Most adored deity for Pallavis in RTP

[Sivaramakrishnan]

I have observed that most Pallavis are in praise of Lord Subrahmanya (Muruga)and invariably in Tamil. The reason could be that Muruga is glorified as the 'tamil Kadavul' and Cranatic music has its roots in the State.

Next in the order are Siva, Devi (Ambaal), Lord Venkatesa (Ranganatha).

Among Dasaavatara-s,Krishna tops the choice for Pallavi sahitya followed by Rama. Pallavis on other Avataars seem to be rare.

It is also interesting to note that 'thematic Pallavis' have not found that much acceptance in concert circuits.

[venkatakailasam]

I was thinking that it is Sri Rama. Is that not so ?

venkatakailasam

[tyagarajadasa]

Very interesting topic!

I think the pallavi line depends on rAgam chosen? eg: If you sing in kharaharapriya, there is usually a reference to Lord Rama, if it is Latangi or Madhyamavati, it is usually ambal. Perhaps this happens only if the name of the raagam appears in the line?

[gobilalitha]

Most of the vidwans are persons with tamizh as mother tongue They can write a few lines as pallavi , not necessarily poetic. Murugan is tamizh kadavul Hence tamizh pallavis on Lord MURUGAN

[ksrimech]

Murugan followed by SrIrAman

[arasi]

Murugan and kaNNan are the most popular of all, I think. I wonder why when vocalists often choose a meaningful line for a neraval (because it is worth repeating), they don't think the same about a pallavi line which is repeated even more. Here and there, tiruvaLLuvar's lines are finding a place in pallavis nowadays. Bharathi's too? That's a welcome sign. While not much can be conveyed in a single line, a thought or imagery-laden line can make a pallavi even better sounding, I think. When it comes to RTP, tradition still rules because many of the pallavis are nAmAvalis.

[CRama]

If the concert is during the time of any festival like Gokulashtami, Navarathri,"etc the Pallavi will be in praise of the respected diety. In some of the concerts held in Jamshedpur which are avilable in Sangeethapriya, I could hear some pallavis on Ayyappa and I presume the concerts were held as part of Ayyappan Festival. TNS has sung one very beautiful pallavi in praise of Ayyappan in the ragam Thodi.
"Vikasitha mukham subha bhala pradam Hariharasutham sada bhajeham.

[veeyens3]

This is an interesting anecdote. A.visiting vidwan ,was chatting with the hosts and the topic drifted to pallavi singing. He said the pallavi is mainly like a skeleton to hang the rythm. When the hostess, who had some music in her suggested some thalam the artist immediately without baiting an eyelid sang "thAvArattuku mUnEkAl and carried on with all aspects of pallavi like vilomam anulomam etc.This showed his mastery over layam

[harimau]

T N Seshagopalan beautifully wove the raga name into the pallavi line "Veera Maruthi Gambhira Maruthi Lanka Bhayankara".

There is of course the pallavi "Kutralatthu Kurangey, Maratthai Vittu Irangey" (as reported by Prof Sambhamurthy in his book) which can also be assigned to Hanuman over the objections of Sri Vaishnavites.

We can of course take the pallavi line "Thavarathukku moonekal" as yet another reference to Hanuman.

[arasi]

Harimau,
As I remember it--kuTRAlattuk kurangE kurangE, koppai viTTu iRangu! (koppu=branch of a tree)!
Has more kick to it than the kattarik kAi vendor pallavi !