TAKING UP PALLAVI OF A KRITI FOR NERAVAL

[CRama]

Of late, I have seen a tendency to take up the pallavi of a kriti for neraval. I have heard many old time vidwans telling that it is not appropriate to do neraval at pallavi. I have also heard that the composers have given sufficient gaps in certain lines which are meaningful and ideal to take up for the neraval. I do admit that in olden days, certain inappropriate lines were also taken up for neraval. In Madhyamakala kritis, it is not possible to do neraval for pallavi for it will be packed with words. In vilamba kala kritis, our vidwans and vidushis are showing their manodharmam by taking up pallavis for neraval. The immediate trigger for this post is, yesterday Saketaraman presented an excellent concert in Arkay. He presented Janani Mamava (Bhairavi) in all its glory and bhavam,but I got a jerk when he took up the pallavi for neraval. There are many good lines in the song that can be taken for neraval. I feel it do not go well aesthetically. I wanted to know our rasikas opinion on this aspect.
Some examples of neraval for pallavi I have heard.
Mariveregathi evvaramma
Sree Kanthimathim Sankarayuvathim
Paritanamichite Palinthumemo
Janani mamava meye.
Forumites, please come up with your views in the matter.

[parivadini]

I have heard "Sogasuga Mridanga Talamu" taken up as neraval. I found it very enjoyable too. Last year during lecdem on Neraval Vid. Vedavalli remarked that "Rama Nee Samana" is a beautiful place for neraval.

[Rsachi]

Sir,
I feel the original idea of a "pallavi" is like a key idea or refrain around which thr entire song develops. It is like the blossoming of a flower, and the word pallu for a saree comes from the word pallava in Samskrita.

So if it is sufficiently weighty and "interpretable" with raga and laya, nothing wrong to do niraval. Of course, more often than not, many sangatis are sung in pallavi, and a line in charanam or anupallavi, which may occur rather fleetingly, with few sangatis, when taken up for niraval lends a beauty to the experience. So nothing hard and fast, I think.

[shankarank]

There is that famed kamalAmbAm bhajarE of TNS @ trivandrum with CSM and Veeru - released by Carnatica - that broke several conventional wisdoms including the one that one should not do elaborate neravals in Dikshitar sAhityam - things that used to get D-Fundamentalists riled up

[kvchellappa]

"I have heard "Sogasuga Mridanga Talamu" taken up as neraval. I found it very enjoyable too."
MS has done this and is so sweet.
Today Brinda did neraval of adum deivam ni arulvai.

[MaheshS]

There is a Somu-MSG-Karaikudi Mani LP release with ann awesome Kalayani. Kalaimalagum potrum, don't know who the composer is, but at the end teh neraval is in the pallavi, Somu style! This is available in Sangeethapriya.

[arasi]

Agreed. There are a number of songs in which the pallavi lines lend themselves for nereval. However, many songs start with addressing the chosen deity (or divinity) or a thought or a mood. the anupallavi says some more, but the charaNa marks the completion of the sentiments of the composer.

Then again, the rAgA at times dictates. The most emotive line from anywhere in the song (lyrics/ rAgabhAva yielding one) is chosen.

As Vedavalli says, rAmA guNa sImA! is enough. What if it is pallavi line? Here, even a couple of words are loaded with bhAva--in these two words, both the salutation and the rAgabhAva are richly conveyed.

My only grouse is when the singer gets carried away and gets back to the anchor words without minding them much--or even worse--touches just the first word nonchalantly and rushes back to the neraval!

I personally find more neraval lines in my songs in the charaNa-s or anupallavi lines.

[shankarank]

Not sure if this is a coincidence.

In Diskshitar's pallavis the first line is shorter ( less words) and has kArvai in many kritis which is the reverse in the case of Thyagaraja kritis.

Like kamalAmbAm BhajarE, SrI mAtA Siva vAmAngE, AkhilAnDESvaryai namastE(Arabhi), kAdambari priyAyai(mOhanam).

May be he enshrines Devi's pAdam first and then swami's pAdam second true to him being a SrI vidyA upAsaka.

[kvchellappa]

Here is one more:
"Never heard a nerval for dakshiNaamoorttE , was very good."
(Sri Mahesh on G Ravikiran's concert)

[MaheshS]

Here is one more:
"Never heard a nerval for dakshiNaamoorttE , was very good."
(Sri Mahesh on G Ravikiran's concert)

Sorry, he didn't do neraval for the pallavi, I meant the song in that instance, the neraval was for akshaya suvarNa vaDa vruksha moola sthitE. It's indicted clearly in my post here.

[kvchellappa]

Sorry.

[classical91]

Personally, I feel quite the opposite - most pallavi lines are actually very well suited for neraval. Of the several reasons for this, predominantly, the meaning of the pallavis tend to be more neutral/positive/safe.

As pointed out by Vedavalli maami in a LecDem, particularly when it comes to thyagaraja's kritis, the meaning can go extremely negative when it comes to the anupallavi or charanam. The problem is that thyagaraja's songs tend to be more conversations and complaints, rather than descriptions and glorifications. E.g. the charanam line 'prANamu lEni vAniki bangAru pAga cuTTi', in the song bhakti bheekshamiyave in shankarabharanam (which translated to 'decorating a dead body with a gold turban and diamond jewellery), which is a commonly taken up line for neraval; or the line 'vAni mAtalaku kOpakinchi kant' in Maa Janaki (which crudely translates to 'she will burn you to ashes with her eyes because the words enraged him'), which even the greats used to sing neraval at, unaware of the negative meaning of line when sung without the previous and next lines.

Another example she mentioned is kAru velpulu neeku sari in kalyani. I'll link the wordings and meanings here: http://www.gaanapriya.in/vgovindan/Tyag ... alyANi.pdf. If you see the meaning of any anupallavi or charanam as standalone, it does not make any sense (e.g. the charanam 'divaTiki dIpamu rIti, kAvETiki kAluvala rIti kAni', which translates into 'like a lamp to a torch, and canals to the river kaveri'). In this case, doesn't it make sense to sing the neraval at 'kAru velpulu neeku sari', which translates to 'no other god will be equal to you', a much more meaningful and positive line?

Meaning apart, sometimes I find the the pallavi is just more convenient for neraval. Semmangudi mama used to sing neraval at the pallavi line of 'Sri Krishnam bhaja manasa' in thodi (which was incidentally preceded by a ragam and thanam). When I found the neraval at 'shanka chakra' too commonplace, the pallavi line provided a much needed change.

Finally, a note on the structure of most dikshitar and shyama shastri pallavis - they are often perfectly structured with an arudhi. It is common knowledge that many yesteryear's pallavis were the pahlavi lines of songs (primala rangapathe, venugana ramana, rama nee samanamevaru, etc.). Apart from providing a positive meaning, they are less wordy which is great for neraval singing, and they have the tri-anga pahlavi structure. Hence, I would say that in a shyama shastri or dikshithar kriti, where the composer most commonly describes the subject, almost any line from the pallavi, anupallavi, or charanam can be taken up for neraval singing without much worry.

[Sivaramakrishnan]

I observe that the Pallavi is but a grand introduction/entry to a kriti only to be followed by loftier ideas/messages in the anupallavi & charanam/s. Though technically it is possible to delineate a Pallavi passage, the singer must be selecting the neraval sahitya which is more aesthetic and 'conveying'. I wont enjoy neraval @ pallavi for Vatapi Ganapatim/Chakkanirajamargamu/Endukubeddala or Deva deva kalayaami tey!
In the case of Janani Mamava-bhairavi ( as noted by CRama in saketaraman's conert) such beautiful passages like 'Anupamita kamala vasey ' or 'suruchira nayana' are certainly better points for neraval. It can be generally seen that charanams offer best scope for selection for neraval passages.
Innovations must be 'ramyam' in arts.

[MaheshS]

Sorry.

No need, found one and a very good neraval it is.PARAMPARA-Mohan Santhanam-Vocal - 01 Dec 2016