Bhavapriya

[satyabalu]

Bhavapriya – An Indelible Identity Carved by Tyagaraja
Posted on June 11, 2014 by mohansanthanam
To begin with, Bhavapriya is:

A raga relatively lesser known
A raga not having many compositions. Consequently:
A raga relatively rare in concerts
But, but, BUT…

A raga that has *enormous* potential!
The potential of a raga isn’t defined by the capacity for the ability to stretch the raga in terms of pure alapana alone. Is the raga capable of evoking multiple moods? Does the raga sound its best at all times of the day? For example, it cannot be denied that Poorvikalyani sounds best when rendered at night. However this does not by any means imply that Poorvikalyani can be rendered ONLY at night – Carnatic music perhaps being the most all-encompassing and catholic streams of classical music thankfully hasn’t fettered itself with dictums about when to sing a particular raga and when not to. However Nilambari, when sung at night and Bauli or Revagupti when sung early morning do give one the impression of being in a state of bliss – at least till the rendition is in progress!

Hence, a raga’s potential is much more than mere raga alapana expansion.

Some of Bhavapriya’s characteristics are:

It is a mirror image of a very popular raga. Bhavapriya is the prati-madhyama equivalent of one of the Chakravarti Ragas, Todi.
(Note: the name Chakravarti Raga is an epithet used by maestro Lalgudi Jayaraman in a lecture-demonstration titled Manodharma Sangeetham. The other Chakravarti Ragas are Shankarabharanam, Kalyani, Kambhoji and Bhairavi).

Despite the apparent association with Todi, Bhavapriya did not really catch composers’ imagination, particularly the Trinity (Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri) when compared to corresponding output in other ragas.
Bhavapriya can be said to possess an intrinsic pathos. This could be possible due to its close proximity to a much better known raga – Shubhapantuvarali. Shubhapantuvarali as we all know, seems to have been constructed for pathos alone especially on the death of prominent people where the media, particularly Doordarshan goes all out to portray this raga in various shades through the Shehenai, the Saarangi and other instruments.


Though Bhavapriya is the prati-madhyama counterpart of the formidable emperor Todi, even a cursory listening will tell us that it really does not have anything to do with Todi at all! This is probably due to the presence of Shubhapantuvarali as the next raga in the 72-melakarta raga scheme. Except the kaisiki nishaadam in Bhavapriya, all the other notes are the same as Shubhapantuvarali. So does that make it similar to Shubhapantuvarali and in the process sort of entail Bhavapriya to lose its identity?

The author can say emphatically here that that is most definitely NOT so. Bhavapriya despite its similarities with Shubhapantuvarali, does VERY CLEARLY have its own identity.

While the plain saadhaarana gandhara note in Shubhapantuvarali is clearly a jeeva swara, Bhavapriya also is rendered with a plain gandhara note. However during raga alapanas, it is better and actually “safer” to land on to the rishabham and give THAT note equal, if not better, prominence. A phrase like P P P M D P M G—- G R R—– with the rishabham oscillated sufficiently almost like a kampita gamaka (or even like the rishabham in Saveri or Gaula) removes doubt about any ambiguity between Bhavapriya and Shubhapantuvarali. The rishabha is most definitely NOT oscillated in Shubhapantuvarali. And when the rishabham is oscillated in Bhavapriya, it paves the way and sets the stage for the descent into the madhara sthaayi dhaivatam, through the nishaadam. This clearly establishes Bhavapriya beyond all doubt.

The nishadam in Bhavapriya is interesting – it can be rendered plain and also oscillated – something similar to what happens in Todi. However in Bhavapriya, it is the plain nishaada that adds to the overall effect and differentiates is effectively from Shubhapantuvarali. The oscillated nishaada can be used slightly in lesser proportions.

There are some musicians who render the gandhaaram of Bhavapriya like the Varali gandhaaram. This almost sounds as if Bhavapriya is an amalgamation of Varali and Shanmukhapriya. But going by much empirical evidence, while Bhavapriya certainly shouldn’t sound like Shubhapantuvarali as we have seen, on no account it should sound even *remotely* like Varali! Hence this author is of the VERY strong opinion that Bhavapriya’s gandharam is best when rendered as a plain saadhaarana gandhaaram.

Tyagaraja! Tyagaraja! Tyagaraja!

Seriously, what would be Carnatic music without Tyagaraja?! The bard from Tiruvaiyyaru seems to have left no stone unturned and nothing left unexplored.

Despite Bhavapriya being relatively a rarer raga, paradoxically, Tyagaraja’s sole kriti Srikanta Neeyada is fairly popular in concerts. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer sang Srikanta Neeyada often in his concerts though this author isn’t quite sure if he sang extensive alapanas in Bhavapriya during his long career. Semmangudi usually sang the kriti as a ‘filler-item’ with a few rapid-fire swaras. Lalgudi Jayaraman on the other hand, has dealt with Srikanta Neeyada in a mellow tempo and like everything by Lalgudi, his version of the kriti is contemplative, unique and truly exquisite.

With Ramanavami around the corner, it is pertinent to go into the sahitya of this kriti where Tyagaraja refers to mantras – bala and atibala and also in the process, questions Rama about the prevailing situation then! (Oh Lord Vishnu, why can’t you understand our worry, especially who despite being brahmins, are ignorant of the right path for salvation?)



pallavi

SrI kAnta nIyeDa balAtibala
celaganga lEdA vAdA

anupallavi
pAkAri nuta nIvAri
balAbalamunu teliyaga lEdA (SrI)

caraNam
kAka daityunEka SaramunanEya
kanjajAstramai paraga lEdA
SrI kara dvijulai dArineruga lEni
cinta nIku tOcadEmi tyAgarAja nuta (SrI)

The gist of the kriti (from The Spiritual Heritage of Tyagaraja):

Oh Srikanta! Were you not equipped with the famous astra mantras, Bala and Atibala? Was not their glory demonstrated by you on several occasions? Further, did you not convert a blade of grass into Brahmastra to kill Kakasura? With all this prowess, how is it that you are not worried about the plight of the Dvijas (i.e. Brahmins) who do not know the right path?

The second kriti that is worth mentioning is Swati Tirunal’s Maamavaasruta set to Adi tala 2-kalai. It is possible that the Maharaja of Travancore realized the potential of Bhavapriya and bequeathed this heavy weight. Maamavaasruta begins emphatically on a madhyama swaraaksharam and is a wonderful example of creativity being literally soaked in an offbeat raga like Bhavapriya.

The result is a slow chowka kala kriti that explores Bhavapriya in its full glory in all the octaves.

Pallavi:

mAmavAshrta nirjara bhUruha mArakOTi madApaha dEha

Anupallavi:

kAmadAyaka parimuditEbha kEvala mOda nivAsa ghanAbha

Charanam 1:
danta shUka shayAmbuja nEtra dIna janAvana pUtacaraNa
vandakALi hrdayAmbuja mitra vAsavAdi krta stutipAtra

Charanam 2:

pAdanatAdi samsta nirAsa bhrUvallI nirjita mArasarAsa
dEva gaNAdrta mrdutara hAsa vairi niSUdana sadguNa vAsa

Charanam 3:

shArada vidhu mukha mauktikahAra shAnta phaNIshvara nagara vihAra
parilasa mE hrdi jaladhi gabhIra pankajanAbha bhavArNava pAra

Three other kritis extant – Neekemi Nirdaya by Mysore Vasudevachar, Yagnya Mayam Shankaram by Muthiah Bhagavathar and Senthil Velanpadam by Kotiswara Iyer are very rare and this author is yet to hear any of these in concerts.

Renditions:

From a concert standpoint, Bhavapriya has been a Ragam, Tanam and Pallavi favourite with adventurous musicians who reveled in long alapanas pushing their creativity to the maximum with wonderful results. The musician that immediately comes to mind is the legendary and the one and only M.L.Vasanthakumari. Among the many instances, this author can recall a one hour All India Radio broadcast where after a quick Maarakoti Sundari Maanini (Bahudari, Adi, G.N.Balasubramanian), MLV launches into an expansive Bhavapriya that held this author spellbound for the next fifty minutes or so. Truly MLV was synonymous for pure creativity, with an unquenchable thirst to constantly explore more and delve deeper and deeper into Raga per se and in the process giving reign to her fertile imagination.

The one other instance that the author is literally compelled to describe here is once again a Ragam, Tanam and Pallavi, this time by the mandolin wizard U. Srinivas. Srinivas, recognizing the potential of Bhavapriya, starts off the raga alapana slowly and meditatively and builds it stage by stage – like a carefully constructed edifice. It is pure melody and there is no trace of any Shubhapantuvarali or Todi or Varali anywhere – Srinivas is confident that Bhavapriya can hold its own and in his hands, it does so in absolutely unequivocal terms. Srinivas traverses to the upper octave, explores, exhibits several nuances and finally returns to the base before proceeding the concluding round of the alapana. Technically, this portion of the raga alapana is called ‘makarini’.

It is this portion of the alapana of Srinivas that deserves special mention. He proceeds to give fast phrases and extensive sancharas with wonderful sweeps and jaarus, skillfully alternates the tempo here and there and proceeds to give another succinct picture of the raga with all the dexterity possible gradually, building up the speed all the time. He traverses to the upper octaves and then returns as quick as lighting, building up a crescendo, that makes the listeners truly hold their breath.

And finishes with a flourish.

Small wonder that there is thunderous applause!

The reader is requested to remember that we are talking about Bhavapriya – a relatively rare raga and not a Todi/Kalyani/Kambhoji. If this is the enthusiastic response that a beautifully executed Bhavapriya can receive, then there can really be no debate about the usual complaint of thinning audiences due to unfamiliar items in a concert. Any item, if prepared and polished well and aesthetically presented, can always win the audiences over. Srinivas’ Bhavapriya alapana is ample testimony to that point.

In conclusion, Bhavapriya is one of the lesser known ragas that was given an identity of its own by Tyagaraja and expanded by Swati Tirunal and other composers. It is a raga that is worth exploring further.



Note: This article was published by Naadhabrahmam Music Journal (www.naadhabrahmam.com) a few issues ago.

Kudos to Mohan Santhanam for a scholarly presentation of a rare raga in a lucid style .

[VK RAMAN]

Thanks Satyabalu for sharing this self explanatory article. Any one out there who can share an audio for this rare raga?

[shankar_krish]

Here is one for you

http://youtu.be/BK8EOnbnYQ0

No idea about when this was recorded..

[rajeshnat]

Just recollecting the different bhavapriya that i heard , a really superb raga

1. IN 2004 or 2005 , TNS sang the bhavapriya - I made a remark that this is the first time I am hearing bhavapriya raga alapanai ,it sounded like subhapantuvarali and shanmughapriya is the comment that i made then.

2. some time bit later I have heard suguna purushotaman, sowmya and master BMK singing the same bhavapriya as a filler with the krithi srikantha of T . I think suguna purushotaman started with an alapana.

3. There is one lovely bhavapriya krithi that suryaprakash sang in manakkal rangarajan rasikas home concert in 2006. The krithi on Lord Muruga was his own and. He sang in two speeds the swaras after an alapana all for 25 mins as a submain with explanations on swaraksharam of bhavapriya.
The krithi is sadA nin pada mArgam ninaindhEn(R,S) - bhavapriya - suryaprakAsh. The recording is there somewhere

4. Very recently a young kid in US pranav kikkere(disciple of chitraveena ravikiran) presented bhavapriya with an alapana and followed with srikantha krithi even in an arangateram. The recording was shared in youtube

5. very recently sudha ragunathan presented in her sangeetha kalanidhi concert where she took bhavapriya for rtp.I dont know how that was there was a hindu review is all i recollect now.

[CRama]

Rajesh, The Bhavapriya of TNS- Was it RTP. I have heard that he had sung RTP in Bhavapriya. But I have not heard it. In Navarathri Mandapam 2005, TNS sang a brilliant expansive alapana of this ragam and the ST Kriti.
You heard shades of SP and SPVarali. That was the same experience for me in 1970 when I heard this ragam from Radha Jayalakshmi for the first time.
IIRC, Kalyanaraman has sung elaborate alapana for this ragam and the ST kriti Mamavasrita.

[CRama]

Let me add. Last Music Season Neela Ramgopal presented a very good portrait of Bhavapriya and the song Mamavasrita of ST. It was relayed in AIR. If anybody had recorded pl share it. Unfortunately TVG did not upload the same.

[venkatakailasam]

I am yet to hear a better one than this...

BMK 044-shrI_kanta_nIyeDa-bhavapriyA-BMK

Listen here:

http://mfi.re/listen/myn995ws2x008ci/BM ... yA-BMK.mp3

[rajeshnat]

Rajesh, The Bhavapriya of TNS- Was it RTP. I have heard that he had sung RTP in Bhavapriya.

Some one put a song list and I just replied to the post with 6 liners way back in 2004. To the best of my knowledge TNS sang only a krithi and not a rtp because in my reply i have not made any mention about his taanam . Any idea approximately as to when TNS sang bhavapriya RTP,I wish we have access to that.

There is a bunch of bhavapriyas in you tube. Dileep kumar and Neela ramgopal version is also there. Ithink in the link below there is a wrong tagging of bhavapriya ragam to a MD krithi in ragam bhavani.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bhavapriya

[satyabalu]

"Marvellous, this article on Bhavapriya. I wish I could sit by your side and listen you demonstrate all the nuances you mention in the article. Why dont you kindly try a multimediia approach, embedding a few audio (or even better videoclips along with the article, particularly in paragraphs like "While the plain saadhaarana gandhara note in Shubhapantuvarali is clearly a jeeva swara, Bhavapriya also is rendered with a plain gandhara note. However during raga alapanas, it is better and actually “safer” to land on to the rishabham and give THAT note equal, if not better, prominence. A phrase like P P P M D P M G—- G R R—– with the rishabham oscillated sufficiently almost like a kampita gamaka (or even like the rishabham in Saveri or Gaula) removes doubt about any ambiguity between Bhavapriya and Shubhapantuvarali. The rishabha is most definitely NOT oscillated in Shubhapantuvarali. And when the rishabham is oscillated in Bhavapriya, it paves the way and sets the stage for the descent into the madhara sthaayi dhaivatam, through the nishaadam. This clearly establishes Bhavapriya beyond all doubt.

The nishadam in Bhavapriya is interesting – it can be rendered plain and also oscillated – something similar to what happens in Todi. However in Bhavapriya, it is the plain nishaada that adds to the overall effect and differentiates is effectively from Shubhapantuvarali. The oscillated nishaada can be used slightly in lesser proportions.". Please do consider my request. Thank you once again for this excellent explanation of a rare and interesting raga like Bhavapriya."This is a forward from another Forum.

[sanjaysubfan]

Sanjay has sung a Bhavapriya RTP in December 2002

http://sanjaysub.blogspot.in/2009/07/de ... nload.html

[varsha]

Anyone interested in an hour long bhavapriya by balchander ?

[knrh05]

varsha, please share. looking forward to it! Also, waiting to hear the name of the singer for your post in the AIR concert thread

[varsha]

Will upload later today
That was pazhani vijayalakshmi singing sukhee evvaro in the AIR thread

[varsha]

varsha, please share. looking forward to it!

http://www.mediafire.com/listen/js2yvs2 ... gudi_-.mp3

http://www.mediafire.com/listen/pxu4rac ... hander.mp3

[varsha]

I request the experts to identify the violinist or make a guess.i have been intrigued by this question for a long time
The essay at 44 th minute onwards makes me think it can only be tnk
Anyway an unbelievable track.

[knrh05]

Thanks for the uploads. Great tracks, especially the old Lalgudi one.

[shankar_krish]

This track of SB is awesome - have not grown tired of listening to this over and over, over years.
There are glimpses of the violinist being TNK, but his typical playing style does not come thru at all. Unless of course he was phenomenally restrained in his usual style. In any event, the violinist is fabulous too.
I find the SB, MSG and the BMK as the best of bhavapriya i have ever heard, so far of course.

[sukumar]

the alapana played by Sri S. Balachander is the final word in Bhavapriya......

[minisantu]

Thanks to satyabalu for posting about Bhavapriya. It is certainly a soulful raga and I am looking forward to hearing more of it.
While I am untrained to discern the technical aspects of it, it breathes pathos and wraps the listener with cathartic melody (akin to Shubapantuvarali).

Here's an exquisite rendition by Ganesh on the violin
https://youtu.be/Hn_tBN66DU4

[minisantu]

Dikshitar's Madhuraambaam Bhajarey sung by Dr. Yesudas:

https://youtu.be/oonhN475T7M

It sounds like Bhavapriya to me, please correct me if it is another raga.

[SrinathK]

Reviving this one. bhavapriya uses G2, which means it should not be compared to varALi (which uses G1 actually).

From the famous SSI Airport concert - Sri kAnta neeyeDa - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12qMyGKCQIs

My plan as of now is to treat the rAgAs of Dikshitar's school and Thyagaraja's school separately, so while this rAgA goes by the name of bhavAni in Dikshitar's school, I'd probably open a separate thread for it. Everyone ok with that idea?

Since the original poster mentioned Mandolin Shrinvas's RTP - here you go : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC-SepJfyM0