Dr. M Balamuralikrishna: as a composer (BMK)

Sivaraman · Post by **Sivaraman** » 19 Feb 2006, 23:48

Here is a write-up on the great BMK as a music legend and his contribution as a composer to Carnatic Music.It is also revealing that he is the fifth descendant in the guru-sishya parampara of Saint-Composer Thyagaraja.

Dr M Balamuralikrishna
From being a child prodigy to becoming a legend in his life,
Dr M Balamuralikrishna is regarded as one of the most gifted exponents of Karnatak classical music for over six decades now. His powerful three-octave voice is known for its vibrant and magnetic quality. Born to musician parents Suryakanthamma and Pattabiramiah of Andhra Pradesh, Balamuralikrishna became a popular and prolific singer-composer at a young age of 15.

A fifth descendant in the guru-shishya parampara of saint-composer Thyagaraja, Dr Balamuralikrishna is not only a vocalist of repute but an accomplished instrumentalist as well. He plays the violin, viola, veena, kanjira and the mridangam with equal ease. He has 400 compositions to his credit, including varnams, kritis, javali, devotional songs and tillanas. He sings in Tamil, Oriya, Marathi, Telugu, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, French and Hindi and is the state musician of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Asthana Vidwan of Sringeri Peetam and Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, he is also member of the expert advisory committee, Music Academy and Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai. His invaluable contribution to Indian music includes resurrecting ragas like Nartaki and creating new ones such as Lavangi, Mahathi, Murali, Omkari, Sarvashri, to name just a few. Some of most eminent vocalists and instrumentalists of North Indian classical music have performed jugalbandi with him.

Dr Balamuralikrishna has done a comparative study of ragas in film and classical music and presented it on Doordarshan. As the first producer of AIR, he is known for pioneering early morning broadcasting called Bhakti Ranjani. Chased by honours and titles, the 74-year-old singer-composer has been declared a National Citizen and was given the Padma Vibhushan in 1991.

And here is what the renowned website Carnatica.net has to say about DR.BMK as a Composer of merit:

Galaxy of Composers

LIVING COMPOSERS

M BALAMURALIKRISHNA

Musical Background: One of the greatest singers in the Carnatic music arena, Balamuralikrishna was born on 6th July 1930. He learnt music for brief spell of six months from Parupalli Ramakrishna Pantulu. Acclaimed as a child prodigy, his expertise is the fruit of native wisdom and hard work. He is also an accomplished viola player, who can also handle other instruments like the khanjira.

Region: Sankaraguptam, a small hamlet situated in Rajolu Taluk, in East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh.

Contribution: A highly original musician, Balamuralikrishna is an outstanding composer with about 300 kritis, varnams, tillanas, etc, to his credit, who started composing right from his fourteenth year. Several of his pieces are popular both in the music and dance arena. They are a lovely blend of the intellectual, with highly complex rhythmic and lyrical patterns, but at the same time, instantly appealing. On the inspiration of Swami Vimalananda of Kuttalam Mutt, he composed and later perfected seventy-two songs in the 72-melakarta ragas. One of his publications was 'Janaka Raga Kriti Manjari', a music text. He also has the distinction of having discovered many ragas and composing in them.

Languages used: Sanskrit and Telugu.

Signature: One finds mudras like Muraligana, Balamurali etc in his compositions.

Popular compositions: Varnams in ragas like Shanmukhapriya and Tillanas in Kuntalavarali etc.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 21 Feb 2006, 23:42

well done! Do post the compositions serially and if possible the renderings. It will be nice if a translation also is posted so that the sahitya can be appreciated. Musical nuances should be highlighted for Rasikas to enjoy the beauty!

madhuvAtA ^RitAyatE (let the sweet wind blow)
madukSharanti sindhavaH (let the oceans multiply sweet juices)
mAdhvIrnaH santvOShadhIH (let the medicinal plants enrich their tastes to us)
......
(From the vedas)

svAgataM muraLI gAna pravAhaM!

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 22 Feb 2006, 08:43

i open with one of my favourites.

: http://rapidshare.de/files/13837103/06_ ... i.mp3.html

Sivaraman · Post by **Sivaraman** » 23 Feb 2006, 00:09

cmlover,
Please refer the following link for a complete list of BMK's melakarta compositions.Sri Krishna Kunchitapadam , an ardent BMK devotee, has compiled this exhaustive melaraga chakra wise list of the krithis.:

www.geocities.com/krishna_kunchith/ravaLe/index.html
Unfortunately, I do not comprehend Telugu, and probably, you may find some telugu friend in our forum who can provide you the translation of the krithis. Even I would be grateful if someone can provide the translations or cite some source of a book or website which could provide the translations.

Sivaraman · Post by **Sivaraman** » 23 Feb 2006, 00:17

cmlover,
As to renderings, I had posted a zipfile of the first 10 melakarta krithis in the thread of BMK.Please refer the same.

Sivaraman · Post by **Sivaraman** » 23 Feb 2006, 00:43

Coolkarniji,
A million thanks for that divine meenakshi in hamsanandi which kept me spellbound.Is it possible to reveal the concert details( date/venue/accompaniments)?

kiransurya · Post by **kiransurya** » 23 Feb 2006, 01:11

I can do the translations for you from telugu to ??? I can transliterate them into english and can write their meanings for you.
Let me know which ones you want..

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 23 Feb 2006, 02:22

Thanks kiran! That will be a great help for us to understand the pathantharam and enjoy the lyrics.

Sivaraman
Perhaps you may agree that appreciating a CM artiste is not simply paying verbal encomiums, but to listen to his kritis and share the enjoyment. That is practical. In that respect we consider coolkarni our kalpakavrikSha who assiduously collects the music from all sorts of difficult sources and shares them unstintingly with all of us! Time permitting he will share the gems of BMK with us. Also note that I called him elsewhere Sabari since he posts only those which he himself has heard and enjoyed. To paraphrase, his philosophy is:
'yaaM petra inbam ivvaiyam peRuka' (let the world enjoy the same pleasure that I got!)
In short we are all here to enjoy CM in practical terms rather than 'talk' about it. At the same time since time is limited we can have only a few threads of appreciation at one time. We all had a great time relishing the compositions and music of HH Jaya Chaamaraja Wodeyar; courtesy of DRS/coolkarni/RC/Meena.... We are currently starting a series on GNB which I am sure will be highly appreciated. Again DRS is very kindly sharing his own stellar compositions with all of us. The least we can do is to listen and add our comments and appreciation. Our web admin is a greeat fan of Chembai and is planning to share the works of that mahanubhaava (he has already posted a few in the audio gallery). You are welcome to share your collections as well as anecdotes over the years that you have known ! Thanks for the mela ragamalika of BMK. Hope you will get the rest for us to appreciate this magnum opus. But again empty words of praise (indiran, chandirsn etc) mean nothing and will be just a waste of time and space at this forum! We welcome your active participation in this forum!
susvaagatam

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 23 Feb 2006, 18:21

<<Is it possible to reveal the concert details( date/venue/accompaniments)?>>

1978
Trivandrum
Violin - M Chandru
Mridangam -Palghat Raghu

This is from the Notes in the CDs i received .But I have a doubt if it is Chandru .
This concert has another less-heard krithi -Sangeethame Varadayaki in Kalyani.
An unusual rendering with BMK breaking into a thanam in the latter half of the neraval.
will post that track tomorrow.
(In fact I now realise that the few lines he sings in the duets with Bhimsen Joshi is from this krithi.)

Sivaraman · Post by **Sivaraman** » 24 Feb 2006, 02:25

Thanks for the info.Look forward to the "Sangeethame varadayaki" in Kalyani.

meena · Post by **meena** » 26 Feb 2006, 06:07

What happened to this thread??? cold-turkey!

anyway, heres one of BMK comp. that i came across today!

Mahaniya madhura-Mahathi
Smt.Sujana Vadlamani on veena:

and heres the next, amirthavarshani thillana rendered by the master himself

Lji,
i could not locate the text on the net, could u pl. post. thanku

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 26 Feb 2006, 10:57

someone talk to badris boss fast please !!
turkeys get cold in 48 hours flat these days..

Rigapada · Post by **Rigapada** » 26 Feb 2006, 20:33

The transliteration scheme used by sri Kunchitapadam is slightly different from the one used on this site. Hence you may find it a little difficult to read fluently. There are total around 15 telugu kritis in the 72 kritis. I shall try to give the meanings of one or two per day. As this is the first time for me to do this, please excuse me if there are mistakes or lapses. All corrections are gratefully accepted.

A nO bhadraH kratavOyantu viSvataH ! Let noble thoughts converge on us from all sides!

Kritis 02 and 08 are in praise of Sadguru Tyagaraja and kriti no 68 is on Muttuswamy Dikshitar.

07 sAEnAvathE (cathusra jAthe threputa) [nAEthra pA]

jAla-mAEla-raGupathAE SrE-pathAE |
nEla-kaNTa-sannutha-sanmathAE |
nEla-varNa-dhenakara-kula-pathAE pAlenjcu-SrE-rAma-BUpathAE |
karuNA-katAkSa yAEla-upAEkSa dhuShta-SekShaka SeShta-rakShaka |
sarasejAkSha sura-nara-rakShaka sujana-pakSha muraLe-Baktha-rakShaka ||

Meanings:

jAla = Delay, mAEla = Why, raGupathAE = Head of Raghukula, SrE-pathAE = Husband of Lakshmi, nEla-kaNTa-sannutha = One who was praised by Siva, sanmathAE = One with right intellect.
nEla-varNa = One of blue color, dhenakara-kula-pathAE = head of Surya Vamsa, pAlenjcu = Protect us, SrE-rAma-BUpathAE = O King Rama
karuNA-katAkSa = Having compassionate looks, yAEla = why, upAEkSa = this neglect, dhuShta-SekShaka = Punisher of the bad, SeShta-rakShaka = Protector of good
sarasejAkSha = one with eyes like lotus, sura-nara-rakShaka = protector of celestial beings and humans, sujana-pakSha = partial to good ones, muraLe-Baktha-rakShaka = Protector of this devotee, namely Murali.

--------------------

09 DhAEnukA (rUpaka) [nAEthra gO]

rAvIya rAmIya pAlempavIya |
sAEvaka jana kAmetha Pala dhAyaka SrE nAyaka |
dhEna banDhO, dhayA senDhO |
nEraDhe banDhana, nAradha vandhana |
DhAEnuka ranjjaka DhEra ceththA, karuNAkara, muraLe gAna suDhAkara ||

Meanings:

rAvIya rAmIya = Please come, O Rama, pAlempavIya = Please rule (protect) us,
sAEvaka jana kAmetha Pala dhAyaka = giver of the fruits of requests of servent people, ie one who fulfils the prayers, SrE nAyaka = Husband of Lakshmi,
dhEna banDhO = Relative (Protector) of the downtrodden, dhayA senDhO = ocean of compassion, nEraDhe banDhana = Builder of the bridge, nAradha vandhana = one who is praised by Narada,
DhAEnuka ranjjaka = Charmer of cows, DhEra ceththA = sublime mind, karuNAkara = Embodiment of karuna, muraLe gAna suDhAkara = Moon (as for lotuses) for the songs of Murali or the abode for the musical nector of the flute.

--Sarma

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 26 Feb 2006, 22:53

Welcome Rigapada!

it is so nice of you to help us with the meanings of BMK Telugu kritis. Is it possible to get the rest of the 72 melas audio? If you do have them pl let us have them. Also pl participate in our other CM discussions with comments and clarifications.

Warm regards

cmlover (narayanan)

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 27 Feb 2006, 01:35

mahanIya madhura. rAgA: mahatI. rUpaka tALA.

P: mahanIya madhura mUrtE kamanIya gAnamUrtE
A: sahana saushIlyAdi sadguNO bhAda sadkIrtE
mahatI mandra sugAtrE mAm pAhi gurumUrtE
C: aharaham-Anandamaya gAna bOdhanAnuraktE Ashrta
muraLIkrta mrdu sangIta sudhAsaktE mAm pAhi gurumUrtE

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 27 Feb 2006, 02:09

Rigapada: If you wish I can post the lyrics of BMK as you request them if you have problems with Mallikarjun's site.

Rigapada · Post by **Rigapada** » 27 Feb 2006, 23:14

Dear Lakshman,
Thank you. I could download all the 72 kritis and they are clear. If I have any doubt, shall request you.

Rigapada · Post by **Rigapada** » 27 Feb 2006, 23:30

11 kOkelapreyA (cathusra jAthe threputa) [nAEthra mA]

vAdha mAEla rADhA manOhara, sadhAnandha hRdhaya |
Adharenjcu SrEDhara, dhAmOdhara |
bRndhAvana vehAre SAUre |
nEla mAEGa varNa, nEla maNe mAlA BUShaNa, samara BEShaNa |
lElA BAShaNa, SAESha Sayana, sadhA muraLe gAna suDha rasAsvAdha ||

Meanings:

vAdha mAEla = why debate (and vascillate), rADhA manOhara = darling of Radha, lit: one who stole the mind of Radha, sadhAnandha hRdhaya = always with blissful heart,
Adharenjcu = Please care for me, SrEDhara, dhAmOdhara,
bRndhAvana vehAre = One who graces Brindavana, SAUre = One with valour,
nEla mAEGa varNa = of the color of dark cloud, nEla maNe mAlA BUShaNa = adorned with blue gems, samara BEShaNa = steadfast in war,
lElA BAShaNa = playful in speach, SAESha Sayana = Who rests on SEsha, the great snake, sadhA = always, muraLe gAna = the music of the flute, suDha rasAsvAdha = one who enjoys the nector (of the music of the flute).

Gist: Why are you vascillating, take care of me. All the other words are names of Vishnu, in sambOdhana prathama.

-----------------------

14 vakuLABaraNam (cathusra jAthe threputa) [agne SrE]

kumArune valaenu kAvavAE, gere kumAre sukumAre, nannu |
sumAnasa vAsene suhAsene, sOma bemba vadhanAE, sura na nAE |
SarvANe maheSAsura madha hAreNe, sadhA muraLe gAna suDhA mOdhene |
sadhAnandha hRdhayAE sadha SevAE, vejayapure nelayAE vakuLABaraNAE ||

Meanings:

kumArune valaenu = as your son, kAvavAE = protect (me), gere kumAre = O Daughter of mountain (Himavan), sukumAre = delicate lady, nannu = me
sumAnasa vAsene = dweller of good hearts, suhAsene = one with a good smile, sOma bemba vadhanAE = one with a face similar to the moon, sura na nAE = one with the face of Gods, ie with an ever smiling pleasant face,
SarvANe = Amba, maheSAsura madha hAreNe = O one who destroyed the pride of mahishAsura, sadhA = always, muraLe gAna suDhA mOdhene = Always reveling in the nectar of the music of the flute,
sadhAnandha hRdhayAE = one always with a blissful heart, sadha SevAE = one always worshipped, vejayapure nelayAE = in your abode in Vijayapuri, (Devi Kanakadurga of Vijayawada), vakuLABaraNAE = One who is adorned with the flowers of Vakula.

Gist: O Goddess Parvati, please protect me as you protect your son.

[/b]

meena · Post by **meena** » 28 Feb 2006, 01:02

Rigapada

kudos ! thanku

Sivaraman · Post by **Sivaraman** » 28 Feb 2006, 02:36

Rigapada,
A big boquet of thanks for the wonderful and painstaking efforts.More power to your elbow.God bless you.

Rigapada · Post by **Rigapada** » 28 Feb 2006, 07:26

dear cml, sivaraman, meena,
Thank you for your encouragement. Sorry, I do not have audio for these krithis.

Dear lakshman,
Do you have the lyrics for the 32nd kriti, namely 'rAgavarDhanE (rUpaka) [Rthu SrE]', from a different source?
'

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 28 Feb 2006, 20:13

The texts that I have are from the published books of his compositions.

gAna sudhArasamE. rAgA: rAgavardani. c/rUpaka tALA.

P: gAna sudhArasamE paramAnanda dAyakamO manasA sAma
A: A nArada hanumadAdula anavaratamu pAsincE
C: gOvardhana giripai gOpi manOharuDAla mEpucu
muriyucu gO gOpa kulanu mugdhula jEyu muraLI

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 28 Feb 2006, 21:17

Thanks Rigapada

It will be great if somebody can post the audio too so that these fine compositions can be enjoyed fully with music!

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 28 Feb 2006, 21:40

Many songs rendered by BMK can be heard here:
http://www.astrojyoti.com/balamuralikrishnamp3.htm

Also available on musicindiaonline are several of his songs.

Rigapada · Post by **Rigapada** » 28 Feb 2006, 23:55

17 sUryakAntham (cathusra jAthe threputa) [agne mA]

karuNenjcarA kare-varadhA nera thambu nennAE naera namme nAdA |
saraseja-nAEthra, sath-guNa-sAndhra |
vara-mune-methra mRdhu-thara-gAthra |
BRGu-madha-hAra Baktha-pApa-hara bRndhArcetha pAdhAravendha |
Baktha-saraseja sUryakAntha-guNa vara-muraLe-gAna-maDhu-preya ||

Meanings:

karuNenjcarA = Take pity on me, kare-varadhA = Protector of the Elephant, nera thambu = always, nennAE naera namme nAdA = (I) always believed you only.
saraseja-nAEthra = lotus eyed, sath-guNa-sAndhra = full of good qualities,
vara-mune-methra = friend of the rightuous, mRdhu-thara-gAthra = Softvoiced,
BRGu-madha-hAra = reducer of the pride of sage bhRgu, Baktha-pApa-hara = remover of the sins of the devoted, bRndhArcetha pAdhAravendha = with feet worshipped by BRnda,
Baktha-saraseja sUryakAntha = charms the devotees as sun the lotuses, guNa vara = virtuous, muraLe-gAna-maDhu-preya = relisher of the nectar from the flute's music.

Gist: I only believe in your greatness, take pity on me.

----------------------------------------

32 rAgavarDhanE (rUpaka) [Rthu SrE]

gAna-suDhA rasamAE, paramAnandha dhAyaka mOmanasa, sAma |
A nAradha hanumadhAdhu lanavaratha mupAsenjcAE |
gOvarDhana gerepI gOpe manOharudAlamAE puthsu, mureyuthsu |
gOgOpa kulanu mudhdhula cAEyu, muraLe ||

Rewritten:

gAna sudhA rasamE paramAnanda dAyaka mO manasA, sAma |
A nArada hanumadAdu lanavarata mupasincE |
gOvardhana giripai gOpI manOharu dAla mEpucu, muriyucu |
gO gOpakulanu mugdhula cEyu, muraLI ||

Meanings:

gAna sudhA rasamE paramAnanda dAyaka mO manasA, sAma = O mind, only the nectar of music gives extreme happiness, (specially, the music of) sama veda,
A nArada hanumadAdu lanavarata mupasincE = (the music) chanted regularly by the likes of Narada and Hanuman,
gOvardhana giripai = On the hillock of Govardhana, gOpI manOharu = the darling of the gopis, dAla mEpucu = grazing the cattle, muriyucu = in a happy mood,
gO gOpakulanu mugdhula cEyu = mesmarising the cows and their caretakers, muraLI = flute

Gist: O mind, only the nectar of music gives happiness. The music of samaveda gives happiness.
The music chanted by devotees like Naarada and Hanumaan gives happiness.
Grazing the cattle on the hillock of Govardhana, Krishna, the darling of the gopis, plays the flute in a happy mood and mesmarises the cows and herdsmen.. That music nectar alone gives paramananda.

Dear lakshman,
Thank you for posting the version in the books with you. It coincides with the paThantara I assumed.

jayaram · Post by **jayaram** » 18 Mar 2007, 15:59

Interesting article - http://webindia123.com/personal/music/murali1.htm
Excerpts:
"He was, as usual, very polite but he made it very clear how he had established himself right at the very top of the heap without any help from the Travancore Royal Family, Thank You Very Much. I said that I couldn't be blamed for things, which happened decades before I was born."

"And thus began my lessons with him. I had heard that he loved money, so I was terrified of what he would charge for lessons. But then the lesser heard Murali Story proved to be true.... that he never accepted money for teaching."

mahakavi · Post by **mahakavi** » 18 Mar 2007, 19:38

Yes, this article is very generous, with a generous dose of sycophancy. But that is his privilege.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 18 Mar 2007, 21:40

sycophancy = gurubhakti

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 18 Mar 2007, 22:13

sycophancy = gurubhakti

Not .When you consider the last paragraph.
Without that, maybe Yes.

And for the record's sake , Van Gogh did not sell a single painting in his Lifetime.
Inspite of Having a Brother Theo, who had an influential role in the Art Dealer Circles.Theo chose to spend all his money on paint for his dear Brother and ended up losing his own Wife ,during Childbirth, for lack of finances.
Jesus and Ramakrishna are on a yet another different plane altogether

meena · Post by **meena** » 25 Mar 2007, 05:04

"All I know is my style of music":
DELETED

vs_manjunath · Post by **vs_manjunath** » 25 Mar 2007, 06:59

Thanks Meena for an Interesting article. All of us know Dr MBK is a giant in carnatic music. Long Live Dr MBK.

(PS: He got them for the Kannada film Hamsageethe in 1975 and the Telugu movie Madhavacharya in 1986.)
I think, Madhvacharya was also a Kannada movie not a telugu movie.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 25 Mar 2007, 10:30

BMK's statement in the article 'Music is just an expression of pleasure and pain.' kept me thinking. I guess in some sense that is true, at least a whole lot of music can be considered along those lines. If music and navarasAs go together, then the navarasAs need to fall along those lines.

I have read somewhere else as well that BMK started performing at the age of 6. I wonder what 'perform' actually means in that context. Did he actually give public concerts at that young age? In any case, that is quite amazing!!

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 25 Mar 2007, 13:35

I think a number of our 'child prodigy' performers were on stage by that age...

ISTR hearing Ravikiran say that he retired from vocal performance at six!

Nice article.

This musician has had no formal education. In fact, he says he has not been to school for more than three months. However, he has received at least seven honorary doctorates including Ph D, D Sc and D Litt. He has also served as the pro-chancellor of the Telugu University.

--- Amazing!

knandago2001 · Post by **knandago2001** » 25 Mar 2007, 18:48

Recently I attended a concert of Sri. BMK during the vasantotsav (Holi) celebrations in Kolkata, where his invocation to Lord Vinayaka was in a new raga by the name "Ganapati" - sgp S - spg S... The lyrics of the pallavi went something like "Gam gam ganapatim..." His swarapastara was amazing! I'm keen on learning more about this creation of BMK.

vs_manjunath · Post by **vs_manjunath** » 25 Mar 2007, 20:27

There was a similar composition "umA sutham bhjAmyaham mama mAnasa sthitham" having just 3 notes smpS | S pms || by Sri MBK, a very melodious composition. May be this raga is created and called as Mahithi ??, i am not sure.

drshrikaanth · Post by **drshrikaanth** » 25 Mar 2007, 20:40

knandago2001 wrote:in a new raga by the name "Ganapati" - sgp S - spg S...

This rAga, if Im not mistaken, is neither new nor created by BMK. It is "swayambhUswara" rAga in which vINe SivarAmayya of Mysore has composed a kRti nearly a century ago(perhaps 7-8 decades). Lakshman can confirm the rAga scale.

ramakriya · Post by **ramakriya** » 25 Mar 2007, 21:46

vs_manjunath wrote:There was a similar composition "umA sutham bhjAmyaham mama mAnasa sthitham" having just 3 notes smpS | S pms || by Sri MBK, a very melodious composition. May be this raga is created and called as Mahithi ??, i am not sure.

BMK calls this sarvaSri

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 25 Mar 2007, 22:51

As drshrikaanth stated svayambhUsvara rAgA (sgps/spgs) is the creation of Vina Shivaramiah of Mysuru. He has also composed two kritis in this rAgA:
rAma tyagaraja prEma and shrI rAma raghu lalAma.

drshrikaanth · Post by **drshrikaanth** » 25 Mar 2007, 23:55

Thanks Lakshman- reliable as always

meena · Post by **meena** » 26 Mar 2007, 00:33

Deleted

knandago2001 · Post by **knandago2001** » 26 Mar 2007, 17:25

Many thanks to Dr. Shrikaanth, Lakshman and Meena for carefully collating the information on swayambhu swara raga and veena vidwan Shivaramiah. I'll be sure to refer to the Journal of the Music Academy as well. I forgot to mention it in my previous post - BMK's version incorporated the sadharana gandhara (not antara gandhara). As far as I can recall, the pallavi went something like G G G g p g S (gam gam gam ganapatim). The gandhara (and not the panchama) seemed to serve the role(s) of amsa, graha and jiva swaras in this raga; S and P form the vadi - samvadi pair. Handicapped as I am by lack of a recording, I can only speculate at this moment. Not only a testimony to his creative genius, but Vidwan Shivaramiah must have had good reason to compose a mangala in this raga. Although Gustav Mahler's compositions come to mind, I don't recall having heard such a scale in Western Classical music either. Be that as it may, I do appreciate the leads you have given me.

ramakriya · Post by **ramakriya** » 26 Mar 2007, 21:31

meena wrote:1. shrI rAjarAjEshvari - used three mudra = shivarama, nalwadi krishnarajendraand devottama ( the last named is after Devottama Jois ,a kannada scholar who has helped in sahitya. Devottama Jois also helped sree HMB write his comp. on chamundi )
2. rama thyagaraja prema uses mudra shivarama and devottama
3. shri rama raghu lalAma

The three kriti's are tuned in Carnatic, Hindustani and western style respectively.

mangala: managalam shri chandra moulIsha with mudra krishnarajaendra.

He is supposed to have demonstrated them in a conference in 1934 @ M'das music academy.

Just to make a note:

This raga is close to one rAga called mAlAShrI in hindUstAni.
That may explain why he composed kritis in 3 styles.

-Ramakriya

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 26 Mar 2007, 21:37

meena wrote:He has composed 3 kriti's and 1 mangala in a NEW rAgA " svayaMbhu svara rAgA" with only three svara's shadja, gAndhAra and pancama.
1. shrI rAjarAjEshvari - used three mudra = shivarama, nalwadi krishnarajendraand devottama ( the last named is after Devottama Jois ,a kannada scholar who has helped in sahitya. Devottama Jois also helped sree HMB write his comp. on chamundi )
2. rama thyagaraja prema uses mudra shivarama and devottama
3. shri rama raghu lalAma

The three kriti's are tuned in Carnatic, Hindustani and western style respectively.

Any chance of an audio of these?

vs_manjunath · Post by **vs_manjunath** » 26 Mar 2007, 21:45

ramakriya wrote:
vs_manjunath wrote:There was a similar composition "umA sutham bhjAmyaham mama mAnasa sthitham" having just 3 notes smpS | S pms || by Sri MBK, a very melodious composition. May be this raga is created and called as Mahithi ??, i am not sure.
BMK calls this sarvaSri

Thanks ramakriya.

mahesh33 · Post by **mahesh33** » 28 Mar 2007, 01:18

KNandago2001 said..
"Handicapped as I am by lack of a recording, I can only speculate at this moment:

Here it is, a video recordng of the krithi along with the rest of the concert . It is improperly titled as Gam Ganapathe...Enjoy!

http://www.tlca.com/events/bmk/index.html

knandago2001 · Post by **knandago2001** » 28 Mar 2007, 13:26

@mahesh33: Thank you ever so much! This is a treat I never expected to get so quickly!!

vs_manjunath · Post by **vs_manjunath** » 28 Mar 2007, 19:14

mahesh33- Thanks for this video treat.

ramakriya- sarvaSri is mentioned as a janya of the first mela Kanakangi. Since the raga has only three notes "s m p " it's clear that, the raga uses shuddha madhyama.

sridevi · Post by **sridevi** » 28 Mar 2007, 21:44

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T-H-Nbryko

Not sure if a lot of you have seen this.. I find Dr.BMK's childlike enthusiasm charming in this video ( which shows his other talent- non musical)

Watch to see what I am talking about.

Sridevi

annapoorne · Post by **annapoorne** » 28 Mar 2007, 22:50

Sridevi

A very nice clip. Really he beats Ashok kumar's "Rail gadi.chuk chuk...."

vs_manjunath · Post by **vs_manjunath** » 29 Mar 2007, 19:21

mahesh33 wrote:Here it is, a video recordng of the krithi along with the rest of the concert .

http://www.tlca.com/events/bmk/index.html

Can some rasika kindly provide the lyrics of "rAma rAma enarada " by Sri Ranga Dasuni ? popularised by Dr MBK