will the real kanakanaruchirA please stand up?.

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vainika
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 11:32

Post by vainika »

So what's the deal with this kRti? I've heard that only in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka can one find the original version of kanakana ruchirA preserved faithfully, and that in Tamil Nadu the version has been modified significantly.

I'm curious to listen to this original/un-mutated version of the kRti. Could someone point to links? And also, what were the musical reasons (if any) behind the changing of version?

thanks,
Last edited by vainika on 22 Jan 2009, 19:31, edited 1 time in total.

bilahari
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Post by bilahari »

Vainika, what mutations do you mean specifically?

annamalai
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Post by annamalai »

Wouldn't Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer's version close the "authentic" version - Umayalpuram tradition 'heritage.

I understand Semmangudi changed Viswanatha Iyer's version.

Alathur Venkatesa Iyer's book has notation of the krithi - but I have not heard Alathurs render this krithi.

vainika
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Post by vainika »

bilahari wrote:Vainika, what mutations do you mean specifically?
svaras (and tune) associated with the charaNams

saveri
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Joined: 18 Feb 2007, 11:46

Post by saveri »

Vainika,

I sincerely urge both you and every rasika , to hear the rendition of Sangita Kalanidhi. Smt.R.Vedavalli of the Ratnam, the recording is available with Giri Trading.

This version is the original, unmutated one and I have corroborated this with the Vidushi herself. Once you hear this and then listen to the other versions you will make out the difference.

ravichitrapu
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Re: will the real kanakanaruchirA please stand up?.

Post by ravichitrapu »

smt. r.vedavalli's rendition of kanakana ruchi in varali is available at this site -
https://sujamusic.wordpress.com/2012/03 ... a-ruchira/

ravichitrapu
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Re: will the real kanakanaruchirA please stand up?.

Post by ravichitrapu »

shivakumar's site has the notation that most closely matches those heard in smt. r.vedavalli's rendition = lyrics are here -
http://www.shivkumar.org/music/kanakanaruchira-new.pdf

ravichitrapu
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Re: will the real kanakanaruchirA please stand up?.

Post by ravichitrapu »

notation that most closely matches to the other commonly heard version of kanakana ruchi is available at this site - said to belong to classical arts society of houston -
http://nebula.wsimg.com/c900e59050ea1e5 ... oworigin=1

ravichitrapu
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Re: will the real kanakanaruchirA please stand up?.

Post by ravichitrapu »

here is a rendition of kanaka ruchi ra by t.m.krishna that closely matches to the houston / nebula.wsimg notation given above -
http://www.aradhana.org/media/varaali.mp3

shankarank
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Re: will the real kanakanaruchirA please stand up?.

Post by shankarank »

Seems like it took one mamAngam ( mahamaham) to get the answer :lol: :lol:

ravichitrapu
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Re: will the real kanakanaruchirA please stand up?.

Post by ravichitrapu »

actually i was listening to various versions of kanakana ruchi and searching in rasikas forum and saw this post.
so thought i would post here what i found on the net. (even though i knew it was a six year old post).
(of course also found many interesting points regarding varali ragam). anyway pl excuse.

shankarank
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Re: will the real kanakanaruchirA please stand up?.

Post by shankarank »

No worries. As they say it is "just kidding". And I also transposed digits as 2007 and 2019 to come up with mAmAngam ( mahAmakam) - which is 12 years! (before anyone notices - that is ;) ) :lol:

ravichitrapu
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Re: will the real kanakanaruchirA please stand up?.

Post by ravichitrapu »

noted. :D
the telugu idiom for 12 years is Pushkaram (the river festival that comes once in 12 years)!!!

RaviSri
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Re: will the real kanakanaruchirA please stand up?.

Post by RaviSri »

The (Hi)story of the Varali Pancharatnam

Before 1940, this song was known to none. It was when the 3 factions observing Thyagaraja's Aradhana at Tiruvayyaru merged in 1940-41 that it was decided to start singing the 5 songs. They were then labelled as 'Pancharatnam', a name that did not exist prior to 1940. Musiri was supposedly the originator of this idea. Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer it was, who came up with the song. None then even knew that this was a kriti composed by Thyagaraja. From then on all 5 songs are being rendered on Aradhana Day. And it is MVI's pATAntharam. There were many who doubted the authenticity of the songs. Even Semmangudi said in the 1950s, "idu tyAgarAjar paNNinadu ille". But then they sang it at Aradhana celebrations. The song was very rare in the concert circuit, for the simple reason that there was this superstition that if a guru taught his disciple the Varali raga, the guru-disciple relationship would break. Many musicians didn't even learn one song in that raga.

There are two things in this rendition. One, most musicians did/do not render Varali properly. The Varali gAndhAram eludes them. This can clearly be seen/heard in the Pancharatna rendition. Most musicians render the G as G2 thus hinting at shades of Shuba Pantuvarali. That apart, the Thillaistanam version of this song has the first charanam sung in 2 Avartanams of 2 kaLai Adi tala, as opposed to the single Avartanam sung by all others.

What Vedavalli sings is as per the Thillaistanam version. She and Balamurali are the only musicians I have heard who sing the first charanam in 2 Avartanams. The G2 also is sung correctly by both.

An Aside: Brindamma (T.Brinda) used to say: " varALi pAda teriyAdavanga dAn ShanmukhapriyA mAdiri rAgam ellAm pADuvAnga". Meaning, those who can't sing Varali, sing Shanmukhapriya and other such ragas.

MaheshS
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Re: will the real kanakanaruchirA please stand up?.

Post by MaheshS »

From Sriram V's blog post - Bangalore Nagarathnamma and the Tyagaraja Aradhana
..till 1940, when SY Krishnaswami, ICS convinced the groups to unite and it was in 1941 that the Aradhana as we know of it was first conducted. A common musical homage was envisaged and Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar selected the five pancharatnas as being best suited for group rendering. This idea was adopted and the choral rendition of the five songs was made an integral feature of the Aradhana.

shankarank
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Re: will the real kanakanaruchirA please stand up?.

Post by shankarank »

MaheshS - your version is corroborated by Sri T.K Murthy in one of talks ( available in youtube IIRC) - as it took too much time for all Bhagavathars to sing individually - it got late - so HMB/MazhavarAyanEndal all decided to do this group singing.

shankarank
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Re: will the real kanakanaruchirA please stand up?.

Post by shankarank »

RaviSri wrote: 08 Nov 2017, 18:44 The (Hi)story of the Varali Pancharatnam

That apart, the Thillaistanam version of this song has the first charanam sung in 2 Avartanams of 2 kaLai Adi tala, as opposed to the single Avartanam sung by all others.

What Vedavalli sings is as per the Thillaistanam version. She and Balamurali are the only musicians I have heard who sing the first charanam in 2 Avartanams. The G2 also is sung correctly by both.
An old musician ( of good pedigree) trying to coordinate group singing pre-Aradhana, said she had to stick to one Avarta version ( much to the chagrin of Andhrites) , that otherwise everybody looks at every else to know when to strike the syllable :lol: :lol:

shankarank
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Re: will the real kanakanaruchirA please stand up?.

Post by shankarank »

https://sriramv.wordpress.com/2017/11/0 ... -aradhana/
There are many who feel that the event is a mere tamasha and that the religious atmosphere has been vitiated by the TV coverage, the bright dresses and garish jewels and the domination by a select few.
Reading V. Sriram's account - we would rank as the most clueless civilization ever, that is not just clueless about it's past , it's present and future as well ( Starting from the day of those events recounted)!

Even in there he makes a dig at Silk Sarees and Jewels , before actually pointing out the stage hiding her memorial from tyAgarAja!

Saw this posted in Sowmya's facebook page. They wore Silk Sarees, but it could be called as ostentatious or moderate depending on from which time frame you look at it.

https://www.facebook.com/10000666802586 ... 977173317/

A man , especially an yati , needs to be celebrated on his day of memory having lived and produced a magnam opus! Before they looked into tyAgarAja kritis for meaning - they could have studied the upaniShads and their meaning as well ( if only literally at least) - the ones that are still recited on the day during Abhishekam.

shankarank
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Re: will the real kanakanaruchirA please stand up?.

Post by shankarank »

Mahati and Mahanadhi Sobana who occupy the prominence on TV Screens - especially the latter I am told travels the Somu/Kunnakudi circuit around Adi Velli/tai velli concert venues.

And we run them down using proxy methods of our own concept of religious atmosphere!

Today a Somu type vidvAn will not stand a chance there!

And music still happens like this there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiLTU4XUxF8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOaGtxFnT6c - you can see AKC in the audience.

These were venues where historic concerts of TNS, LGJ and CSM were held once!

SrinathK
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Re: will the real kanakanaruchirA please stand up?.

Post by SrinathK »

Just to let everyone know what actually causes such confusions :-

This is MVI's version, sung by Santhanam :- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuaxMa6lxpM (I can verify because I have an MVI recording of it).

This is Vedavalli mami's version (skip to 27:35) :- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM-NdI8vDNA

And this is the one that democracy voted for that was sung by Semmangudi and what everyone sings at the aradhana today :- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2plV_MXBM0 -- It's not MVI's version that they're singing.

And Nookala's version (it's a class recording, bewarned, every phrase is repeated) :- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL9Cs9zKa88

All of 'em different.

varALi always used G1 (shuddha gAndhAram) with an upward gamaka on it. It is not G2 (sadhArana gandhAram) by any stretch. In fact both varALi and vijayashree have the notes of the 39th mElakartha jhAlavarALi, not subhapantuvarALi (the 45th mEla in the next chakra).

shankarank
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Re: will the real kanakanaruchirA please stand up?.

Post by shankarank »

The G1 of vEdavalli mAmi sounds close to the kalyANi R2 going from sa - kanakava(sana) <- the singing of 'sana'.

I cannot believe MVI sang like that - oh well - lot of long / shorts not taken advantage of / expressed!

And lot of word splitting - of course not ideal in either one: mana|suna canu|vuna ninnu , sI|ta kuluku|cunOra

shankarank
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Re: will the real kanakanaruchirA please stand up?.

Post by shankarank »

SrinathK wrote: 01 Mar 2018, 22:59 And Nookala's version (it's a class recording, bewarned, every phrase is repeated) :- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL9Cs9zKa88
Very interesting - thanks. The way he negotiates the word split right from the starting - kanaka vasana instead of kana|kava|sana is worth the notice.

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