RAgam, ThAnam, Pallavi - fascinating facts!


My father told us about his family friend, who is a lover of Carnatic music. He once told that he can make a pallavi even about the

old lady selling brinjals. I shall write in Tamil to get the full impact!

ராகம்: ஆனந்தபைரவி. தாளம்: ஆதி

முக்கால் இடம் எடுப்பு.

பல்லவி: கத்தரிக்காய் விற்கின்ற கிழ | வி காசுக்கு | ஒண்ணு ரெண்டு மூணு நாலு அஞ்சு ஆறு ஏழு எட்டு || ஒன்பது (கத்தரிக்காய்)

ஸ்வரம் இப்படி:

; ; ; ஸா கா ரீ கா ; ; மா பா மா ; கா , மா , | பா ; ; ; ; பா பா மா | ப ப ஸ் ஸ் ஸ் ப ப ம க ம ப ம க ரி க ம || ப ம க ரி ஸ நி. (ஸா கா ரீ கா)
 

I used to think why the song soon after the tying three knots in a wedding is over, is set with MukhAri swarams. In the wedding

that I attended today, the NAdhaswara vidhwAn played 'Anandham Anandham AnandhamE' with the swarams:

S S N. S R , g S R R M G R S ......... R , m M P , p N P .... G m P m n p m g r s

P r' S' s' n D N P .... g M n P m n p m g r s in KApi rAgam. . . . :decision: . . . :cool: . . .
icon3.png
 
Dear Bushu,

Thank you for your feed back! Sanjay is excellent in handling tough rAgams with ease. In a recent Q - A session, someone asked him

what all sacrifices he had to do for continuing music. (You must be aware that he is a charted accountant by academic qualification)

He said, 'What? Sacrifice?! I am doing something which I love. That is all!' :thumb:
 

Madurai Sri. T. N. Seshagopalan uses his voice to the maximum possible variations like Sri. Sanjay!

T N S presents a beautiful pallavi in three rAgams. The pallavi is: NAttaikurinji enbAr siRandha engaladhu (NAttai)

NAttaikurinji, NAttai and Kurinji are the three rAgams. It is amazing to listen to the way he shifts to the Madhyama

Sruthi while changing to Kurinji!

Nattaikurinji RTP part 1

Nattai kurinji RTP part 2
 
Raji Ram said:

Madurai Sri. T. N. Seshagopalan uses his voice to the maximum possible variations like Sri. Sanjay!

T N S presents a beautiful pallavi in three rAgams. The pallavi is: NAttaikurinji enbAr siRandha engaladhu (NAttai)

NAttaikurinji, NAttai and Kurinji are the three rAgams. It is amazing to listen to the way he shifts to the Madhyama

Sruthi while changing to Kurinji!

Nattaikurinji RTP part 1

Nattai kurinji RTP part 2
Click to expand...

Madam Raji Ram,

I find that no musician sings RTP in Varali, Reethigowla or Gowla. Why is it so?
 
vsubbu48 said:
.... I find that no musician sings RTP in Varali, Reethigowla or Gowla. Why is it so?
Click to expand...
Dear Sir,

I have heard one R T P in VarALi by Sri. Sanjay Subrahmanyan in our sabha. It had the words 'Ambikai varALidho (varAL + idhO)' but

I don't remember the full pallavi. Many musicians choose the five gana rAgams NAttai, GowLa, Arabi, VarALi and Sri while singing /

playing thAnam. Google search gives a few more R T Ps set to VarALi. There must be R T Ps in ReethigowLa and GowLa too.
 

Dear Subbu Sir,

I could not keep quite after seeing these photos! I imagined what Sri. Sanjay would have told,

if the rAgam of a song that he has sung earlier is not found by the audience! Comments follow!
 

அப்பாடி! இப்பவானும் புரிஞ்சுண்டேளே! சந்தோஷம்!!

SRIBRMA8.jpg
 

When an artist presents R T P (RAgam thAnam pallavi), the pallavi gives unlimited imagination to the artist who sets it.

Let us first understand the six 'angam's of a thALam.

There are three angams which are normally used and three which are a sort of weird! They are:

1. Lagu - A beat and a variable number of finger counts according to its 'jAthi'. The symbol for this is 'l'

2. Dhrutham - A beat and a waving of the hand known as veechchu. The duration is 2 aksharams and the symbol is '0'.

3. Anudhrutham - It consists of a beat. The duration is 1 aksharam and the symbol is 'U'.

4. Guru - It consists of a thattu and for the remaining aksharams (depends on jAthi of the thALam), hand (closed one)

will be rotated in a circular motion. The default aksharams for this is 8.

5. Plutham - It consists of one thattu, one wave of the hand to the left and one to the right. The default aksharams for this is 12.

6. KAkapAdham - It consists of one thattu, One wave of hand upward, one to the left and one to the right. The default aksharams

for this is 16. (named thus because the movement reminds of the leg of a crow!)
 
There are five jAthis for thALam. They are:

Chathusram - 4 aksharams, Thisram - 3 aksharams, Kandam - 5 aksharams,

Misram - 7 aksharams and SankeerNam - 9 aksharams.

The basic seven thALams in which the beginners learn the alankArams are:

Chathusra jAthi Dhruva thALam = l 0 l l (4 + 2 + 4 + 4 = 14 aksharams)

Chathusra jAthi Matya thALam = l 0 l (4 + 2 + 4 = 10 aksharams)

Chathusra jAthi Rupaka thALam = 0 l ( 2 + 4 = 6 aksharams)

Misra jAthi Jhampa thALam = l U 0 (7 + 1 + 2 = 10 aksharams)

Thisra jAthi Thriputa thALam = l 0 0 (3 + 2 + 2 = 7 aksharams)

Kanda jAthi Ata thALam = l l 0 0 (5 + 5 + 2 + 2 = 14 aksharams)

Chathusra jAthi Eka thALam = l (4 aksharams)


Some books contain one more alankAram in SankeerNa jAthi Eka thALam,

just to enable the student understand the 9 counts in Lagu.
 

There was a great grand thALam known as 'Simmanandhana thALam'. It is the longest with 18 angams which includes

Laghu, Drutham, Guru, Plutum, Kakapadham (Except Anudhritham) and has128 aksharams (32 counts x 4).

Mudikondan Sri.C.Venkatarama Iyer learnt Simmanandhana thALam from Amma Chathram Kandaswamy Pillai- Thavil Vidwan.

He First Demonstrated this ThALam was in 1952 at Music Academy, later in 1970. I could find the related videos tooi.

Here they are, uploaded by his grand daughters. (needs lot of patience to understand!)

029-MCV-SII.1.ii.wmv(Simmanandhana Thala Lecture

031-MCV-SII.2-ii.wmv(Simmanandhana Thala Lecture

032-MCV-SII.2-iii.wmv(Simmanandhana Thala Lecture

033-MCV-SII.2-iv.wmv(Simmanandhana Thala Lecture
 

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