John Mclaughlin, honestly, does not cut it for me... The very sound of his electric jazz guitar, is somewhat a turn off.. my friend D didn't seem to agree when she sent me this clip a couple years back. But the initial aalap by Debashish Bhattacharya on the Slide Guitar is just soul-melting to say the least. That's the entire raga definition presented in a quick shot.... intoxicating... it is perhaps like a quick shot of speed. (being purely imaginative here... haven't tried speed or coke or anything....just watch too many weird movies, that's all :-) ) And of course the genius Srinivas.... just perfect! IMO, Zakir overkilled it a little... Sivamani is awesome. Okay, enough blather about it. Enjoy the video. :-)

A couple of TFM melodies in this raga - Kanna Varuvaya, featuring the horrible dance moves of Suhasini, and our legendary Paattum Naane, from Thiruvilayadal, featuring overacting Sivaji Ganesan, and an over-the-top vocal performance by the late TMS.

The very first electric guitar intro starts off with what sounds like dharmAvathi, mainly because of the 'm2'. But then the subsequent vocal piece 'enakkena yerkanave' employs a 'm1' and distorts the flavour a little bit... to what loosely seems like gowri manOhari.

The third line - "Oli sinthum iru kankal, uyir vaangum siru ithazhkal" throws off a kApi flavour... (s-n3-s-g3-m1-g2-r2).. However, the "Ennulle Ennulle" piece uses a 'd1'. Not sure if that even warrants a classification...

Then comes the female lead: "Ora paarvai..... urimai unakke unakke" - sounds like hamsanAdham. Note the background synth lead playing along these lines also, corroborating the hamsanAdham flavour.

First Interlude

Except for a couple of 'n2's (maybe), most of the interlude sounds like gowri manOhari. Beautiful violin section though.

Charanam

The first 2-3 lines in the male lead all conform to hamsanAdham once again. Then when the female lead goes "Kaathal endra otrai nool than.... un uyir niraikiradhu", the ragam sounds like ranjani. Especially, when Harini sings the little hum, right after the first line. (m2-d2-n3-s... d2-s-d2-m2-g2-r2...)

Second interlude

Brilliant start with the e.guitar/mandolin(?)+ Thavil duet....This piece (~2.57) starts with a 'n2'... n2d2-n2d2-n2d2-p-m2-p-d2-n2-d2d2-p-m2-p-[n2]d2-[n2]d2...The last two repititions of [n2]d2 is technically a 'd2' if recited vocally, but arrived at from 'n2', with a delicate slide. (gamakam?).. Thereby the first two lines sort of lie within the realm of hemAvathi. And then of course the 'n3' takes over and the original dharmAvathi flavour is back in.

The rest of the song is pretty much copy-paste from the above pattern. I was just amazed listening to this beautiful interplay of ragas.

Note 1: This could be a 'sruthi-bedham' example... But then I haven't quite grasped the concept to be able to discern by ear when this happens. So, as far as I am concerned, these are just different ragas cleverly mixed to make this wonderful composition.

Note 2: I have assumed the starting point - 'enakkenna' to be [p-p-m2/m1-g2-r2-ss]... The whole post is based on this assumption. If someone happens to percieve a different starting note, then the whole aforementioned "analysis" stands defeated. Basically, what I am saying is this post is just my opinion only. :-)

Note 3: And of course, my favourite, very nicely composed Bass notes.

(Note: While most of this topic is a diarrhea of words, there is some audio to liven up the proceedings. Audio from two extremes - (a) A rank amateur's vivadi related experiment (b) Sample from a consummate yester-year legend!  Perhaps they are meant to reinforce dissonance vs. consonance :) !! )

One of the unique aspects of Carnatic Music is the status enjoyed by the concept of dissonance in carnatic melodies. The word for dissonance in carnatic music lingo is vivadi (vivādi), which in turn leads us to vivadi swaras i.e. notes tagged as inherently dissonant, vivadi melas and ragas e.g. parent scales/ragas and offspring ragas tagged as inherently dissonant. As you may know, Carnatic Music has 72 melas and out of those 40 are vivadi melas, which incorporate one or more of those so-called vivadi swaras.

Some pertinent questions now are

1. What are these vivadi i.e. dissonant swaras?
2. And why are they considered (inherently) dissonant that they make a raga that employs them vivadi i.e. dissonant?

The first one is easy to answer while the second one is not so.

Which are the vivadi swaras?
The swaras Suddha gandharam (G1), SaTSruti rishabham (R3), Suddha nishAdam (N1) and SatSruti dhaivatam (D3) are the vivadi swaras. Any mela that includes one or more of these swaras is a vivadi mela.

These vivadi swaras actually do not occupy a unique position in the octave. Their position (swarastanam) is the same as that of other (non-vivadi) swaras:

• Suddha gandharam (G1) occupies the same position as catuSruthi rishabam (R2), i.e. the ri we find in Sankarabharanam. This is the position of the 2nd degree in the western major scale. The raga varALi is a prominent raga to employ G1.
• SaTSruthi rishabham (R3) occupies the same position as sAdhAraNa gAndhAram (G3) i.e. the ga we find in kharaharapriya. This position is the same as that of the second degree of the natural minor scale. The raga nATA is a prominent raga to employ R3.
• Suddha nishAdam (N1) occupies the same position as catuSruthi dhaivatam (D2), i.e. the dha we find in SankarAbharaNam. This is the position of the sixth degree of the major scale. The raga kanakAngi (very first mela) employs this vivadi swara N1.
• SaTSruthi dhaivatam (D3) occupies the same position as kaiSiki nishAdam (N2) i.e. the ni we find in kaharaharapriya/harikAmbhOji. This is the position of the seventh degree of the minor scale. The raga nATa employs this vivadi swara D3.

Here is a graphical representation of the vivadi swaras (third column):

Why are they dissonant?
We can see that the vivadi swaras actually occupy what one may consider as "normal" positions. So why then are they called dissonant?

This is because each vivadi swara mandates the presence of a nearby swara and the (melodic) combination of the two is what is termed as dissonant.

So, here's my try at Innudaya Barade:

[audio http://www.upload-mp3.com/files/18885_vneqa/innudayabarade_3.mp3]

The asymmetry in arohana and avarohana comes in many forms

• Different number of swaras between arohana and avarohana (e.g. sAvEri, vasanta, maNirangu etc.) - this is very common
• Same number of swaras in arohana and avarohana but different flavors (e.g. brindAvana sAranga and some interpretations of bhairavi)

Linear vs. Non-Linear arohana/avarohana: On top of this, the arohana and/or the avohana can be linear or non-linear.

• A linear arohana has the set of swaras laid out in increasing order of pitch (e.g. S R1 M1 P D1 S for sAvEri). Similarly a linear avarohana has the set of swaras laid out in decreasing order of pitch (e.g. S N3 D1 P M1 G3 R1 S for sAvEri).
• A non-linear arohana/avarohana may have zig-zag (vakra) patterns, and/or special phrases included in it.  For example,  SrIraga is a case that has both. Its arohana is a simple linear S R2 M1 P N2 S. The avarohana however is S N2 P D2 N2 P M1 R2 G2 R2 S. Here P D2 N2 P M1 is a special (but rare and non-mandatory) phrase, and the only one that can include dha. The M1 R2 G2 R1 is the vakra/zig-zag where while descending from ma, you cannot go to ga directly but must go to ri, then ascend to ga, and then back to ri. This is mandatory in SrIraga.

This indicates that the arohana and avarohana come in various flavors with potentially a lot of complexities implied. In fact, in complex phrase oriented ragas (e.g. nATakurinji, Anandabhairavi, rItigowLa etc.), the arohana and avarohana fall short of being fully representative of the raga structure, and thus become less useful, and also potentially misleading. There is also subjectivity and inconsistency which comes into play in these cases (e.g. are all special phrases included?).

In the simplest case of linear and symmetrical arohana/avarohana (e.g. all melakarata ragas, and ragas like mohanam etc.), as well as the simplest form of asymmetrical arohana/avarohana where both of them are linear, the terms do serve quite well.

Confusion regarding interpreting simple asymmetrical arohana/avarohana:
One of the interesting confusions some rasikas of carnatic music have is regarding the interpretation of the asymmetrical arohana and avarohana - even for the simplest case where both are linear.  Let us take one such raga - sAvEri. Its arohana and avarohana is as follows:

arohana: s r1 m1 p d1 s

avarohana: s n3 d1 p m1 g3 r1 s

As you can see there is no ga and ni in arohana but both are in avarohana.  Now what does this mean?

1. Is s r g r allowed?
2. Is the phrase d n d m allowed?
3. How about the phrase n d n s?

Many rasikas look at the arohana s r m p d s and conclude that all three must be disallowed.  But in truth,  only #3 is disallowed.  When rasikas encounter #1 and #2  in concerts (e.g. kalpanaswaras), they may conclude that "Well - sAvEri must really be a special raga whose usage defies easy representation".  Now there are indeed ragas whose arohanas/avarohanas are not fully representative, but in this case, there is actually a logical explanation that follows directly from the arohana and avarohana as to why #1 and #2 are allowed, and why #3 is not.

To get there, let me state the rules of interpreting linear (i.e. on-vakra, non-phrase-oriented) arohanas/avarohanas:

1. You can ascend from a swara, if it appears in the arohana. In other words, if a swara appears in the arohana, you can ascend from it.
2. You can descend from a swara if it apppears in the avarohana. In other words, if a swara appears in the avarohana, you can descend from it.

Simple isnt it? But what is the big deal? It perhaps seems obvious!

I think one of the main reason why folks (I was one some time ago) may conclude that the first phrase (s r g r) as disallowed is that they see the s r m as arohana of sAvEri, match it against s r g r - and immediately conclude that s r  g combination is disallowed. For some odd reason, many of us initially seem to easily fall for this. However, this considers the half of the picture as in just arohana. The arohana does indeed says s r m - but the avarohana has m g r s and that is being left out in reaching such a conclusion! In fact, if we apply the rule above, we will find that s r g is certainly allowed as long as we descend from g after :)

Now let us look at these phrases and methodically apply our rule:

• #1: s r g r:
  • Take the first transition i.e. s r. We are ascending from sa. This is allowed because sa is in arohana.
  • Take the next transition i.e. r g. We are ascending ga here. This is also allowed because ri is in arohana.
  • Take the next transition i.e. g r. We are descending from ga here. This is allowed because ga is in avarohana.
  • Since all transitions are allowed, the phrase is allowed. If you are still not convinced, you may want to note that this is pretty much how the sAvEri varnam starts (as s r g r g ri <=> sa ra su . . Da)
• #2: d n d m:
  • First transition d n is allowed as we are ascending from dha, and dha is in arohana
  • Next is n d, which is allowed as we are descending from ni, and ni is avarohana
  • Next is d m, which is also allowed as we are descending from dha, and dha is also in avarohana
  • Since all transitions are allowed, the phrase is allowed. This phrase also occurs (more than once) in the sAvEri varnam.
• #3: n d n s:
  • First is n d, which is allowed as we are descending from ni and ni is avarohana
  • Next is d n, which is allowed as we are ascending from dha and dha is arohana
  • n s is disallowed as we are ascending from ni, and ni is not in the arohana
  • Since the last transition is disallowed, this phrase is disallowed - not because of n d n, but only because of n s.  The n d n as such is allowed but only as long as we descend from ni after that which we did not do here.

As an exercise for the reader, see if following are allowed or not:

1. For sAveri,
   • s g r  for sAveri  (can you find a rendition which includes this phrase?)
   • d G R S (capital implies tara stayi or higher octave)
2. kAmbhOji , whose arohana is S R2 G3 M1 P D2 S, and avarohana is S N2 D2 P M1 G3 R2 S (ignoring S N3 P which a rare, special phrase):
   • d n d m p d n da
3. nATa/nATTai whose arohana is S R3 G3 M1 P D3 N3 S. And avarohana is S N3 P M1 R3 S.
   • p m g r s
   • p m g m p
   • p m r g m p
   • p d p

Limitations of applicability of above rule:
The above rules should work for all ragas whose arohana and avarohana is linear (symmetrical or not). The non-linear world is sort of fraught with inconsistencies - but I believe for some cases (e.g. mandatory vakra as the only additional feature) logical rules can apply. I will try to post on that later.

1. Vande Anishamaham (Hamsadhwani) by Santhanam
2. Shobillu Saptaswara (Jaganmohini) by Sudha Ragunathan
3. Ninne Nambiddenayya Sri Rama (Simhendramadhyamam) by Santhanam
4. Vandanamu Raghunandana (Sahana) by T N Seshagopalan
5. Chakkani Raja (Kharaharapriya) by Santhanam
6. Brochevarevarura (Khamas) by M S Subbalakshmi
7. Yaaro Ivar Yaaro (Bhairavi) by D K Pattammal
8. Thaye Yashoda (Thodi) by K J Yesudas
9. Nagumomu Ganaleni (Abheri) by Sudha Ragunathan
10. Marachitivemo Nannu (Purvi Kalyani) by Santhanam
11. Asaindhadum Mayil (Simhendramadhyamam) by the Bombay Sisters

One of the renditions which would now fit into this list is a beautiful varnam composed by Lalgudi Jayaraman (a veritable master of Charukesi) called Innum En Manam. Santhanam's rendition is by and large the best I have heard, barring Lalgudi Jayaraman's own violin rendition of the same song. The "PDNP...." chittaswarams in the middle are some of the best I have heard, as well as the neraval for the "Kuzhaloodum Azhaga Kanna" portions of it.

Behag

Aarohanam: S-G3-M1-P-N3-D2-N3-S

Avarohanam: S-N3-D2-P-M1-G3-R2-S

Karnataka Behag

Aarohanam: S-R2-G3-M1-P-D2-N2-S

Avarohanam: S-N2-D2-N2-P-D2-M1-G3-R2-S

However, listening to some of the musicians perform in this ragam, I for one, automatically assume it is Behag... partly because of ignorance of the other lakshanams of behag... The versions that I've heard so far have both M1, M2 and N2, N3 in it. So, now I really do not know/understand how these 'behag' renditions should be classified as.

Any insights anyone?

The following is an illustration. At more than 4 minutes, it is one of my longest recordings. I hope those reading have the time/patience to read and comment.

[audio http://www.upload-mp3.com/files/17928_iffm1/shanmukhapriya_trial2.mp3]

Bathroom singer extraordinaire that I am, I discovered that Kannukkul Nooru Nilava from the movie Vedam Pudithu seems to bear stark similarity to Shanmukhapriya. It is in the "Iyer vandhu sollum theidiyil thaan varthai varuma?" line that seems to have a Shuddha Madhyamam at "varthai" and given that Shanmukhapriya uses a Prati Madhyamam, this seems to be the only deviation that Devendran (the music director) has chosen for this song. All said and done, the swara sanchaara of Simhendramadhyamam seem to convey a similar mood to Shanmukhapriya, except for the N2, which seems to moderate the proceedings.

Bharati himself was passionate about classical music, writing about it and in one memorable tract even chiding musicians for singing without understanding the import of the lyrics.

There is a school of thought that holds the view that Bharati was the first and perhaps best among the long line of Carnatic music critics.

The acknowledgment by the world of his genius however lay in the future. Bharati breathed his last on September 11, 1921, surrounded by his immediate family and a handful of friends, his physical form emaciated with illness and the traumatic incident concerning the elephant in the Sri Parthasarathy Temple, Triplicane..

The Hindu on September 12, 1921, devoted part of its editorial to the passing of Bharati and it is worth quoting in full: “We regret to learn of the death of Vara Kavi Subramaniya Bharati at his residence in Triplicane last night. The deceased (sic) was an ardent nationalist, a great thinker, a stirring speaker and a powerful writer. He is the author of a number of Tamil works including “National songs.”

One of the photographs that accompany the piece is that of Bharathi and Chellammal; while Bharathi is standing upright with his head tilted towards her, one can see Chellammal being pulled towards the poet -- which makes her stand at an angle to the vertical; and, of course both are looking straight ahead into the camera. A nice piece and a beautiful photo. Take a look!

PS: By the way, the Carnatic criticism pieces of Bharathi are such fun to read! I do not know if English translations of them exist though.

[audio http://www.upload-mp3.com/files/17419_kpi4e/narayana_shuddha_dhanyasi_3.mp3]

Now, let us see how this compares to the Dire Straits lead from Money for Nothing (rehashed):

[audio http://www.upload-mp3.com/files/17421_mpgqj/moneyfornothing_lead_trial2.mp3]

Both versions of both songs contain a rishabam - for example, at 00:06 and 00:15 in the first mp3 (which probably means that I have to go back and listen to some more Shuddha Dhanyasi before I play "Narayana" again!). That said, the Abheri-Dire Straits connection is probably firmer, because Abheri contains a rishabam in the descent (avarohana) portion of the scale. What do you think?

One of the questions was about the seeming presence of a N3 in Kamaas. In his beautiful rendition of Karpooram Naarumo, I think I may have heard the 'anniya swaram - N3' at places where he was embellishing one of the sangadhis ending with the Naarumo...

Another question was about Mallaari and Gambheera Naattai. In one of our ragam-analysis discussions one of my friends told me that some vocalist sang the "Mallaari raagam". In another instance, my mom sung a few lines into the phone of a 'mallaari ragam piece' that she recently learnt in her satsangam. Immediately I queried, "enna ma idhu, Gambheera Naattai paadiptu, Mallaari nu solre ?", to which my mom retorted - "enga paatu teacher idha mallaari nu solli kudhutha... naanum avaaLa ketten, but she insisted that this is mallaari". So I left the argument at that, but HAD to find out about this so called Mallaari ragam.

Finally yesterday, that chance came upon me. Right after the kutcheri, I ran up on stage and before I could request an autograph from Sanjay, some kids hogged him, so I turned to Mr.Nagai Muralidharan and said... "Sir, kutcheri pramadham... romba naal aachu live performance kettu... very happy... blah blah.. ongaloda autograph kadaikuma?" And readily, with a charming smile on his face, he took the booklet from me and started to sign.. and noticed that I had written the last couple of songs there... "Oh, ella paatayum ezhudhintiya?" he asked... to which I probably grinned from ear to ear... I thanked him and turned my attention now to Sanjay... he was almost finished with the kids, and he saw me waiting and gestured with his head to come on, and stretched out his hands to grab the book and pen from me... I said "Awesome Concert Sanjay! Oru sila questions kekanum nu nenechundu irundhen, but time irukuma nu theriyala..."  He said "Ohhh... dhaaraaLama keLungo!", with a smile.. and so I launched into the whole Mallaari controversy.

The explanation goes thus: Mallaari, is just another piece of music composed exclusively in Gambheera Naattai. Just like we have Varnams, Swarajathis, Keerthanais, etc., Mallaari is just another piece.. which used to be exclusively rendered during the Swamy Porapaadu times at temples, and only by Naadhaswara Vidhwans. This, he explained to me in a few seconds, in a way one would explain something to a curious child. I was just amazed at his very pleasing and unassuming demeanour.

And then, I walked over to Mr. Neyveli Venkatesh for his autograph... we exchanged pleasantries and I gave the booklet to him and the pen, and he started signing his autograph... it took a while though, and I started to wonder what the man was doing... But then, when he returned it to me, I was sweetly surprised..He had signed his name, and below it he'd sketched a mridangam! Cool!

Priceless experience! :-)

The musicians - Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Nagai Muralidharan (violin), Neyveli B Venkatesh (Mridangam)

The renditions

1. Manamohana - Harikesanallur Muthayya Bhagavadhar - Mohanam
2. Paraloga Sadhaname - Thyagaraja - Purvi Kalyani
3. Emanathichedivo - Thyagaraja - Sahana
4. Muruga Muzhumadhi (?) .... arumuga - Papanasam Sivan - Saveri
5. Endhukku Peddhala - Thyagaraja - Shankarabharanam (Detailed Aalapana, Thaniyavarthanam)
6. Velumayilume - Koteeswara Iyer - Sucharithra
7. Ennadu Jutuno - Thyagaraja - Kalaavathi
8. Eppo Varuvaro - Gopalakrishna Bharathiyar - Jonpuri (RTP)
9. Kanduthanna... udupi krishna (?) Kandu Dhanyanaadhe Udupi Krishna- Purandhara Dasa - Behag (somebody in the crowd said after the kutcheri, "Sanjay, Ashtapadhi romba nanna irundhudhu"..so I am assuming  this to be it) ****update - apparently this wasn't... I googled for nijaga dhasa, as I suddenly seemed to remember the first (only) two words from the little piece that he sung after Idhuvo Thillai. **** (corrected the song title, after clarification from Aparna in the comments section)
10. Idhuvo Thillai Chidhambara Kshethram - Gopalakrishna Bharatiyar - Sindhu Bhairavi
11. Nijaga Dhasa Yadunandane - Jayadeva - Sindhu Bhairavi (Ashtapadhi)
12. Raamanai Bhajiththaal - Papanasam Sivan - Maand

Of course, I had to refer to Karnatik.com and the G God, for all the composer's names. Fortunately for me, one of the organizers asked Sanjay directly as to what ragam Ennadu Jutuno was composed in... and he answered into the mic, "Kalaavathi". I heaved a sigh of relief, as I could only place the individual notes, and was almost certain it sounded like a Chakravaaham janya, but then, that was as far as I could get. Just to make life more interesting (read:confusing) for us, there is apparently another ragam by the same name - Kalaavathi. However, thankfully, the two ragas differ vastly in their notes and hence, one only has to watch out for those to identify one from the other unlike the Darbari-Nayaki duo. Also, the other Kalaavathi (Dikshithar asampurna mela system) is originally Yaagapriya (31),a melakartha ragam, which has S-R3-G3-M1-P-D1-N1-S as the underlying notes.

The Chakravaaham-Kalaavathi has the aaro/avaro as follows: Aarohanam: S-R1-M1-P-D2-S,  Avarohanam: S-D2-P-M1-G3-R1-S.

Then Sanjay launched into an aalapana, in a really familiar sounding ragam, but I was lost. I was able to place it in the vicinty of Natabhairavi, but had to give up, because it was obviously not the Mela ragam that he was rendering. I was going nuts after the first few minutes into the aalapana... and then sometime in between he randomly announced... "This ragam is Jonpuri"... PHEW!

Another thing that I surprised myself with was the Shankarabharanam aalapana. I couldn't make up my mind, because some phrases he sang sounded like the little Begada piece in the Nava raga varnam. So I checked Karnatik and finally reaffirmed by conclusion that it was in fact Shankarabharanam. I think I need to start listening to some Shankarabharanam krtihis and aalapanas to eradicate this problem. This krithi included a very elaborate aalapana and a thaniyaavarthanam. This is the first time I am listening to Venkatesh play, and  at one point I thought he was going to bang the two sides in! Apparently he is a gumukki expert (it said so in the kutcheri flyer), and he did show it off at one point, and boy! was I thrilled.... I don't understand much about the various thalams, and the little I know about them, has also vanished with time. Nonetheless, I have always had a penchant for percussion instruments.. all of them I guess.. the mrigangam, thavil, moharsing, ghatam and so on. The timbre of each instrument is so different and the way the experts use it in live performances is just.... fantastic...to say the least. :-)

Sanjay, imho, has become the sole ambassador of Sucharithra, atleast amongst contemporary musicians. The first time ever that I listened to this krithi and the ragam was when I bought the live DVD of the December 2005 season kutcheri feat. Sanjay....and I was completely mesmerized by the ragam and of course, the rendition. I bought the DVD maybe a week into my visit home, and from that day on amma and I would listen to it every night, before going to bed. :-)

The rest of the ragams - Saveri, Sindhu Bhairavi, Maand, Behag, Sahana, Mohanam... were presented so lucidly, that even a beginner could've nailed it in the first few seconds. The true talent and greatness and the personal touch of any musician can only be showcased in the aalapana and the kalpana swaram sections, and of course the brigas, and sangadhis, etc. So I wonder, if the trick in presenting an alapana, is to just belt out a couple of "catch phrases" in the beginning and then launch into the creative mode and explore every nook and cranny of the ragam. Atleast this way, it is strikingly apparent to the listener what ragam the musician is singing/playing in.... and that, in itself makes the whole aalapana experience much more divine. This, in itself could possibly be the best way to "hook" the listener/rasika's cerebral cortex for the entire duration of the kutcheri... somewhat like breaking the ice, when meeting a new person, and making them comfortable enough to sustain a decent conversation. :-)

[audio http://www.upload-mp3.com/files/16838_xf0ar/money_for_nothing_abheri0.mp3]

The above is a recording of Money For Nothing's lead guitar (I don't have the "electric" feel to it that Mark Knopfler so amazingly brings out). Pardon me for uploading this incomplete mp3, which has the last portions of the lead missing (Audacity gave up on me!)

And here's a recording of Abheri (with shades of Kharaharapriya):

[audio http://www.upload-mp3.com/files/16839_jm9on/abheri.mp3]

How similar do you think they are? Knopfler's lead seems to be compatible with the swaras of Abheri, while bringing out, in essence, a very cool and exciting sound, because of its presentation and the orchestration, and of course, the metallic effects and bass guitar (which kick in a little later in the song). However, the similarity is probably undeniable. Can those of you trained in Carnatic music comment? I happen to think that being self-taught is a particular disadvantage when understanding similarities (and differences) like these.

[audio http://www.upload-mp3.com/files/16835_ohhhe/pantuvarali_1.mp3]

I also played Shambo Mahadeva (imperfectly, but with promise, I hope). I hope to play a kriti sometime, at least a basic version with a correct rendition of the raga and with enough improvization to make it entertain.

As you can probably imagine, I have retuned this to EBEBEB and am happily playing Carnatic on it. The strings being smoother, the sliding and tapping is easier and less fussy. The great thing about the new equipment is my new amplifier. Its a 20W Fender which I picked up for a low price ($40) but has reverb and distortion and great quality. I like the sound of the guitar so far and being more acquainted with acoustic guitars, I am exploring the wide variety of sounds in the new one. I recorded a Hindolam with the new guitar, so here it is:

[audio http://www.upload-mp3.com/files/16751_lckfk/hindolam_2.mp3]

I sound so much like myself despite new equipment (which is sane, but boring). There are a few new tricks I can attempt with sustain and the new reverb function. Hope to be posting more music yet!

He has called it by the weird, and contrived name - Ethereal Gypsy on Route Fifty Eight although he has his reasons.

[audio http://arunk.freepgs.com/blog/etherealgypsy/etherealgypsy.mp3]

For you Carnatic folks, perhaps you can still out make out the raga/scale on which this tune (i.e. the solo) is adapted from? The carnaticity of the raga obviously has been mangled out of shape - but the tune does still stick to its scale (hopefully :) ).

The chord progression here is not really a chord progression :)! I started out with exactly two chords (Bm and Bm6), and I sort of got sucked into the mood generated by those two (which gave me some ideas for the background music). And I could never escape out of that. There are a few other chords which would have fit this scale, but those two chords had grabbed me a hold of me like two tentacles, and I guess I was enjoying their grasp too much to see anything else. The solo also is more of the western style, or at least well disconnected from the Carnatic side of things.  I just went with the flow of what I thought fit rather than trying to consciously bring the Carnatic flavor of the raga out (although that was my original intention).

BTW, there are three reasons for the choice of that contrived title. Can you guess all three ? You may need some music knowledge (carnatic and other) and google to figure it out. First one who gets all three - gets to brag about it in the comment section ;)

[audio http://www.upload-mp3.com/files/15194_6z1lg/amrutavarshini.mp3]

Songs I have also played to get a feel for the raga are Thoongatha Vizhigal Rendu (an Ilayaraja classic) and of course the popular Anandaamrutakarshini by Dikshitar. I wish to learn the latter better, while my appreciation of the former seems to be quite accurate. I have yet to make a recording of Ilayaraja's masterpiece, but all said and done, it will take me a while to get to a level when I can say I have done justice to the song. In the meanwhile, there is more pratice and more learning each day, and of course, more curiosity.

The modern classical-music performance, as audiences have come to know it and sometimes to love it, adheres to a fairly rigid format. The music usually begins a few minutes after eight, listeners having taken their seats beforehand to peruse program notes or chat with neighbors. The evening falls into two halves, each lasting around forty-five or fifty minutes. An orchestral concert often proceeds from overture or short tone poem to solo concerto, and then to a symphony or some other major statement; a solo recital builds up to a big sonata or a virtuoso showpiece. The audience is expected to remain quiet for the duration of each work, and those who applaud between movements may face embarrassment. Around ten o’clock, the audience claps for two or three minutes, the performers bow two or three times, and all go home. Opera has a slightly looser code—the length of the evening depends on the composer’s whims, and the audience makes its feelings known with sporadic applause and very occasional boos—but there, too, an atmosphere of high seriousness prevails.

The piece, which is a review of two books that trace the history of how the current format and playing/listening styles emerged has plenty of interesting things to say -- like this one about listening to an opera in Paris in the years before the French Revolution:

Here is Johnson’s evocation of a night at the Paris Opéra in the years before the French Revolution:

While most were in their places by the end of the first act, the continuous movement and low din of conversation never really stopped. Lackeys and young bachelors milled about in the crowded and often boisterous parterre, the floor-level pit to which only men were admitted. Princes of the blood and dukes visited among themselves in the highly visible first-row boxes. Worldly abbés chatted happily with ladies in jewels on the second level, occasionally earning indecent shouts from the parterre when their conversation turned too cordial. And lovers sought the dim heights of the third balcony—the paradise—away from the probing lorgnettes.

In other words, the opera served mainly as a playground for the aristocracy. The nobles often possessed considerable musical knowledge, but they refrained from paying overt attention to what the musicians were doing. Indeed, silent listening in the modern sense was deemed déclassé. Johnson quotes a nobleman writing, “There is nothing so damnable as listening to a work like a street merchant or some provincial just off the boat.”

There are a couple of things that caught my attention: one is that in earlier times the audience seldom sat down or quieted down; the other is that Franz Liszt introduced a routine by which audience might ask for their favourites by writing them down on slips of paper. Both these are true of modern Carnatic concerts!

There is also some anthropology, of course:

With the aristocracy declining in the wake of the French Revolution and subsequent upheavals, the bourgeoisie increasingly took control of musical life, imposing a new conception of how concerts should unfold: programs favored composers of the past over those of the present, popular fare was banished, program notes provided orientation to the uninitiated, and the practice of milling about, talking, and applauding during the music subsided. To some extent, these changes can be explained in anthropological terms: by applauding here and not applauding there, the bourgeois were signalling their membership in a social and cultural élite. As Johnson points out, they felt obliged to reconfirm that status from year to year, since, unlike the aristocrats of yore, they lived in fear of going back down the ladder. “The bourgeoisie isn’t a class, it’s a position,” the Journal des Débats advised. “You acquire it, you lose it.” Attending concerts became a kind of performance in itself, a dance of decorum.

The piece also suggests how the hushed down audience helped/encouraged the composition of some of the modern pieces and discusses how the genius of Beethoven anticipated some of these developments of the concert scene.

Ross ends his piece with a suggestion as to why the current concert format also needs modifications:

The problem isn’t that the modern way of giving concerts has grown hopelessly decrepit, as some say; it’s that music has for too long been restricted to a single, almost universally duplicated format. If the idea is to treat composers as serious artists, then concerts must become significantly more flexible, in order to accommodate the myriad shapes of music of the past thousand years. Superbly polished as today’s performances are, I sometimes get the feeling that the classics are a force more contained than unleashed, and that new works might still produce the tremendous effect that Beethoven had on Berlioz’s old music master at a concert in Paris: “When I came out of the box and tried to put on my hat, I could not find my own head.”

A must-read piece!

While we are on the topic, some of you might also be interested in listening to what Ariyakudi, the doyen of Carnatic music and the pioneer of modern Carnatic concert, has to say about Carnatic concert tradition (or kutcheri paddhathi, as he called it).

துயர செய்தி கேட்டவுடன் கோர்வையாக வந்து போன நினைவுகளை எழுதுவது கூட சுமையாயிற்று. அவரின் ஆன்மா சாந்தி அடைய எனது மனம் நிறைந்த பிரார்த்தனைகள்.

Born on March 2, 1935, he trained under his father Ramaswamy Sastry. As a youngster, he accompanied stalwarts, including Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Maharajapuram Santhanam and Chittoor Subramanya Pillai. He also performed with legendary nagaswara vidwans such as T.N. Rajarathinam Pillai and Thiruvenkadu Subramania Pillai.

He made a mark in classical music as well as film music, and made conscious attempts to make music more accessible to the common man.

I remember a Kumudam edition for which he was the editor, in which he recounted the story of his becoming a violinist and also the extraordinary training he underwent. Unfortunately, I had never heard him live :-(

Here is Music India Online page of Kunnakudi. He will be missed!

There are mistakes towards the end, but here's what I have:

[audio http://www.upload-mp3.com/files/14113_tzfxz/harikambhoji_3.mp3]

I have tried out a few experimental gamakas in the song, I do not know if all of them are correct. I think I can guess that some are. ;-) I wish the recording quality was better. I may upgrade to a better amplifier.

Side note 1: I currently use a tiny Fender First Act amplifier which I picked up at Walmart for $29. Since my guitar itself (a Stagg SW206) cost me around $200 and my talent and knowledge are limited now (I have no formal training in Carnatic music or guitar), I decided to pick up cheap equipment, until I make enough money to feed this hobby (apart from Photography and RC aircraft - which I indulge in on and off). Having said that, this is my second guitar in a year (my first guitar year), and I may buy a third one next year, an electric (hopefully a Gibson or some other nice good quality guitar). Until then, I will be coasting along on this equipment!

Side note 2: I have to move to Tags on Wordpress sometime. I am tired of "Categories".

[audio http://www.upload-mp3.com/files/14111_uaf8q/Hindolam.mp3]

It is interesting that a graha bhedam of Hindolam can yield Mohanam and other pleasant pentatonic scales (ragas). Generally, all the graha bhedam derivatives of Hindolam seem to be considered very pleasant ragas. The reverse seems to be true for some Melakarta ragas, an example being Kanakangi and Kamavardhini (the latter can be derived from a graha bhedham of the former. I understand that graha bhedham is a shift of the swaras through consecutive modes, and the term is itself perhaps explained best by a diagram that's on this Wikipedia page on Graha bhedham (thanks in large part to VasuVR).

I never forget to remember Tyagaraja's Samajavaragamana at the mention of this raga. I remember splendid nights in 2004 when I was in the early stages of my self-initiation into Carnatic music. Being fond of long walks, I used to pop in an old Santhanam tape into my humble Aiwa walkman and listen to Maamavathu Sri Saraswathi for hours on end, on the weekends, over pleasant evenings. Hindolam is surely a most relaxing raga unparalled by very few other ragas that are also simple in nature. Yaare Rangana also comes to my mind, especially from my sister's elaborate renderings of this kriti.

Those of you who are knowledgeable about Carnatic music, do check out the Hindolam page and contribute to the Melakarta page too.

[audio http://www.upload-mp3.com/files/14109_sohan/natakapriya%2Bsindhubhairavi.mp3]

Part of the reason for this miscibility is probably as follows. The aarohana and avarohana patterns of the three ragas are as below (courtesy Karnatik.)

Sindhu Bhairavi:

Aa: S R2 G2 M1 G2 P D1 N2 S

Av: N2 D1 P M1 G2 R1 S N2 S

Natakapriya (a Melakarta raga, the parent raga of Sindhu bhairavi):

Aa: S R1 G2 M1 P D2 N2 S

Av: S N2 D2 P M1 G2 R1 S

Todi (another Melakarta Raga):

Aa: S R1 G2 M1 P D1 N2 S

Av: S N2 D1 P M1 G2 R1 S

The italicized swaras are groups of swaras which have the same structure in Natakapriya's and Todi's aarohana and avarohana. The sound resulting in a complicated alapana involving slides up and down these swaras will likely make one raga compatible with the other.

In the aarohana-avarohana pattern of Sindhu bhairavi, the typical "vakra" patterns are highlighted. The swaras seem to wind back and forth, thereby making portions of the raga sound like Natakapriya, while other portions make it distinctly Sindhu bhairavi.

To differentiate Todi from these two, here's a recording of Todi I had from a while back. It's a failed attempt at rendering Thaye Yashoda, but probably a successful attempt at rendering Todi. It's a few months old, but let me hope it is a good enough demonstration.

[audio http://www.upload-mp3.com/files/14110_iebyd/thodi2.mp3]

Listen to both the recordings and let me know what you think. Could you distinguish the Natakapriya parts from the Sindhu bhairavi parts? Can Janakas and Janyas be used in the same song to interesting effect? Also, could you see shades of Todi in the song? Do let me know in the comments. Also, any suggestions, corrections, etc in the recordings are welcome.