neela ramgopal - bhairavi, manji, huseni, mukhari - lecdem

[pattamaa]

Vidushi Smt Neela Ramgopal - vocal
Vid B.K.Raghu - violin
Vid Arjun Kumar - mridhangam
?? - vocal support

Allied Raga - lecture demonstration
Bhairavi, Manji, Huseni and Mukhari
Venue - Ananya, Malleshwaram, Bangalore

27 June 2010

This is second part of allied raga series being organized by Annanya.

I. Bhairavi

1. Some explanation was given about historical background of bhairavi like about 500 years old, and reference in thevaram
etc. And equivalent raga in tamil literature is kaushika pann. Vidushi explained about usage of chatushruti dhaivatam and
nishadam, which is close to shadjam.

2. Smt Neela sang charanam from famous viribhoni varnam, and mentioned that in olden times guru's won't teach the
differences between suddha and chatushruti dhaivatam, and one need to learn from observation. While singing, she clearly
highlighted both dha.

3. s r g m usage in swarajathi was explained like a phrase 'nsrgmp' in 4th charanam beginning with madhyamam; also, Ga is very strong in bhairavi, and sang phrases like r m g- r-, d p m g-, mpdpmg-r, etc. Vidhushi also said many people say
bhairavi and manji are same, since they can't differentiate. She said manji has very week gandharam. She also explained
three types of madhyamam usage in bhairavi. She also demonstrated usage of suddha dhaivatam only in one of the charanam.

4. Bhairavi alapana was sung in detail, and sari evaramma was sung (kanda jati jampai, 2 kalai), and neraval, swaras at
madhava sodhari gowri amba...

5. She sang Tondru nigazandha of mahakavi subramanya bharati, and said this is tuned in folkish manner.

II Manji
1. she explained that Ni has dhirga kampita gamaka, and d, p and ni are jeeva swaras. This raga has bhakti and karuna rasa.

There are two versions of manji, as evident from brovavamma and varugalamo, with later using antara gandhara. Gandharam is flat and dha is elongated.

2. She sang Brovavamma, first few lines of ramachandrena samrakshitoham, and later on varugalamo very emotively.

III Huseni
She explained with help of few prayogas like spmp, sndpmgrs and showed chatusruti dha is used. snspdp..,
pdn-dm..(chatusruti dha), ppn-dp (sudha dha), rgmrgsr.., rishabham comes as dhirga swara, and no gamakam. ss pp ss is
another proyogam worth a mention. pndns.. is important phrase. She said, rama ninne, and raghu veera keerthanas start with rishabam.

She sang pahimam bruhannayike, a swathi thirunaal swarajathi, and then muthuswami dikshitar's sri kalahasteesha (only
pallavi), and said this is excellent keerthana, and all huseni phrases are available in pallavi itself.

Vidhushi also sang antaranga mella sri hariki of Annamayya, and said this is composed in folkish tune.

IV mukhari
Two versions of mukhari existed long ago - sudha mukhari, using all sudha swaras - kanakangi janya, and other popular
version - nata bhairavi janya. Muthuswami dikshitar composed in both mukhari's and there is nothing common in two ragas,
both are entirely different. She sang few phrases to explain, like n d m- p n d s.., Rishabam is dhirga and jeeva swara, and
three types of madhyam used.. srmp--, srm--, and dpm--; She demonstrated how sudha dhaivatam and chatusruthi dha prayogas are used. Thyagaraja keerthanas in this raga depcit differnet rasas in each keerthana, and she wondered why people assosiate this raga with shoka rasa!

She mentioned that most of vaggeyakaras composed in this raga, and annamacharya composition nanati brataku was originally set to mukhari, and now being sung in revathi.

She sang mysore vasudevacharya varnam - ninnu kori yunnanura, and then sang detailed alapana of mukhari. She presented detailed rendition of thyagaraja's muripemu galige with neraval, swaram at idu leni malayamarutamu che.. followed by thani avarthanam

There was a longish speech and felicitation function, took good part of 15 minutes.
She ended the concert with a short mangalam.

Excellent support by B.K.Raghu and arjun kumar

Entire program lasted for little more than 3 hours. In the end, one got a sastisfaction of both a concert, and lecture demonstration. Excellent initiative by Annanya, wishing them very best. Next part of program in July by Rudrapatnam brothers in Ananda bhairavi and reeti gowlai.

Note - any mistakes in above notes may please be excused...

[rajeshnat]

pattamaa
Should have been an excellent lecdem and concert . All 4 lovely rAgAs one would just not feel bored.Will one get commercial recordings of this lecdem and concert.

[gardabha_gana]

I attended this awesome lec-dem though was 10 min late. I noticed that the event was being videographed and also noticed that some folks were recording. Wish I knew and I would have done too
I request the organizers/disciples to share the audio recording if not the video as this will help students of music immensely. Can one of the organizers/disciples comment ?

pattamaa has covered all aspects in the review. I was reminded of KVN the great - when varugalamo was sung. Kudos to the organizers.

[arasi]

Several years ago, Ananya had arranged an exposition of sAvEri by R. K. Srikantan.His students (M.S. Sheela, Ramakanth and others) sang too. I'm awed by lec-dems when I listen to experts but find it difficult to remember all that they say. The Ananya one of RKS was replete with music and that sAvEri he sang is still with me.
Neela Ramgopal would have made me walk out of the hall with her rich expositions of the rAgAs echoing in my head. RasikAs like me who have little knowledge of the grammar of CM need demonstrations where there is more singing/playing than speaking. Children too, of course.
What an impressive presentation!
Neela is a treasure trove of music. That's because she has lived with her muic intensely all her life . "Haven't others too?'', one may ask. Yes, but her singing is not a sign of her scholarship alone--it's the expression of the joy which music has given her all these years. It is the expression of her undying love affair with her art that I hear when she sings.
Someone stop me, or else I will go on and on about this 'unsung' vidUshi. No, it's not because she is a senior or because she happens to be a friend. Pattamma I think is young and look at her review!. I have met sevaral students of hers--young and not so young. Her enthusiasm and dedication refect in their eyes (expressing their sentiments for her) when they speak about her. Her age-defying enthusiasm makes her a youngster among them! In Bengaluru, they know her worth. In TN where she was born and lived until she got married, not many know her...

[ragam-talam]

I would very much like to listen to a recording of this lec-dem.
Hope someone can help out with this...

[arasi]

r-t,
I hope so too!

[sappri]

Part 1 : http://www.yousendit.com/download/K0JSO ... aU94dnc9PQ
Part 2 : http://www.yousendit.com/download/K0JSO ... R1B2Wmc9PQ

Found 2 links forwarded by a young vidushi - trying hard to see if we could get a video recording!!(with the permission of the organizers of course)

[gardabha_gana]

Thanks a bunch to sappri and the young vidushi who has provided the recording. This indeed is a treasure!!
BTW what is the name of the person who provided vocal support ?

[sappri]

I understand it was Subhashini

[Rsachi]

Reviving this old thread. Old is indeed gold in these matters!

I request Sappri to kindly upload the files again and give us the links. You cannot imagine my eagerness to listen to them. Smt. Neela Ramagopal is a unique teacher!

By the way, is this Manji, or Bhairavi, or what!? :

https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=-VNajEnGDs4

[Purist]

Sounds Bhairavi to me. There is one or two splashes of Manji - whether delibirate or accidental I dont know.
Good tune indeed.

[bhakthim dehi]

Manji is disguised in the name of bhairavi. Bhairavi has left this world long ago!!

[Rsachi]

Manji Manji
Katakana Kanji
Why is it so hard, I can't see.

Big sister Bhairavi
Look-alike, head held high,
Proud of her Swarajati,
And many more gems, is she.

But Manji, Manji,
Diffident, very shy,
"Varugalamo"? "Save me!"

Time to stand up, Manji!
Stop that teary plea.
And never let anyone
Pass you up for Bhairavi.

[Purist]

Rsachi Rsachi
Bahut Bahut achi achi !!1

[Rsachi]

Nandri Nandri _/\_