Dear Rasikas,
While invoking the blessings of Lord Ganesha, and with His express permission, I am now going to share with you an insight that struck me just now, while listening to some particularly strident loudspeaker bhajans in the neighbourhood.
I am emboldened by the fact that just like Carnatic music is the "grandest form" of music, perhaps in terms of the sheer population of apaswaras in our music taking place per unit time, we should be holding the world record. This in spite of so much insistence on shruti alignment and multiple types of shruti assist devices on the stage (sometimes I can count about four/five devices & instruments).
I am saying all this with a nonchalance hoping that you folks won't be offended by what I say, and see the humour in all this. By the way, many great rasikas I know insist on saying aBaswara instead of apaswara.
So here goes my generic definition of the seven types of apaswaras:
1. Basic shruti or tonic Sa drifts during the song significantly. This is Aadhaara apaswara.
2. The purity of the scale is compromised, and the notes Ri, Ga, Ma, etc. have a randomness of pitch, much like the walking of a Rishabha on the road.
3. Some of the apaswaras are esoteric, and hard to discern, as the musician forays into fantastic manodharma. This is the Gandhara type of apaswara. (The seventh and sixth are different by being more particular types. Here it is basic manodharma type of apaswara).
4. Then there is the Madhyama variety. This occurs in the middle of a long piece or concert, and all is forgiven and forgotten, until at the pause between pieces, the musician/s decide to do a reference check, and find they have not stuck to the middle path of the shruti. After they realign themselves, the music returns to a particularly happy phase. ( this could be for the mridangam, and even violin, a big issue).
5. The Panchama apaswara is a special one. In this, everyone, vocalist, mridangam, violin,flute, etc. introduce a number of apaswaras, due to poor shruti alignment and also imperfect pitch positions for the swaras. The whole experience can be blamed on the primordial Panchabhootas. This is particularly obvious when the musicians accompany dance. Also, even a solo veena can have significant shruti issues due to tuning, playing, fret positions etc. In other words, Pancha bhootas.
6. The Dhaivata type of apaswara is a bit difficult to define. In fact I am searching for words to define it. This type of apaswara occurs in mainly some difficult songs. The fast sangatis, the complex chitte swaras, etc. land the musician/s in offkey notes. This type of apaswara is purely an indication of the difficult songs. (eg bhavayami gopalabalam, vasudevayani etc.)
7. The seventh, and final, type of apaswara is the exclusive preserve of some musicians who present a wide vocal/instrumental range. They hunt, like a Nishada in the forest, for the impossibly high and low notes. They go there, reach the precipice, and hold out. Sometimes they fall. Sometimes they manage to keep the balance, and come back to firmer ground. But everyone has an inescapable feeling that they lost the swara shuddham at that point. But this is condoned by most of us as an innovation side-effect.
So in summary, a drifting Aadhara, a meandering intermediate note, an esoteric apaswara that comes in manodharma sections, sometimes like attempted graha bheda ( I am being cheeky here); the fourth variety is the loss of shruti shuddham in the middle of long pieces. The fifth one is a kind of democratic apaswara anarchy. The sixth is occasioned by fast/complex pieces. The seventh is the hallmark of adventurous manodharma hunting in impossible territory.
I hope you can all add your erudite remarks and responses.
Once again, Happy Ganesha!
