RAgam, ThAnam, Pallavi - fascinating facts!

[Raji Ram]

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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)

 

[Raji Ram]

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: . . . . . .

 

[Raji Ram]

A simple pallavi set to BAgEsri rAgam in Thisra Thriputa thALam.

Ragam Tanam Pallavi - Bhageshri - Thisra Thriputa

 

[Subhalakshmi]

Raji, I love this ragam and Sanjay Subramaniam is excellent..

 

[Raji Ram]

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:

 

[Raji Ram]

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

 

[vsubbu48]

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

Madam Raji Ram,

I find that no musician sings RTP in Varali, Reethigowla or Gowla. Why is it so?

 

[Raji Ram]

.... I find that no musician sings RTP in Varali, Reethigowla or Gowla. Why is it so?

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.

 

[vsubbu48]

Here is an interesting link on சஞ்சய் சுப்ரமணியத்தின் முக பாவங்கள்!

http://dinamani.com/galleries/others/article1384823.ece

 

[Raji Ram]

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!

 

[Raji Ram]

அன்னிக்கு பாடின ராகம்ன்னா இது!

 

[Raji Ram]

இதுகூடத் தெரியலையா?

 

[Raji Ram]

நான் என்ன பண்ணுவேன், ஐயா?

 

[Raji Ram]

இவ்வளவு கஷ்டமா ஞாபகம் வச்சுக்க?

 

[Raji Ram]

ஏன் சொல்லறதை கவனிக்க மாட்டேங்கறேள்?

 

[Raji Ram]

கவனிக்கணும்! இது உசந்த சங்கீதமோல்லியோ?

 

[Raji Ram]

அப்பாடி! இப்பவானும் புரிஞ்சுண்டேளே! சந்தோஷம்!!

 

[Raji Ram]

Prof. M S K Moorthy sent this 'Pallavi', recorded form a concert by Smt. Ranjani and Smt. Gayathri.

The pallavi of the famous song 'BrOchEvArevarurA' is changed a little bit to fit in a 'Pallavi' set to

thALam Kanda Triputa - 9 counts. Here it is:

Pallavi.

 

[Raji Ram]

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!)

 

[Raji Ram]

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.

 

[Raji Ram]

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

 

[Raji Ram]

This 'simmanandhana thALam' could easily be nick named 'simmasoppana thALam'! :fear:

 

[Raji Ram]

Sri Balamurlikrishna has rendered a pallavi in Navamukhi thALam. It is the same as SankeerNa jAthi thriputa thALam

which is l 0 0 (9 + 2 + 2 = 13 aksharams). This fancy name denotes that the first half of the thALam has nine aksharams.

Dr Balamuralikrishna RTP - rAga gamanashrama - Navamukhi talam

 

[Raji Ram]

Here is a fascinating pallavi set about 'GAnakalAdhara' Madurai Mani (Iyer)

and 'Nandheesalaya' Mani (Palghat Mani Iyer) by Sri. T N Seshagopalan:

Ragam Thanam Pallavi (Part - 2) by Madurai Sri T.N.Seshagopalan

 

[Raji Ram]

An interesting R T P by Sanjay Subramanian:

RAGAM THANAM PALLAVI - RAGA BHAIRAVI