Lec-dem by Dr T R Aravindhan on ‘Changes in compositions of Tyagaraja & Dikshitar’

[Sivaramakrishnan]

Lec dem on ‘Changes in the compositions of Tyagaraja and Dikshitar’ By Dr T R Aravindhan
17.08.2017 (06.15 - 07.45 pm)
Raghavendra Mutt, Mylapore, Chennai


Dr Aravindhan’s lecture demonstration - supported by a well designed power point presentation - was illustrative of his painstaking efforts to understand the old, documented versions of a few compositions of Tyagaraja and Dikshitar and aimed at creating an awareness among rasikas on the changes that have come into practice over the years. This formed the first part of the lecdem.

Dr Aravindhan duly read out a disclaimer that the aim of his presentation and research was only to apprise the (manuscript) versions and not to prescribe / impose the same on artists/rasikas. His mission was to compare the original versions documented by Walajapet Venkataramana Bhagavathar and Subbarama Deekshithar with the current versions of Tyagaraja and Dikshitar kritis respectively where significant changes have been observed.

The concurrent part of the lecdem was a demonstration of the changes observed in a few kritis of the Vaggeyakaaras. Subbarama Deekshithar’s Sangeetha Sampradaya Pradarshini was taken as basis for Dikshitar kritis. The also emphasised the need to preserve these versions.
A few kritis were sung (Pallavi / anupallavi / charanam as the case may be) by the presenter to explain the deviations in the following aspects:


A. Changes in Kritis:

KV Srinivasa Iyengar in his book “Tyagaraja Hrudayamu” (1920) mentions that even during his time, a few compositions of Thyagaraja were changed and he had procured the notations from various sources. AM Chinnasamy Mudaliyar in his book “Oriental Music in European Notation” (1892) claimed to have personally met several direct disciples of Tyagaraja. Walajapet Krishnaswamy Bhagavathar (son of Walajapet Venkataramana bhagavathar) was found to have authentic versions of Tyagaraja’s compositions. Mudaliyar had also crosschecked his versions with other direct disciples. Many of Walajapet manuscripts are still preserved at Madurai Sourashtra Sabha and transcripts are avavilableat Govt. Oriental Manuscript Library, Chennai. (This formed the basis of the study of changes in Tyagaraja kritis by Dr Aravindan).

Dr Aravindhan stated that changes in compositions were observed in the following perspectives:
1. raga /raga name of a kriti
2. raga lakshana
3. eduppu of the kriti
4. taalam
5. reckoning of talam
6. sahitya
7. sangatis
.
1.Changes in the raga:
a. Tyagaraja
Kanta judumi (Latangi)
Seethamma mayamma (Lalitha)
Nee chitthamu nabhagyamayya (Jeevanthika)
Nannu kanna thalli (Kesari)

b. Dikshithar
Maye tvam yahi (Tarangini)
Sri Ganeshatparam (Ardradesi)

2. Changes in the raga lakshanam
• a.Eschewing a swara
Suddha dhaivatam in Sourashtram
Sadharana gandhara in Sahana
Kakali nishadham in Begada
Sadharana gandharam in Surati and Brundavanasaranga
Kakali nishadham in Begada
Ishanadhi in Sahana and Sri Maatha in Begada, both composed by Muthuswamy Deekshithar were demonstrated.

• b.Addition of a swaram-
In some kritis a swara variety which was not used in the old versions is seen in the present versions.
Examples: Kakali nishadham in Khamas & Brindavanasaranga.
The Kritis Kamalapta kula of Tyagaraja without kakali nishadham and with sadharana Gandharam and Kamalamba samrakshathu of Dikshithar with only suddha dhaivatham were demonstrated.

• c. Total change in the raga lakshanam:
Ragas which has a variation in phrases, than what is used now (Bhairavi, Kapi, Balahamsa and Takka)
Krithis demonstrated - Intha sowkhya, considering kapi as an upanga ragam,
Raaka sasivadana (Takka) starting from mantara dhaivatham
Ninnubasi etla of Tyagaraja in Balahamsa with the phrase SRGMPMR.

• d. Eschewing some phrases:
Phrases which were present in these old versions and cannot be seen in the present versions
PDND, DNP, SDNP in Surati, SRGM in reethigowla, SRGM in Balahamsa
Kriti demonstrated - Balasubrahmanyam - Surati - Dikshitar.

• e. Equating melas:
Often, melakartha in sampoorna scheme are equated with the raganga ragas in asampoorna scheme.

Sumadyuthi – Simhendramadhyamam
Bhushavathi – Vachaspathi
Rasamanjari – Rasikapriya were few of the examples given.
Bhushvatheem in Bhushavathi was sung.
It was explained why it should not be equated with Vachaspathi. (This has nothing to do with Bhushaavali)

3. ‘Eduppu’ of a krithi:(Here, ‘eduppu’ would refer to the swara at the start of a kriti)

Many kritis started with a different swara in the older versions. This is more seen with Thyagaraja krithis.
Examples cited :
Venugana loluni of Tyagaraja (kedaragowla) starting with madhyama,
Nee dayaraada (vasanthabhairavi) starting at mandra dhaivatham
Raaka sashivadana (Takka) starting with mandra dhaivatham

Chintaye mahalinga murthim starting at panchama (Paras – Dikshithar).

Kritis demonstrated –
Nee dayarada and Chinthaye Mahalinga murtim.

4. Talam:
Misra chapu krithis were notated as Misra Ekam or triputra (in Dikshithar kritis), Khandachapu as Jhampa, and Adi talam as Desaadi.

How pace of a kriti changes due to interchange of these talas was also demonstrated. Misra Ekam when rendered in misra chapu automatically increases the pace of a krithi.

Kriti demonstrated - Mamava pattabhirama of Dikshitar in Manirangu (Tala:Misra ekam)

5. Reckoning of a talam
Rupaka talam was reckoned with a dhrutham and laghu earlier. More interestingly, reference was also made to SSP, mentioning dhruva talam to be reckoned as : Laghu (6), Laghu (4) and Laghu (4) and not as Laghu, Dhrutham, Laghu and Laghu as we use now.
This kind of reckoning Dhruva talam was also mentioned in Chaturdandiprakashika of Venkatamakhi and Subbarama Deekshithar genuinely followed his predecessors.
Kriti demonstrated - Suryamurthe in ‘old’ dhruva talam.

6. Sangatis
Multiple, cascading sangathis were not present for kritis in original version.
Most kritis had 1 or 2 sangatis with minimal melodic variation.
Kriti demonstrated - Vathapi Ganapathim as per SSP notation.

7. Sahityam
Changes in the sahityam are more seen with Tyagraja krithis than in Dikshitar krithis. Mahimatakinchu (Rishabapriya – Thyagaraja) has a different arrangement of the lines in pallavi (Mahini satyaswaroopudanu and Maharaja rajeswara, presently seen in pallavi are considered as
anupallavi).
First line of the charanam of the kriti Phanipathi shayi (Jhankaradhvani – Thyagarajar) reads differently in Walajapet notations.
An additional line is seen in the charanam of the krithi varadaraja (Swarabhushani – Thyagarajar).
This was duly demonstrated.

8. Gamakam
Only the krithis given in SSP were taken for this study. Kampitam was not used profusely in the notations. Even in the ragas like Neelambari, Yadukulakambhoji, Sahana etc, usage of gamakam was not markedt as we hear today. Other types of gamakam like Orikai and Jaru were also given
importance.
To illustrate, Thyagarajam bhajeham in neelambari (Dikshithar) was sung. Kampita gamakam was used only twice or thrice in the entire rendition.

The lecdem also discussed the devotion of Walajapet towards his guru Tyagaraja and the monumental work of Subbarama Deekshithar -the Sangeetha Sampradaya Pradarshni.

The presentation was authentic and Dr Aravindhan (a young medical doctor and a musicologist in the making) was thorough of what he was discussing - it was obvious he had done a good homework. Violin and Mridangam support were provided by Ms. Sukanya Varadharajan and Mr. Akash Hariharan respectively. There was a dedicated audience at the holy ambience of the Raghavendra Mutt.

The programme lasted for an hour and a half. It was felt that an exclusive slot for interaction with rasikas was a must.
Dr Aravindhan can be contacted at 98845 00967

[shankarank]

More interestingly, reference was also made to SSP, mentioning dhruva talam to be reckoned as : Laghu (6), Laghu (4) and Laghu (4) and not as Laghu, Dhrutham, Laghu and Laghu as we use now.

A Laghu of 6 is not named in any classification. What is the qualified name of such a laghu? 6 is considered redundant as it is a multiple of 3. Also many lines in sURya mURtE like sarasa mitra do have sections that floow 4, 2, 4, 4 pattern.

[bhakthim dehi]

Laghu of 6 is called as laghusekharam.

Also many lines in sURya mURtE like sarasa mitra do have sections that floow 4, 2, 4, 4 pattern.

You might have perceived like that. But, when the notation given by Subbarama Deekshithar is adhered to, no discrepancy is felt.

[SrinathK]

So that answers one thing I always felt - that the level of gamaka did steadily increase since the old days.

But wow, to see so many things having changed is astonishing. Especially the ragas.

Regarding eduppu changes in tala, one example would be sogasu chooda taramA -- MMI sang it on samam while everyone else shifted it to +1/2 eduppu. I am not sure how many krithis made these adjustments.

[bhakthim dehi]

Even I have a query regarding changes in the எடுப்பு, with respect to talam.
Were the krithis originally composed in arai idam and mukkal iidam?
Old books like Pradarshini or the book by AM Chinmasamy Mudaliyar didn't notate the krithis with these kind of eduppu. There are few krithis which start with arai idam, but that is not the majority.

[Sivaramakrishnan]

So that answers one thing I always felt - that the level of gamaka did steadily increase since the old days.

This has been one of the major aspects of change in the 'journey' of carnatic music over the years. It would be interesting to study the path and locate the landmarks. It could be a kriti itself or a Vidwan who triggered the significance of Gamakas!

[Sachi_R]

Thank you, Sivaramakrishnan. Very painstaking notes of an exhaustive lecdem.

To my untutored mind, such changes and variations are inherent to oir music system that throve on the word of mouth method with language variations, lack of notation, and a generous of interpretive component in all presentations.

[Govindaswamy]

Mr Sivaramakrishnan If the programme has been recorded can it be uploaded Please,

[Sivaramakrishnan]

Mr Govindaswamy,
The program was not videographed.
Regarding any audio recording you may kindly contact Dr Aravindhan at the mobile no already given in my first post.

[CRama]

Dr.Aravindan has done lot of research on this theme and he needs to be applauded for his efforts. Vedavalli Mami also has told certain things in her CD Pramanam and also in Sruti magazine. He has uploaded lot of songs sung by him as per his prescriptions which he has explained in the lec dem. These are available in the you tube. This lec dem is academically very useful- to know how these songs existed or have been documented in SSP and other manuscrits. Probably when the music migrated to sabhas, the changes have occured. We need not go into who did it, why did it etc. But the songs what we are hearing have gained acceptance and passed on through many generations. These will remain like this. Just for instance, the Dakshinamurthey as sung by Dr A sounds like an English Note- in the absence of gamakams. Pl hear the you tube links.

[CRama]

Thanks to Sivaramakrishnan for his painstaking efforts in making this detailed post.

I also wish that DR.A gets a slot in the December season in Parthasarathy Sabha or some venue to make this presentations for the benefit of large number of rasikas.

[shankarank]

Regarding eduppu changes in tala, one example would be sogasu chooda taramA -- MMI sang it on samam while everyone else shifted it to +1/2 eduppu. I am not sure how many krithis made these adjustments.

That is not materially different. As it is the arudhi that seem to matter. For e.g paripURNa kAma - Smt. Vedavalli begins at two offset and then stays at samam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BJWfCYNOl4.

Whereas MLV begins at 2 offset and remains consistent : https://youtu.be/HyaER635BuQ?t=530

Brindamma IIRC would sing with similar offset.

Another example: Sri Raja Rao contended that a maha vidvan will not sing a line like paluku paluku without a 2 offset: https://youtu.be/s1Pr0Slkfbg?t=4550

But Tanjore S Kalyanaraman ( with MC and Raghu - the Rishabapriya main concert) - had done the unusual - paluku paluku is held at samam, with a triSra caturaSra ambiguation - what with Palghat Raghu adding pregnancy in equal measure!

It seems the arudhi of that line falling on the samam of next cycle is the anchor than eduppu! But beginning at samam could be pedestrian unless you add pregnancy by some other means!

[thanjavooran]

Shri Sivaramakrishnan,
Thanks for the very detaied review. Quite interesting.
With wishes,
Thanjavooran
28 08 2017

[shankarank]

But Tanjore S Kalyanaraman ( with MC and Raghu - the Rishabapriya main concert) - had done the unusual - paluku paluku is held at samam, with a triSra caturaSra ambiguation

The concert is here: https://www.sangeethamshare.org/manjuna ... -vocal-02/

Correction: ramani samanamevaru is itself the main. Rishabapriya is the sub main.

[shankarank]

The earliest Lec Dem that I had attended where the "aha" feeling of anAgata eDuppu was formally discussed was the one by T.Visva @ Ohio State University with Sri Anathakrishnan ( father of Mridangist Anantha) on violin and Ramnad Raghavan on Mridangam!

That was a trigger point to me to ruminate on this one!