doubt in purvikalyani

[Vidya Shankara Kukke]

Hi,

Could somebody knowledgable answer the following question:
Arohana of purvikalyani is srgmpdps
It has a vakra sanchara pdps

Inspite of this, how are the following phrases possible?
gmds, mdRsnd, mdndmgrs, gmdNdmgrs, pds

Thanks,
Vidya Shankara

[Rsachi]

Sir
I am sure more knowledgeable rasikas could enlighten you better. But in my opinion the scale alone does not fully define the possibilities for a raga. I just heard a Purvi Kalyani by SSI and so thought of responding to you. There is a fine write up on this raga here:
Http://http://bit.ly/17waNGa

I think just sticking to PDPS would be highly limiting for this wonderful raga. The jump from D to higher S and M D, N D M G R and such movements (cittaswaras in Paramapavana Rama,) show its lively colours.

[Rsachi]

The correct link is http//bit.ly/17waNGa

[Ramasubramanian M.K]

As Sachhi rightly points out the scale alone does not define the contours of the raga--it is just a framework--slight deviations from the framework without ":encroaching" upon a scale of another raga are permissible.
Over the years I have developed my own rationale from a listeners' point of view:

Our CM despite the supposedly rigid architecture does allow for innovations in the way a raga is handled without losing the aesthetics(i,e taking liberties just to be different and unconventional). Specifically in Poorvikalyani,the Ri sounds better when elongated(subjective ofcourse!!) and the Dha Ri prayogam sounds good naturally despite the fact that 3 swaras are skipped -- the two Ni's and the Shadjam. Likewise while the Pa Da Pa Sa is the basic building block,occasionally omitting the Pa and attempting Pa Da Sa lends its own charm. To get a comprehensive handle in this raga(or for anyother raga for that matter) one has to learn/listen/follow many krithis--notable being Gnamo Sagaradha,Meenakshi memudham,Ananda Natam Aduvar Thillai,Deva Deva(Swathi Thirunaal) and ofcourse the chitaswaram in Parama Pavana.

Just an aside, our music has evolved even under the most orthodox environments. For example it is customary if you learn a particular song from a particular Composer(Thyagaraja) the sishya parampara is expected to adhere to the basic grammar adopted by the composer both for the raga as well as the krithi. Thygaraj's Sujana Jeevana and Seethpathe(both Khamas) do not use the Kakali Nishadam and stick to the Kaishiki Nishadam(adhering to the Janaka raga Harikambohi which does not have Kakali Nishadam).The beuty of the raga or the composition is not lessened by the eschewal of the Kakali Nishadam(although even during those times some composers may have used Kaakali Nishadam--I am not sure if Dikshitar's compositions--sarasdala nayana,Santhan Gopalam or Shadanana(sometimes sung in Harikambodhi also!!). Vasudevachar-- a third generation disciple of the Thyagaraja School(Manambuchavdi venkata Subbier--Patnam Subramania Iyer hierarchy) has used kakali Nishadm in his popular composition Brocheva. This Kakali Nishadam prayogam is used freely without anybody questioning the antecedents of the raga. Ofcourse my opinion on this issue is if you are planning to sing Sujana Jeevana(Thygaraja) and if you sing the alapana of Khamas I feel strongly that you should eschew the Kakali Nishadam. If you plan to sing Brocheva by all means use the Kakali Nishadam in the Alapana--most musicians use Kakali Nishadam nowadays---so much so it would be strange to hear Kamas without the kakali Nishadam!!

Strangely Thyagaraja himself without much fanfare has adhered to the grammar--example in Sri Ragam the use of the Chatusra Daivatham is eschewed because in the grammar I believe it is referred to as Alpa Dhaivata Prayogam(i.e. to be used sparingly)--Pa _-Da Nee Pa Ma Ri Ga Ri sa). Thygaraja has completely avoided it in his Entharo Mahanubhava or Nama Kusuma(I may be wrong forumites please correct me!!). Yet Dikshithar has used it in Sree Varalakshmi but only once-- as also in Kamalamba Navavarna krithi in Sriragam. Again my point is if you are going to sing Entharo mahanubhava,and if you do alapana(rarely done!!) do not try to use the alapa Dhaivatham in the alapana. Likewise if you sing Dikshitar's Sree Varalakshmi or Kamalamba by all means use the Alpa Dhaivatam in the Alapana.

My whole point is that our music does accommodate both tradition and innovation but within some guidelines--if observed they enhance the aesthetic enjoyment--but ofcourse one might legitimately argue that this is highly subjective but most listening and appreciation norms are subjective anyway .

Many examples of omission of key swaras in certain prayogams for certain Gana Ragams like Sankarabharanam--the Sa Da Pa in the descent often used by the Semmangudi School(eschewing the Nishadam),the omission of Panchamam in Thodi kritis or Varnams,the use of Pa Da Ni Da Pa Ma in Kambodhi although in the ascent Kambodhi does not permit use of Ni following the Dha--musicians camouflage it by singing Pa Da Sa Da Ni Da Pa without hinting at harikambodhi--these are evolved thro expeimentation and usage keeping the spirit of the grammar intact.

Sorry for the digression from the purvikalyani prayogams--just wanted to illustrate that many such examples abound and they do enhance the listening experience.

[msakella]

In general, as I have made extensive research upon Tala, I am used to participate in the discussions pertaining to Tala even though many do not agree with me. But, I dislike to enter into the discussion of Ragas as everybody comes out with a rare sanchara of that Raga claiming it as his Ghar-ka-gharana. But, having accidentally seen the above post with Pa da Sa of Purvikalyani and Pa Da Sa Da Ni Da Pa of Kambhoji I could not resist myself.

I have Purvikalyani-raga-cut-pieces of 30, 20 & 6 played by our legendary Violinists, MSG, LGJ & MC respectively cut from the concerts they have participated. Among them while neither MSG nor MC used Pa Da Sa in Purvikalyani, surprisingly, LGJ used it every time. But, in respect of Kambhoji I have never come across this sanchara, Pa Da Sa Da Ni Da Pa at all. amsharma

[Vidya Shankara Kukke]

Thank you all for your replies. Yes, as we all know the arohana-avarohana is just the very basic way to define a raga and over a period of time, the raga evolves as different masters use it.

Really liked the way Mr. Ramasubramanian put it across by saying "slight deviations from the framework without ":encroaching" upon a scale of another raga are permissible."

BTW, the link http//bit.ly/17waNGa didn't work..

[Rsachi]

This is the original link:
Http://anuradhamahesh.wordpress.com/car ... ular-raga/

[saarangam]

pUrvikalyANi and gamakakriya are two allied rAgAs, both are janyams of 53rd mELakartA, gamanaShramA. gamakakriya, according to venkaTamakhi's asampUrNa mEla scheme is the 53rd mELam, but in the sampUrNa mELa scheme in vouge today gamakakriya is a janyam of gamanaShrama.
The ArOhaNam - avarOhaNam of the two rAgAs are:
gamakakriya - S R1 G3 M2 P D2 S - S N3 D2 P M2 G3 R1 S
pUrvikalyAni - S R1 G3 M2 P D2 P S - S N3 D2 P M2 G3 R1 S
The deekshitar kruti, 'meenAkshi mE mudam dEhi' is in the rAga gamakakriya. But very often these two rAgAs are confused and the compositions in gamakakriya are announced as in pUrvikalyANi and the P D S prayOgam is used by the singers. There is a wrong general notion that gamakakriya and pUrvikalyANi are identical.

[Rsachi]

Saarangam,
Your explanation tallies with some other explanations I saw. However the Sangeetha-sampradaya-pradarshini (a reference for the Dikshitar school) shows thus:


This explains why many equate the two ragas.

[SrinathK]

Very interesting. I never knew that phrase "P D2 S" in gamakakriya was what gave a slight distinction between it and purvikalyani. By omitting the panchama as is often done in thodi, the ascending phrase of S R1 G3 M2 D2 S would be the result. I have heard the phrase P D2 S in this raga and was not sure if I was actually listening to M2 D2 S (also used), but now I see that it is meant to be played that way.

@Vidya Shankara & @ MKR In carnatic music, I feel that ragas are phrase based. Only from the phrases come the svaras and the arohana-avarohana. This is the opposite of the Western system of music which is svara based and evolves into phrases. And although that is the way ragas are introduced to the student (and how many ragas have been originally conceived from svara patterns), after one has dived deeper into raga, it's seen that the phrases are what shape the handling of the svaras and decide what svaras or patterns are within the raga identity and which are not and which are predominant and which are scarce. This is also why gamakas in svaras are unique to Indian music, because scale and svara are merely pointers to a more fluid bed of raga phrasing beneath. How a svara is handled and what phrases predominate over others will distinguish ragas with the same notes from each other.

Although the left brain rigidity of grammar often clashes with the fluidity of right brain intuition, we can all agree that Mohanam will NEVER be mohanam if it swapped the gandharam for any other note. On the other hand, in close ragas like Manji vs. Bhairavi there is much more grey area.

So the ascending and descending patterns are not at all exhaustive of the phrases in the raaga. Although gamakakriya has used P D S, you also have phrases like GMDNDM which are used. The key is to carve the phrases together to create a distinctive personality made up of musical phrasing and it is this entity that is called a raaga. Thus a raaga is not unlike a person in asserting it's individuality, but while a human face is recognized by the eyes, a raga is distinguishable by the ears. Hence ragas have often been described as though they were persons in romantic texts (e.g. Gita Govinda). It is to maintain the individuality of a raga that it is defined by grammatical rules.

This is the reason why some ragas can have extremely twisted arohanams and avarohanams or even multiple ascending or descending phrases (e.g. Nattakurinji, Purvikalyani). Another reason for this is due to different ragas combining like a portmanteau (e.g. Basant Bahar) and combining each other's phrases. Ragas also keep evolving over time -- the colour pallete of gamakas has been growing over the decades. Very close ragas may over time become indistinguishable from each other (especially considering what the literacy level of India was in past centuries). This is what happened to Gamakakriya and Purvikalyani.

[Rsachi]

Here is MSG playing Purvikalyani, so one can study his adherence to the scale:
http://raa.ag/t149676

[Vidya Shankara Kukke]

Thanks Mr. Srinath for your thoughts..