DEMYSTIFYING MUSIC Dr. N. Ramanathan answers questions that may be asked by the serious rasika. Musical forms N. Ramanathan very musical piece is said to Alapana or four swaras, could suggest and reveal belong to a form. Thus the the image of the raga. But the raga may primary aspect of music is The form generally described for not allow the singing of decorative or E alapana in our textbooks, in terms of the musical form. In south Indian alankara phrases, which are necessary art music, the musical forms are of such stages as akshiptika, ragavardhani for developing an alapana. These ragas two kinds — kalpita (composed) and and vidari, does not seem to reflect are thus very restrictive when it comes manodharma (improvised or creative). the contemporary practice in concerts. to manodharma. Thus for manodharma, Further today there appears to be an Kalpita sangitam refers to forms already a ragamust have a large number of absence of a formal procedure for the typical and characteristic phrases and composed or music whose shape is pre- rendering of alapana. Not all alapana determined and is learnt and rendered also a fair amount of freedom to create is very detailed. Sometimes an alapana alankara phrases. aesthetically. Manodharma, on the other is rendered for a duration of just one hand, refers to the forms for which the minute, sometimes for three minutes, A raga like Bhairavi or Kambhoji manner or method of shaping is pre- sometimes seven and sometimes 15. has a proper balance of raga-rañjaka determined but the actual shaping gets Thus unless a full-fledged alapana is prayogas and freedom for creating done only during the performance. sung, it will not technically conform to alañkara phrases. If we take a raga like However both manodharma and kalpita art-music. Latangi or Charukesi we find that there require a very high level of training in are practically no other sampurna-janya But then not all ragas provide the music requiring deep knowledge of the ragas in those melas. In the absence of scope for performing a long alapana. sancharas or the characteristic phrases other ragas in a mela, this single raga It might be normally difficult to sing in ragas, their proper rendering of laya could take any possible combination alapana for a duration longer than and tala. of swaras or phrases as characterising three minutes for ragas like Ahiri and Manodharma is denoted by the term, it. In other words, there would be total Athana. We can perhaps sing an alapana ‘improvisation’. Some people refer to it in Bilahari, Begada or Dhanyasi raga freedom to coin any phrase and yet not as spontaneous or as extempore music. for a longer duration. Bhairavi and be outside the raga. In case of mela-ragas Whether the music is manodharma Kambhoji might allow an elaborate like Kharaharapriya, Harikambhoji and or kalpita, the presentation must alapana. Todi, Shanmukhapriya, Malavagaula, there are a number of co- be primarily musical, a pleasing Simhendramadhyamam, Kiravani janya ragas in each of the respective concordance of sound. Whether it is an and Madhyamavati perhaps allow parent melas and hence rendering alapana or a keertana, it must be music the most extensive alapana. However any possible combination of swaras first. Thus manodharma need not be mela-ragas, especially those like may result in a few phrases infringing considered superior to kalpita. Both Latangi, Vachaspati, Gaurimanohari into the territory of another co-janya require as much training and practice and Charukesi might allow very raga. Hence mela-ragas like Latangi, and should be equally beautiful when extensive alapanabut the elaboration Vachaspati, Gaurimanohari and rendered. can be deceptive. This latter set of ragas Charukesi can rarely be said to manifest their images when using swaras fewer Manodharma does not have a very large number of typical, individual and characteristic than seven (except perhaps omitting In present day south Indian music, ragasañcharas. sa/pa). Hence many of the melaragas manodharma has four channels or except perhaps Sankarabharanam four musical forms under it. They Thus art music would also have to and Kalyani, are often regarded as are - alapana, tanam, niraval and take into account what kind of ragas ‘swarasthana-based’ ragas rather than kalpanaswaram. For each of these are being used in the system. Although sanchara-based ragas because in these forms, the basic form or structure is there are many ragas in our system, not ragas the swaras derive their image defined. However it must be understood all are of the same kind. A raga like or swarupa from their respective that our textbooks still do not prescribe Ahiri, Asaveri or Huseni has a number swarasthanas and intervals. And in turn the structures for tanam, niraval and of characteristic phrases and even a the ragas assume their image from all kalpanaswaram. single melodic phrase, using just three the swaras that constitute them rather 79 l SRUTI December 2015 than from sancharas based on a few for keertanas or kritis appears to have mandrasthayi or below nishada in the swaras. been a development of the 20th century. mandrasthayi. Singing niraval to oru-kalai (eka-kala) Even ragas like Shanmukhapriya, Niraval and kalpanaswaram are talas would not provide sufficient scope Kiravani and Simhendramadhyamam rendered within the framework of for melodic variation and elaboration. were of this kind but in the course of the tala and hence they have to exhibit This is so because in oru-kalai talas, the last one century or more, have developed the basic rhythm, namely, two swaras syllables of the text are placed at very a fairly rich image for themselves. In per beat in the first kalam and four close proximity. There would be very the case of Todi, although it is similar swaras per beat in the second kalam, little space available for introducing to Kalyani and Sankarabharanam it has or else, four swaras per beat in the first melodic variations or swara changes. acquired a greater potency because it kalam and eight swaras per beat in the In rendu-kalai keertanas or in rendu- has as many large number of phrases second kalam. However in the first kalai pallavis the number of syllables that omit panchama as there are kalam the melodic flow is more fluid would be same as in a keertana in oru- phrases that incorporate panchama. In and sometimes the melody assumes kalai but the tala-avarta in rendu-kalai the earlier period Todi raga was devoid the flow akin to that of an alapana. would take double the duration or have of panchama and later came to For this, towards the end of the first- a longer time span. This would provide include it. Thus Todi, because of kalam Niraval, a ‘sama-kalam’ rendering a long time duration between two combining two raga images, one is performed in some music styles. This syllables and thus allow for introducing without ‘pa’ and the other with ‘pa’, is done to exhibit the rhythmic format variety in the melodic material. Thus has acquired a very large potency for of first kalam that would project two rendu-kalai talas would allow heavier itself. swaras per beat/ four swaras per beat. melodic material and variation in them Thus in art-music, alapana and the and would thus provide a good base for Sometimes while doing kalpana- other manodharma forms have to be niraval and kalpanaswaram of a level swaram in an alapana-tanam-pallavi, elaborately developed and the extent that would rise up to art music. In fact, there is the practice of rendering of elaboration would depend on the a pallavi of nalu-kalai would provide swaram in other ragas referred to as kind of raga chosen. In addition the the ideal platform for rendering niraval ragamalika swaram. This might help alapana has to be rendered in all and kalpanaswaram of the level of real to provide relief or a change from three layas, vilambita, madhya and art music. This is because a Pallavi in the musical intensity that the pallavi druta. In modern times, rendering of a tala in vilambita laya will have the singing has created. But as pallavi alapana in vilambita laya is rather rare. same number of syllables (aksaras) singing is primarily directed towards But the requirement of art music is as the one set in oru-kalai or rendu- a musical exposition based on a single that phrases in all three layas should kalai. And hence the same number of raga, singing of ragamalika swaram be present in the development of an syllables when set in a nalu-kalai would does lighten the seriousness that art alapana. be well spread out to provide scope for music is associated with. melodic variations. In a vilambita tala Tanam there would be facility for singing in As mentioned earlier, art music requires that manodharma be performed with Tanam primarily signifies ‘madhyama- all three kalams, first, second and third, discipline and in a formal manner kalam’ and thus it should be rendered but in a madhya or druta kala musical without slackness and casual approach. in this tempo. It requires singing or piece, this possibility is not there. In Thus the raga for which manodharma playing of melodic phrases using other words in a madhyama-kalam is rendered should be respected syllables like ‘ta’ and ‘nam’. The musical piece one can render Niraval and the various forms, alapanashould phrases should reflect different and Kalpanaswaram only in madhyama be elaborately rendered, spread over rhythmic formations as contrasted and druta kalams and not in vilambita- all three sthayis and using all three with alapana, which has no pronounced kalams.