhi and others call it Bhashanga. This is one of the few ragas whose origin and identity is traced back to the period before Bharata, viz., to the era of Grama ragas. As in the case of this raga, it should not be impossible for patient research to establish the identity of most of the modern ragas, except for such changes as time in its progress must introduce in all things, with their prototypes of remote antiquity. Somanatha gives it as his 22nd of the 23 melas and calls it Suddha nata. The notes are the same. Ramamatya gives it as the 9th of his twenty melas and also calls it Suddha nata. Pundarika Vitthala’s des cription of the raga is identical. Lochanakavi does not mention Suddha nata, but other varieties, which are placed under his Kedara which, as I have already pointed out, corresponds to Sankarabharana mela. This raga is remarkable in the history of ragas. It is a very difficult raga to rettder. Only eminent Vid- wans with high lakshanagnana can do adequate justice to it. It has, therefore, remained exclusively with the most learned sec tion of Gayakas and Vainikas. Unlikte Anandabhairavi and other popular ragas it has suffered no distortion. The result is Nata has continued absolutely unchanged for more than two thousand years and this is one of the reasons why Lakshana- karas have traced it to the Grama period. Chalanata is the name of the mela under the system of mela names now current as well as under the system attributed to Venkatamakhi. The modern Lakshana even as given in recent publications has not changed. Though strictly speaking the arohana is full, yet in practice, the full complement of svaras is used only occasionally. It is not Chitta tanas in this raga are numerous. In truth it is very much a vainika’s raga and eminently suited for Madhyama kala or tana rendering. It must be handled with vigour and spirit, if played in the beginning of a concert, it has the effect of shaking off lethargy and dejection. The high pitch of its notes produces this result. It is the best illustration of what is known as a PARTS I— i v j THE RAGAS OF SARAMRITA 125 Ghana raga as contrasted with a naya or rakti raga like Punnaga- varali or Nadanamakriya. Tyagaraja’s '‘Jagadanandakaraka” in this raga is unmatched for its grandeur, dignity, and beauty. His "Ninne Bhajane” is widely rendered. Dikshitar’s "Sweminatha” is short and comparatively simpler. There are many Gitas, Prabandhas, and Suladis in this raga. A recent composition “Sarasiruhasana” by one Doraiswami Iyer is becoming popular both by reason of its being in the initial raga and in praise of Sarasvati who presides over Art and Learning. The only janya of Nata raga mela which Tulajendra gives is *' Udayaravichandrika.” It has shadja for graha and amsa, and presumably nyasa also. By dhaivata and gandhara being varja the raga is ouduva and like Nata is sung in the evening. The author says the raga is Bhasha of Takka. Takka of old is one of the eight ragas forming a group of Grama ragas to which class also belongs the old Hindola. The svaras always proceed straight. The Udgraha prayoga is : Sa ni pa sa ni, pa ma ri pa ma, pa sa ni sa, ri ri pa ma pa. sa ni ni sa, ni pa pa ma ri, ma sa ri ri sa sa sa. Then Thaya prayogas are given, The Gita prayoga is given as : ri ma pa ni, pa sa sa ni pa, sa sa ri ri pa pa, pa ma ri sa sa ni pa ma. Having classified this raga under the Nata mela, Tulajendra was obliged to pronounce the note corresponding to sadharana gandhara as ri. Nothing could be more unreasonable than this. The note of the pitch of sadharana gandhara should always be intoned as gandhara. It is only when the antara gandhara also comes into a raga that sadharana gandhara should be made to masquerade as rishabha though with a shatsruti value. Where, however, in a raga the gandhara of the antara variety is altogether absent as when you take the Nata scale and omit the gandhara, the supposed rishabha must at once assume its natural name and character. According to his own principle, which indeed he borrows from Venkatamakhi, the third brother, the older being higher in rank number, would be junior only in company with the fourth brother. W hen the fourth is absent the third can never be deemed junior. Similarly the svara cannot be shatsruti rishabha when antara gandhara is varja. No practical vocal musician will render the note as rishabha. Tulajendra’s 126 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY (VOL. XVII introducing of the note with the name of rishabha in the sanchars cited above is thoroughly unpractical. He ought to have re classified the raga under a different mela as for instance the 23rd in Venkatamakhi scheme, now called Gauri manohari. There appears to be no reference to this raga by Venkatamakhi or Govinda Dikshita. Sangita Sara Sangraha puts it under Nata Bhairavi as well as under Chala nata. Sampradaya Pradarsini does not deal with this raga separately. In describing Suddha Dhanyasi, Subbarama Dikshita incidentally mentions that the only difference between the two lies in the nishada. This remark is rather strange for an author whose equipment is encyclopae dic, for on the same principle you can easily say that the only difference between Kalyani and Sankarabharana is in the madhyama* In fact there appears to be no composition to illus trate the lakshana as given by Tulajendra. The next mela described by Tulajendra is Malavagaula. Of its svaras, sa ma and pa are suddha. Dhaivata and rishabha are also suddha. Gandhara is antara and nishada is kakali. The ragas born of it are firstly Malavagaula itself, then Saranga natika, Ardradesi, Chayagaula, Takka, Gurjari, Gundakriya, Phalamanjari, Nadaramakriya, Saurashtri, Mangalakaisika, Mechabauli, Magadhi, Gauri manohari, Maruva, Gaulipantu, Saveri, Purvi, all of which are sampurnas. The shadavas are : Caula, Lalita bauli, Padi, Kannada bangala, Mallahari, Purna- panchama. The ouduva janyas are : Suddha saveri, Megharanji, Revagupta. The svaragati of the Malavagaula is straight. The prayogas are : sa ri sa sa ni, sa ri sa, ri sa sa ri sa sa, ri sa sa ri, sa ni dha pa ga ri pa pa, sa ri ga ma pa dha ni sa. The Gita prayoga is given as : Sa sa ni dha ni sa ni dha pa ma, ni dha pa dha ma pa ga ma pa dha ni sa ri. Other Gita prayogas are : dha pa pa ga pa pa, ri sa ri sa sa. The omission of madhyama in some of those sancharas is not now common. Chaturdandi Prakasika calls this the Gaula mela, though Gaula is only a shadava. This mode of giving a naine for the mela from a raga that is not sampurna is unusual. Venkatamakhi does not mention any raga as Malava gaula. A ll the seven varieties of Gaula, not all of them from PARTS I—IV] THE RAGAS OF SARAMRITA 127 this mela, are said to have nishada (or graha etc. Sangita Sudha calls this mela Gurjari mela. The author questions the wisdom of calling a mela by the name of a raga which is not sampurna. It is therefore clear that even in his time, as indeed in that of Venkatamakhi, this mela was known as Gaula mela. Govinda Dikshita does not approve of naming this mela as Malavagaula mela as the raga Malavagaula was not well known. He is of opinion that the mela should be termed Gurjari Mela. That in the arohana panchama is dropped sometimes cannot deprive the Gurjari raga of its sampurnajtva as panchama is present in the Avarohana. Govinda Dikshita was indeed wrong in stating that ) M alavagaula was not a prasiddha raga, in his time. It was not only one of the best known ragas, but Purandaradas in his sys tematization of Carnatic Music adopted it as the initial scale for music instructions. Even in the age of Vidyaranya the raga must have attained high celebrity as. most writers including Somanatha, Ramamatya, Pundarika Vitthala have named the mela as Malava gauda and placed Gurjari as only a janya under it. Nothing can prove the popularity of the scale more than the number of janya ragas grouped under it. Almost every notable work on music assigns the largest number of ragas to this mela. Most feelingful ragas are born of this mela, but mostly they are soka rasa pradhana. May it not therefore be maintained that the ragas of this mela have powerful appeal on the view expressed by the poet “our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought.” The Malavagaula raga has maintained its integrity from remote past down to the present. Ashtapadis, Prabandhas, Gitas and Suladis are quite common in this melody. The Gita of Venkatamakhi is famous. But the interesting fact about that is that in the Gita the raga is called “Malavagaula”. It has been pointed out that in the Chaturdandi Prakasika the mela is simply referred to as Gaula Mela. In the Gita it is not only Malava gaula but Maya malavagaula. Even if *Maya' was added for Katapayadi calculation the name should have been “Maya Gaula” rather than Mayamalavagaula. Sampradaya Pradarsini gives a composition of Muthuswami Dikshita in this raga, being the first one pf Guruguha Kirtanas and appropriately the 128 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII Vibakthi is pratbama in it. This is evidence of the pre-eminence given to the scale by Dikshita in conformity with the tradition of Purvacharyas of whom Purandaradas is the nearest to us. Four kirtanas of Tyagaraja are current. The most notable of them is "Vidulakumrokkeda’' wherein the composer offers his saluta tions to the Purvacharyas. The raga as set for the theme is a tacit recognition of the traditional antiquity arid primary nature of it. The next Janya of Malavagaulamela is Saranga nati with shadja for graha, amsa and nyasa. It is an evening raga. Venkatamakhi states its vadi is shadja, samvadis are madhyama and panchama, anuvadis are dhaivata and rishabha and vivadis are gandhara and nishada. Tulajendra avers that the arohani is from madhya shadja to tara shadja, but the gandhara and nishada do not occur in the regular course. These notes should be used according to sandarbha which can only mean tradition and usage. The tara shadja tana prayoga is: dha sa sa ri, sa ri ma ga ri ma ma pa ma pa dha dha pa, ma pa dha sa sa. The avarohi dhaivata tana prayoga is: ni sa ri ma ga ri ga ma pa, pa pa ma. It is difficult to understand how this can be regarded as dhaivata tana in the total absence of dhaivata itself. The panchama sthayi is given as: ma pa dha ni sa, dha pa ma ma pa ma ri. Thaya prayogas are dha pa dha ma pa ni sa ri, ri sa dha pa,S3 ni dha pa, ma ma pa ma ri ma ga ri sa, dha sa ri ma ma ma pa pa dha, pa ma ga ri sa sa. Gita prayogas are, ri ri pa pa mari ri sa ni sa ri ga ma pa ma ri ri sa ni sa. Prabandha prayoga is given as; ma pa dha ni sa ri, ma ga ri sa ni dha pa, ma ga ri sa. Sangita Sudha severely criticises tlie view of those writers, who place the raga Saranga nata under the Salanga nata mela which takes the sharp rishabha and sharp dhaivata and that other janyas stated under it are to be classed under different melas. Evidently the author of Sudha is of opinion that no raga or mela of the name Saranga nata existed apart from Saranganata described by him as janya of Gurjari mela. It is not Rama matya alone who speaks of Saraga nata with sharp rishaba and sharp dhaivata under a mela of the same name. Somanatha mentions Saranga nata as a janya of Mallari which in the notes PARTS I~IV] THE RAGAS OF SARAMRITA 129 taken corresponds to Saranganata of Ramamatya which is practi cally Sankarabharana. The Janyaragas which Govinda Dikshita complains of as wrongly placed under Salanganata and disposed by him under different melas, are also placed by Somanatha under Mallari. Pundarika Vitthala also places Saranganata under Kedara which takes sharp rishabha and dhaivata. The common inference from these facts is that ragas having the same name came to be rendered differently in different parts of the country or in different ages, the variable notes being changed. For instance while Bhupali of the South takes flat varieties of rishabha, gandhara and dhaivata, the raga of the same name in the north is sung with the sharp varieties of these notes. The notes themselves are not changed but their variety. As we pro ceed with other ragas, many instances of this change will be found. Practical music in a wide country like ours cannot always continue unchanged. A lakshanakara should take note of these changes and explain. Nothing, therefore, seems more appro priate than the inclusion of a brief history of the raga in the books that give its lakshana. In Sampradaya Pradarsini only one composition of Dikshita is given. No song of Tyagaraja in this raga appears in the printed editions of his songs. It seems as if this raga went out of vogue even in Tyagaraja's time. The use of rishabha and dhaivata was evidently unsettled both in the svarakrama as well as their sruti values. On the other hand, Saveri was straight and unambiguous in its notes and did not in bhava, differ substantially from Saranganata as a janya of Malavagaula mela and came to be favoured more to the gradual exclusion of the dubious raga. When there is a violent differ ence as to the lakshana of a raga it is not unusual ior practical artists to abandon it particularly when there is another raga almost like it. This is one of the reasons why Vasanta came to be favoured more than Lalita. It looks as if Saranganata ceased to be current for more than two centuries. It is true Dikshitar has composed a song in it. It was one of his aims to revive disused ragas. Tyagaraja also revived extinct ragas but he did so only when they had a chance of independent existence, and clear identity. It will not be a surprise if Tyagaraja has not composed 17 130 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VO L. XVII in this raga. It may be pointed out that the distinction between Saranganata and Salanganata now made is illusory. Both the names mean the same raga. Ardradesi is the next raga described by Tulajendra. It is a janya of Malavagaula mela. It is sampurna with shadja for graha and nyasa. It is a morning raga. Its svaragati in Edupu is as follows: ri sa dha sa ri ga ma ma, sa sa dha dha pa ma ma, ga ga ga ri sa dha dha pa dha ni sa dha. The tana of madhyama is: sa ri ri sa dha sa ri ga ma ga ga ri. The Thaya prayoga is: sa dha dha dha pa dha, ni dha pa ma, dha dha pa ma, pa pa ma, ga ga ri The Gita prayoga is given as: sa ri ga ma pa dha ni sa sa ri sa ni., dha pa pa ma ga ri. The Suladi prayoga is: sa sa ri sa ri ma ma ma ma sa, dha dha dha pa dha pa pa pa pa dha sa sa dha pa pa, ga ga ri. It will be noticed from these prayogas that nishada is used occasionally in the Aroha and that prayogas like ga ga ri and sa dha dha are characteristic. This raga does not appear to have engaged the attention of other writers. Sangita Sara Sangraha gives its aroha as full and its avaroha as: sa dha pa ma ga ri sa. This looks correct enough. Subbarama Dikshita makes the avarohana also complete and draws attention to the charac teristic prayogas noted above. He gives a composition of Muthuswami Dikshita* No song of Tyagaraja is current in this raga. Chayagaula is the next raga considered. It is a janya of Malavagaula mela, sampurna with nishada for Graha and may be sung always. The svaragati in aroha and avaroha is regular as well as irregular. The prayogas are: ma ma ga sa, ri sa ni sa dha sa sa ri, sa ri ga ma ri ga ma pa dha dha pa ma ma pa dha sa ni sa, dha dha pa pa ma ma ga sa. The Thaya prayogas are: ri ga ma pa dha ni ni sa, sa ni dha pa ma ma ma ga sa. Gita prayoga is : ma ma pa pa dha pa dha ni sa sa sa ni dha dha pa pa ma ga ma. The Suladi Prayoga is: roa ma ma ma ma pa dha dha ni sa, sa ni pa ma ga ri ma ma ma ma. The Suladi prayoga seems to emphasize the madhyama. In other prayogas there appears to be frequent omission of rishabha and nishada. Venkatamakhi simply mentions it is a sampurna raga, janya of Gaula mela with nishada for graha. Sangita Sudha has identical observations to ft ■' • ■ 1PARTS I— IV] THE RAGAS OF SARAMRITA 131 make, only the name of the mela is given as Gurjari. Rama- maty a treats this raga as the Janya of Malavagaula. Sampradaya Pradarsini contains one Kirtana of Dikshitar. The usual gita of Venkatamakhi is absent in it. In the lakshana sloka cited in it ga and ni are said to be varja in aroha. Takka is the next raga. It is a janya of Malavagaula, sampurna with shadja for graha, amsa and nyasa. The use of panchama in it is alpa. Its svaragati is mentioned as "Dura sangatika” as will be evidenced by the prayogas: ma ga ma, ri ri ga ma, dha dha ni sa, ni dha ma ma ri, ga ri ri ga ma sa. The Alpa panchama occurs in the phrase: sa ma pa .ni ga sa ma. Perhaps this last is the best illustration of ‘Dura sangatika’. Sampradaya Pradarsini makes ri in aroha and ri and ni in avaroha varja and pa alpa. Most writers do not mention Takka in their works. Pundarika Vitthala gives it as a Janya of Malavagaula. Among the grama ragas and their derivations, the name Takka with or without prefixes occurs often. It is given as one of the group of grama ragas of which Hindola also is one. Other groups include names like Takka Kaisika and Takka Saindhava. Among the Upangas Kolahala is said to be derived from Takka. It is probable that Takka as described in Saramrita is a revival of what may be deemed a survival though in altered form of the raga of old, as it might have lingered in parts of Northern India. Sampradaya Pradarsini gives a composition of Muthuswami Dikshita. There is a composition of Tyagaraja in the raga “Raka sasi vadana”. In the two Gitas of Venkatamakhi given by Subbarama Dikshita one is without panchama and the other with occasional panchama. Gurjari is the next raga. It is a Janya of Malava Gaula mela and sampurna. It is sung in the morning. Its graha is rishabha. It does not have a madhyamanta Murchana as sa ri ga ma. The svaragati is described as avakra sandarbha. The Udgraha prayoga is: pa dha ri sa sa sa ri dha ga dha pa ma, ga ma dha ni sa, ni dha pa ma ga ga ga ri. The Thaya prayogas are: ri sa ni sa dha sa ri sa ni sa, ri sa ni sa, dha sa ri sa dha, ri ga pa ma ga sa, dha ni sa dha pa ma, pa ma ga ga ri ri sa ni sa sa. 132 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII The Gita prayogas are; ni dha dha ni dha, dha ni dha pa ga dha dha pa pa ma ga ga ga ri, ga ma pa dha ni sa ri sa ni pa dha ri sa ni sa sa, sa ri ga ma pa dha ni sa ri ga, ri sa ni dha pa ma ga ri sa. Venkatamakhi calls this raga Raganga born of Gaula Mela and says Dhaivata is varja in avaroha and its graha is rishabha. Sangita Sudha makes this raga the most important of the scale which is named after it and states that some think that panchama is varja in aroha. This raga is noticed by the following writers in addition, Somanatha, Rama matya, Pundarika Vitthala and Lochana Kavi. It is one of the pure ragas that have remained unaltered both in the northern and southern systems, though it must be owned that at present it is not current in the south as a raga rendered in alapana. That it had continuity from the period of classic tradition down to the time of Tyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshita who composed in this raga, is evident. It has remained dormant during the recent epochs on account of the greater popularity and freedom of the raga Malava gaula itself. The operation of the principle of the survival of the fittest is as effective in the field of art as in the domain of life in the biological sense. A master composer might succeed in envisaging the raga form ; but an alapana of it by a musician of an ordinary calibre is difficult. To-day the raga lives only in compositions. I must here point out the mistake some people make in interpreting alpa panchama to mean a panchama of less than four srutis and singing the raga with pra- timadhyama. There is no pratimadhyama at all in this raga. Gundakriya is the next raga. It is a Janya of Malavagaula mela. It is sampurna with shadja for graha, amsa and nyasa. Its svaragati is described as sama as well as vishama. The prayo gas are ; ma pa ma ga ri sa, ga ma pa sa ni ma pa ma, ga ma pa ga ri sa, ri sa ni sa sa, Thaya prayogas are : ga ma ga sa ri sa ni, sa ri sa ri, ga ma ga sa ri sa ni ; ri sa ni sa, ga ri sa ni pa ma ma, ma ga ri, sa ri sa ri pa ma ga sa ri, sa ni sa sa ; dha dha dha pa ma ri ga ma pa, ga ma pa ni sa ri sa ni pa ma ma pa ma, pa pa ni sa sa. You will find here that dhaivata is used only very occa sionally, In fact in the above prayogas it occurs only in one phrase. Venkatamakiii has nothing more to say than that it is P a r t s i — iv] t h e r a g a s o f s a r a m r i t a 133 a sampurna janya ol Gaulamela with sa graha. Sangita Sudha is also to the same effect. Somanatha, Ramamatya and Punda- rika Vitthala speak of it as Gundakriya. Gaudakriya, Gundakari or Gundakriti. The Raga is fairly old. In the modern version of the raga also the dhaivata is very occasional. Sangita Sara Sangraha gives the aroha as : sa ri pa ma ni sa (perhaps it ought to be sa ri ma^ pa ni sa) and avaroha as : sa ni pa dha pa ma ga ri sa. In the Sampradaya Pradarsini the arohana Murchana is given as : sa ri ga ma pa dha ni sa and avaroha as : sa ni pa ma ga ma dha pa ma ga ri sa. It cites the Raganga raga lakshana gita of Venkatamakhi which contains the names of 72 melas supposed to have been given by Venkata makhi. The strangest thing about it is that at the end, the gita mentions the number of srutis as 24. In the mela chapter of Chaturdandi Prakasika Venkatamakhi describes his 19 melas in terms of svaras the sruti value of every one of which he gives and shows how in each mela the srutis total 22. If there was one thing he was particular about it is, that, no matter what the scale is, in no case can the total number of the srutis of its svaras be anything but 22. It is hardly to be expected that he would subscribe to the theory of 24 srutis in view of his strong convic tion of the inescapable nature of 22 srutis. This circumstance throws considerable doubt on the authenticity of the Gita refer red to above. The Sampradaya Pradarsini contains a composition of Muthuswami Dikshita in this raga. The Kirtana of Thyaga- raja “ Intanuchu *' in Gundakriya sparkling with grace and viva city appears to be the only composition by means of which a knowledge of the raga is ordinarily gained. Phalamanjari is next described, it is a janya of Malava gaula, sampurna, with shadja for graha, amsa and nyasa. It is sung in the evening. Its svaragati is as follows : sa ii ni dha ni sa ri ga ga ma dha pa dha pa ma ga dha dha sa sa ni sa, ni dha ni dha dha pa ma ga ma ri sa, ri sa ni dha, ni sa ri sa sa ; ga ga ma ri sa ; ma ga ma ri sa, ma ga ma ri sa, ma ga pa ma, ma ga ma ri sa ma ga ma dha dha, sa ni sa, ni dha pa ma, ma ga ma ri sa. It seems clear from this that the most characteristic prayoga is : ma ga ma ri sa. Tulajendra refers to the svaragati as Samslishta 134 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII by which I suppose is meant the svaras are closely linked. Pha- lamanjari is not mentioned by any writer except Ramamatya who also makes it a Janya of Malavagaula Mela. Pundarika Vit- thala speaks of a Prathamamanjari The familiar/ com position of Tyagaraja “ Sanatana ” is sung in Karahara- priya Mela. Sangita Sara Sangraha places Phalamanjari under the 22nd mela and gives its aroha as : Sa ga ma dha sa and ava- roha as : sa ni dha pa ma ga ma ri sa. The characteristic ma ga ma ri sa is also here. Here is an instance of a raga changing over from one scale to another. This is not a strange phenome non. Even during recent times such occurrences have taken place. Dikshitas's Kirtana in Tarangini known as ‘Maye* was composed in the 26th scale of Venkatamakhi. It is now rend ered in the 28th scale. Few who have heard the present render ing will consent to the mela changed back again. Rakti is the supreme test by which these changes have to be judged and an alteration is to be opposed only when it fails to stand that test. Sampradaya Pradarsini does not consider Phalamanjai.’ {To be continued). SRI MUTHIA BHAGAVATAR BY T . V . Subba R a o . It is sad to contemplate that within the last few years many musicians of repute have passed away ; perhaps the most notable of them was Muthia Bhagavatar. He was a distinguished Vid van* prolific composer and staunch supporter of high traditions of Sangita. His loss to the world of music just when Indian culture is on the threshold of a great revival is irreparable. His absence from the music conference where his voice had prevailed with authority would cast a gloom for years to come. Courts of princes and halls of music would lack the brilliance of his genial figure. Many a young and aspiring musician would stand bereft of his encouraging word, kind look and sympathetic heart. The Music Academy and other kindred institutions have lost a loyal PARTS I—-IV] SRI MUTHIA BHAGAVATAR 135 friend and unfaultering guide. It is our duty to venerate his memory and cherish the compositions he has bequeathed for our delectation. Born in 1877 in the southernmost district of the province destined to be the last strong-hold of receding orthodoxy, young Muthia was early intended for the traditional Brahminical calling of Vedadhyayana. It was not long, however, before it was discovered that his natural bent of mind was for Sangita. Before he could pursue his studies in the congenial environment of his native home, domestic misfortunes overtook him and he was at so early an age forced to travel alone and unprovided to the district of Tanjore to sit at the feet of the illustrious musicians then living. He acquired his first training under Patnam Subrahmanya Iyer and later under Sambasiva Iyer. Privations and hardships put a premature end to his studies and he had to return home after an arduous journey part of which had to be made on foot. Neverthe less his education, such as it was, included the study of a large number of gitas, chitta tanas, prabandhas and some suladis. It is a pity that young vidvans of these days seldom pifjp ?ny heed 10 leaning these types oS coraptyiftionAv''it is indeed tragic that the old pieces are passing out of vogue. It cannot be emphasised too often that if the tradition of rendering them is lost altogether, it will be impossible to revive it. It is the sacred duty of all institutions that foster carnatic music to keep alive the ancient practice. Though the knowledge of the Bhagavatar of the Kirtanas of Tyagaraja was vast, yet it was his mastery of the older com positions that gave him the confidence in the exposition of raga- lakshanas. If some of our vidvans had learnt even a single grahasvara prabandha, they • would not have fought shy of the principle of Graha or Sruti bheda. I hope the junior vidvans would follow the example of the Bhagavatar and learn lakshana gitas and prabandhas. These pieces form the most authentic history of the form and development of ragas. Their salvage ought to be the first concern of every institution which aims higher than provision of music as amusement. Muthia Bhagavatar started his career as musician much be fore he was twenty and met with good success till his voice 1 36 THE j o u r n a l o f t h e m u s i c a c a d e m y [v o l . XVII through misfortune lost the ring in it in the early years of this century. With a rare presence of mind, however, he took to giving Kalakshepas which soon proved very popular. His discourse was captivating, his wit, sparkling and his music, matchless. His performance generally closed with his play on gottuvadya, an instrument made familiar to South India by Srinivasa Rao and his talented son Sakkarama Rao of Tanjore. The Bhagavatar how ever used only the tambura for his play. The Kalakshepa was for him only a sort of diversion which earned for him easy means of a comfortable life. He never lost the noble rage for cultivating music proper. Though concerts by him before the public were rare, yet only the highest kind of sangita engaged his serious attention. He never ceased to regret the cruel accident which in his first attempt to sing before the Prince of Travancore, caused such permanent injury to his voice that all his hopes of becoming a musician were for ever frustrated. Nothing daunted he pursued his life work of making music the expression of man’s inmost being. The Kalakshepa not only supplied bi? ptfjjraical wants, but served incidentally to urge him to study the bhava o( gOJ\g* lj>T citation hr ne/evant kathas. Unlike the common class of artistes he soon became an adept in the exposition of songs of Tyagaraja. The same cir-• cumstance was equally instrumental in bringing out the latent talent in him for composing. His early experiments were perhaps occasioned by the necessity to introduce apt pieces in the prelimi nary part of the narrative. His songs “Kalilo” and “Vallinayaka” appear to belong to this class. His new experience must have thrilled him with exhilaration. It was a rediscovery and recap ture of his soul that had been aimlessly drifting. It was an awak ening of profound significance to his future. He realized that it was as a composer that he was destined to fulfil the ordained purpose of his life. He felt the call to compose and indulged his irrepressible craving. The realm of Music is richer today by his contribution. The fate that marred his voice was a blessing in disguise, for the fame and service of a composer are far more enduring than of a musician. Having composed a series of songs on Sri Chamundesvari, he waited upon the Maharajah of Mysore for an audience. The . ______■ ...... SRI MVTHIA BHAGAVATAR 1 3 7 Prince heard, him and rewarded him but on the common scale. Not content with the impression he had made, he resigned to the will of the deity in whose praise he had composed and kept on singing till the prince came and listened to the songs with the attention they deserved. His effort was successful. He obtained not only generous recognition for his merit, but also commission to compose in Kannada astottarasata kirtanas on Sri Chamundes- vari, the titular deity of the ruling family. The completion of the appointed task was signalized by the conferment of titles, honours and presents on the author. Henceforth the Bhagavatar was a distinguished Asthana Vidvan treated with all the splendour of a favoured courtier. He was provided with a residence and life pension worthy of his pre-eminence. What is more, he enjoyed in full measure the friendship and confidence of the royal house of Mysore. It was about this time that heavy domestic calamity laid him prostrate with inconsolable grief. He lost his daughter, his only child that bound him to his home. Unable to look upon a scene of poignant memories, he set out on a long journey to Northern India and sought relief in visiting new places and cultivating new melodies. The great cities and centres of learning he saw liberalized his mind and he returned home vastly enriched by the experiences of travel. Though eminently practical in his outlook, the Bhagavatar's regard for the academic side of art was indeed remarkable for those times. He had rendered valuable service in the conference organized by the late Abraham Panditar of Tanjore. He had also started a music school of his own. It was, however, after the founding of the Music Academy that his academic talent be c a m e well discernible. For the first two years he watched the progress of the institution from without. Then firmly convinced that its one aim was to promote the very cause that was dear to him. he became a loyal supporter and ardent worker in all its activities. In 1930 he presided over its conference and was for over a year Principal of its Music College. In its annual confer ences he was a prominent figure and the printed reports: of the 18 , - HI 13 8 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII proceedings bear ample testimony to bis earnestness, skill and knowledge in debate. He was always listened to witb respect and bis contribution to tbe discussion was as illuminating as it was profound. His attachment to tbe Academy was so intense and bis loyalty to it so stern that he could never think of participating in the work of other institutions of similar kind. He was firmly persuaded that to run a conference outside the Academy was downright mockery. He, therefore, declined to have link with rival institutions. In the work of the Academy I have had the good fortune to enjoy his confidence as few others and I can say from my place that his unbounded affection for the Academy remains unsurpassed among the professional musicians. The institution owes not a little to the active co-operation of him whose memory we are cherishing today and of the distinguished presi dent of this function whom God long spare to be with us to guide and help. .*' , l-i }, t ~ „ . «, . . t (t ' < « ' „„ * ■ The royal house of Travancore whose zeal for the advance ment of music is unbounded could not be indifferent to the high attainments of the Bhagavatar as composer, musician and acade mician. His services were eagerly sought and readily obtained in the revival of the compositions of Maharaja Svati Tirunal. Appointed principal of the Svati Tirunal Academy of Music, he did magnificent work in popularizing and spreading the songs of the Maharaja. In recognition of his work the University of Travancore conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters. He had already received from the Darbar of Mysore the title of Gayakasikhamani” and later from the Academy, of “Sangitakalanidhi’\ It is, however, as a composer that he will be remembered by posterity. He was a versatile genius as successful in composing a varna as a kirtana. Vina Kuppa Iyer was the last of the great Varna composers and few of the modern song writers think of composing varnas. It is a tragedy that the importance of the varna is being overlooked. Its study is the key to the m'astery over the technical intricacies of sangita. 1 hope the wholesome practice of singing and composing varnas will not disappear. The single piece, “Viriboni’' has made the composer immortal. It has PARTS I— tv] SRI MUTHIA BHAGAVATAR 139 served to shape the style of the great trinity. No composer could be oblivious to the importance of the varna in musical education. The Bhagavatar with a true sense of intrinsic values has left us a few varnas the most notable of which is in Todi raga after the model of Gopala Iyer's famous piece in the same raga. The bulk of his work is, however, kirtanas in Telugu, Kannada and Samskrita. They are found in vilamba and roadhya lay a in prasiddha talas. The sahitya is generally simple and devotional in character. The music of his pieces bears the impress of high craftsmanship. The songs are elegant and make a ready appeal to the hearers. His style is largely influenced by the classic models of Sri 1 yagaraja whose songs he had critically studied. The best of all his Kalakshepas were those he gave on the life of the saintly composer. They extended over several days and in cluded the expositive rendering in whole or in part of hundreds of kirtanas of Tyagaraja. He was far too deeply steeped in the traditions of that composer to be diverted into other styles of writing. He was indeed an ardent admirer of other eminent composers, but his natural taste and aptitude were in the direc tion of Tyagaraja. His songs bear unmistakable evidence of affinity to the madhyamakala kirtanas of Tyagaraja and Patnam Subrahmanya Iyer. Like them he composed in apurva ragas. The eongs in Hamsanandi, Gaudmalhar, Vijayanagari, Valaji and full scale ragas like Nathabhairavi and Subha Pantuvarali leave no doubt as to the source of his inspiration. His compositions are brisk, sparkling and lively. The eminence and popularity of the Bhagavatar rested oil human qualities no less than his musical talent. Physically he was a person of large build, massive face and broad forehead. He was gaudy and almost extravagant in dress. His love of finery is attributable less to his vanity than to an aesthetic appreciation of the beauty of ornaments and decoration. He lived a life of comfort, ease and luxury. He was a generous host lavish in entertainment. He never moved without large paraphernalia and numerous attendants. He had a dignified appearance and a winning personality. 140 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII W hile pomp, ceremony and circumstance had fascination for him, his heart was simple, kindly and affectionate. He was cap able of deep and abiding friendship and could discover merit even if hidden in the obscurity of shy modesty. He was generous in appreciation of musicians who sought royal patronage through his influence. His large heart harboured no traces of envy. He was fond of company and loved fun and jokes. He was endowed with remarkable powers of speech which moved and charmed even the most indifferent hearers. His ready wit and bubbling humour kept his audience in high spirits. His capacity for illumining obscure topics by the aptness of his comparisons was amazing. I cannot recall without delight many an interesting passage at arms when he figured in the debates of the conferences. His utterances were always characterized by courtesy, refinement and self-possession. He was a worthy composer, impressive teacher, keen debater and kindly person. We mourn his loss as we honour his memory. It may be, perhaps for many years to come, we shall not look upon his like again. - ...... THE MANNER OF ‘APPLAUSE’ IN ANCIENT INDIAN STAGE By P r o f . O. C. G a n g o o l v , Calcutta. A few years ago, Rabindranath Tagore, the poet laureate of Asia, suggested a ban against the practice of offering ‘Applause’ by appreciative members of any audience in any music or drama tic recitals, by clapping their hands—to encourage the performers, singers, or actors—by indicating by this noisy gesture their appre ciation of the quality or merits of the performance. It was asserted that this practice was an innovation introduced from the West and had no precedents in the practices of the ancient Indian dramatic or musical performances. In Indian practice the ‘Clapping of hands’ {Tali, Tala) was a gesture of derision, rather than of appreciation. And in support of this view, reference was made to various passages in Vaish nava literature in Bengali bearing on the woes and lamentations of Radha, when abandoned or forgotten by Lord Krishna, when He ran after the numerous rival lovers, such as Chandravali for the partiality of whose Love, the Lord on many occasions deserted Radhika, to seek amours in the blessed power of Chandravali, leaving Radha dejected and forlorn. It is said that on such occasions, Chandravali would gloat over and enjoy the discomfiture of her rejected rival. Indeed the jealousy and rivalry of the loves of Chandravali and Radhika offer a very piquant motif to the Bengali Vaishnava poets for devising inter esting anecdotes to set off the love of'Radha against that of Chandravali or vice versa. On one occasion, when Radha, left alone in her bower, deserted by her Divine Lover, was bemoan ing her fate in terms of loud lamentation, her great comrade and confidente Sakhi Lalita, rebuked Radha and exhorted her to stop her lamentations, as, if her shrieks reached the ears of Chandra vali, she will rejoice in her suffering, and ‘clap her hands in derision.’ The actual words of Lalita were :—Katha sune Chan- dravali, dive Karatali, that is to say, ‘if Chandravali comes to hear 14 2 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII of this story, she will clap her hands (in derision and in triumphant glee, over her own love predominating over the Lord, defeating the love of Radha). Here, the ‘clapping of hands’ (Kara-tali) is an obvious gesture of derision. There are similar examples in which the gesture of clapping is used to indicate ‘derision*. And Tagore’s point was that in adopting the European method of indi cating appreciation, one would be expressing ‘derision’ instead of ‘applause’ in the current accepted meaning of the gesture. There is no doubt, that in some usage, Kara-tali has been used to indicate ‘derision’ in some cases. But 1 have discovered eviden ces to show, that the ‘Clapping of hands* also indicated an expression of appreciation and applause in the manner of the European practice. My first citation is from the Bala-Ratnayanam (a work of about the 16th century), * Act VIII, where the Durmukha says : " Vancita-nisacara-loka-locanam paraspara-datta—hasta-talam ca prahasita apsarasah." Here, the ‘Clapping of hands’ (hasta-talam) appears to be indulged in by the celestial Angels in a mood of hilarious ecstacy to express a note of fun rather than of ap preciation. But the meaning is not quite clear to me. But my best evidence as to the old significance attached to the clapping of hands is the 'Story of the Fool who asked his way to the vil lage’ given in the Katha-sarit-sagara (Saktiyaso-Lambaka, 9th Taranga, 208-211). A fool asking his way to a village was shown in the direction of a high tree in front. He mistook the tree as the way and climbing up hung himself from the end of a jutting branch in a vain attempt to find his way to the village. He wanted to be rescued from this precarious position and called out to a driver on his elephant who was passing that way. The driver sitting on his elephant approached the hanging fool and held him by his feet asking him to descend on the back of the elephant. Just at this moment, the elephant strayed away from the spot, leaving the driver hanging from the feet of the fool, who clung to the tree. Hours passed away in this position, nobody coming to their rescue. W eary of waiting, the fool suggested that the driver * The quotation is from the Balaramayana of Rajasekhara who flou rished about A. D. 900.—V . R. PARTS I— IV] ‘APPLAUSE’ IN ANCIENT INDIAN STAGE 143 should give a song to attract distant hearers to come to their rescue. The driver gave a song which was very much apprecia ted by the fool who in a mood of passionate appreciation clapped his hands in applause, forgetting that he was supporting himself by holding the branch of the tree, with the result that in his mood of musical ecstacy, he let go his hands as he clap ped them and both the driver and the fool came to grief by being thrown down violently on terra firma. Here, the ‘Clapping of hands’ is an undoubted gesture of appreciation and not of deri sion. We may conclude that at least in the 11th century (the date of the Katha-sarit-sagara) the Indian practice was to clap with both hands (dvabhyatn hastabhyam chotikam) to express appreciation (Sadhu-vada) of any musical performance, t In this connection I am tempted to allude to a related prac tice, still current in European stage performances, namely, when a singer or an actor retires from the stage after the end of an act, and the curtain is wrung down, an appreciative audience by means of repeated applauses calls back the performer to appear on the stage again, to receive the homage of the audience. This was exactly the practice on the Indian stage in former times. There is a passage in the Sankhya-tattva-kaumudi which runs thus : " Nartaki nrtya-parisadbhyo darsayitva nivrttapi punastaddristikautuhalat pravarttate” + ‘The dancer after having exhibited her skill to the dance-assembly (audience) and having gone back (to the green-room) has to come back again to satisfy the curiosity (of the assembly).’ t Tatah 8a (murkhah) tvaiayan bhauto hastyaroham tamabbydbat ! Yadi janasi tacohighram yat kincit giyatam tvaya !! 208 Ito’ vatarayejjatu yacchrutvagatya nau janab ! Patifcavanyathadhastaddharedavamiyam nadi 11 209 Ityuktah Sa gajarohastena manju tatba jagau I Yatha Sa eva bhauto’tra paritosamagat param !! 210 11 Sadhu-vadam ca sa dadadvismrityojjhita-padapah !! Datumpravartata dvabhyam hastabhyam Chotikam jadah II 211 !! Katha-Sarifc sagara Saktiyaso-lambaka, 9th Taranga, 208—211. | Edition of Ganganath Jha, Bombay 1896, P. 74 line-15—16. I am ip. debted to Professor Dasarathi Sarma for the reference. 144 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII There is no doubt whatsoever that the dancer has to appear again in answer to the demands of the members of the audience, who are anxious to see her again, evidently to offer their ovations. It is not clear by what means the ‘Call’ for her re appearance was made. Very probably the ‘Clapping of hands’ was the form of the demand. If this surmise is correct, this would be another evidence of interpreting the gesture a» indica tive of ‘Applause/ A NOTE ON "APPLAUSE IN ANCIENT INDIA" ■ ; V ' ' - "• ■' ■<;<■*■■■■ ’■ V . : ’’ J*-* i d I tW By D r. V. R a g h a v a n The evidence on the practice of applause is not clear. In the passage cited by Prof. Gangooly from the Kathasaritsag&ra, the word used by Somadeva, ‘chotika,’ does not mean exactly ‘applause* or 'clapping', though the word ‘Hastabhyam’—"by both hands”—used along with it is likely to lead one to that meaning. Chotika is, properly speaking, ‘snapping of the fingers’, and as a milder form of keeping Tala, snapping of the fingers is quite common among both singers and appreciative listeners; and snapping of fingers on both the hands is also known and is likely to manifest itself when appreciation or joy mounts up. Soma deva does not use the word Tala meaning specifically clapping. In the last verse quoted (211), ‘Sadhuvadam dadat’ and ‘datum chotikam’ are two different sentence-units, not going together, the former-referring to a verbal expression of appreciation, and the latter to the physical concomitant of snapping the fingers in keeping with the rhythm of the song. As Prof. Gangooly himself says in connection with his citation from the Balaramayana, literary references available on the act of clapping hands, kara-tala, point only to that act as signifying Prahasa, laughing at or hilarious fun, rather than appreciation. We have the following beautiful gatha in Hala Satavahana’s Prakrit anthology, Gathasaptasati: Hasitam sahastatalam sushkavatam upagataih pathikaih I Patra-phala-sadrisam uddine sukavrinde asmin // 3. 63. \ PARTS 1 - I V ] A ROTE OS “APPLAUSE IS aSCIEST ISDIA" 14$ Wayfarers sought a highway banyan and were resting under it; suddenly there was a flutter, the shade disappeared, and when they looked up, bevies of green-bodied, red-beaked parrots flew away, leaving the boughs of the banyan barren; they clapp* ed their hands and laughed. For, what they had sought and taken shelter under as the shade of a tree in full foliage turned out to be a joke; vast numbers of parrots sitting on the barreii. tree, with their green bodies and red beaks, gave the appearance of foliage and berries! Clapping or Hastatala Here is not applause in appreciation, < * We have this in Magha's Sisupalavadha, 15.39;—Sa jaha&a datta-karatalam uccakaih. Here again clapping figures as an anubhava of ‘laughing at’ in haughtiness. Such early evidences would support more the contention of Rabindranath that the practice of applause has no basis in ancient Indian modes of stage-appreciation. It is however not an impossible phenomenon in language, if by the well-known gradual process of semantic shift from ‘laughing at’ ‘to hilarious laughter', from that to expression of joy and therefrom to an ex pression of appreciation, kara-tala came to mean in course of time appreciative applause; but not only no clinching literary reference has so far been found in its support, but all available reference to kara-tala shows it to be only a gesture of derisibn> 9 • ,;f J '{ • A \ .T It is pertinent in this connection to turn the pages of the encyclopoedic Natya Sastra of Bharata. One of the eleven topics of Natya enumerated by Bharata in VI. 10 is Siddhi— success of the show or dramatic production. Bharata takes tip the detailed treatment of this topic of Siddhi in Ch. 27. Siddhi is classified by Bharata as primarily twofold, Daivd and Manusa\ while the former is of only two kinds, the latter is of ten kinds, being related to several kinds of feelings and manifesting itself in verbal, physical or mental expression. Siddhi in this respect refers to the subject we are discussing, viz., appreciation of the art by the audience. Oral Siddhi, Bharata says, is of the form of smile, half-laughter, loud laughter, saying / Sadhu.W Aho\ ' Kaahtam’, and also louder sympathetic vocal expression. Physi cal Siddhi is expression of appreciation through the limbs of 19 M 6 j t h e j o u e n a l q f t h e m u s i c a c a d e m y [v o u x v i i one’? body; it takes the form of* horripilation’. * rising in one's seat*. ‘ waving the upper garment (uttariya)* ami Angulikahepa. Bharata then proceeds to mention the respective contexts where each one of these modes of expressing appreciation will be appropriate. It must be noted that Bharata does not speak at all in this context of the clapping of hands in appreciation. We may think that the waving of handkerchief today is a custom borrowed by us from the West; but corresponding to this, we had in ancient India the custom of waving one's upper gar ment to cheer or express one’s great glee on seeing one do something wonderful. In the Sundarakanda of the Ramayana, when the monkeys awaiting Hanuman's return from Lanka saw his figure advancing along the skies towards them, they jumped upon tree-tops in their great glee, and taking twigs in blossom waved them like garments. Grihya sakhah supushpitahll Vasamsiva prasakhasca samaviddhyanta vanarah / (M.L.J. Edn. V. 57. 26-7), When Arjuna in the guise of a Brahman arose from among the gathering of Brahmans at the Svayamvara of Draupadi and successfully performed the feat of piercing the fish in thp Matsya Yantra, the Brahmans burst into joy and waved their garments. “Celani vivyadhuh tatra” (Mahabharata, Adi, 203.26, Kumbhakonam edn.). Again, when Arjuna scored over Kama, we are told, the Brahmans, such as had only upper garments pf dear skin waved those garments,— Ajinani Vidhu- nvantah (ibid 205.1). It is this waving of one’s upper garment that Bharata mentions among the forms of physical Siddhi. This is an exactly appropriate context where one can look for mention of hand-clap; its absence here is very significant. Just as we wave a kerchief to cheer or wish bon voyage to a friend going away, we also hold aloft our mere hand, or in addi tion wave it wholesale, or wave only the fingers of the upraised hand‘d This again is not a purely modern habit borrowed from the West. When Rama, Sita and others are returning by air from Lanka after the victory over Ravana, Kalidasa says that Sage Sntikshna, doing penartce below, lifts his hand in the direc- tibn of the Pushpaka and wishes Rama favourable and happy p a r t s i — i v j a n o t e o n “applause in ancient india” 147 travel. (Raghuvamsa, XIII. 43). The raising ol the hand in this manner is called Pradhva. From the fact that Panini has a special sutra to explain this expression Pradhva (1.4.78), we learn that this is a very ancient custom. The Anguli-kshepa mentioned by Bharata along with the throwing up or waving of the upper garment is evidently a form of this Pradhva with the waving of fingers prominent in the act. The throwing up of hands is indeed a natural manifestation of one's joy. The form of this Anguli-kshepa is made a Httlq clearer by the comments of Abhinavagupta on this passage in Bharata; he says in his Abhinavabharati on the Natya Sastra : " Yatha Celadiprakshepah, Celadyabhave ca Urdhvangulikara- nadi.” Madras Ms. Vol. III. p. 88. According to Abhinava gupta, this act of the hand or fingers is done when one does not have a piece of cloth to throw up or wave. It appears therefore, that this Anguli-kshepa is only the waving of fingers of a hand thrown up in excitement. This is also in accordance with the situations which Bharata gives, contexts of exploits of heroism, wonder and ferocity as appropriate to these physical forms of the Siddhi. This testimony of Bharata who does not include the clapping of hands among modes of expressing appreciation is of greatest value. Prof, Gangooli cites a passage in Vachaspati Misra’s commen tary on the Samkhyakarikas as making a reference to the prac tice of an artist giving a second appearance in response to the appreciative call from the audience expressed through repeated applause. The context in the Samkhya Karikas and Vachaspati’s comments do not bear out this meaning. Karika 59 says that just as a danseuse retires after exhibiting her dance to the audience, so also Prakriti retires after showing herself in her play of Gunas to the Purusha, and Karika 61 answers the possible objection raised on the analogy of the danseuse that though her show is finished, she may come again, if the audience feels like seeing her again; and Isvara Krishna answers that Prakriti is a delicate type of danseuse who, when once she knows she has been seen through by Purusha, refrains from appearing before him for ever. The pos sible second appearance of an ordinary danseuse as a result of 148 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII the eagerness of the audience is not in response to the call of appreciative applause to receive the homage of the spectators; what is really meant is a fresh and further performance started again for the sake of the audience which is eager to see again or see more of her dance; it is not a mere appearance again for a moment to take the homage of an applauding audience. The Samkhya tenets involved herein, the conception of Prakriti and Purusha, the theory of Purusha's (supposed) experience of the material phenomenon thrown up by Prakriti, and the view of Purusha getting Viveka, and Prakriti thereupon withdrawing itself completely from Purusha,—these do not give any room for the meaning put by Prof. Gangooly on Vachaspati’s remarks. According to the Samkhya, Purushas are many, and the complete withdrawal of Prakriti is only for that particular Purusha who has had Viveka; for the rest, still eager to enjoy, the pageant of Prakriti is in full play. Thus, very doubtful is the reference here to the custom of an artiste showing herself to the call o j applause. The vernacular literatures of South India too do not contain any reference to clapping of hands as a symbol of appreciation; everywhere, the act figures as a gesture of derision. Indeed, in . \ . ■ - Malayalam, where a fallen person is ostracised, the last item in the act of throwing that person out is the hand-clap of a crowd of people*. - ■-<——,------,----—*------, ;---- - '—f * “Hi—i ' 1 - '— —n. i i.; ■ *1 ow6 this information to Sri G. Harihara Sastri, Mackenzie MSS., University of Madras. THE USENL SVARAJATI By Dr. V. Raghavan ,:c " Among the wonderful dance-compositions forming the reper toire of classic Carnatic Bharata Natya, the Useni Svarajati is indeed the foremost. Alike in the unfoldment of Ragabhava and in the construction of rhythmic sequences, it is an unrivalled masterpiece. The take-off ‘Emayaladira’, the jati ‘Ta ri ta ku ku jam ta ri ta ka jam jam* and the Ettukkada Svara sahitya sequen ces ‘Ri Ri Ri—Auraura’, each transports one to a higher and still higher realm of beauty and bliss. The excellence and the appeal of a composition can be known by the imitations and adaptations it gives rise to, and the general confusion and multiplicity of claim regarding its author ship. In Bharata Natya recitals one hears it with two different opening words, ‘Emayaladira na samiki emani bodhinchera’ and ‘Emandayanara na samiki emandu pettenura’; these two versions have each its own different hero mentioned in the next passage, of which we shall speak more in a subsequent paragraph. In Anantabharati’s Tamil song-series on the eleventh skandha of the Bhagavata on Krishna’s sports, there is an imitation of this composition for the portrayal of the Rasalila. in a Tamil Kamas Varna from Tinnevelly published in the Sampradaya Paradarsini, there are passages echoing this composition in the Ettukkada sVara portion. At Sulamangalam, one of the actors, Sitarama Bhaga vatar, adapted it with Sanskrit words for the Patrapravesa dance of Mohini in the Rukmangada Nataka, Earlier at Pudukottah, an attempt had already been made to ‘classicise’ it, as it were* by a Sanskrit re-fill of the Sahitya. In the Sangita Sampradaya Pradarsini, Sri Subbarama Dikshitar has printed this composition in the version ‘Emandaya nara’ in the name of the master-composer of the Viroboni Varna, Adippayya, but has added a footnote that it was said that the svaras and jatis of this composition were the work of Adippayya 150 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [v o l . XVII and the Sahitya-words, the work of the well-known Telugu composer Merattur Venkatarama Sastri. Of Adippayya, Subba rama Dikshitar says in his preliminary biographical notes, that he was a contemporary of Kings Pratapasimha and Tulaja II of Tanjore, that his Mudra was ‘Venkataramana’, and that he fol lowed the style of Virabhadrayya. Of Merattur Venkatarama Sastri, Dikshitar says that he flourished in the time of Kings Sarbhoji and Sivaji of Tanjore and that he was a master in com posing in the Kaisiki riti, i.e., the most graceful style of poetic composition. Pratapasimha’s time is A. D. 1741-1764; that of Tulaja II, his successor, A.D. 1765-1787; Serfoji’s A.D. 1800-1832; Sivaji’s 1832-1855. Elsewhere1 I have dwelt at some length on Merattur Venkata rama Bhagavatar. From the prologues in his operas, we learn that he was of the Srivatsa Gotra, son of Gopalakrishnarya, and pupil of Lakshmanarya^. From the villages near Tanjore where his Natakas are played and from the members of his Bhagavata mela sampradaya, notably Bharatam Nallur Narayanaswami Iyer, we further gather that he was a Velanati Telugu, an Upasaka of of Devi and Narasimha, and an elder contemporary of Tyagaraja. It is said that Tyagaraja used to compliment him for his Sahitya while he used to praise Tyagaraja’s Varna mettus. Tyagaraja’s efforts in the Nataka-paddhati also show that composer's admi ration for the Sampradaya represented by Venkatarama Bhaga vatar. Besides his Telugu plays 3, of which Prahlada Charitra is the best, Venkatarama Bhagavatar is said to have composed some Sindu and Advaita Kirtanas (one of which begins with the words Tota vesinanu ipudu). It is needless to add that among members of his dance-drama tradition, there are also current some I . : • T V . . ■ "V— — t-'— r ?'v • — s r — ------y H j * 1. See the Journal of the Indian Society of Oriental Art, Vol. V pp.167-170, my article on Bhagavata Mela Nataka ; and Ananda Vikatan, Special Music Number dated December, 27th, 1941, pp. 75-79, my article on Merattur Venkatarama Bhagavatar. s 2. n See the prologue in his Harisnjbandra Nataka. 3. I have a collection of these plays from Uttukkadu, one of the Tanjore Villages maintaining the Bhagavata Mela Nataka ; I had exhibited these Mss. at the exhibition oonducted by the Musio Academy during its Annual Confe rence in 1940. -A PARTS I—IV] THE USENl SVARAJATI 151 ancedotes which invest his personality too with miraculous circumstances. Suffice to point out here that in his dance-dramas lie a rich musical heritage, lakshyas in many and rare Rakti Ragas, which deserve the attention of scholars discussing Raga lakshanas. In his school, it is believed that the famous Useni Svarajati is wholly his composition, that Tiruvarur Kamalam learnt it direct from him and the late Jnanam of the same place from her. The version recorded in the Sampradaya Pradarsini begins with the words ‘Emandayanara e mandu pettenura* and has King Pratapasimha as the hero. In the version in which it is wholly ascribed to Venkatarama Sastri, the opening words are ‘Emay&ladira—e mani bodhinchara’ and the hero is Mallarji, son of Dattaji. The late Sangita Kalanidhi K. Ponniah Pillai claimed his ancestor, referred to asSubaraya Oduvar, the father of the four Tanjore Brothers, Ponniah, Chinniah, Sivanandam and Vadivelu, as the author of this Svarajati 4; in his publication, Peruvudaiyan Perisai, he has printed (pp. 3-4) a Tana Varna in Ananda Bhairavi, Adi, Pandamela na sami, in honour of the same Mallarji, son of Dattaji, but he has not specified its author there. From elsewhere 5, the date of this Subbaraya Oduvar may be gathered to be about A. D. 1780. Fortunately these two, Mallarji and his father Dattaji, are not unknown persons. They were well-known personalities of the Tanjore Mahratta court and played some prominent part, the father at least, in the last stages of the history of this principa lity and its relations with the British. Dattaji was a Minister of King Serfoji, was in charge of the Royal Seal, and took part in the King’s external affairs. He was held in high esteem by the British. In the Guide to the Records of the Tanjore District 1739—1835 published by the Government of Madras in eight 4. In his reply to the late Tanjore P. R. Natesa Ayyar who reviewed his Peruvudaiyan Perisai in the Hindu and made a reference to the Sanchara in the Useni Svarajati of Venkatarama Sastri. 5, See p. 47, Life of Vadivel Pillai, Rasika Ranjani Sabha Svati Tirunal Souvenir. 152 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [V O L. XVII volumes, there are numerous despatches in which Dattaji figures6. The dates of these Dattaji-papers range from 11—1—1799 to 11—12—/805 : a letter of 15—10—1805 reports that he was seriously ill and was not likely to recover; in letters of 22—10—1805 and 11—12—1805, his death is mentioned and a tribute is paid to him. There are many letters showing Dattaji helping King Serfojiin the latter’s enthusiastic pursuit of Western band instruments; a despatch of 10—6— 1803 records a temporary interlude of the King’s displeasure, but he is immediately restored to power. No less than forty letters in the above eight volumes of the Tanjore Records bear upon the life and activities of Dattaji’s son Mallarji, who is mentioned as Malhaiji (Mullarjee) Appah (Gadi). The dates of the Mallarji-papers range from 25-9-1799 to 23—12—1831. Mallarji did not occupy the same high office that his father held, but continued to hold some post under the King and enjoy the King’s kindness. As a contrast to his father, he proved so difficult to the British that they disliked him and for the collection of revenue dues on the land possessions of his, they brought against him many actions. Referring to his parentage and hereditary position in the Tanjore Court, he refused to appear in the British Courts. In the earliest letter we have, we find the British trying to banish him to Mysore from Tanjore, and Mallarji sticking to Tanjore with the help of the King. While the Court wanted British officials to show honour to Mallarji during his visit to Tiruvarur, the British refused to do so. In some letters M allarji figures as a pilgrim bound for Tiru pati, accompanied by his armed guards. He possessed lands at the villages Vadamattam, Poongudi and Manavalampetta; he had some property in Ramnad too; his agents in Nannilam Taluq defied the British officials. Mention is also made of his several Srotriyam villages and jewels inherited by him from his father, and how he ran through his estate and was steeped in debt. Once he threatens to leave service at Tanjore Court and 6. It is interesting to note that Dattaji visited Madras many times, and on 24—3—1801 and 7—4—1801, Dattaji’s troops and elephants aocompanied the festival prooession of the Mylapore Temple ; on the latter ocoaaion, Mr. Cookburn prevented the troops from taking part in the Temple Festival. PARTS I— IV] THE USENI SVARAJATI 153 take service in a different South Indian Court. Finally his numerous creditors bring simultaneous action against him, and the broken man is able to pay only a part of his debts. I have heard it said by Bharatam Narayanaswami Iyer that Dattaji and Mallaji were not Mahrattas, but Tamil Veilala landlords who, according to the prevailing fashion of those associated with Mahratta Court, assumed Mahratta names, and that Dattaji's real name was Kannusami Appah. Mention is made of both these persons in the records reviewed above as Dattaji Appah and Mallaji Appah. There remains only one more datum bearing on the Useni Svarajati which I want to mention. When going through the music manuscripts in the Sarasvati Mahal Library, Tanjore, I came across in a manuscript (Burnell No. 11618; New Catalogue, Vol. XVI, No. 10901, page 7327) a Useni Svarajati in Adi of which the manuscript specified the author as Virabhadrayya. 1 immediately copied it down and found it might very well be deemed to be the original of the Useni Svarajati with which we are very familiar. It is a very long composition and is on the patron deity Varadaraja at Merattur, the village of Virabhad rayya. Merattur, it is well-known, was called Achyutabdhi, a name which clearly shows that it was given to the place by the second ruler of the Tanjore Nayak dynasty, Achyutappa Naik, A. D. 1561 —1614, who probably gifted the village to a number of Brahman families, Andhra and Tamil, devoted to the arts of music and dance-drama. In the same manuscripts immediately after this Svarajati, a Pada of Virabhadrayya in Mohana, Adi, on Varadaraja of Achyutabdhi, beginning with the words ‘Modisaya myaragadani’ is also given with Svaras. That this Svarajati in Useni of Merattur Virabhadrayya was the ultimate model for the more well-known one is also confirmed by the tradition vouched for by Bharatam Narayanaswami Iyer that it used to be said that Venkatarama Bhagavatar used an older Useni Svarajati on the village deity Varadaraja for his own composition in praise of Mallarji. I shall give here the text of Virabhadrayya’s Svarajati, with the Svaras, as found in the manuscript in the Sarasvati M a h a l, Tanjore, and those who are well acquainted with the 20 154 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII passages in the current Svarajati can easily see their many correspondences with those in Virabhadrayya’s composition, a veritable ‘Visvarupam’ in Useni out of which the later Svarajati shaped itself. if air LDT HIT LD arflffl — LD&lf a rfl 6Wffl 6TVT (pen jtt 1ST erVT Lfi qS iejtt e u a &ji Q petit < f(oeopT rfl a tfi tfl erv 1| / i| Q& esr a (§ jtt fft <55 LD UT m a rfl UT LO <55 ifl if [ LD3> J Qrs IB 0 GUT L— 1 jr irp ifl. 2 Evidently this is the Pallavi and the beginning; and the text as written down in the MS. starts with the Ettukkada portion. THE PADAS OF SRI SVATrTIRUNAL BY S. V enkitasubramonia Iy e r , M.A, B. Sc., Introduction—the term 'pada' The term ‘pada * is generally used to denote a musical monologue, almost closely resembling a kirtana in structure, replete with the sentiment of love —love for the deity, and meant to accompany and guide dancing. No definition of this term is met with in any of the common treatises on music, and it is diffi cult to know how it gained currency in this sense. Nor is an exact definition of it without the technical defects of avyapti and ativyapti possible : for in exceptional cases the pada may be a dialogue, as for instance Svati Tirunal’s own ‘ Kaminimant Sakhi (65)1 in Purvakambhojiraga; it may not always have all the three parts of a regular kirtana, viz.. pallavi, anupallavi and charana, and may have often only the pallavi and charana, as in the case of the padas in Jayadeva’s Gitagovinda, where the pallavi is called dhruvai the dominant feeling may not be love !srittgara), but may be vira or karuna or any other, as in some of the padas in the Malayalam attahkathas, the dance-drama of Malabar, and even when the feeling is sringara it need not be directed towards the deity as in the same compositions. Still the definition given may be taken as indicating the nature of the majority of padas. Number, Ragas and Languages- The contribution of Sri Svati Tirunal to this class of com position is indeed remarkable. He has composed sixty-six of them, eleven in Sanskrit, five in Telugu and fifty in Malayalam, and in thirty-three different ragas. The ragas and the number of padas in each of them are given below d 1 The numbers withih brackets refer to the numbers of tbe padas in K. Chidambara Vadhyar’s edition of the Musical Compositions of Sri Svati Tirunal (Trivandrum, 1916). 1 5 8 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII Number of padas in Number of padas in m 4» Raga ’C O Raga Ma> M a « M alayalam Telugu M alayalam CO H Sanskrit Pantuvarali 1 A thana 1 1 1 Funnagavarali 1 A saveri 1 Purvakambhoji 1 Anandabhairavi 3 Bibag 1 A h ari 2 B hupalam 1 K alyani 2 B h airavi 1 Kam bhoji 2 1 4 Malavasri 1 Kedaram 1 Y adukulakambhojil 3 K urinchi 2 R itigaulam 1 Gauri 1 Yarali 1 G hanta 1 Sankarabharanam 2 1 2 Todi 1 1 Sahana 1 Dvijavanti 1 S averi 1 1 I Dhanyasi 1 S urati 3- 3 N avarasam m Saindhavi 1 Nathanamakriyal 1 Saurastram 3 Nilam bari 2 1 4 Huseni 2 1 In this table the different ragas in the Ragamala (10) are taken separately. It may be seen from this table that Kambhoji, Nilambari, Surati and Sankarabharanam stand foremost among the ragas usedt the number of the compositions in these being more than in the others. Next in order come Yadukulakambhoji, Ananda* bhairavi, Athana, Saveri and Saurastram. All these as well as most of the other ragas are quite appropriately chosen as being most melodious and expressive of the feeling and as most fit for the night, which is the time in all these. We also notice that certain rare ragas like Purvakambhoji, Saindhavi, Ghanta, Dvija- vanti, Gauri and Navarasam are also used. Classification of the Patfas—The Feelings According to their nature the padas can be classified under five heads ; . , 1. The Nayika addressing her Sakhi. t II. The Nayika addressing Lord Padmanabha. III. The Sakhi addressing Lord Padmanabha. IV, The Sakhi addressing the Nayika. V. A lover addressing his sweet-heart...... O A PARTS I— IV) THE PADAS OF SVATI TIRUNAL 15 9 % 0 I. Nayika to Sakhi. The padas coming under this category can be classified into two groups, one in which the Nayika simply expresses her feel ings to the Sakhi, and the other in which besides narrating her sufferings to her, she also persuades her to go to Lord Padma nabha and tell Him her miserable plight and bring Him home to remove her afflictions. Thirtyseven padas come under this category, twentynine in the first group and eight in the second. The feelings expressed are quite conventional, but they are deli cate and charming and represent love*in-separation (■vipralcitnbha). The time in most of these is the early part of the night, and the rising moon, the evening breeze, the voice of the cuckoo and the hum of the bees, all act as the uddipanavibhavas and increase her torments. Even the tender bed of flowers causes her pain, the cool sandal paste is like deadly poison (1), and the moonlight feels hot (20, 37). Every moment appears to her a Yuga (39). She has lost all sleep (16) and all appetite (17), and the body has become extremely wearied. So Sri Padmanabha should go to her to save her. “O, when will he come to me ?'* she asks. “Has he become cross with me hearing the words of some tale-bearers (27) ? Or has he been seduced by some other lady (25, 28) ? Is it proper he should deceive women like this (23) ?” And there is a touch of pathos when she observes that she is not even lucky enough to look at the path along which He would come, as her eyes are bedewed with tears (32), and when she consoles herself saying that if she alone should so suffer, when even the birds and beasts are enjoying with their mates, it should be the result of her own sins (33, 44). In the pada 4Somopamavadane’ in Yadukulakambhoji (5), the Nayika is long awaiting His arrival, but understands that He has g^ne to someone else. She observes that she who pleases Him is indeed most lucky, but it is a pity that that particular woman is of a very crooked mind and regards Him, who is the refuge of the whole world, to be an ordinary human being. Pleasures of memory as also pleasures of hope form the subject of narration to the Sakhi in some padas; 160 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII Thus she asks: Has he forgot those pleasant nights during which he enjoyed with me? How can I forget the pleasures he gave me? With what an intense feeling of love did he seat me by his side and adorn my hair with a jasmine garland! (40), took away the viti (tambula) from my mouth, and sang melodiously Todi and Padi ragas (47)! Has he forgotten all this? Once he addressed me bhavan (masculine term of address) and when I was abashed at this mischievous perversion of gender, how pleas ed was he and I too! Has he forgotten this (31i? On another occasion when in a dream I saw him in the company of another woman, and was offended at the sight thinking it to be true, how imploringly did he appease me! Has he forgotten this too (46)?” Similarly pleasures of hope: There are two instances (22,* 26). She asks: “O Sakhi, when will Lord Padmanabha be pleased to come to me? When in the night will he come anointed with sandal paste and wearing jasmine flowers, and singing gaily the Padi raga, and bedeck my forehead with musk, and with a gusto steal the viti from my mouth and enjoy the pleasure?” There is also a pada—*Ramyanayoru purusan in Kedaram (45) wherein the Nayika narrates to her Sakhi her experiences in a dream. Her lover Lord Padmanabha appeared to her in the dream and began to gratify he'r, but before the enjoyment was complete, alas! she was awakened. There is another pada ‘Saradavidhuvadananam’ in Sankara- bharanam (47), which is rather peculiar in nature, as it elabo rates in an outspoken manner the naked details of the nocturnal enjoyments of the Nayika with the Lord, and reminds us of Lord Byron’s poem ‘A Bride’s confession . In the pada ‘Kalakanthi’ in NUambari the Nayika observes to her friend that the form of the Lord Krishna is so very enchanting and His exploits in the Brindavana so very exciting that she is unable to forget Him. The pada ‘Katninimani Sakhi’ in Purvakambhoji (65), is, as observed before, peculiar in form, as it is a dialogue between the Nayika and her Sakhi. The Sakhi had enjoyed with the Lord,' and the Nayika is questioning her action. The idea is, to some — PAR TS I— IV] THE PADAS OF SVATI TIRUNAL 161 extent, reminiscent of the . sloka ‘Nissesacyutaeandanam' etc.,* well-known in Sanskrit poetics. The following is the substance: Nayika: “O friend, tell me why is your face perspiring?" Sakhi: “The face shows fatigue because of the hot rays of to jttiC the sun.” •Nayika: “Why are your eyes red?” Sakhi: “Enraged at the words of your husband, they are red,' Nayika: “Why is your hair dishevelled?” Sakhi: “By the Malaya breeze.” Nayika: “How was the saffron-mark in your forehead rubbed away?” , Sakhi : “Nay, by the garment rubbing against it.” Nayika; “Why is your body wearied?" Sakhi: “By my walking to and fro.” Nayika; “O lady, all that you say is true. But hear me, how is your lip bitten except by your corporal enjoy* ment with Sri Padmanabha?” II. Nayika to Lord Padmanabha. There are twenty one padas of this variety. In one group of this the Nayika is seen directly asking the Lord to gratify her. The rising moon, the sandal paste, the warbling cuckoo, the humming bee and the blowing breeze are all tormenting her, and without any delay. He should give up his anger towards her, if any, and enjoy with her. To this group belongs the famous Ragamala ‘Pannagendrasayana’ (10) which stands out not only as one of the most important and best of His Highness* composi tions, but also, by the appropriateness of the ragas and the excel lence of the bhavas, as one of the best compositions in carnatic music. It is in eight parts and represents the feelings of the Nayika in the eight watches of the night : (I) O Lord Padmanabha, be pleased to favour me 1 1 .THitdotT' To—f-msterboocay n t ~ajs y ji k!4. “Ideally more aftej another vepse of this type, “Svasah kim tvaritagainad palakita kasmat prasa'dah kritah ,r ©to. asbribetf to poet’eSs Silabhattarika in anthologies. See V. Raghavan, Sanskrit and Prakrit Poetesses, Q. J. of the Mythic Soe., Bangalore, XXV.—V.R. 21 162 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY [VOL, XVII (a) Even the gentle breeze agitates my mind ! So be pleas- ^ 5: si ^ ? ; ed to give up your anger towards me. (iii) The melodious voice of the cuckoo and the parrot appear very horrible to me ! (iv) O merciful Lord, don’t make me a laughing-stock of other damsels by disregarding my request. (v) Let us enjoy in this beautiful night, and then I shall be rid of these terrible afflictions. (vi) O Lord with beautiful red lips, golden garment and neck adorned with garlands I (The beauty of the Lord attracts her irresistibly). (vii) O Lord of lords, kindly give me an embrace. (viii) I entreat you to entertain me with your delightful sports of love. * Another group of padas represents the Nayika in a mood of complaint. She sees Him averse to enjoyment (54), and asks Him if his attitude is to test her mind, or because He is in love with another, or because some one has told him something un pleasant about her. Sometimes the Nayika is seen cross with Him (7)j she ridicules Him for his desire of women and for always keeping company with a libertine (Kulata). At other times she is seen sarcastic, and asks Him i(f He has stepped into her home by mistake (55). The pada ‘viditam te nisavrttam in Surati (2) belongs to this group, and has a special value regarding the mood it displays. The Nayika sees her Lord come to her in the morning with his hand stained with the red paint of another woman’s breasts and his forehead with the unguent of her feet. This imfuriates her, and she in her disappointment and anger asks Him to go back to her. But the attraction of the Lord is still so very irresistible that she at once asks Him to pardon her for her hot words. , ^ }_ The pada 'ha. nipmaka (9) strikes a dignified note and re presents the Nayika as an embodiment of nobility. She finds the Lord dejected and asks Him if His beloved is happy and gay. Getting Ao answer she continues; "Is he not attending to your comforts? Can it be that she heard you utter the name of another t ARTS I— IV] THE TADAS OF SVATI TIRUNAL 163 damsel, and is, therefore, cross with you? Or is it because you have no liking lor such pleasures now? Has she become angry by your talks with me? O LoTd, please do pacify her. She is immers ed in grief. I know that she is the most blessed to drink the nectar of your lips.” But she adds “O Padmanabha, do remem ber me also.” There is another group of two padas (59, 60) in which the Nayika is addressing her absent Lord. She is put to great suffer ing at the sweet recollection of his charming person, and so she prays to Him to go to her and enjoy with her. III. Sakhi to Lord Padmatiabha. There are four padas coming under this category, and in all these the friend of the Nayika is seen describing to the Lord her mistress’ sad and miserable plight at the separation from Him and persuades Him to go to her. She tells Him that she is shedding profuse tears (3) and, leaving her bed of flowers, ia rolling about in the ground in agony (4, 56). “Will a bee,” she asks, “that eagerly tastes the sweet nectar, ever give up its desire for the lotus flower? Even so is her love for you. Do hasten to comfort her (52).” IV. Sakht to Nayika. m > There is only a single pada (51) which the Sakhi addresses to the Nayika. The Nayika is united with the Lord afteT a long separation, and the Sakhi tells her how all her grief would be alleviated and howrCi she would be immersed in joy by Lord Padmanabha. ’ f ~-a'Al •• V. Lover to his sweetheart. The three padas constituting this division (36, 62, 63) are of a peculiar nature. While in all the other varieties the lover addressed to is explicitly mentioned to be Lord Sri Padmanabha* here there is no indication as to the identity of the speaker. On the contrary in one (36) the speaker observes that Sarasanabha is a witness to his sufferings, and in anotherd62) the sweetheart is described as 'nirajanabhasutadbhutasilpam' i.e.. the wonderful product of the eurt of the son of Padmanabha, namely Brahma; 164 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY (VOL, XVII and these statements seem to indicate that the speaker is dif ferent from Lord Padmanabha* In -all these padas the lover entreats his lady-love to fprget and forgive all his offences and enjoy with him. He reminds her of their former enjoyments and narrates to her his present distress. Musical Embellishments It can be seen from the above account of the various types of padas among His Highness’ compositions and their diverse emotional moods that they represent all the types of Nayaka— Nayika-bhava. 1 he ragas are so chosen as to portray the mood fully and effectively, and the padas are so composed as to have a slow and gentle flow to suggest the srngararasa, and to afford the maximum scope for the dancer to dance out the sense in its entirety. The padas composed in the ragas Anandabhairavi, Nilambari, Yadukula kambhoji and Surati are specially fascinat ing. The pada ‘punten nermoli' in Anandabhairavi (22) is unparallelled for its expression of emotion and its musical per fection with its ntuhana and prasa. *Hetnabhasurangari in Yadukulakambhoji (24), though different from the rest of the padas in having only pallavi and caranas, is one of the most expressive of feeling, and its refrain *ennu tirtidunnu repeated at the end of every foot is very melodious and graceful. ‘Alarsara- paritapam’ in Surati (20), ‘Vplaputala in Athana (11) and ‘Kala• kanthi’ in Nilambari are the padas now most popularly sung, and this fact alone is adequate to show their musical value. The ragamala *Pannagendrasayana (10) in the tpli ragas—Sankara- bharanam, Kambhoji, Nilambari, Bhairavi, Todi, Surati, Naiha- namakriya and Bhupalam—is the best known of Sri Svati Tirunal’s padas. As observed before, it represents the diverse feelings of a lady united with her lover during the eight watches of the night in the ragas which are most appropriate for the particular time of night and the particular feeling. Thus it starts with Sankarabharanam, the raga generally sung at nightfall, and ends with Bhupalam, the raga generally sung at daybreak. The musical enchantment of this pada when properly sung is marvellous. Lach division in it has cittasvara, which front the PARTS I— IV] THE PADAS OF SVATI TIRUtfAL 165 second onwards merges into Sankarabharanam, the raga of the first division, and the svara in the last division is distributed among all the ragas in the pada in the reverse order, begin ning from Bhupalam and ending in Sankarabharanam. It is worthy of note that this ragamala and the varna ‘calamela* in Sankarabharanam are regarded as two unique achievements in musical composition in the carnatic system. Poetry in the Padas 'J h If the delineation of sentiments is the chief factor determin ing the poetic value of a literary or musical piece, then the padas of Sri Svati Tirunal have a genuine claim for a high place among poetic works. The sentiment depicted in these is Srngara i.e., love, more in its vipralambha aspect than sambhoga, and hence all the more sweet. The vibhavas, anubhavas and vyabhicari- bhavas are suitably represented, and these develop the sthayi- bhava and suggest the sentiment srngararasa. It is in consonance with this principal aim, namely the development of rasa, that the externals of poetry are chosen. Thus the style adopted is the gay and simple one, and the simpli city of the expressions facilitates easy comprehension of the sense. The rhyme and alliteration adopted not only satisfy the musical requirements, but also serve the poetic purpose of verbal embellishment. A high ilight of imagination is seen in some of the padas. A typical instance is 'Martasi madanatapam in Surati (36), where the lover is addressing his sweetheart in the following words : “O gentle lady, frightened by the shower of arrows aimed on it by the hunter Cupid, the timid deer, my mind, is helplessly wandering in the pleasure grove of thy youth, thy tender person. Where is it ? Groping in the darkness, your hair? Or has it fallen down from the high peaks, thy breasts, and is lying there lame? Or is it engrossed in the moon, thy face full of love? Or has it fallen in the deep well, thy navel? O sweet lady, give up thine anger, and by. the moonlight of thy tender smile remove the pangs of my heart." 166 THE JOURNAL OF THE MUSIC ACADEMY (VOL. XVII Mystical Implication We have seen that the various types of Nayaka-nayika-bhava are seen in the padas and that the sentiment is srngara. Thus we see the Nayaka as anukula, daksina, dhrsta and satha, and the Nayika as svadhinapatika, virahotkanthita, khandtta, kalahantarita and prositabhartrka. But the srngara is not of a worldly nature nor is it directed towards a mundane being; it is of a divine nature and is directed towards God Lord Sri Padmanabha. The philosophical import of the padas, therefore, is erotic mysticism. It is raganugabhakti, and consists in the spontaneous and irresisti ble flow of devotion to the Deity, the climax of which is reach ed in the stage of madhurya or pure erotic love, symbolised by the intense and exquisite feeling of the Gopis for Krsna. This senti ment can be imitated and vicariously realised by the devotee ir respective of his sex. In this highest stage the lordship of the Deity is completely suppressed by a sweetly powerful and self- surrendering charm which produces a strong mutual attraction between the Deity and the devotee. By this intense feeling of devotional love which can be realised by the devotee as a bliss ful supersensuous sentiment, the Lord can be realised in his true character, for the Lord Himself realises it in His own nature of perfect bliss and reveals Himself in His self-surrendering grace. This brings happiness which is unalloyed and imperishable, and consequently causes permanent cessation of misery. The erotic mysticism of these padas, therefore, gives expres sion to fervent devotional longings in the intimate language of earthly passion. The Srngara element in them is, thus, of a surpersensuous nature, divinely conceived, the Nayika being the devotee and Nayaka God Himself, and the other damsel re ferred to being His own consort Lakshmi. In this way these compositions of the royal saint form worthy additions to the literature that contributed to the raganuga form of bhakti. U ! ? Popularisation of the Padas Dancing is always wedded to music, and, as observed before, the padas are used to accompany dancing, which formed and still forms a part of the ritual in several temples especially in South ______ PARTS I— IV] THR PADAS OF SVATI TIRUNAL 167 India. The system obtained currency in several temples in South Travancore also, and even in the temple of Sri Padma nabha in Trivandrum till about a hundred years ago there was bharatanatya by beautiful damsels to the accompaniment of flute and mridanga during the Utsavams, as is seen from a graceful account of it in Sri Svati Tirunal’s own work the Syatiandura* puravarnanaprabandha1 and till a decade ago in the Navaratrif mandapam in His Highness' Palace during the Navaratri festival. The practice of this art has somehow fallen out of vogue in these temples now, but we can reasonably hope that the high encouragement now being given by the Travancore Royal House to all arts in general and to music and dancing in particular, will soon revive it and give it the prominence it deserves. It was with a view to encouraging natyabhinaya that Sri Svati Tirunal composed these padas. And for giving them musical perfection and popularity, he got down from Tanjore the renowned Vadivelu, the best natyacharya of the time, who was a favourite disciple of Sri Muttuswami Diksitar, and an adept on violin, and through him got down from Tanjore, Kallikkotta and other places a troupe of Devadasis who performed bharatanatya in the Royal Court. Both Vadivelu and his assistants Cinnayya and Palaniyandi were paid high salaries, and the troupe was given costly presents. During the d a y s of His Highness it was the practice for the court musicians to sing th e padas and* v a rn a s after the royal supper, and this helped in their further popularisation. 'sH Conclusion The padas, as observed at the outset, are mainly used for dancing1. Though this is their primary purpose, many of them 1 Syanandurapuravarnanaprabandha, V 29, 30. 1 It should, howeyer, be remembered that there are thirteen Sringara- varnas composed by His Highness, which, though necessarily different from the padas in form, have the same ooptents, aud these are,also to be used in dancing. Some of the kirtanas like ‘Nrityati nrityati ' in Sankarabbaranam, ‘ Mohanamayi tava’ in Yadukulakambhoji, ' Padasanati ’ in Kambhoji etc., are also seen used in dancing. 168 THE JOURNAL OF THE MU9IC ACADEMY [VOL. XVII have also substantial musical, literary and philosophical value. Like the Gitagovinda of Jayadeva, they have four aspects— literary, devotional, musical and mystical. It may be stated that the padas of Sri Svati Tirunal combine the excellences of Jaya deva, Narayana Tirtha and Kshetragna. Some of them are used in the temples in the Tamil parts, where they are known as Kulasekharaperumal kritis. But they deserve greater publicity and appreciation. Let us hope they will ere long receive due attention at the hands at the musician and the dancer alike. An alphabetical list of the padas of Sri Svati Tirunal with their salient details is given beldw:-— Beginning of the pada. Raga. Tala. Language• Type. No. Attaliyannidunnu Sabaua Adanta Mai. 11 48 Ayi Sakhi tapam Huseni Do Do I 87 Ayyayyo kintu oeyyavu Nathanama- Do Do I 40 kriya Alar saraparitapam Surati Muriyadanta r Do j .v. I : :!*i 20 Alam anagha vilambena Ritigpulam Jhampa Skt. III 4 Aliveniyentu Kur inchi Adanta M air^ '■ I 32 Itu sabasamulu fl •>d.t SavSri Gempata Tel. i i 14 lutalika valaruniuj.^ tj^njattiQ Apanta Mai. i 43 Intamodiyalara - Kambhoji .. Do Tel. i i 15 D0 '-'CTr Irma mama bbagyataru Jham pa Mai. i i 64 Ipparitapam Saurastram -Caypu * 0 lo Do 4 * i i 49 llama rimaon^yane Bihag f. Gempata D o. i 50 Entaham iha sakhi Yadukula- Adanta ' Do i 42 kambhoji *fgi.a a t taw .ifeSiS-T Entu ceyyavu Huseni Rupaka Do I 27 Entu mama sadanattil Kalyani Cempata Lo i i 55 Enanermili ytft A b ari Trihuta fi n Do III 34 Kanatta sokavaridhi Qhapta Cem pata Do g i n 56 Kalakanthi kathamka- N ilambari Do Skt. i *1 ram S-i ' Kalatnoli mama A saveri Adanta Mai. I 33 Kantanotu sennu N ilam bari Rupaka Do I 19 Kanta tava piJa Ath'uua Gempata Do 11 53 Kaminiba nan Nilambari Adanta Do q r 21 Kaminimani sakhi Purvakam Do ■ Do i 65 bhoji Kintu ceyvu nan Kalyani Cempata Do i 16 Kulirmativadane Dhanyasi A nanta 1 Do i 23 Khinnata puntetra B hairavi •- Do' Do i 25 Ctentarsayakarupa Yadukula- Jham pa Do i i * 60 kambhoji Taruni nan entu D vijavan ti Adanta Do \ i 41 Tellu polum ktpa Kurinichi Caypu Do i i 59 PARTS 1 —IV] THE PADAS OF SVATI TIRUNAL 169 Beginning of the pada. Raga. Tala. Language. Type. No. Teliviyalum mukham Punnagavarali Adanta Do II 54 Dhanyayayi naninnu N avarasam Jham pa Do II 57 'Rancabanam tannutaya Kambhoji Cempata Do II 61 Pannagendrasayana Ragamala Rupaka Skt. II 10 Punten nermoli Ananda- Cempata Mai. I 22 bhairavi Prananayaka mam Kambhoji Do Skt. II 8 Balike moham Ananda- Do Mai. I 29 bhairavi Bhasurangi bale Saveri Adanta Do I 28 Manapi bata M alavasri Do Do III 52 Manasi karuna Kambhoji Do Do I 26 Manasi dussaham Ahari A ta Do I 17 Manasi madanatapam Surati Cempata Do V 36 Manini vamata Ananda- Jham pa Do V 63 bhairavi Rajani jata Surati Rupaka Skt. I 1 Ramyanayoru purusan Kedaram Cempata Mai. I 45 Valapu tala vasama Athana Adanta Tel. II 11 Valayunniha nan Varali Rupaka Mai. I 30 Viditam te nisavrttam Surati Jhampa Skt. II 2 Saradavidhuvadananam Sankara Cempata Mai. I 47 bharanam Sakhi he ni gamikka Do Adanta Do i 38 Sadbu jane Athana Rupaka S kt. i i 7 Samini pondu San k ara Adanta Tel. i i 12 bharanam Saramaina matala Nilam bari Jham pa Do i i 13 Sarasanabha me Sankara Adanta 8k t. h i 3 bharanam Sudati colka ni Saurastram Do Mai. i 39 Sundaranga kanta Todi Rupaka Do i i 58 Sumasaranayi mayi Kambhoji A ta Do i 18 Sumukhi ninnultapa Saindhavi Cempata Do IV 51 Sumukbi sukhamote Saurastram Do Do V 62 Somopama vadane Yadukula- Triputa Skt. I 5 kambhoji Hanta jivanayakam N ilam bari Jham pa Mai. I 35 Hanta nan innu Pantuvarali Cempata Do I 44 Hanta nan entu Gauri Rupaka Do I 31 Ha m am aka *1 * Do II 9 Ha hanta Santapam Nilambari Adanta Mai. I 46 Hemabhasurangam Yadukula- Jhampa Do I 24 kambhoji Hemopameyangi Saveri *2 Skt. I 6 1. Tbe raga and tala of this pada are not known. 2. The tala of this pada is not known. In Memoriam The Music Academy, Madras, places on record its deep sono " and sense of great loss to the music world caused by the pass, away of some prominent personalities in the field of Carnatic Music during the year. Sangita Kalanidhi Umayalpuram Swaminatha Iyer passed away at the age of 79, A native of the village representing one line of the direct Sishya-parampara of Sri Tyagaraja, the late Vidvan was one of the pupils of the renowned Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer. Pious and quiet, he was a deep repositary of tradition, and the Academy had the honour of having him as the Conference- President for the 9th Session in 1936. He leaves behind his two sons, Vidvans Venkatarama Iyer and Rajagopala Iyer, the former being well known for his writings on Tyagaraja and his songs. Vidvan Venu Naicker passed away on February 12th 1946, at the age of 53. He was a popular Mridanga Vidvan and was greatly attached to the Academy and ever ready to co-operate in its programmes. Sri M. S. Ramaswami Aiyar, b,a., b . l ., l .t ., passed away at Chittoor on 10th Feb. 1947 at the age of 75. The late Mr. Aiyar left off his profession of education and later law, and worked ex clusively in the field of music till his death. He was a Member of the Board of Studies in Music of the Madras University and of the Expert Committee of the Music Academy. He had delivered University Lectures on Music at Annamalainagar and Mysore. He was for some time a Research Fellow in Music at the Madras University. He was the first to write a full biographical account of Sri Tyagaraja in English. Besides several articles, he produced the following books: editions of the Svaramelakalanidhi of Rama, matya, the Ragavibodha of Somanatha, lifes of Tyagaraja, Gopala- rishna Bharati and Lakshmana Pillai, and an account on Kalak- shepam. He produced also some music compositions. He had taken part in many music conferences in different parts of the country, and had taken part in the Academy’s activities since its inception to his very last days. BOOK REVIEWS The Origin of Raga. By Shripada Bandyopadhyaya, B. Mus. Head of the Musio Dept., Birla Higher Secondary School, 1946. Rs. 4. ^ n r This is intended to be a short sketch, a handy book, for the use of students of music. The author presents here in a simple and brief manner, with quotations, the material on the subject of Ragas, their origin, nature, classification and method of singing from the more well known Sanskrit texts ranging from Bharata to Bhatkhande. A few reproductions of Ragamala miniatures are also included. The first chapter deals with the ancient period, the second, the medieval, and the third the modern. In the end the That or Mela system is dealt with and the ten principal R*«»s are described. We are sure the students will find here usy-;ful ix>* formation gathered together from various sources. Sangita Ratnakara. English Translation by Dr. C. Kunhan Raja Yol. I. Ch. 1. The Adayar Library Series. Rs. 4. In the last volume of this Journal, while reviewing the Adyar Library edition of the Sangita Ratnakara with two commentaries, we mentioned that Dr. C. Kunhan Raja, who was continuing the editiorial work on behalf of the late Pandit Subra- manya Sastri, was preparing, an English translation of the Sangita Ratnakara. The first part of this work is now published. It takes us to the end of Chapter one. The translations of the verses are supplemented by notes and the whole work when completed will be a great help to the music knowing public who, owing to their ignorance of Sanskrit, find the information available in old 1 " :tr.. - classics inaccessible to them. V. R. _____ b l,.: 172 THE journal o f the music academy [vol. XVII The Sangita Raja of King Kumbhakarna. Pant I. Edited by Dr. Kunhan Raja. The Ganga Oriental Series—4, Annp Sanskrit Library, Bikaner, King Kumbhakarna of Mewar is a notable name in the his tory of Sanskrit Sangita Literature, and attention has been drawn to his works in the field of music in volume four of this journal, pp. 53-54. A well-known work of his available in print for a long time is the commentary Rasikapriya on the Gitagovinda. There he describes himself as a great musician and quotes his magnum opus in music, the Sangitaraja. Of this work, there were two manuscripts in the Anup Sanskrit Library, Bikaner, and Dr. C. Kunhan Raja is to be congratulated for his efforts in bringing out in print this and other literary treasures lying in the Library of the Bikaner Fort. The scope of the Sangita Raja otherwise called Sangita Mimamsa comprehends the whole field of rhetoric, dramaturgy, Dance and music, and the part now issued deals with Pathya, i.e, poetics, metre and elements of grammar. Music terms and certain music concepts in general are also mentioned here. The editor has given in the end the variant readings of the text; and in his preface and introduction, he has dealt with the author and the manuscripts of this work; he has also success fully explained how one Kalasena happens to be mentioned as author in some manuscripts of the work. It is needless to add that students of music literature are anxiously awaiting the publication of the further parts of this valuable work. V. R. * ' . ————• - < ,, - '" ' ,;v "' > . ' . i. * V, ■ Gopala Nayak & Amir Khusrau With reference to the article on Gopala Nayak by SriK. V. Ramachandran published in this volume, the following may be found interesting; Dr. Mohammad Wahid Mirza of the Lucknow University, in his book on “The Life and Works of Amir Khusrau” (Punjab University Oriental Publications), in the chapter on Khusrau the PARTS I— IV] GOPALA NAYAK & AMIR KHUSRAU 173 Artist (pp. 238 ff.)# discusses this question of his alleged con quest over Gopala Nayak and invention of the Sitar and musical modes. Dr. Mirza draws attention to the work “Notices on Persian Poets,’’ XXII, in which Naik Gopal is said to have lived in Akbar’s time. Dr. Mirza quotes the Raga Darpan compiled in the time of Man Singh of Gwalior to say that Kusrau invented about 17 melodies or song-types among which are counted the qual, tarana and hhyal, but Dr. Mirza adds that Khusrau’s inno vations were not accepted and were looked down upon by classicists. In this connection, the Doctor refers to pp. 42 ff. of Wajid Ali Shah’s *Saut>ul>Mubarak’ which says that Khusrau by his innovations “destroyed all the regulations and instruments established for thousands of years.” On his alleged invention of the Sitar, Dr, Mirza says that unfortunately there is no mention of the Sitar among the instruments referred to by Khusrau in his extensive writings; nor is it mentioned in contemporary or later literature. And, if it is a foreign instrument, Dr. Mirza’s suggestion is that the name Sitar has name-affinity with music instruments of Caucasia and Georgia like Zietar and Guitar. V. R. 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