Expressions of Raga

How do we define what music is?

Organized sound?? A melody set to a pattern of rhythm?? a set of notes of various frequencies??

What is that which defines the difference between sound and music?? It seems it is in the ability of the sound produced to invoke in us a particular mood that elevates sound to become music. Music then is a language without words that creates a mood or bhAvA in us. Our Indian Classical music has its foundation in this bhAvA or rasA. In fact it is the extent to which a music taps the emotions of the listener that draws appreciation and attention.

Generally each raaga is associated with a mood. For instance the mood of raaga Yaman of Hindustani classical music or kalyani of Carnatic music is that of devotion and that of raaga Boopali or Mohanam is shringaar. Generally a particular raaga is associated only with a particular mood and that is the case across all the listeners’ minds.

But there are some raagas which convey different moods and the bhAvA that it carries depends on the way the raaga is handled.

In this article we can try to explore the raaga Karahapriya and the various bhAvAs it showers depending upon the way it is composed.

Karaharapriya has been handled very deftly by various film music directors in Tamil Film industry. This raaga is generally associated with bhakthi rasa.

But there are cases where songs set to or based on this raga convey different or even contrasting moods like romance, fantasy, melancholy.

One more interesting aspect of this raga is that it can be composed in folkish, classical and citified ways.

Before we enter into assessing the various moods, we shall first get acquainted with the raga.

Karaharapriya is the 22nd of the 72 melakarthas (ragas with all 7 notes in ascending and descending movements). Several composers have composed their masterpieces in this raga.

Listen to raga karaharapriya rendered by Sri Maharajapuram Santhanam

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The Ganadaram and Nishadam are never sung as a plain note in an alapana, which can be noticed thro this recording.

The Hindustani equivalent of karaharapriya is raga Kafi. But unlike in carnatic music, the Ga is sung without the modulation.

Here is a raga sample in raga kafi sung by Pt Ajoy Chakrabarti.

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Let us shift in to our subject of discussion ie the way this raga is handled in film music.

First we shall hear to a typical, undiluted karaharapriya that is as good as a carnatic music rendition. The song is from film ambigapathi, rendered by Sri TM Soundararajan. Listen to the unique and beautiful usage of the raga at “ayal oruvar kanpadumo endranji”

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What we just heard is an undiluted version of the raga. We shall subsequently understand the raga and the various bhavas that it unfurls.

At this juncture I would like to clarify to the readers that by karaharapriya I do not mean the 7 notes of the raga or the patterns that are “allowed” to be sung in the name of the raga karaharapriya as imposed by a particular system of music. But what is implied is the mood called karaharapriya. To make it clear, I would not like to confine the raga to limits of any “framework” imposed by a particular music system in terms of the exploration and usage.

The same raga in a little folkish but undiluted manner has been splendidly handled by Maestro Illaiyaraja in the film ooru vittu ooru vandu. The song is thaana vanda sandame.

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The very first time I heard to the song, I was put to an extreme awe at the musical genius of Illaiyaraja. Some typical classical prayogas or phrases were used by the maestro. “Sowkhyam” or the soothing aspect of the raga would have been brought to the best in phrases like “yAralum padikkAda mangala rAgame” with phrases g r n d n s. A few authoritative movements like r g r (lower) - d n d - r g r (upper) sung at rAni inda rAni inda ……virruppame

Listening to this song, one would definitely relish in folkish romance that is just apt to the sequence of the song in the film as well. The song poo mAlayil Or malligai from the film Ooty varai uravu also brings the best romantic mood with a more urban flavor.

The same raga has been handled in a very sad and melancholic mood by the great MSV in the film padithaal mattum poduma. The song is “annan kAtiya vazhiammA”

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In karaharapriya the nishadam is sung with a glide or gamakam as in pa da n…i sa. When sung as flat notes, the raga acquires a slight melancholic tinge. In this song the first five opening notes are straight away set to the arohanam of karaharapriya ie s r g m p without any gamakam at gandaram. At “idu anbaal vilanda pazhiamma” movements like m p d, p d n, n d p m g are heard. Another aspect is that raga karnaranjani which is a derivative of karaharapriya and conveys a sad and soulful emotion has its scale as s r g m g p d s. Since in aroharana g p d s is sung it also resembles raga Sivaranjani. Any song that is based on karaharapriya and has the phrase g p d s, skipping the nishadam will have a flavor of sadness in it because of its nearness to sivaranjani / karnaranjani. The same is the case in this song. Intelligent usage of shehnai by MSV, the mesmerizing voice of TMS soaked with bhava adds to the pathos.

A polar contrary to the song above is a song from tik tik tik composed by maestro illaiyaraja, sung by KJ Yesudas and Jency. The song, poo malarndhida nadamidum ponmayile, filled to the brim with flamboyance has been rendered so effortlessly and casually by KJ.

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The first interlude in violin is a masterpiece. The composition itself carries a stamp of karaharapriya – s g r g m p d n s. It is so stunning that a heavy raga as this has been used in a context of romance and fantacy. The interlude between the first and second stanzas features an intriguing humming which is composed as rrrr rggr rnnp pppp rgpnr. It’s perplexing as to how such a rare combination of swaras could strike the maestro’s thought process. In fact it makes me think these could not be a result of thinking but has come out of a “beyond thought” intuition.

There are several other songs set to karaharapriya like Anandam pongida pongida from the film sirai paravai, mApiLaikku mAman manasu from netrikkan, ponmagal vandal from the film sorgam, AgAyappandalilE from ponnoonjal etc.

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The song from annakili, which threw limelight on maestro illaiyaraja, macchana paartheegala brings a shade of karaharapriya with a pastoral flavor.

Thinking more on these lines, I now am stuck up with a question in mind. Is it the inherent sweetness of the raga to invoke various moods that makes it versatile or the greatness of these masterly composers who have adeptly handled the raga? Whether it is the ductility of Gold or the proficiency of the smith, what we are left with is a treasure of ornamentally embellished golden music.

Path Breakers

Musicians are born, growing, ever evolving. Some see the light of the day while many remain just unsung….
For some of these musicians, they may be the youngest generation from the Musical family responsible in taking the coveted lineage ahead and always held high in the limelight with enormous expectations from the music lovers.
While some musicians are born to be the first ever musician evolving from a non-musical background and when such a prodigy, a brilliant musician and student develops on a very rare instrument or a unique style then world of music is taken in awe to visualize a PATH BREAKER in such a musician.

Realizing the potential path breakers, we could easily talk about three unique and beautiful instruments the mandolin, saxophone and the slide guitar.

MANDOLIN

The sound of mandolin, I remember to have first heard this phenomenon called U.Srinivas that I got awed by the repertoire and mastery over the mandolin. Carnatic Music on Mandolin has a synonym and that is U.Srinivas. Then as I always got quite inquisitive to know how this instrument might have evolved, its adaptation to Indian Classical Carnatic Music and also was much interested in getting to know how U.Srinivas has innovated Mandolin to sing Carnatic music.
Mandolin is a musical instrument descended from the lute and so called because its body is shaped like an almond (in Italian, Mandoria means almond). Mandolin is a pear shaped instrument with fretted finger board and has a head with tuning pegs which is often angled backward from the neck. The strings are plucked with fingers. An asset in its favour is the softness of its sound and has four pairs of strings.
Many stages of evolution changed the mandolin from an ancient lute to a modern American folk instrument. Mesopotamia originated a hollowed wood bowl with strings called the Oud, meaning "wood". Many European countries adapted this simplest chordophone, adding strings, frets, lengthening or shortening the strings, and changing the body's shape. Fifteenth century Italy saw the rise of the Mandola, Italian for "almond," the direct ancestor of the Mandolin.
Mandolin Srinivas (a) chose the electric solid block (Mandolin) as the basis; (b) used single strings instead of pairs, and (c) also added a fifth string (on the suggestion of his father U Satyanarayana), which enhanced the acoustic range of the instrument. As such the acoustic range of the instrument is now three complete octaves and a half octave. Besides the above, U.Srinivas also established a unique style in handling the instrument i.e. developed new fingering techniques and also established the hammer-on playing and also the gamaka playing techniques on the mandolin.
raga amrithavarshini - alapana - mandolin srinivas

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SAXOPHONE

Many Great musical innovations have seen the light of the day, Carnatic Music has been blessed with yet another Instrumental wonder the Saxophone. We Chennaiites would have come across the saxophone on western music played in some functions and hotels so feebly in the background that we do not really enjoy.

Bringing Saxophone to Carnatic Music had been taken up by Kadri Gopalnath amidst disputes and as an ultimatum; he has given saxophone its true stage and colour.
Carnatic Music has had its unique and powerful Nadaswaram masking any other wind instrument on stage. Nadaswaram has been and continues to be the king of wind instruments. Keeping in mind the Nadaswaram, Kadri Gopalnath has imbibed the power of former and has crafted the Saxophone to intone many beautiful raga’s. He has also adapted this western instrument so well to the Carnatic genre that Saxophone has its own stage.

We will now try and understand the origin of Saxophone and its adaptability to Carnatic Music.

The Saxophone consists of an approximately conical tube of thin metal, most commonly brass, flared at the tip to form a bell. At intervals along the tube are between 20 and 23 tone holes of varying size, including two very small 'speaker' holes to assist the playing of the upper register. These holes are covered by pads, which are capable of pressing the holes to produce an airtight seal; at rest some of the holes stand open and others are closed by pads. The pads can be controlled by a number of keys by the left and right fingers, while the left thumb sites under a thumb rest which helps keep the saxophone balanced. The fingering for the saxophone is a combination of that of the oboe with the Boehm system, and is very similar to the flute or the upper register of the clarinet.

The Saxophone as it is used in Western music has a range of 3 1/2 octaves. It basically produces staccato notes as required in Western music.
The holes in the Saxophone are operated through metallic rods, which are manipulated by the fingers. Leather pads give an airtight coverage over the holes. But the operation of the keys which lift or bring down the pads produces distinct staccato notes. In addition, there is provision (by the operation of other levers) to open/close some holes. This enables one to traverse 3 1/2 octaves on this instrument.

Modifications

Some modifications were called for in order to produce gamaka-s and remove the superfluous attachments for enhanced range. Accordingly, Kadri had made the following modifications to the Saxophone:
Some openings which facilitate attaining base notes (mandra/anumandra) had been blocked because the levers operating them were interfering with the fingering and in any case, those notes were not needed.
The rigid metallic connecting-rods operating the keys have been replaced by tough, elastic rubber strings.
The leather pads at the bottom of the keys which open/close the holes had been replaced by felt pads with a convex surface.

raga mohanam - alapana - kadri gopalnath

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SLIDE GUITAR

Slide Guitar Evolution

Four thousand years ago in India there existed an instrument called the swarabat sitar, literally ‘plectrum guitar,’ since it was plucked with a quill, Portugese laborers may have introduced steel-string guitars in the 1860s. Hawaii’s ‘slack key’ style is believed to have emerged in the 1880s, and ‘slack key’ elements (not the least of them chordal ‘open’ tunings) contributed much to the evolution of Hawaiian guitar.

Playing guitar lap style and fretting with a hard object may have been a native attempt to emulate the dulcimer’s sound. The slide style allows a guitarist to approximate the fluid tone of the violin and, even more importantly, the human voice. The vocal quality of slide guitar is everywhere evident in its many variants: in the Hawaiian approach and its country derivatives; in the African-American bottleneck blues style and its gospel relative where slide guitar often acts anti-phonally as a second voice; certainly in the Indian classical style in which the instrumental approximation of vocal nuances (called gayaki ang) is developed to a fine art. The archtop f-hole guitar, with its dual capacities for projection and mellowness, is well-suited to Indian music

Innovations by Pandit Brij Bhushan Kabra

Brij was the key to transformation of the Hawaiian guitar into a Indian classical guitar. Brij had modified an arch top guitar by adding some drone and sympathetic strings to it. He had also raised the guitar bridge and modified the stem to hold more strings.
rag puriya - alap - Pandit Brij Bhushan Kabra

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Inheritors

One of the most notable students of Brij Bhushan Kabra was Debashish Bhattacharya who met the Indian classical steel guitar legend in 1984.

Innovations by Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya

Kabra’s three primary playing strings (tuned D-A-D) became five (usually tuned A-D-F#-A-D). Inspired by sarod design, Bhattacharya added three ‘supporting strings’ (strings strummed for emphasis) to the left of the primary strings and two chikaris (tonic drone strings used rhythmically in a manner similar to a banjo’s fifth string) to their right (chikaris traditionally are on the left of the playing strings on Indian instruments). Finally, he added the dozen sympathetic strings which provide the echoic overtones common to many Indian stringed instruments.

With the knowledge on the evolution of such great musicians and their unique innovations on the instrument to sound the richness and flavour of the Indian classical genre, every enthusiastic rasika can immensely realize the musician and the Path Breaker in him.

MSV's Hindustani Tunes - An Insight

That was a tranquil Monday night. After a sumptuous dinner, was tuning into my old Philips Pride radio. It was neyar viruppam program, which we call ten to eleven. Some old good melodies are broadcast every week and the song to be played was announced to be the one from the film Nenjirukkum varai, sung by TMS and Suseela, Muthukalo kangal thithipado kannam, was the song.
A very popular song heard over a hundred times, suddenly caught my attention. It reminded me the traces of the presentation of great Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali khan sahib’s raga Megh Malhar.

Megh Malhar By Pt Vishwamohan Bhatt on Mohan veena

With curiosity as never before, I carefully heard to the background scores, as the song progressed. The movements of the subsequent stanzas put me to awe.
Raga Megh with a flavor the Malhar ang gives rise to megh malhar. The Song starts with a beautiful prelude in Flute and Sitar. The opening notes give a flash of Raga Megh. From the opening “Muthukalo kangal” till “thanduvitten ennai” Raga Megh sounds and the Malhar is introduced in the phrase, alitha paadam enna un kangal paarkum paarvai enna which is sung by P.Suseela. Especially the glide during “enna” and the movement in the “paarkum paarvai” are characteristic of Malhar.
Similarly in subsequent stanza, the movement Pa Ni Da Ni Sa – A stamp of Malhar – finds place at “pinni paarpadenna”.

MSV's Marvel - muthukalO kangal

The beauty of Malhar flavour in Megh is the slide from Pa to Ri in the avarohi, passing through the Ga but without pausing there. Landing in Ga will give the effect of raga Miyan ki Malhar. This aspect is intelligently handled in the song.
Mellifluous voice of TMS and Suseela adds beauty to this romantic song.

The impact this song created in me was profound. In some cases composers compose what strikes their mind, not intentionally set to a raaga. Upon listening to the composition one will recognize the raaga which the song is based on. This is intuitive music.
While in a few cases, the composer decides in his mind that this raaga has to be used for his creation. And a song is given birth. This is intelligent music. For the latter to happen, the composer should have a very sound knowledge on the raaga, its movements or chalans, the important phrases of the raaga or pakads. This song is one such example where MSV should have decided upon the raga he intends using for his composition.

There are several songs in Tamil film music that are based on classical music. Most of them are set to some or the other raaga of the carnatic music system. But songs set to exclusive Hindustani raagas (not common ragas like Brindavani, Malkauns/Hindolam, Ahir Bhairav/Chakravaham, Hamsanandi / Puriya or Sohni etc) are very rare. It’s indeed amazing that several of MSV’s creations are set to exclusive Hindustani Raagas.

Listening to this song one can easily understand the depth of knowledge that MSV had in Hindustani music system.

The stir this song created urged me to look out for more such numbers and my next find was “mauname paarvayaai oru paatu paadavendum” sung by the melody king PBS.

This song is set to Raga Tilak Kamod. Casually hearing to this song, one may think it is based in Raga Des. But subtle difference between des and Tilak Kamod are intelligently brought out in this song.

mauname pArvayAi - kodimalar
Tilak Kamod uses the phrase, Ni Sa Ni Pa, which is heard while rendering “pala mozhigal paadam pera vara vendum”.

Probably one of the all time great film composed by MSV is “Karnan”. Listening to the background score one can easily appreciate the musical genius of MSV. This film especially features several scores and songs set to Hindustani raga. MSV took great efforts to bring the artists from North India for the film.

“En uyir thozhi kael oru seidi” is set to raaga Kedar. Raaga Kedar is very close to Raga Hamir and is a challenge even to most performing artists, for there is always a threat of one raaga getting mixed with the other. Important phrases of Kedar revolve around the lower octave as in “mannavan needi” ( Ma Pa Da Pa Ma Ri) while Hamir is sung in the upper octave as in “madhuban mein radhika naacheere” ( Pa Ma Pa Ga Ma Da Ni SA)

The next song in the same film is “iravum nilavum malarattume” set to Raga Shudh Sarang, a beautiful morning raaga. Listeners of carnatic music tend to think that the song is based on or set to Hamsanadam. Use of Dha is one of the distinguishing features between Shudh Sarang and Hamsanadam, which is adeptly used by MSV. Striking feature of the song is the use of Sarod in the song, which is almost alien to the Tamil film music, along with Shehnai.

iravum nilavum - Karnan


The song “kannukku kulamedu” from the same film is set to a typical pahadi of HCM. Listening to this song, one can easily recollect the all time great thumri “Hari Om Tatsat” of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan sahib.

There are several songs that are worth mentioning and discussing. “anda sivagami maganidam seidi keladi” set to Raga Pilu. Several composers have composed in Kapi of Carnatic music, which is close to Raga Pilu. But MSV has used Pilu as it is, making his mastery explicit.

Use of Ni Ri Ga Ma Da Ni of Yaman instead of usual Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Da Ni of Kalyani is evident in “isai kettal puvi asaindaadum”.

It is noteworthy at this juncture to mention the beautiful interlude on Sitar played by Ustad Ahmad Hussain Khan sahib of the Miyan Ajpal Gharana in the song “sonnadhu needhana” from the film nenjil or aalayam.

More than all these songs, the one that put me to extreme stun was the song, “nilave ennidam nerungade”. I have been thinking that the song is set to Bageshri but not unadulterated Bageshri. The song uses both varieties of “Ga” Komal and Theevra i.e. Sadarana and Andara Gandaram. Former is used in Bageshri and in its place when latter is substituted gives rise to Raga Rageshri. I thought it was some cinematic practice of introducing some notes not belonging to the basic raaga, until I heard to a Sitar Recital of Pt Nikhil Banerjee rendering what is called as Malgunji. The raaga is a mix of Bageshri and Rageshri. Then I faintly recalled a lec-dem by Pt Ajoy Chakraborty explaining the raga Malgunji, which is Bageshri Rageshri mix and he cited several Hindi songs like “Jeeya laage Na, Nain Se Nain etc.

nilave ennidam - rAmu

In this song, nilave ennidam the poignant phase of bageshri till “nee ninakum idathil naan illai” is followed by “malare ennidam mayangade………” which uses andara gandara laden Rageshri. The entire tune, the interludes are studded with typical phrases of the raaga.

I realized that it was not mere jugglery of notes but a thorough understanding of various music systems, not very common amidst music directors, that compositions like these have arisen. MSV’s masterly knowledge in Hindustani Classical music was a new revelation. MSV - A truly unique genius, a creative composer, a learner. Intelligence that transcends Oscars…..

Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi

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JUGALBANDI - A Critical Review

Jugalbandi is a form of musical presentation and indeed an attractive endeavor in bringing together two instrumental forms or two genres of music. The effort has in itself many striking features like inherent feel-good factor, collective effort of the artists and high expectation of the rasikas. There are as well some not so absorbing moments due to lopsided turnout of the presentation mainly because of various limitations associated with the musical system and also of the duo performing the Jugalbandi. The collective effort requires exuberant attitude over the proposed attempt, an intrinsic understanding between the duo, sharing similar caliber so that they carve up a perfect rapport both on and off stage. This article tries to critically review the concept of Jugalbandi.

The quest for transcending the technical, regional, linguistic barriers and finding the common thread that pervades and permeates across all systems of music resulted in duet presentations, popularly called Jugalbandi in Indian classical music system.

Literally meaning "tying of twins" Jugalbandi involves two performing artists presenting same, similar or different musical forms. Jugalbandis became popular in Indian classical music especially in North India from early 60s. Performances of Ustad Ali Akbar khan on Sarod and Pt Nikhil Banerjee or Pt Ravi Shankar on Sitar, Ustad Vilayat khan on Sitar and Ustad Bismillah khan on shehnai took the popularity of Jugalbandis to unprecedented heights.

Unlike in northern India, stalwarts of South India who were in their crest of popularity seldom shared the stage and hence Jugalbandis of two Carnatic musicians have been and still is rare.

Artists who acknowledged the beauty of musical system other than theirs and respected the mastery of their counterparts came forward with the idea of collaborating with new techniques and system alien to them.

Artists of Hindustani and Carnatic systems started presenting together on the same stage trying to bring out their own music in parallel to the one presented by the other.

Ustad Vilayat Khan with Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman, Ustad Amjad Ali khan with Sri TN Krishnan, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan with Sri L Subramaniam, Sri Balamurali Krishna with Sri Bhimsen Joshi ji, Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia with Sri N Ramani were some of the most popular duets that the audience relished.

Nowadays Jugalbandis have become extremely popular since the expectations of the audience doubles, seeing two greats and favorites together. But does a listener after a jugalbandi concert really leaves the concert hall with multiplied joy or does he feel some inexplicable short coming with the concert needs to be assessed and analyzed.Before going further into the subject lets try to understand the basic differences in the two systems of music.

In Hindustani music concerts the very first piece of the presentation will be the main part of the concert. It generally starts with an unaccompanied Alap in case of instrumental or a very slow vilambit composition in case of vocal music. This itself is a way so much away from a Carnatic music presentation which starts with a varnam or some small composition - krithi. Thus when the artists of two styles give a jugalbandi either one has to start the concert in a manner different from their regular style.

Secondly the structure of a concert presentation between the two styles is totally different in the sense that Carnatic music is presented with alapana, krithi, neraval and kalpana swara wherein the Krithi rendition assumes the most significance. Krithis themselves are composed with complex patterns and intricate musical details called sangathis which are prefixed by the composers. While in Hindustani music the composition or the gat is only short poem or a hymn and is generally not complex technically and are expanded through the taans and sargams that are spontaneous and not prefixed.

Thirdly the presentation of a raga is very unhurried in Hindustani music which sometimes can be monotonous as well, building the phrases around the notes of the arohi of the raga step by step starting from the lower Sadjam reaching upto upper octaves. Generally the alap of Hindustani music is very contemplative in nature, trying to bring subtle nuances of the raga and is devoid of any technical virtuosity. Artists do not try to express his/her vocal prowess or the instrumentalists do not try to express the speed he can generate with the instrument. While in Carnatic music the alapana is studded with embellishments like brigas, karvais and jhaarus. Artist expresses his vocal ability thro stunning brigas that are so intricate and at once traversing across octaves.

Fourthly, the tala pattern or layakari is very complex in Carnatic music system compared to Hindustani. Hindustani classical music employs simple tala systems like 8 or 16 beat teental, 10 beat jhaptal or 12 beat ektaal. The tala accompaniment in Hindustani classical music is only to provide the support the rhythmic progression. Probably it was formulated with a belief or fear that paying too much attention on the laya will take an artist away from the emotions of the raga, and the improvisation. But in Carnatic classical music tala occupies as much importance as the raga. Complex talas are used with variations in the position of take off of a composition or eduppu. Also in Carnatic music it is supremely important the tempo remains the same through out the composition unlike in Hindustani classical music where the tempo increases as the presentation progresses.

With all these fundamental differences constraining the artists but propelled by good intentions the jugalbandis are being performed.

The most common way of presenting the jugalbandi is that the Hindustani artist presents the alap and jor and his Carnatic counterpart presents a ragam and thanam. Generally all jugalbandis start off well with the Carnatic musician starting his alapana and is followed by the Hindustani artist presenting his version of the same. Generally the alapana in Carnatic music is concluded with high paced brigas, which sometimes baffles his counterpart since an alap of Hindustani classical music is always slow paced.

The next segment, thanam is taken up which the Hindustani artist matches thro Jor. The second apparent disparity can be felt here. Unlike the alap segment, in Jor section the Hindustani artist increases the speed of the playing and produces high speed tans leading to jhala, which is generally not possible in a thanam, which is sung in a single speed or sometimes exactly twice the speed at which it was started.

Woes get added with the commencement of the pallavi or the Gat section. Here tabla / mridangam accompaniments join the main performers. The thrikalam or the presentation of pallavi in three speeds, neraval (rendition of the pallavi in long improvised tans), change of nadai ie the rhythmic variations within a given tala etc are generally outlandish to the Hindustani system and even sometimes is embarrassing to the artist. By virtue of the system, the presentation of Hindustani music system reaches climax during drut gat with very high paced jhala, wherein the speed of playing would be about 3 or 4 times faster than how it began. This speed and at the same time the control over the instrument or voice enthralls the audience and brings him applause and credits. But in a jugalbandi, a Hindustani artist cannot increase the speed of the presentation since that goes against the rule of the Carnatic music. In case the Hindustani musician increases the tempo, the Carnatic musician ignoring the fundamentals is forced to catch up with his racing counterpart.

All the above apparent incongruences generally make a jugalbandi lopsided. Either of the two artists seemingly dominates the presentation. In some extreme cases one of the main artists starts performing like an accompanying artist. Apart from the differences owing to the technical aspects of the two systems, differences also arise on account of the instrument and the associated difficulty in handling it. For example, a freely flowing flute played in Carnatic system can prove to be too competitive for a difficult instrument like sarod, on the contrary can match well with a sitar or a mohan veena.

Also the ragas selected for performing together also have become repetitive. Probably for opting a safe raga, or to ensure the rasikas’ familiarity ragas beyond Yaman (kalyani), Kirwani, Charukeshi, Panthuvarali/Puryadhanashri or utmost Boopali/ Mohanam, Malkauns/ Hindolam are seldom performed. Even familiar ragas like Abohi, Todi/Subapanthuvarali, Natbhairav/Sarasangi do not find place in the jugalbandi presentations. More often Vathapi Ganapathim in Hamsadvani makes a cliché of these presentations.

All the aforesaid differences or inconsistencies can be successfully overcome if the artists make an honest effort to build up rapport with their counterparts. It also requires the artists to understand the possibilities and difficulties of the other music system and the instrument. More than the raaga and the presentation it is the harmony and the camaraderie that the artists demonstrate on the stage which the spectators cherish to witness.

Presenting two of the most celebrated and in-sync jugalbandis

1.Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman and Ustad Amjad Ali Khan - Rag Bhoopali

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2.Ustad Bismillah Khan and Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan - Rag Kedar

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An Ode to the Unsung Persona of Pandit Nikhil Banerjee

As once expressed so vividly by a western composer Franz Joseph Liszt, ‘Music personifies subtle and in-depth sensitivities and at once presents the intensity and the expression of feeling’. Spontaneity and expression are the features of Pt.Nikhil Banerjee’s music and our Panditji’s music is so entrancing yet enigmatic.
Pt. Nikhil Banerjee was born in Calcutta on October 14th, 1931 as the 7th child to Jitendranath Banerjee and Durgarani Devi. Pt.Nikhil Banerjee’s prodigious affinity towards Sitar music was sensed by none other than his father Jitendranath Banerjee, who himself was an amateur sitarist. Jitendranath owing to his son’s dedication and deep liking for Sitar music started teaching young Nikhil. Nikhil Banerjee was also initiated into the illustrious Imdadkhani-Etawah Gharana under the tutelage of Andrew Gomez.
Nikhil Banerjee became the youngest performer on the All India Radio, at the age of nine. Instantaneously, young Nikhil secured the first position among all the contestants in all categories in the All Bengal Music Competition on October 1939. As a token of appreciation for his feat, Nikhil was given the chance to play in his first major concert in the 7th All Bengal Music Festival (4-day long festival which featured the greatest vocalists and instrumentalists of India).
Nikhil was soon recognized in the music circles as a child prodigy. Boosted by his son's talent, Jitendranath decided to take him to a proper guru. Ustad Mushtaq Ali Khan had also heard Nikhil's music being one of the judges in the All Bengal Music Competition. So Jitendranath took Nikhil to the Ustad. Nikhil's tutelage started under his first guru. Nikhil learned from Ustad Mushtaq Ali Khan for about three months. His next guru was Kumarbahadur Birendrakishore Roy Chowdhury. Kumarbahadur's forte was his extensive knowledge of Dhrupad music. During this time, Nikhil was also introduced to one of Enayat Khan's leading disciples, Jitendramohan Sen. Birendrakishore encouraged Nikhil to listen to other musicians in order to broaden and enrich his musical knowledge.
Gathering knowledge and information from different artistes, Nikhil was able to assimilate the finer details of their musical styles. Nikhil was influenced by a number of musicians including Omkarnath Thakur, Faiyaz Khan, Kesarbai Kerkar, Roshanara Begum, Ustad Allauddin Khan and the young Amir Khan, who was also his sister's teacher. He also took vocal and tabla lessons from Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh. Nikhil was deeply touched by the musicality of this towering figure in Indian Classical Music. Another great musician, from whom Nikhil learnt at this time was the sarod maestro Pandit Radhikamohan Maitra.

Birendrakishore's tutelage had exposed Nikhil to the pure and devotional aspects of Dhrupad. But the master was not an expert on sitar, so he suggested Nikhil to his next guru Ustad Allauddin Khan of Maihar, widely known as Baba.

Nikhil had already been exposed to Baba's teaching through concerts by two of his foremost students, son Ustad Ali Akbar Khan (sarod) and son-in-law Pandit Ravi Shankar (sitar). He was spellbound by the depth and richness of the Maihar style. He had dreamt of learning from Baba. When Nikhil decided to approach Baba for lessons, the maestro was already seventy. Nikhil went to Maihar in 1948 to seek tutelage under the illustrious guru.
Baba was very strict in his training - rigorous learning and practice day in and day out. He had decided to mould Nikhil is an unique way - completely different from the musical style of his other sitar disciple, Ravi Shankar. 'Nikhil's style will be his identity, otherwise he will be regarded as just another follower of Ravi Shankar', he believed. It is said that Baba taught Nikhil in the style of Ustad Barkatullah of Lucknow.Nikhil learnt from Allauddin Khan for five years.

The next two decades were an unending saga of Nikhil's performances and rise to fame. Nikhil cared little for wealth and popularity. He never catered to popular tastes but instead maintained the purity and divine character of raga music. Soon, he created an identity of his own, marked by his own inimitable style which was an amalgamation of his devotion, extraordinary practice and above all his meditative approach. Nikhil Banerjee performed at all the prestigious musical events and conferences and also conducted lecture-demonstrations in India. Nikhil's international tours started in 1955. He had toured China, Afghanistan, Nepal, USSR, and East Europe as a member of Indian Cultural delegation and also the U.S.

Nikhil was sought after by the leading recording companies. But he did not like to be recorded. He believed that the studio setting creates a barrier for the artist and somewhat compromises the inner meditative quality of his music. Though he recorded a number of LP's, few were of live concerts, in which his leisurely, majestic raga development was unsurpassed; hence his high-fidelity live recordings are rare. Some recording companies such as Raga Records and Chhandadhara have released some series of concert recordings to help preserve Nikhil babu’s bequest. Like his guru Ustad Allauddin Khan, Nikhil Banerjee did not believe in having students just for the sake of teaching. Hence, he never systematically taught anyone. In 1968, he was awarded the high civilian order of the "Padmashree" by the Government of India and in 1974, he won the prestigious Sangeet Natak Academy Award. Pandit Nikhil Banerjee had an untimely death at the age of 54 (27th January, 1986) is probably one of the biggest tragedies in the history of Indian Classical Music and was posthumously awarded the "Padmabhushan", the second highest Civilian award in India, in 1986.

Nikhil Banerjee – Music from within to beyond

While for the most, music is a combination of notes giving rise to a beautiful melody, very few approach music as means to realize the supreme….
For them the notes or swaras are vehicles to transcend beyond the mundane and move towards Godliness..a medium for self – realization.
They had neither distances to travel in their path of music nor any peak to rise. On contrary their travel was inwards. They never minded popularity or glamour but lived in their own world of nAdabramhA.
Such was the approach of Pt Nikhil Banerjee to music which is evident from his own words...

“My approach to music is very deep. I do not compromise. Indian music is based on spiritualism and was practiced and learned to know the Supreme Truth. A musician must lift up the souls of the listeners and take them towards Space. This is the history of Indian music. "

Nikhil Babu, as he was fondly called by his rasikas, was an introverted, unassuming, moderate and shy personality and probably that is the reason why babu never tried to be pompous and pretentious. In fact he disliked being in limelight. As was his own nature Babu’s music was very contemplative.
Spontaneity and emotiveness were the watchword of his music. ..
Probably the biggest revolution that everyone, but for a polite Nikhil banerjee himself, recognized is that Nikhil babu created a music and a style that is totally different from that of the 2 biggest doyens of sitar of his times. Ustad Vilayat Khan and Pt Ravishankar.

Though a keen observer and admirer of both these masters, Nikhil banerjee carved a separate niche for himself that is truly distinct in terms of the presentation of music.
Long unaccompanied alaps were characteristic of NB’s concert presentation. Babu ji says that since music is worship and for worshiping the avaahan or invocation of presiding deity is necessary similarly the raga that has to be played needs to be invoked and that the invocation has to be as meditative as possible. One could understand the import of these words listening to his unhurried raga exploration unfolding the beautiful nuances of the raga step by step. Some of his alaps would last for as long as an hour before he could get his musical meditation disturbed to land into the gat section.
Babu ji’s amalgamation or synthesis of music without trying to emulate the style makes his music total and wholesome. Deeply emotive in nature and devoid of gimmicks NB’s alaps, cutting across the Gharana lines, were an assimilation of the best of what his predecessors and contemporaries established at the same time carried his own distinct stamp of his mastery.

Alaps with long meends ( pulling of the string at the same fret to varying levels to produce different notes) which was characteristic of Ustad Vilayat khan’s playing was very evident in Nikhil Babu’s playing which is not the case of his contemporary Maihar Gharana Sitarist like Pt. Ravishankar . But incorporated the using of Gharaj or bass strings in his playing which is not the case of Ustad Vilayat Khan’s style of playing. Pt ji’s usage of bass strings traversing across the lower octaves and sub lower octaves (manthra and athi manthra saptak) were truly amazing. By increasing the duration of meends in the bass strings Pt ji created a resonating effect that added to his naturally serious nature of his music. (Listen to the audio sample in raga maru bihag)

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Another fascinating aspect of Pt Ji’s music is his handling of two playing strings together, producing an effect that is near to what is called as harmony in western classical music. This technique he applied in the jhala segment in both unaccompanied Jod-Jhala segment and the climactic jhala while playing drut gat.
As much as the development of melodic progression was given importance so much focus was also paid to the layakari or the rhythmic progression. Dazzling thihais were regular feature of NB’s Gat presentation most of them arising impromptu and do not hear like a pre-planned presentation.(listen to the audio sample)

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Although Teen taal was predominantly used for the compostions, Dhamar ( 14 matras), Jhap taal ( 10 beats) rupak taal (7 beats) chaar taal ki sawari ( 11 beats) were also handled with dexterity.
Expressing Technical prowess and virtuosity while still not compromising on the contemplative and bhava laden faces of the raga is a challenge for any artist and in this balancing act NB showed extreme acumen. He could generate breathtaking speed with the fingers almost becoming invisible as they traverse across the fret board, jumping from one octave to the other. NB was always an artist of inspiration rather than organization. Hence his taans were so spontaneous that they always threw surprises..they were straight, sometimes zig-zag, move in circles or suddenly changing the direction without warning !!!
NB did not believe in self-composed ragas. Other than Manomanjari which he played on a few occasions, he chose to play ragas that suited his temperament and mood on the day of the presentation. NB popularized some of the rare ragas that were the treasure of maihar Gharana.. Manjh Kamaj, Sindura, Surdasi malhar, Hem lalit, Hem Bihag, Sindu Kamaj, Hem Hindol, Shyam Kedar etc.
It is ironical that a musician of his caliber enjoyed less repute and recognition in his own country in comparison to the esteem he was held at, at the West. A padmashri award was all that he was awarded during his lifetime. It was much later that we could wake up in thought of a great musical master awarding him a posthumous Padma Vibhushan. Neither did Nikhil babu seek such awards nor does his ardent rasikas for whom Pandit Ji’s music remains in their blood…

As Tagore says "Whom I cannot see I cannot touch, my musical notes can touch thy feet”. NB’s music pervades all over the world of music. Nikhil Banerjee - An artist ahead of times, a person sans conceit, the bestower of music that reaches to the deepest within and elevates to the ethereal beyond.

Nikhil Babu’s Music – Understanding and Appreciation

THE RAAGA

The raga that is being presented here is Yaman Kalyan. The raga is the same as Yaman other than the inclusion of Shudh Madyam in the scale of Yaman.

Though there is no defined arohi and avarohi for the raga, and only pakads or the phrases are important the raga moves like N R G M D N S in ascent, S N D P M2 G M1 G R S in the descent.

The use of shudh madyam is very sparing and is introduced in a way that makes the listeners yearn for it.

The mood of the raga is devotional. The vadi and sam vadi or the prominent notes are N and G respectively.

THE MUSIC

The presentation starts with an unaccompanied and slow alap starting from the lower octave M D N S(lower). The subtle nuances of the raga are gradually unfurled conveying the poignant nature of the raga. Timely introduction and usage of Shudh madyam captivates the listener as the alap reaches the upper Sadjam by around 8.45 min into the alap leading to the next part called Jor at 12.15 min , where a constant drone tuned to the Upper Sa or C# is played by striking the chikari strings. This gives a rhythmic progression to the alap without employing the percussions.

Pandit ji’s mastery in handling the Bass or gharaj strings in the lower Sadjam and Sublower sadjam becomes evident as he effortless traverses in the manthra and athi manthra saptak strings. The alap gains momentum gradually and there are freely flowing passages and densely packed notes that demand very fine control of the left hand and simultaneous right hand co-ordination which is noticeable during 29.10 min.

After the Jor-Jhala, starts the Madyalay Gat or the medium paced composition where Pandit ji is joined by tabla accompaniment. The composition is set to an unfamiliar 11 beats cycle called Char Taal Ki savari, with N R G M being the four notes and the subsequent Pancham being the sam. Pandit ji’s mastery over layakari or rhythm control can be understood in his deft handling of such a rare tala pattern. Pandit ji fascinates the listeners with intricately woven taans and interesting thihais.

Some of the striking features of pandit ji’s music as explained in the article above can be heard in the gat Section. Some of them include high speed taans that jump from lower to upper octaves as the one from 47.28 to 47.40 min. Thereafter till 49.12 his extreme command over the right hand Da Ra playing techniques can be understood.

Pandit ji continues the second part of the Gat with fast compostion or Drut set to 16 beats pattern, the popular teental and towards the end plays the Jhala Drut where at around 57.00 min he handles two strings simultaneously producing an effect of harmony and continues with some high speed chikari based playing patterns before the recording fades out much to the displeasure of an yearning listener.
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Pt Nikhil Banerjee in his own words - An Interview

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Acknowledgements

• Ira Landgarten - Raga Records - www.raga.com
• John Cosgrave's Tribute Site - http://staff.spd.dcu.ie/johnbcos/Nikhil_Banerjee.htm
• Steven Baigel - http://www.stevenbaigel.com/banerjeedoc/index.html