Bringing unheard ragas and forgotten compositions back to the stage

Imagine a museum of sound where some Carnatic melodies in ragas once popular lie tucked away, seldom heard. Music researcher Ravi Rajagopalan and vocalist Gayathri Girish turned the spotlight on such songs at a lecture-concert on ‘Rare ragas and forgotten popular compositions’. Ravi outlined their historical context through his insightful narration while Gayathri revealed their musical character through her thoughtful rendition. They were accompanied by B. Ananthakrishnan on the violin and Melakaveri Balaji on the mridangam.  

Organised recently by Madhuradhwani at Arkay Convention Center, the well-curated programme opened with Gayathri singing an invocatory shloka, written by Vidya Jayaraman as a tribute to Muthuswami Dikshitar in ragamalika (Bowli, Kalyani and Reetigowla). This was followed by Veena Kuppayyar’s Ata tala varnam ‘Maguva ninne’ in Narayanagowla (Mela 22: S R M P N D N S / S N D P M G R G R S). “The raga once held pride of place and was classified under ‘Dwiteeya Ghana Raga Panchakam’,” shared Ravi. None of Tyagaraja’s kritis in it are in vogue today. However, Dikshitar’s ‘Sriramam ravikulabdhi somam’ can be heard occasionally, hinting at the raga’s existence. ‘Ma-ga-ri-ga-ri-sa’ is a distinctive usage of the raga which has shades of Kedaragowla and Surati, and Gayathri’s rendition underlined these aspects. 

The next raga was Hindolavasantham (20th Mela: S G M P D N D S / S N D M G S). Following a short raga sketch, Gayathri neatly rendered Tyagaraja’s ‘Ra ra sitaramani manohara’ set to Rupakam. Ravi pointed out the absence of the alpa rishabha in this composition as opposed to older lakshanas and Dikshitar kritis such as ‘Santhana ramaswaminam’, noting that some traditions also employ D2. 

A gripping Natakurinji alapana suffused with the raga’s essence preceded Pallavi Gopala Iyer’s ‘Needu murtini’ on Vishnu, in Adi tala. Gayathri’s niraval and swarakalpana at ‘Mandhara giridhara’ in the charanam sparkled. “This is one of the earliest recorded compositions with a chittaswaram appended to it,” said Ravi. 

‘E mayaladira’, a swarajathi in Husseni by Melattur Virabhadrayya (Syama Sastri’s guru), was once very popular. Ravi noted that the existence of three distinct versions of the piece points to its popularity earlier. Gayathri presented the version attributed to the Tanjore Quartet. The most captivating was the opening segment of the charanam ‘Ou re ra baagaaya’, a lilting phrase that led to several lyrical variants crafted for different kings and patrons. Over time, somehow, the swarajathi disappeared from the concert stage. 

The duo then took up Saamantham (Mela 30), which dates back to the 12th century. It faded into obscurity by the 18th century until Muthuswami Dikshitar revived it, as documented in Sangita Sampradaya Pradarsini (SSP). Though the treatise provides no kritis, a couple of them came into being later through Ambi Dikshitar. Saamantham is similar to Sankarabharanam, except that it uses D3 instead of D2. Kritis of Annamacharya in this raga are found in the copper plates of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, informed Ravi. Gayathri’s impressive rendition of Dikshitar’s ‘Viswanathena rakshitoham’ followed a brief alapana. Ananthakrishnan’s solo too stood out. 

‘Mahaganapathim vande’ in Thodi-Rupakam by Muthuswami Dikshitar was the next kriti. Though not found in SSP, it first surfaced in 1936 through Natarajasundaram Pillai of the Dikshitar lineage, and is considered highly authentic. Bearing all the hallmarks of a Dikshitar kriti, it features the alpa prayoga of the panchamam. The raga essay, kriti, niraval and swara exchanges at ‘Kapilam krishna pujitam’ in the charanam were handled with poise, and Balaji’s tani was lively. 

The engaging presentation concluded with Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer’s Kanada thillana ‘Gowrinayaka’, set to the complex Simhanandana tala (128 aksharas per avartanam), with the full composition covered in just two cycles.