Three stalwarts who brought Carnatic music to the masses

Ever since I started learning Carnatic music formally, I have been
thinking occasionally about its evolution and history. Carnatic music
is very ancient - sages like Matanga have defined
the characteristic of a Raaga. A raaga may be defined as a set of tunes that
conform to a particular frequency pattern. In Tamilnadu,India, the name given to a
"raaga" was "pann". Many of the 63 Saivite saints (Naayanmaars) were musicians
and many of the Thevaram hymns(pasurams) were set to specific "pann"-s.

For a very (unreasonably) long time, carnatic music
remained the preserve of a small minority. It was confined to
the temples or the royal courts. Music was practiced only by certain
communities like the "oduvaars" who sang devotional songs in the temples
or the courtesans who entertained the royalty. Outside of these groups,
nobody had any inclination to learn and practice music. Even if they did,
they weren't encouraged. Even if they were encouraged there was not much of
structure to musical training. In the absence of structured training,
only those with exceptional natural talent could sing well.

Enter Sri Purandara Dasa (1484-1564 AD). A gemstone merchant and pawnbroker by
profession, he had no leaning towards anything other money until the age of 30.
At that age, he suddenly had an epiphany, gave up all his wealth and spent the
rest of his life in devotion. His abrupt transformation was accompanied by
a happy blossoming of music knowledge in his mind.

Purandara Dasa's greatest contribution to the field of Carnatic music training
was the establishment of a set of exercises for beginners. The first set of
exercises - the varisais, were designed to give a beginner control over sruthi or
frequency. The second set of exercises - the alankarams, were devised to help
the beginner develop control over taalam or speed. Together, the varisais and
alankarams helped the learner to get a grasp over the two fundamental aspects
of carnatic music - namely sruthi and laya. In addition, Purandara Dasa also
composed a few geethams - simple songs that gave the student a clear understanding
of how a carnatic music song (krithi) could be built up through the building
blocks of sruthi and laya.

The true beauty of Purandara Dasa's exercises lies in their simplicity.
Anyone with interest in carnatic music and even a very modest amount of musical
talent could learn to sing tunefully by repeated practice of the simple varisais,
alankarams and geethams. Suddenly, the gates to musical training were thrown
open to all. Music was no longer an esoteric science!

The second great stalwart in the field of Carnatic music was Sri Thyagaraja (1767-1847 AD).
He took the next step in bringing Carnatic music closer to the masses. He introduced
the concept of "sangathi". Through his compositions, he captured the main phrases in raagas.
Thus, by singing a major krithi like "Kadhhanu vaariki", an artiste can capture
the essence of the raaga Thodi. In addition, Thyagaraja's krithis also allowed
the singer to explore the nuances of a raaga according to the singer's manodharma(intellectual
capacity). For example, the pallavi of the krithi "Chakkani Raaja" can be repeated
many many times with variations that capture the essence of the raaga Kharahara Priya.
Thus, Thyagaraja's krithis provided a very convenient platform and medium for raaga
exploration.

Another major contribution from Thyagaraja was a set of songs that are categorized as Utsava
Sampradaya Krithis and Divya Naama Krithis. In a musical sense, these krithis were simpler
than his other compositions. These were mainly intended to allow lay people to sing and express
their devotion. Also, they might have been intended for children. The beauty of these krithis was
that, they allowed even people with meagre (or no) musical knowledge to sing raagas without
violating the syntax. For example, Bhairavi is a very complex raaga. A non musical person will
find it hard to understand Bhairavi's patterns, leave alone sing Bhairavi correctly. However, one
of Thyagaraja's Divya Nama krithis "Rama Kothanda Rama" set in Bhairavi, allows everyone
to sing and produce grammatically correct Bhairavi (though not at a very deep level)

The third great stalwart who brought Carnatic music closer to the masses was Sri Ariyakudi
Ramanuja Iyengar (1890-1967 AD). The manner in which he changed the kacheri (concert) format
was truly revolutionary. Pre-Ariyakudi, Carnatic music concerts used to be incredibly long-winded
affairs - often lasting 7-10 hours. Musicians focussed on the raagas and not on krithis. They
expatiated at great length on raagas, often repeating sangathis ad nauseam, never bothering about
audience interest or taste.

Carnatic concerts placed a ridiculous strain on the musicians' physical ability and forced the
audience to lose sleep. It was a lose-lose situation. The audience,
stymied by the shackles of tradition, never demanded shorter concerts and crisper
aalapanas. Nor did any Carnatic musician question this. It was just the way things were done.
Non-musical people who were even remotely interested in Carnatic music were repelled away by the
tedium of attending a concert.

Into this state of affairs strode Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar. He combined genuine musical genius
with an astute marketing mind and a very persuasive personality. He was the first Carnatic musician
who thought about what really made the audience happy. In marketing terms, he was the first
Carnatic artiste without "marketing myopia". He shortened the Carnatic music concert to around 3-4
hours. Aalapanas became more succinct, and krithis were given their due importance. A concert would
typically begin with a short and brisk krithi/varnam, immediately creating an atmosphere of
enthusiasm and sowkyam. Ariyakudi continually checked the pulse of his audience. Whenever he realized
that interest was flagging, he would rev things up with a fast-paced krithi. Two or three raagas would
be expanded upon, towards the middle of the concert, followed by a series of lighter krithis.

The audience loved this pattern. They liked being able to get home sooner, relaxed, refreshed and
enthused. More musicians follwed suit, appreciative of the diminished strain on their physique. The
purists grumbled, but simply had to give in to the overwhelming common sense of the new pattern, and
the power of Ariyakudi's personality. The shorter (and sweeter) concerts began attracting wider
audiences, and encouraged budding Carnatic artistes to perform earlier and more frequently. Today,
there is a widespread interest in Carnatic music. The origin of this interest can be traced to the
shorter concert pattern that Ariyakudi pioneered.In my opinion, the way in which Ariyakudi brought
about this revolution is worthy of becoming a case study in marketing and change management in the
Harvard Business Review.

Carnatic music is said to have originated from God Himself. These three stalwarts brought it down
from Him to the ears and minds of lay mortals like you and me.

Two years

It is now just past the two-year mark since I started this blog.
Not that this is a very big landmark - it is not the 175th day celebration of a superhit Rajnikanth movie or anything like that ;-)

Anyway it has been fun writing this blog. It is a wonderful form of relaxation,
and I even enjoy reading my old blogs occasionally. The rare comment from those who read this blog makes things even more interesting.

Also, I was looking at a couple of passport size photos of myself -one taken about two years back and one taken two weeks back. Quite a bit of difference actually..I think I look more mature and gentle now ..some of the innocence in my face two years back is now gone..replaced by maturity and worldly wisdom! ..well well, that's a polite way of putting that I have grown older ;-)))

A quick succession of blogs

I think the blogger in me has been denied outlet for too long now, so there is a quick succession of blogs. Blogging is a great way to let out feelings. After all, a blog cannot talk back at you. And it is free ;-)

Half-Bohemian, Half-Bourgeois

Is it possible to be half-artistic and half-materialistic/capitalistic ?
An artistic person has moments of great joy - moments whose joyous intensity
can never be reached by a materialistic person. At the same time, a highly
artistic person can never be assured of the steady and respectable life
of the bourgeois.

Is it ever possible to strike a perfect balance between these two ?
If someone does manage to achieve such balance, his/her life would be
infinitely blessed.

Is it possible for one person to achieve excellence in both the material
and spiritual domains ? I personally know of a few people who have effortlessly
achieved this happy marriage of success in both domains. And I think there is a
really simple way to achieve this.

Mohanam - the aural delight

One of the more famous carnatic ragas is Mohanam. The grandest of
the Carnatic ragas are the so-called ghana ragas - Kambodhi, Todi,
Kalyani, Bhairavi and Shankarabaranam. These ghana ragas lend themselves
to elaborate alapanas and are vast in terms of the potential for
exploration. On the other extreme are the so-called vakra ragas like
Anandabhairavi, Sahana etc, which are limited in their potential
for elaboration, but are nevertheless quite pleasing to the ear.

Mohanam is somewhere in between on this scale, if I may call it so.
It is a pure carnatic raga, but has a "light-music" flavour to it.
Shankarabaranam and Kambodhi are majestic in a royal sense, Todi and Bhairavi are
soul-stirring, Kalyani is majestic in a sweet way, Sahana is sensuous,
Subapantuvarali is melancholy, Mukhari is plaintive, Bilahari is brisk,
Nilambari is soporific, Kedaram is lively.

As opposed to all these wonderful ragas, Mohanam is joyous. The key word
that comes to mind upon listening to Mohanam is JOY. Pure sowkyam and
santhosham.

Carnatic Music, Management and Life in General

Carnatic music is a wonderful subject/skill/art whatever you might call it.
It involves discipline and precision to a great extent, and at the same time
involves arbitrariness, imagination, voice control, feeling and emotion (bhaavam),
spirituality and other such intangible things. Thus, it is a combination of
tangible precision and intangible factors blending in together. And this is exactly
what makes it so beautiful..and difficult to comprehend for an new learner.

For a vocalist, it is well-nigh impossible to explain to a student how to get the
sruthis (frequencies) right. The seven swaras Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Da, Ni are just
aliases to represent different frequencies. These seven frequencies have a precise
relation between them. But the starting frequency(Sa) itself is completely arbitrary and
can vary from one vocalist to another. But no matter what the starting frequency,
the vocalist must preserve the exact relationship between the seven frequencies, if
he/she is to meaningfully produce a raaga vocally. Preserving the relationship between the freqencies is the key to generate pleasing music.

The difference between a trained/talented singer and a non-musical person is the ability to preserve the relationship between frequencies.

This is the "precision" part of carnatic music. However, there is more to Carnatic
music than just precision. Western music is all about precision. While sruti precision is undoubtedly the basis of carnatic music, there are factors that go beyond this. For example, gamakas (or overtones) are used to embellish the notes. Without gamakas, the music would be very bland, even if grammatically precise. It would be like reciting inspiring poetry in the style of a newsreader. In addition to gamakas, there are factors like voice quality, raaga knowledge (depth or raaga gnana - which allows a singer to generate sangathis of wider variety for the same raaga)

And on top of all this, there is the most intangible of all factors - bhaava (or feeling). This is exactly what makes the difference between MS Subbulakshmi and yours truly. Also, this is the difference in character between different raagas - why it is pleasing to listen to Bhoopalam in the morning and Sahana at night. So there are several aspects to bhaava - the nature of the raaga, the nature of the singer and the nature of the listener.

A lot of this applies to management, as every manager would testify. Even for a technical manager, the work involves precise and intangible factors. Precise things are the ones that can be documented and clearly quantified. Intangible factors are like motivation (or the lack of it), frustrations, likes, dislikes, etc. which are often the most important things. Even a project plan can be seriously influenced (for good or worse) by unexpected factors and intangibles. It is important to act quickly and decisively on the precise things which can be clearly controlled. It is also important to manage the intangible ones.

And in both Carnatic music and management, a positive and happy mind maximizes results. And as in life itself, it is all about maximizing sowkyam.

The Common Man

I always like to think of myself as an average guy..
This sets expectations low and takes the pressure off.
In fact it would even better to be an underdog.

A person who thinks of oneself as a high achiever expects
success all the time, and puts an unnecessary and undue
pressure on himself/herself. An average person is more
likely to treat success and failure with equanimity.
Personally, I think that an "average" guy has a better
life and long-term success than a dazzling high-achiever.
Sustainable success and a balanced life are more important
than flashes in the pan.

Abraham Lincoln once said "God must have loved the common men-
He made so many of them"


I am OK with success or failure. No issues.