A music for all: How Carnatic music unites and keeps spreading

by Ludwig Pesch

Carnatic music – the classical music of South India – unites people from a variety of social backgrounds. Over two hundred fifty million people now inhabit a region that comprises five modern states drawn up on the basis of their respective linguistic majorities. They take pride in regional cultural traditions and festivities in addition to those celebrated all over the country.1

So it hardly surprises that this music has long attracted creative minds from other regions of India; and since the mid-20th century western scholars and performers have marvelled at its capacity for connecting people by overcoming cultural, linguistic, political just as religious divides. Most importantly, all of this often happens in enjoyable, seemingly effortless ways even as “outsiders” have struggled to comprehend the underlying principles or the causes of political strife.2

Not so long ago each manifestation of Indian music was understood to be firmly rooted in a specific context, rarely if ever allowed to transcend “natural”, “sacred” or “social” barriers:

Classical music is the most refined and sophisticated music to be found in the subcontinent of India. There are many other forms, however, which have a specific function in the society, and these are by no means devoid of artistic expression. The great diversity of music in India is a direct manifestation of the diversity and fragmentation of the population in terms of race, religion, language, and other aspects of culture. The process of acculturation, so accelerated in modern times, is still not a very significant factor in many areas of the country.3

Listen to a rendition of Intakannaanandam emi by Balamurali Krishna on Youtube >>
Image © Kutcherbuzz.com >>

Even if matters have changed considerably since the advent of the internet, the resilience of Carnatic music seems firmly rooted in local history and mythology just as in the lyrics of composers, or in the styles represented by performers and choreographers of national standing. At the same time, they often stand united by their yearning for “unity“: an identification with something greater than one’s “mortal self”. As a case in point, we may consider the undiminished popularity of songs written by Sri Tyagaraja (1767-1847) expressing the conviction that “immersion in music” is a potent remedy against bigotry, hypocrisy, self-deception and vanity.4

In this regard it seems as if he anticipated the quest for truthfulness (Satyagraha)5 as expounded by Gandhi, to start with as precondition to peaceful advancement for all of humanity. This goes beyond a personal fight against self-delusion or structural discrimination of (religious) minorities and instead, amounts to a lifelong quest for a sound understanding of “reality” (be it in utilitarian terms such as general welfare or personal fulfillment).

“There is music of mind, of the senses and of the heart” – Mahatma Gandhi >>
Photo © Ludwig Pesch
Selected poems
Selected Poems: Subramania Bharati
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Needless to mention that several others have followed in the great composer’s footsteps in a variety of ways and for different reasons, even for causes like India’s independence from colonial rule at a time when this was a dangerous proposition.6 They emulated proven models from different epochs and regions including “folk” music, be it consciously or otherwise. Thanks to the widespread appeal of drama, and the emergence of film as soon as sound technology permitted, several Carnatic musicians and composers crossed into new domains beyond “classical” music (here understood as following, even transcending time proven conventions, local tastes and appreciated by generation after generation).

Such issues are readily addressed in practices akin to “mindfulness”, as one would now describe a remedy that’s freely available to all, young and young at heart. Some are compelled by an irrepressible moral compass that helps them to promote causes including social justice that leaves no room to “untouchability” and other forms of discrimination.

The infinite scope for creativity and self-expression inherent in this tradition has ensured that Carnatic musicians has endured; and this even in the face of unprecedented pressures such as those currently debated by way of social media, book writing and commentaries in Indian press.

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Most interestingly some of these issues echo the ideals of India’s founding fathers just as those of their peers, as part of global peace and ecological movements (both inspired by Mahatma Gandhi);7 most notably so in the legacy Rabindranath Tagore bequeathed to many spheres of the arts and sciences that continues to reverberate in our time;8 and Maria Montessori,9 the great educationist he admired for insights that were to took roots in Indian music and dance, notably at Kalakshetra, an institution of national importance founded by Rukmini Devi.

It does not, therefore, come as a surprise that experiencing the beauty and depth of Carnatic music found its congenial expression in the newly emerging practice of an ancient form of dance, today regarded as an integral part of India’s cultural heritage; and accordingly referred to as Bharata Natyam when merging with India’s mainstream culture (from the first half of the 20th century onwards) rather than continuing as the heirloom of a particular “community”.10 As a result, all the strands are united as envisaged in distant antiquity, in the Natya Shastra, a treatise on drama or “total theatre”, ascribed to the legendary sage Bharata and further elucidated in several commentaries and other works on similar lines.11

In short, what should matter most to us today is an open invitation long extended by some of the most talented exponents of this music in and outside India: not merely to appreciate but actively participate in it – all this in a spirit of mutual respect in the face of outward differences, driven by our shared love for lifelong learning; some equally inclined towards critical inquiry (as suggested by many of its poet-composers throughout the ages). So without exaggeration this is all about a music whose exponents have long welcomed new discoveries. And in the meantime, even the “brilliant Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, who was himself deeply religious, clarified that bhakti is essential for a Carnatic music, but this bhakti is for music, not for any personal deity”.12

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References
  1. Since Independence, these states are known as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana; see Wikipedia:

    South India, also known as Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territories of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Puducherry, comprising 19.31% of India’s area (635,780 km2 or 245,480 sq mi) and 20% of India’s population. Covering the southern part of the peninsular Deccan Plateau, South India is bounded by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west and the Indian Ocean in the south. The geography of the region is diverse with two mountain ranges – the Western and Eastern Ghats – bordering the plateau heartland. The Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, Tungabhadra, Periyar, Bharathappuzha, Pamba, Thamirabarani, Palar, and Vaigai rivers are important perennial rivers.

    The majority of the people in South India speak at least one of the four major Dravidian languages: Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam (all 4 of which are among the 6 Classical Languages of India).[]

  2. Nobel Awardee Amartya Sen discusses some these issues in his ground-breaking book The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity, “suggesting the ways we must understand India today in the light of its rich, long argumentative tradition [while] appreciating not only the richness of India’s diversity but its need for toleration“.[]
  3. “Tribal, Folk and Devotional Music” by Nazir Jairazbhoy in AL Basham (ed.). A Cultural History of India. London: Oxford University Press, 1975, pp. 234-237. Excerpt from Chapter XVI Music (pp. 212-242[]
  4. In Manasu svadhinamaina, Tyagaraja questions the meaning of penances (tapas) when control over one’s mind is all that really matters; and in Intakannaanandam emi he shares his experience of the sprawling universe that loses its diversity in the process of singing and dancing with abandon: “Can there be any Bliss greater than merging heart and soul?”

    Sri Tyagaraja’s search for a greater, universal meaning culminates in Paramatmudu by asserting that a Supreme Being is present “in all that’s made of sky, wind, fire, and water, in beasts and birds and hills and trees by the tens of millions, always in the lifeless and the lively”; an all-embracing – indeed humbling – view of the role human beings play in a larger scheme. Sources: The Spiritual Heritage of Tyagaraja translated by C. Ramanujachari with an Introductory Thesis by V. Raghavan (Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math 1981), karnatik.com and William J. Jackson in Tyagaraja: Life and Lyrics.[]

  5. “Satyagraha is literally holding on to Truth and it means, therefore, Truth-force. Truth is soul or spirit. It is, therefore, known as soul force. It excludes the use of violence because man is not capable of knowing the absolute truth and, therefore, not competent to punish. […] Non-cooperation, too, like Civil Disobedience is a branch of Satyagraha, which includes all non-violent resistance for the vindication of Truth.” – Mohandas K. Gandhi in Young India, 23 March 1921; p. 90[]
  6. Most notably, the lyrics of Subramania Bharati come to mind in the context of South Indian musicians eager to express their love of freedom; an ideal that cannot be realized in the absence of solidarity with those yet to benefit from proper education and health care, the basic preconditions for becoming free citizens of a modern country: “If the younger brother is frail, will the elder enslave him? Will the might of money and muscle frighten us into becoming slaves? Beat the drum! Let it be known that in love lies our deliverance.” Beat the drum translated by Usha Rajagopalan in Selected Poems: Subramania Bharati, Everyman/Hachette 2012, p. 51.[]
  7. “It is Gandhi’s profound religious belief and sensibility that made him resolutely secular; his secularism, and his worldly obligations, each of which was but an attempt to strive for self-realization, deepened his religious belief. His veneration for other faiths made him more, not less, of a Hindu. The advocates of a militant and muscular Hindu nationalism are in this matter entirely clueless—scarcely surprising given their ferocious disdain for self-reflexivity or anything that may remotely be called thought.” – Prof. Vinay Lal in Gandhi’s Secularism in the Age of Muscular Hinduism”[]
  8. including his “zealous devotion to the ideal of a casteless world, a world without cruel, irrational discrimination between one human being and his fellow men” according to the Director-General of Unesco on the occasion of the Tagore Centenary celebrations in 1961[]
  9. “We also see her strong commitment to bringing progress and fighting illiteracy in India, which grew into an enduring love for the country and its people. Montessori’s colourful descriptions of her journey and life in India, her worries about her grandchildren in war-torn Europe, and her son’s imprisonment make a fascinating read.” – Maria Montessori Writes to Her Grandchildren published by Association Montessori Internationale Montessori (Amsterdam: 2021[]
  10. “If dance and music were so integral to the system that so oppressed a woman, they must be halted too, so that new art could emerge.” – “The Devadasi Question” by V.R. Devika in Muthulakshmi Reddy – A Trailblazer in Surgery and Women’s Rights[]
  11. Search for the writings of Tanjore Balasaraswathi, Kapila Vatsyayan and Ananda Coomaraswamy for different perspectives, in addition to those of Rukmini Devi and Muthulakshmi Reddy; and academic papers authored/edited by Davesh Soneji.[]
  12. Lakshmi Sreeram in “Carnatic Music Ruminating the Landscape”, Indian Horizons published by The Indian Council for Cultural Relations; it is worth mentioning here that the most prominent musician-activist of our time, TM Krishna, has gratefully acknowledged his indebtedness to “Semmangudi” in interviews.[]

Flow | Moods, feelings and colours

Colours, moods and feelings have been favourite subjects in the context of raga, literally “colour, beauty, pleasure, passion and compassion”.1

We are aware that the ultimate aim of every composer and musician is to achieve the coalescence, the essential factors of classical music namely bhava, raga and tala. | Learn more >>

Explore this wonderful realm in imaginative ways – always in accordance with your own creativity and feelings

Suggestions for widening the scope for the “Flow”-exercises offered in this course:

  • Alternate the singing of svara syllables with humming (-m):
    – lines wherein 3-2-3 svaras are highlighted become “3 svaras sung + 2 svaras hummed + 3 svaras sung”
    – lines wherein 8 svaras are highlighted become “4 svaras sung + 4 svaras hummed”
  • Instead of humming (-m), extend the vowel found in the preceding svara variant (-a, -i)
  • As always, “be patient” …

To get going, click on “Details” and enjoy your practice!

Details

Select one of the exercises offered here:

  • 7 notes: Any sampurna (melakarta) raga
  • 5 notes: raga Mohana
  • 6 notes: raga Kuntalavarali
  • 6 notes: ragas Sriranjani & Hamsanandi

Listen to Uma Ramasubramaniam demonstrating the svaras (notes) for the present raga(s) on Raga Surabhi >>

Practice with basic “Sa” = G#
Note: this recording has no fifth note “Pa”
(as advised for those janya ragas wherein “Pa” will not be sung or played)
Download this audio file (2 MB, 2 min. mono)
Credit: eSWAR / FS-3C Sruthi petti + Tanjore Tambura

Here comes another challenge

Details

Designed for anyone in search of new “Flow-” horizons through music:

  • Vary the vowels of svara syllables: –a, -i and -u yield ra-ri-ru, ga-gi-gu, ma-mi, dha-dhi-dhu, na-ni-nu.2
  • Examples
    – in raga Sankarabharanam (seven notes, mela 29), the variants sung are: “sa ri gu ma pa dhi nu3
    – these variants also apply to many janya ragas like Hamsadhvani: “sa ri gu pa nu” (five notes)
    – in melakarta raga Gamanasrama (seven notes, mela 53), the corresponding variants are: “sa ra gu mi pa dhi nu
    – its janya raga Hamsanandi (six notes) lacks pa: “sa ra gu mi dhi nu
    – other variants apply to janya raga Sriranjani: “sa ri gi ma dhi ni
    – the “parent raga” for Sriranjani (six notes) is Kharaharapriya (seven notes, mela 22) to which the following variants apply: “sa ri gi ma pa dhi ni”
References
  1. To learn more about the association of sound with colour, search the internet using the term “synesthesia”; according to a source cited on Wikipedia “individuals rarely agree on what color a given sound is”.[]
  2. These variations traditionally serve as memory aids (mnemonics) even if hardly used today:
    a” for the lowest variant, “i” for the middle one, and “u” for the highest one, always depending on the melakarta raga a given janya raga is associated with.[]
  3. Please remember: sa and pa never vary (though pa is sometimes omitted altogether); ri, ga, dha and ni have three variants each (-a, -i and -u); and ma has two variants (-a and -i).[]

Flow | Combine exercises & vocal ranges

  • 7 notes: Any sampurna (melakarta) raga
  • 6 notes: ragas Sriranjani & Hamsanandi
  • 5 notes: raga Hamsadhvani
  • 5 notes: raga Mohana
  • 5 notes: raga Valaji
  • 5/\7 notes: ragas Bilahari & Mohana Kalyani
  • 5/\6 notes: Vasanta
  • 6 notes: raga Kuntalavarali

<< swipe >> to try another exercise
Flow | Exercises, related resources & tips >>

Tambura and sruti petti: “Sa” = G# without Pa
Tambura and sruti petti: “Sa” = G#
Tambura and sruti petti: “Sa” = G
Tambura: “Sa” = F without Pa
Tambura and sruti petti: “Sa” = F
Tambura and sruti petti: “Sa” = D
Tambura and sruti petti: “Sa” = D without Pa
Sruti petti: “Sa” = C-sharp
Sruti petti: “Sa” = C without Pa
Tambura and sruti petti: “Sa” = C
Tambura and sruti petti: “Sa” = A# (lower octave)

Credit: eSWAR / FS-3C Sruthi petti + Tanjore Tambura

Video | Triveni-A combination of “Muki-Prana” by TR Sundaresan

To watch this video, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1373ssBLT6Y >>

A combination of “Muki-Prana”
Ragam – Tanam – Pallavi
Concept and Pallavi lyrics by TR Sundaresan – Mridangam
Tuned and sung by S Srivathsan

TR Sundaresan, on the occasion of India’s celebration into the entry of the 76th year of Independence, brings this humble presentation as a dedication to the country. Through the journey of Independent India there have been many great musicians  who have contributed to  Indian Classical music and its rich tradition.

The late Dr Sri Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna’s contribution is incredible to this field of Art. One among his contribution is the Tala System he invented through the  concept of ‘Muki’.  ‘MUKI’ gives a different form of 175 Talas to Carnatic Music apart from the existing 175 Talas.

‘Muki’ is applied over the ‘Kriya – Prana’ of Tala. The ‘Sashabhtha Kriyas of the Tala is explored with the relevent five different kinds of “Gathi” ( acknowledged by him as the ‘MUKI‘) and the Nishabtha Kriyas remain as 4 Mathras throughout the Tala cycle per Kriya.

On the event of Dr Balamurslikrishna’s  Anniversary TR Sundaresan takes the concept of ‘MUKI’ as a source of Inspiration to present a celebrating moment for the 76th year of Independent India. TR Sundaresan has taken the Ata Tala, which has two Lagu and two Drutams to explore this. The first Lagu with Tru Muki Trisra Jathi and the second Lagu with Pancha Muki in Kanda Jathi.

Two Drutams are set to Saptha Muki. In this Sundaresan has applied three different Mukis within the Tala Cycle and given a new Tala name called Triveni. This tala has 76 mathras per cycle to honor the 76th year of Independence. The lyrics for the Pallavi is written by Sundaresan himself to acknowledge Dr Balamuralikrisha on his remembrance day with the Tala Mudhra and Raga Mudhra to the lyrics. The lyrics are tuned by Vidwan S Srivatsan who will give vocal support for this Laya exploration.

Source: “Triveni-A combination of “Muki-Prana”
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1373ssBLT6Y
Date Visited: 16 March 2023

[Bold typeface added above for emphasis]

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https://www.youtube.com/@SundaresanTRS

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“Learning should be a source of joy” – V.V. Sadagopan on Music education

Audio source: singing by the author | Find details for “78RPM – V V Sadagopan” on Archive.org >>

It is a curious irony that we, who claim to “hear” our music,1 are less sensitive to tone quality than the Westerner who “sees” his music. Happy exceptions apart, musicians and listeners (especially of the South) are usually satisfied with some illusory pleasure, and do not care for the aesthetic joy – rasa – that music should give.

Text credit (excerpts seen above and below): Spirals and Circles by V.V. Sadagopan (1980) published in Sruti Magazine (print ed., Issue 9, July 1984), p. 7

Viravanallur Vedantam Sadagopan was born on January 29, 1915, in an orthodox Vaishnavite family and spent his childhood and youth in Tirunelveli. He was a graduate and pursued a parallel vocation in music. He had his musical training under Namakkal Sesha Iyengar and Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar and became one of the most sought after musicians in the 1930s. At the height of his musical career he entered films and was hailed as Rudolf Valentino of the Indian screen. […]

VVS’s compositions include kritis, keerthanais, ragamaligais, padams, kili kanni and a series of Tirukkural keerthanais, wherein the Kural forms the pallavi and is elaborated in the anupallavi and charanam. As a music composer he has left behind a lasting legacy. […]

Music education for children became his passion and mission in later years. He called his integrative scheme of music education Tyagabharati, a term he had coined to epitomise the ideals of Tyagaraja and Subrahmanya Bharati. In this he struck an entirely new path, composing nursery rhymes in Tamil and Hindi, set to simple lilting tunes. […]

However the elders, comprising his friends and well wishers often stood perplexed, unable to comprehend the new role that this musical giant had donned. On April 10, 1980, he left Delhi by train, for Madras. He was seen alighting at Gudur, the next day. He has not been seen ever since. Rumours of sighting him in Varanasi and the Himalayas and consequent searches have yielded no results.

The mantle then fell on his devoted disciple Srirama Bharati, a visionary in his own right [who] passed away at a young age […]

Learn more about Singer, actor, writer and composer V. V. Sadagopan (The Hindu, 4 March 2005) >>

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References
  1. Here the author probably alludes to a metaphorical interpretation of karnātaka sangītam (today’s “Carnatic music”), one not to be taken literally even if invoked by some of his peers: understood as “classical music (sangītam) that surprises or haunts (ata) the ear (karna)”[]