Muttaiyyah bhagavathar

Sri T.N.Seshagopalan (TNS) gave a lecture demonstration on Sri Harikesanallur Muttaiyyah bhagavathar and his compositions on the 24th of Mar 2012 at Rasika Ranjanai sabha auditorium,Chembur,Mumbai

Sri Ramanathapuram C.S. Sankarasivam, who was the guru of TNS, was the foremost disciple of Muthiah Bhagavathar.

The lecture demonstration was very educative and entertaining and it showed how much knowledge TNS has about both the theoretical and the practical aspects of music. I am including the notes I took during the lec dem below.

TNS started the lec dem with the shlokam mooshika vahana in malahari and followed it up with the kriti shree maha ganapathi set to rupaka tala.

Here are excerpts from the lec dem (as delivered by TNS):

·         In the 18th/19th century, there were many seats of music and among them Mysore played a vital role in patronising music and musicians …… Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar was born in Tirunelveli district down south in Tamil Nadu. He was a great exponent of music and outstanding“harikathA” exponent of distinguished merit … the most exemplary contribution made by him through his compositions was when he was in Mysore when he was patronized by the king Krishna rajendra wodeyar.We can find the names of his patrons in many of his compositions.

·         Muthiah Bhagavathar was a prolific composer …. he has composed many different types of compositions …. he composed many swarajatis, gItams, lakshana gItams … some of them are not there in print and are available only in parts. We have had to collect them and try to make a reasonable composition. Many compositions of his are scattered and available with different shishyAs (students) of his at different places. Some compositions are yet to come to the lime light

The varnams of Muthiah Bhagavathar were composed on traditional lines

·         At the same time, he introduced new, innovative techniques of vAdi samvAdi (consonant dissonance) …… vAdi samvAdi in prayOgA too and not in swaram only. Example of vAdi samvAdi:In sAvEri Adi tala varnam sarasuda‘s charanam “dAnIpai nEnarUna IvEla“, the composer has started in dhaivatham (at dA of dAnIpai) and landed in rishabam (at rU of nEnarUna) in vAdi samvAdi

·         In the sudha dhanyAsi varnam “shrI rAjamAtangi“, the third ethukadai “M G S, S N P M G, S G M P N S G, N S, P N, M P, G M P N S G, G S N P M” the next starting point of each swara combination is the sthAyi swaram of the very same swara where it ends (not like M G S, P M G, N P M, S N P …). The music flows very well this way. There are so many beauties of each such composition of Sri Muthiah Bhagavathar.

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·         He has composed many ata tAla varnams. The speciality of his ata tala varnams is that he has incorporated the swaras in the sAhitya too. In the anupallavi of mOhana ata tAla varnam “manamOhana” which was composed during my guru’s (Sri Sankarasivam) arangEtram before the Raja Muthuramalinga Sethupathi of Ramnad, the sAhityam comes like this: “gAnalOla muddu rAmalinga rAjarAjEshwarA sEtupatIndrA”. In the third ethukada swara, sudha swarAksharam comes: “dAdA (great person .. not today’s dada  ) , sagasa dAdA (easily approachable great person), pAri dAdA (pAri = pAril = in this world …. you are the patron of this world), sagA (friend to everybody), sariga pAgadA (wearing pagadi decorated with zaris),paridA (between the horses?), garidA (inbetween the elephants?),padA gadA (riding a palanquin?), dArIda, rIga.. dA, pA da parigari(friend to me in all ways, to share the happiness and sorrows), pAda“

He made daru varnams famous. Pada varnams were already famous because of their usage in regular dance performances in the palaces. Daru varnams are special type of varnams in whosemukthAyi swarams, there are first the swarA passages, followed by the jatis which are then followed by the sAhitya. An example is the daru varnam “mAtE malayadvaja” in rAgA kamAsu (which when repeatedly spelt becomes sukama = sugama !!):

·         Swara: DaDa NDDN DDND DNPM’ | DaDa NRSN SDNS DPMM ||
DaDa NGRN RSND PNDM | DaDa MGMP MPDD NNDM ||
DaD RSNDN DaD MDNMN | DaD SSPDN DaD MGRSN ||
DaDP DaDN DaDS DaRD | .MGR SNDa NSNN DDPM ||

·         Jati: thAmthAm thakajoNu dadanida dimithaka | dAdA kukuthari thajaNutha dapamama ||
dAdA nigarini risadhimi tharikita | jamjam thakitatha kukuthari Namthari ||
dAthathin ginathari jEkumada nithaka | Namthasa sathimitha thomthadi mithakita ||
dAdapa dAdatha rEkusa dArijam |.magari sanidA nisanini dadapama ||

·         SAhityA: dAdA sakalaka lAnipu Nachatusa | dAdA vividama dasamaya samarasa ||
dAdA sulabhahru dayamadu ravachana | dAdA sarasaru chirathara swaralaya ||
gItasu kadanija bhAvara sikavara | dAdama hisU.ra nAdanAl .vadisri ||
krishnarA jEndrara dAyEsa dA.bO | rEmahithE harikE samanOha rasadayE ||

You have to sing 2nd kAlam for all this

·         When it comes to varnam, his compositions have so many colors !!!!

• “In kritis, he did new innovations in old songs and incorporated old usages in new songs. Example: kaligiyuntE in kIravAni is by thyAgarAja swAmi. His student pattanam subramaniya iyer created “varamulOsagi brochutanI” as “P M1 G2 R2 S D1 N3 S R2 R2″. pUchi srInivAsa iyengAr created “nijamukha rAmA” as “P D1 N3 S N3 D1 P M1 M1 G2″. muthiAh bhAgavathar started and ended in panchamam – “amba vAni nannu AdarimpavE” “P P M1.P M1. G2 R2 S R2.G2 M1 M1 P”
• “(Thyagaraja) Swami’s kritis drAkshArasam …..means drAkshai (grapes) will taste sweet superficially (and will be rich in technicalities too); but if you go to look into technicalities, like for example for finding ArohanA avarOhaNa for a rAgA in which a kriti is based, we need not have a conference like this to find that out. “Paluku kaNDa” in navarasa kAnnaDa  – S G2 M1 P P S, N2 D2 M1 P D2 M1 G3 R2 S. Swamigal has told us to say it not as S G2 M1 P S but as S G2 M1 P P S (extra P) to bring out the beauty of the rAgA. Muthiah Bhagavathar has similarly composed “lambOdara mahA gaNEsa varadA” – “S N2 D2 M1 G3 R2, S G2 M1 P P S”. There are lot more pearls and gems that can be got from the vast ocean of Muthiah Bhagavathar’s compositions. It is difficult for me to decide which ones to tell you about and which ones to skip, due to the paucity of time.
• Muthiah Bhagavathar popularized many of the ragas. There is a difference between discovering a raga and popularizing it. If you give a shape or life to a raga that exists in theory/textbooks by composing songs/varnams or any other types of compositions and if it stands the test of time, then the credit goes to you. Muthiah Bhagavathar’s daugher passed away during the time he came to Mysore as a “samasthAna vidwAn”. In the sorrowful mood that he was in during that time, he went to Banaras and stayed there for some time. He became friends with the Hindustani Music Vidwan called Krishna Badji(?) during that time and got involved more in Hindustani Music for some time. Before the bifurcation of carnatic and hindustani systems of music took place sometime during the invasion of India by the Mughals, there was only one system of music. This can be understood from the architecture and sculptures in a place called “kudumayAmalai” near pudukkOttai, down south in Tamil Nadu, where a sArangi is shown to be played for thEvaram songs. In early days, many vidwans were well versed in both systems. When Muthiah Bhagavahar heard the rAgA sOhini in the Hindustani system of music, he adapted it to Carnatic music as rAgA hamsAnandi and made it easy for everyone to sing by making a simple ArOhana and avarOhana for it. He was the first person to compose a kriti in this rAga. He composed the kriti“nIdu mahima pogada nA taramA”. When he was invited by the Raja of Travancore to tune and popularize Maharaja Swati Tirunal’s compositions, he chose the rAgA hamsAnandi for the kriti “pAhi jagajjanani“.
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• He also invented rAgAs. To invent rAgAs or to create something new,one should be knowledgeable enough about what all old things are there. If you term something old as new, it is only new to you  . It is not new but is already there. Our great ancestors have already formulated a very good system with an exhaustive permutations and combinations set …….. Muthiah Bhagavathar took the clue for karnaranjani from the songpadavini in sAlakabhairavi. ” S R2 M1 P , M1 G2 R2″. Karnaranjani – “S R2 G2 M1 G2 P”. Instead of going like “S R2 G2 M1 P”, he added an extra G2 and held the note for sometime ….. Take the case of durgA … sudha sAvEriis “S R2 M1 P D2 S, S D2 P M1 R2 S”. durgA is “S R2 M1 P M1 D2 S, S D2 P M1 R2 M1 S”. pashupathipriya S R2 M1 P D2 S, S D2 P M1 R2 M1 S.
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• He has also put very good chitta swarams for many kritis. Example is his kathanakuthUhalam kriti “giripriyam gangAdharam” by hearing which we can see that he was much ahead of his times. He has composed chitta swarams which even today stand the test of time and appeal to us.
• We usually do vAdi samvAdi in swarams. He has done vAdi samvAdi inprayOgAs too. The raga budhamanOhari has a kriti “samayamithE nannu brOchutaku” based on it. “S R G M G P S, S P M G R S”. I had been thinking how he would have thought about this rAgA. It struck me thatkuntalavarALi is “S M1 P D2 N2 D2 S, S N2 D2 P M1 S”. If you take M1 as S and sing, you get budhamanOhari. So budhamanOhari is the madhyama mUrchana of kuntalavarALi. Such has been the kind of research he has done into rAgAs.

• He has created thillAnAs in Kathak style. Take the case of thehamsAnandi thillAna created by him.

• He was a great exponent of harikatha. He used to share a lot of pearls of wisdom through his harikathas which used to last for 4-5 hours easily those days.

• He produced a lakshana grantha called “sangIta kalpadrumA” for which he was conferred with a doctorate degree. He was the first musician in India to be awarded doctorate for music.
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• He had a very open mind and was very appreciative of talent too. He wanted to bring good talent to limelight.“ one such example is Parasalla Ponnamal.

Aesthetic values in sabhagana

Aesthetic values in sabhagana

Aesthetic values in Sabhagana

This article was published in Shanmukhananda magazine in July-Aug issue 2011. I would like to add that all my friends,well wishers,and music students are free to contribute to this blog.Please make sure that you cite the sources in the article.I will put up your article in the blog crediting you..Let us make this blog more interactive and informative by sharing our knowledge..


                              PLEASE NOTE

Going forward I will be posting about lec dems and other music sessions I go to with the intention of sharing the details with people who might have missed attending them. While I don't mind such posts being copied and put on other web sites with the intention of sharing it with more people, I would be happy if a link pointing to the original post is also put

Kalapramanam in kritis

Kalapramanan in kritis

Has kalaparamanan for each kriti been set by the vaggeyakara?
This question is pertinent when we notice a particular kriti rendered in different speed by different musicians.


It might have not been so in the case of compositions composed before the advent of sri thyagaraja. They were always set to a metrical movement. But the kirthana form gained prominence during the period of Talapakkam Annamacharya. As SouthIndian music had its roots in bhakti the music was essentially used as a vehicle to sing the glories of god.
It was set to a single octave to help everybody both men and women to sing in groups.
In most cases the structure was simple the lyric running basically as poetry and not necessarily with strict grammar and established components like pallavi anupallavi and charana The changeover came because the trinity were not only competent vaggeyakaras but also competent musicians.

As an illustration compare the kalapramana of the kriti telisiramachinthana in purnachandrika with the kalapramana of upacharamulanu in bhairavi.
The former is often rendered along with solfa syllables in three minutes flat.
On the contrary if we happen to sing the kriti upacharamulanu in an accelerated tempo there is no scope. it is simply not possible.There are kritis which yield to such variations in spped while others have a rigid time measure.

There is an old recording of MD Ramanthan of the varali piece seshachalanayakam in vilambita kalam while in most cases it is confined to madhyamakalam which has popularly been sung by musicians of yesteryears including Sri KV Narayanaswamy.

One of the most important parameters that govern the kalapramanan is the sahithya or the lyrical content. The composer has a message or theme to carry out in the form of music.
Look at the examples from the point of trinity etijanmam(varali),karubaru(mukhari),
Lekanna ninnu(asaveri) the svarajathis beginning with the words kamakshi both in bhairavi and yadhukulakambhoji of ShyamaShastri ,Mayamma(ahiri) and chetasribalakrishnam of dikshathar ,saragunapalimpa(kedaragaula) of poochi srinivasa iyengar.

They are just a few from the vast list of compositions.All these are set to a kalapramanan and cannot be altered. Even if we try it will prove futile.

On the other hand look at these compositions sobillu(jaganmohini),doraguna(bihari),dharini(sudhasaveri),rajuvedala(thodi),biranavaralichi(kalyani).They have a message to be delivered in a relatively swift version.
Also they provide room for creative thinking the introduction of new sangathis which have been done by the maestros of yesteryears.

Some songs are to be presented in a superfat tempo like nenaruncha(malavi),ninnuvina(navarasakanada).such atidruta pieces are hardly seen in the pieces of shyama sastri and muthuswami dikshatar.
One point I would like throw light on is the songs of the modern composer GN Balasubramanian. He has attempted to follow the footsteps of thyagaraja and has composed around 200 compositions.Most of his compositions are in madhyamakala and dhuritha kala. The foreword in the volumes titled ganabhaskara manimalai which is veritably the collection of his compositions says that the songs are in madhyamakala and dhurita kala.Thus the compositions of GNB mainly also reflect the style that he performed.

Kalapramana is based on the tala in which the song is set. Songs set in desadhi(commencing after 3 counts) are easier to compose and render.
Many compositions of Patnam Subramanya iyer are set to this rhythm.
They run in a medium speed which is common.Irendu kalai (each beat reckoned twice),songs in adhi tala commencing after 3counts similarly have a set and a calculated movement ,which is neither too slow nor too fast. They form the core of the content because they provide elaborate room for creativity in the manodharma sangeetham.To list a few evarimata(kambhoji),sankaracharyam(sankarabharanam).

The skill of combining two speeds in a single song is quite unique in the art of composing.In such compositions ,the speed of the charanam is twice that of pallavi.
It is in such compositions that both the rhythm and melody matter.

A majority of Dikshatar kritis have a madhyamakala sahithyawhich is in built and inseparable for example parvatikumaram (nattaikurinji).There are extremely slow paced kritis(ativilambita) which include every feature of classism,feature,melody and bhava.

Obviously expertise and scholarship are required them to bring in creativity.

Experiments in variations of kalapramana are vast in the field of RTP.
Eduppu or commencing point of a composition is of vital importance in the arithmetic of the kalapramanan.
Innumerable talas in science of carnatic music can be used practically in pallavis.
Indulging in trikala interpretation in pallavis is a unique exercise in the usage of time measure.
The duration of a concert has enormous influence on presenting the kritis in a judicious manner. If the concert is of full length the singer can adopt the traditional pattern.If it happens to be short the artist must exercise discretion.
Communication with artists is yet another feature that manipulates the kalapramanam of kritis. It has a positive influence in formatting the concerts with kritis of varied time measure and holistic structure of the concert.

Given above parameters the question arises whether the artist can take liberties with traditional kalapramana of kritis or tinker with traditional set of vaggeyakaras that are in practice
                              PLEASE NOTE

Going forward I will be posting about lec dems and other music sessions I go to with the intention of sharing the details with people who might have missed attending them. While I don't mind such posts being copied and put on other web sites with the intention of sharing it with more people, I would be happy if a link pointing to the original post is also put

Endaro mahanubavulu andariki vandanamu

Dear Friends,Rasikas and Musicians,
                                                         I take great pleasure in welcoming you  to my blog!! I would like to introduce myself as a humble Vidhyarti of this greatest art form. I truly feel fortunate and blessed to be a practitioner of this art form. This blog is dedicated to South Indian classical music and I would like to share with you  my articles related to Classical music and dance! 

My hearty thanks are due in large measure to all my gurus,benefactors,well wishers,connoisseurs and friends who have been giving their unstinted and uninterrupted inspiration,facilitating me to start this blog.

Having experienced the sheer joy of the music of my revered gurus and various musicians prior to my generation and the current generation. I can do no better than echo the words of Thyagaraja( Endaro mahanubavulu andariki vandanamu)( Countless are great ones and my saluations to all)

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