SANGEETA GNANAMU
Beyond the melakarta Lakshmi Sreeram
R
aga-s are complex creatures
and it is difficult to pin them
down. The most famous
definition of a raga is also the vaguest
one:
Yo’yam dhvani viseshastu
swaravarnavibhooshitah
Ranjako janachittaanaam raagah
kathito budhaih
One translation of this is: Kamavardhini (Pantuvarali) either
In the opinion of the wise, that
particularity of notes and melodic
movements, or that distinction of melodic
sound by which one is delighted, is raga.
(Matanga in Brihaddesi)
Scholars love the phrase ranjako
janachittanam and expand on it. There
is no raga in a mere combination
of notes; it has to please the mind.
But the definition obviously suffers
from ativyapti – a fatal fallacy that
our sanskritists abhor – that is, it
covers or applies to more than what
it is intended. There is an important
insight in this – a mere combination
of notes does not make a raga.
The arohana and avarohana – or
krama – are the mere skeleton. The
raga is fleshed out by innumerable
other elements. Gamaka-s come to
mind immediately; prayoga-s and
pidi-s are well known raga makers,
but there are other features of raga
which revolve around the difference
in the importance given to various
notes. In Hindustani music, the roles
of vadi, samvadi and nyasa swara are
all important. In Carnatic music, the
jeeva swara is usually acknowledged
as important; this is the life swara or
life giving swara of a raga.
Another important aspect of
raga-s, an element that contributes to
the unique character of a raga, is the
34 l SRUTI September 2009
The jeeva swara is
the life swara
or life giving swara
of a raga
nyasa swara. The nyasa swara is a swara
that can be a resting point in a raga
during sanchara-s – in compositions
and manodharma segments. Often,
in maintaining raga character, it is
important to know what can and
cannot be a nyasa swara.
What is the source of our knowledge
of these features of raga-s? The obvious
answer is the corpus of compositions
that have stood the test of time.
Compositions of the Trinity and co!
Not for nothing is it emphasised that
we need to master many compositions
(varnam-s and kriti-s) in a raga to
gain a knowledge of its subtleties.
If raga-s are not scales, as most of us
would like to believe, then it is these
aspects of raga-s that need to be
kept in mind. But we do see them
overlooked in practice, making for
the process of simplification of
Carnatic music.
Take for instance Pantuvarali or
Kamavardhini. It is a common
practice among musicians to dwell
on the gandhara during sanchara-s.
There are many musicians however
who would see this as wrong, or at
least, undesirable. They would point
out that the gandhara as a nyasa swara
or visranti swara is more a feature
of Poorvikalyani than Pantuvarali.
Most compositions bear this out.
The nyasa swara
can be a resting point
in a raga
Pantuvarali compositions mostly
display panchama or shadja as resting
points. Pa ma Ga ma ri, Ga ma Pa or Pa
ma Ga ri Sa are phrases employing the
Ga. Pa ma Ga ri Ga – is not found in
any Pantuvarali composition. But it is
common to find musicians employing
this very phrase while delineating
Pantuvarali.
T.M. Krishna says: “We can treat
in terms of its chhaya or in terms of
its notes (as a scale). Surely, keeping
in mind subtle aspects of the chhaya
such as this makes the whole effort
more interesting. Musicians have
a responsibility to maintain the
complexity of raga-s and these aspects
can be found by a simple study of
major compositions.”
Again, taking a minor but interesting
raga like Nalinakanti, the one and
only traditional composition that
has come down to us is Tyagaraja’s
Manavyalakincha in which there is a
clear and sustained highlight of the
gandhara; the rishabha never occurs
as a nyasa swara. But some prominent
musicians of today highlight the
rishabha and give it an almost Desh-
like feel.
The fact is that many musicians in
practice dwell on the Ga in Pantuvarali
and Ri in Nalinakanti and many
others believe this to be wrong and
would not do the same. There are two
ways of explaining this divergence
in treatment of raga-s. One is that
some musicians do not know some
fundamentals. The other explanation
is that they do know them, but are
not convinced. Most musicians have
probably heard some old timer say
that Pantuvarali does not have a nyasa
on the gandhara. But it is possible
that they don’t see why not! After
 SANGEETA GNANAMU
all it is very tempting to stop on the
Ga as a visranti swara. A raga is not a
scale but oh, it sure is convenient to
treat it as one!
There are other aspects of
raga-s too such as their range. Some
raga-s are not to be explored in some
sthayi-s. Pantuvarali again, is not
ideally explored in the tara sthayi. Its
range is the madhya sthayi. But don’t
we find musicians dwelling on the
tara sthayi gandhara and doing
sanchara-s? It makes for dramatic
effect and the audience is easily
impressed with the vocal range of
the singer and everyone is happy
– except perhaps poor Pantuvarali.
As Krishna points out, the culprit
in all this is the stronghold of the
72-mela scheme on the Carnatic
musician’s imagination, far exceeding
its actual legitimate role as a mere
system of classification of raga-s.
This system has brought scales to
the forefront of the musical psyche
in Carnatic music. He says: “Kalyani
and Dharmavati are not equal in
their stature. While Dharmavati can
be predominantly treated as a scale,
Kalyani is an ancient raga with well
defined features and pidi-s which
we can grasp from compositions
learnt through the oral tradition
and by referring to texts for raga
lakshana-s. Though there may be
divergences among texts on some
issues, a study of these will give us
an understanding of the changes and
the evolution of the raga. Stopping
(nyasa again!) on the kakali nishada
is not really part of Kalyani’s core
character. The nishada is always to
be taken in conjunction with the
shadja and very rarely plain – as we
find all too often these days; again,
the gandhara without gamaka during
nyasa is avoidable. It is true that some
greats of yesteryears started some of
these trends but that does not make it
unquestionable!”
Carnatic music must change – and
it will change. As in all traditional
arts, there will be those who will go
ahead with changes – knowingly or
unknowingly – and others who will
resist such change. A performer has
the responsibility of satisfying the
audiences of course, but the deeper
responsibility is to tradition. It is
also true there may be divergences of
opinion on what that tradition is.
The question then is: How do the
subtle aspects of raga-s in Carnatic
music percolate down to students of
music? Through the guru-s and, after
a stage, through self study, may be
the obvious answer, but then, what is
the sanctity of these rules? And, how
do we explain divergence of the kind
we find in practice? n
35 l SRUTI September 2009