Tyāgarāja's Darini telusukonti is my favorite kṛti in the rāga Śuddhasāveri. Many others have also composed songs in this rāga. In fact, there are several other compositions of Tyāgarāja in Śuddhasāveri but Darini telusukonti stands apart by its brilliance. The possibilities for elaboration of saṅgatis in this kṛti are tremendous. (Saṅgatis are the melodic variations of a lyrical phrase in a kṛti.) According to me, the calibre of a composer lies...
Grahabedha is an interesting as well as a mesmerising facet of music. The science behind Grahabedha is very simple. The terminology becomes clear if it is called graha-svara-bedha instead [It may be noted that we discussed Graha in part-1. Graha means the ‘reference note’]. When Graha (i.e., the reference note, ‘Sa’) of a rāga is shifted sequentially to the notes that follow, i.e. if we start considering Ri, Ga, Ma.. of a rāga as reference notes...
Hindola is one of my favourite rāgas. The equivalent of Hindola in the Hindustani system is a rāga called Malkauns. Many feel that the manner in which it is rendered in South Indian classical music is different. In my opinion, however, Hindustani musicians have used Malkauns in a more aesthetic, mature, and creative manner as compared to the Carnatic musicians, barring a fewlike Dr. M Balamuralikrishna and Dr. Nagavalli Nagaraj. In fact, there...
Evolution of Raaga
Raagas have changed and even transformed with respect to the definition given by Bharatamuni. Of course, it is only natural for perspective of arts to change with times. The most ancient forms of music that we can trace goes back to the Vedas. We can experience the early forms in folk, tribal music as well as in some theatrical music such as in yakshagaana or sopaanam. Apart from this, musicologists like Shrangadeva,...
The etymology of the word ‘Raaga’:
The word raaga has many meanings. Raaga means love, color (referring to red in particular), emotion, bliss, comfort, beauty, pathos , passion, attraction etc., In common parlance, however, raaga is understood as the essence of a song/music. Now what does the etymology of the word say? 'रञ्जनाद्रागः'- It means one that entertains.
In musical terms, however raaga has an important technical meaning. Bharatamuni...