dEvagAndhAri

[SrinathK]

We had a thread to compare it with Arabhi : viewtopic.php?f=7&t=19063&p=220839&hili ... ri#p220839

The most knowledgeable experts in CM have written pages and pages on it : http://www.carnatica.net/newsletter/ara ... letter.htm

There are plenty of compositions in it....

And yet, dEvagAndhAri doesn't have its own thread till now?

Ok, getting to the point, dEvagAndhAri as a rAgA exists only because of the kind of phrasing and gamakas possible in it. The handling of the R2, the G2, the D2, the N2 and the presence of the N1 and phrases like PMD,D, -- DNS (or DSNS - gamakas allow both), SN3 DN2,DP, SRGR,GRSS, SND-RSR, and MGR-P. -- DP M,MGR, and many others, along with the brigha sets possible are the very core of the rAgA.

Despite said brighas though, the rAgA is truly at home in the slower tempo, a leisurely boat sailing in calm waters, where the gamakas can work their magic.

This time, I am going to start from a rather different place to cover the repertoire in this rAgA, mAnikkavAsagar - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy-zb5c-9Es
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Yq6dvH14Jo - the tiruppAvai and tiruvempAvai set is very good for learning the essence of the rAgAs they cover

I'd like to make a confession here - dEvagAndhAri might have been the very first rAgA I ever recognized as a child, because of this kriti - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpxLTKAdGkw (Only it was by Yesudas and I wore out that cassette by listening to it so many times!)

The PDND-MPDP-PDND-PMDP-PMPM-GRGR-SRSND,-R,S, is a recurring phrase throughout the song, and it stamped itself into the very identity of the rAgA with it.

Of course, Thyagaraja hasn't stopped there. Here's a full fledged rendition of seetAvara sangeeta gnyAnamu - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8Np6LKwgPc - by the one and only MMI.
And then there's karuNA samudra - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO3wGVYYKf8 - by LGJ (Kosmik Music's YT channel)

And before you think this rAgA was Thyagaraja's alone, Dikshitar has composed a masterpiece (kshitIjA ramaNam) in it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZPOXMdI3Iw
And there's more from where that came from - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZVTizoRvu0

Gopalakrishna Bharati has made history with this one : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MRsggIONhI

And now, over to all of you.

[shankarank]

Here a price catch for you..

https://youtu.be/PLKxGCBZURI?t=2008

a new unheard of tamizh composition. See how the words join back. And there is ullAsam! Literally mentioned what we felt with vinAradana manavi in airport concert of SSI - where he says the kriti requested he forgot and he will sing that!

[RSR]

evaru-manaku devagAndhari
karunA-samudra devagAndhari
koluvai-yunnadE devagAndhari
KshErasAgara devagAndhari
maravaka-rA devagAndhari
nAmorAlakimpa devagAndhari
pAlaya-SrI-raghu devagAndhari
sItAvara-sangIta devagAndhari
SrI-raghuvara devagAndhari
tanalOne devagAndhari
tulasamma devagAndhari
vinarAdanA devagAndhari
--12 songs
==( listed in sangeethapriya site.. May be useful to learners)

[shankarank]

There was an old post on sangeetham.com that once talked about SrI Nukkala Chinna satyam comparing this rAgAm to Saurashtram, where except for the Ri difference both rAgAs are essentially same in lakshana. But wondering if in expression there are limitations viz-a-viz for one or the other, in their common zones because of that difference.

karuNA samudhra was sung almost of like Arabhi by greats before SSI. SSI had changed it to fit the devagAndhari as per information from RKSK.

[Sivaramakrishnan]

Srinath says:
"............ the rAgA is truly at home in the slower tempo, a leisurely boat sailing in calm waters, where the gamakas can work their magic."

'Vinaraada naa manavi' is an exceptional kriti which yields to fast tempo and even chosen to pep up the concert especially in the first half of the recital.

[Sivaramakrishnan]

So also 'Karunaa Samudra' sung in a medium to fast tempo.

[CRama]

There is a beautiful Swati Tirunal kriti in this ragam very often sung by DKJ, Puducode Krishnamurthy, R.K.Srikantan, B.V.Raman- Lakshmanan etc. Pl see the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ31Jba_Zis

[SrinathK]

There was an old post on sangeetham.com that once talked about SrI Nukkala Chinna satyam comparing this rAgAm to Saurashtram, where except for the Ri difference both rAgAs are essentially same in lakshana. But wondering if in expression there are limitations viz-a-viz for one or the other, in their common zones because of that difference.

karuNA samudhra was sung almost of like Arabhi by greats before SSI. SSI had changed it to fit the devagAndhari as per information from RKSK.

Very interesting observation this one. So different the two ragas sound that I didn't realize how much of that boiled down to that one R2.

[Sivaramakrishnan]

There is a beautiful Swati Tirunal kriti in this ragam very often sung by DKJ, Puducode Krishnamurthy, R.K.Srikantan, B.V.Raman- Lakshmanan etc.

Rama Rama paahi was MDR's favourite at the Navaratri Mandapam, Trivandrum. He invariably sang it as the second or third item in his typical athivilambakalam after a brief yet weighty alapana. As he never performed on the last day of the series (Main-Arabhi) to my knowledge, there was no problem of 'Devagandhari - Aarabhi conflict' in the same concert.
Unfortunately the AIR relay seldom covered this song as the broadcast was confined to the second half of the recital.