Grappling with a challenge…
G. SWAMINATHAN
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The two-day programme on the Melaragamalika of Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan was both exacting and exciting.
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Photo: R. Shivaji Rao
Dedicated: Vedavalli with her students at the workshop.
The spotlight and content may be classical music, but workshop is no kutcheri. It is an interactive and educative session. The not too spacious hall is near packed with music aspirants of various age groups. They are from faraway Cleveland, the U.S.
to Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru to Chennai metropolis. But all of them have only one purpose, to learn the exacting and exciting Melaragamalika of Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan from veteran musician R.Vedavalli. The two-day workshop, conducted in two stages, was organised by Devaganavali Trust.
Melakarta ragas are the fundamental melodies from which numerous ragas have been derived. They are janaka (parent) ragas. They are fashioned by all the seven swaras (notes). With mathematical application within these seven notes, the basic shadjam and panchamam being common, three differing notes of rishabam, ghandaram, dhaivatam, nishadam and two madyamam lead to 72 ragas in total. These have been subdivided into six ragas of 12 groups, each named interestingly as Indu, Netra, Agni, Veda, Bana, Ritu, Risi, Vasu, Brahma, Disi, Rudra and Aditya.
Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan, a formidable scholar in music had composed a marathon composition linking all these ragas with reflective sahitya at the same time highlighting the jeeva (intense) swaras of each raga in a breathtakingly intelligent manner. The ragas are made of vadi, vivadi, anuvadi and samvadi swaras. The change over from one raga to the next is so crucial and subtle with a difference of just a single note. It is definitely a testing exercise to any musician. How the vocalist manoeuvres and manages it is interesting to hear.
One day at the workshop
It is fascinating to watch the lesson in progress. The second 36 ragas in prati madyama, from the seventh chakra starting with Salagam, are taken up. Vedavalli instructs the participants to sing the arohanam and avarohanam of Kanakangi, the first of the Melakarta, changing the madyamam. Since they have completed their exercise of the first half in March, they sing the ascending and descending notes of Salagam with consummate ease. Now the learning starts.
Vedavalli sings the two lines ‘Prati Pimba Rasa-Laga Pala Samvishaya’ and the group follows. She also explains the amazing way the composer introduces the identity of the raga with its name, melding the sahitya with literary and musical connotations, employing the vital swara usage special to the ragas demonstrating the mastery of Vaidyanatha Sivan.
The episodes from Periya Puranam, how to split the words conveying the meaning (nidarama (a)priya vadini in Ramapriya, s-pradama varnangi in Swarnangi ), the vibrant swaras standing out in Kamavardhani (dada sa ni, dada ni ni) and integrating the devotion of shadvida margam to bring the raga’s name appropriately are just a few glimpses of the effective style in which Vedavalli communicates the message of music and meaning to the participants.
Her eyes are closed when the participants are singing but the expression changes even if one voice produces a dissent note. She stops and corrects it and never allows them to proceed until they get it right. “It is a blessing for us to learn from Amma,” says Dr. Nandagopal and his sister from Kolkata. “It is of course difficult with the minute change of notes, but practising is a pleasure,” says Ashwin Anand from Bengaluru, a veena player. The youngest of all the Isai Mazalai, Aditya Narayanan, impresses Vedavalli with the right notes when she corrects him to sing Hanuma Thodi in one particular phrase.
Vedavalli’s students Sumitra Vasudev and Sumathi Krishnan maintain a close control in their rendition knowing their guru’s attention for perfection and try to clear their doubts. Aarthi from the U.S. says, “I didn’t attend the earlier workshop, but this is quite engaging” and Prasanna, also from the U.S. has his notations in English and follows the group enthusiastically.
When the first three chakras are sung as a rehearsal for the evening function, the hall reverberates with the sonorous notes of the melakarta ragamalika starting as ‘Pranadarthihara’ in Sriragam. Vedavalli stops them at different junctures and fine-tunes their deliberation. “The sound decibels of talam should be low, be careful not to make it too loud,” she advises them.
Western notes
“Why not try the next chakra also, that will be very nice to sing?” teases Vedavalli and starts with the notes of Sarasangi which resembles the western notes and the chorus sings it with gusto.
“Why is it that only some of the 72 are popular? “Each raga has its scope and range. Our ancestors were aware of it and have brought out the best in each. But in this case, the composer has successfully brought out the essence of each in just those short stanzas and following swaras. Is it not amazing?”
Yes, it is. It is equally amazing that so many youngsters from different parts converge on a disciplined and dedicated teacher like Vedavalli to learn challenging kritis notwithstanding several diversions of the modern world.
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