Topic started by Ravi Kiran (@ 164.164.70.54) on Sun Dec 17 23:33:16 .
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The concert tradition of Ariyakudi (ARI) revolutionised the CM scene and infused it with life. Sri ARI is also credited with bringing to life so many raagas and krithis that were on the verge of extinction in concerts.
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Responses:
- From: Puduhai Sreeram (@ 134.243.93.24)
on: Mon Dec 18 09:51:15 EST 2000
Could you please tell us which beatiful krithis are bring "lost"?
You wrote:
"There are so many gems of the trinity that are not being sung in kutcherys simply because they dont fit into a time-tested kutchery pattern."
Please give some examples. Which "gems" of trinity are not being sung these days? I know 72 mela raga songs by K. Iyer et al can not be sung in the kutchery pattern. So, lets not take that as an example.
- From: Ravi Kiran (@ 202.144.107.4)
on: Mon Dec 18 11:59:07 EST 2000
Sreeram,
There are so many krithis.
For example, let us consider the customary invocatory piece.
It is agreed that Nattai or Hamsadhwani definitely make for a bright start.
But still, there are numerous hymns on Ganesha that can be sung but are not because they make for sedate openings. Eg: Sree Moolaadhaara (Sree, MD)- I am not saying that these krithis are not being sung by anyone - it is just that they may not fit in a kutchery pattern and hence not many singers would easily opt for such krithis.
- From: Puduhai Sreeram (@ 134.243.93.24)
on: Mon Dec 18 15:22:01 EST 2000
Ravi
As I understand, Ariyakudi set the cutchary pattern similar to the way we have our feast ;) -- start with an invocation either as a varnam or a krithi on Ganesha, lot of mid sized krithis, an elaborate main item, RTP, some more light krithis, thillana and mangalam. That is the format. This is different from what used to be a "free flowing format". The choice of a rAgam/krithi as the opening piece very much depends on a lot of factors, namely, the need for the artist to warm up, setting the concert tempo etc etc.,. least of which is the "pattern" set by Ariyakudi!
If you look at the popular varnams you would realize that they span the whole gamut. No one said that it is gotta be nAttai or hamsadwani. I have recordings of various live concerts that start off with rItigowlai, nAttakurunji, shankarAbaranam, mOhanam, gowlai etc.,. Likewise, no one stipulated that it should only be sourashtram that needs to be sung as the last piece. It can be surati or madhyamAvathi or for that matter, any "auspicious" rAgam.
I agree that carnatic musicians should not stick just to vAthApi ganapathim or mahA ganapthim as the opening piece all the time. They need to sing other krithis/varnams in other "acceptable" rAgams (as opening piece) as well. But I'm not ready to pin the blame on ARI for the lack of adventure (if you will) on the part of our c.music artists. ;-)
- From: Ravi Kiran (@ 164.164.70.54)
on: Mon Dec 18 23:21:19 EST 2000
Sreeram,
You got me all wrong I think :(
I am not at all 'blaming' Sri ARI for this.
In fact, I have said in my query itself that it is due to Sri ARI that so many krithis saw the light of day.
In fact, IMO his path-breaking approach to CM revived CM to a great extent.
However, even though we say we follow the ARI pattern of kutcheries IMO it doesn't seem so.
Because one concert of ARI would have atleast 6-7 heavy raagas like thodi,shankarabharanam, kalyaani, etc.
How did the present form of a main and submain evolve? Because I think it is due to the 'main' and 'sub-main' that many krithis are not being sung at all.
- From: Puduhai Sreeram (@ 134.243.93.24)
on: Tue Dec 19 08:46:41 EST 2000
Ravi:
May be we are not in the same page.
This what I understood -- ARI paved the way for the modern day cutchery format. Is this format a boon or bane? Your argument was this cutchery format is the reason that some krithis are not sung at all.
I disagree with that. My point was any krithi can be sung as a "main" or a "sub-main" piece. The krithis chosen by an artist depends on a lot of factors other than the format.
I want you to provide with more examples on "krithis that are not being sung at all" due to the alleged restriction imposed by the format! I'm not trying to lay it thick. ;-) I dont agree with your example of the srI rAgam krithi because someone can potential choose to open a concert with that.
My 2 cents!
- From: Nadopasaka (@ nas-132-96.rochester.navipath.net)
on: Tue Dec 19 17:39:51 EST 2000
It seems to me the Kamalamba Navavarna may not fit easily into a concert, by modern or even near-modern kutchery standards. It doesn't seem to have been attempted, although the 9-10 raga scope is good. Same for the other vibhakti set of MD. The 'purpose' of the modern kutchery may need to be examined also in the context of the arguments put forth here.
- From: Ravi Kiran (@ 164.164.70.54)
on: Tue Dec 19 23:36:11 EST 2000
Sreeram,
There are two observations that I wish to make:
1. ARIs pattern consisted of singing many ghana raaga krithis over the span of 3 hours or so. That would IMO make for a superb concert because the singer is compelled and motivated to increase his repertoire of songs. The SSI and MSS 'Divine Unison' concert is a perfect example - a truly 'divine' concert.
2. Nado has further provided more evidence on krithis which are hardly sung in concerts because they are supposedly too much of a drag on the momentum. (I have heard many Chennai musicians opine that "...andha krithi romba nalla irukku aana kutcherile paadinaa edukkaadhu..." about many krithis)
I am not trying to prove that the present kutchery pattern is wrong or right.
I just want to provoke more discussion on the objective of a kutchery so as to up hold the ideals that sri ARI set forth for CM.
- From: Puduhai Sreeram (@ 134.243.6.103)
on: Thu Dec 21 15:34:31 EST 2000
Ravi
Got it! May there be more discussions on this....
Nado:
When you mention kamalAmba navavarna krithis or for that matter any of MDs samudhAya krithis, are you referring to singing *all* the songs in a krithi group in the same concert? If yes, I agree that it would not be possible to do that in ARIs "concert pattern". At the same time, I highly suspect that that would have been attempted even before the cutchery pattern became a norm, dont you think? I seriously doubt if even MD would have given a concert full of songs just from a samudhAya krithi group! So, IMO, that point seems to be just argumentative.
I was looking for examples of songs that Ravi alleges are not sung anymore. For example, I want someone to say that before the cutchery pattern came along the kEdAram krithi of "panchalinga sthala krithis" was often sung in concerts but it is seldom sung these days due to restrictions imposed by the cutchery pattern.
Modern day concerts sometimes dont feature even one ghana rAga krithi. So, I guess we are past ARI's cutchery pattern, huh? ;-)
Warm regards
- From: Nadopasaka (@ nas-133-135.nyc-t.navipath.net)
on: Thu Dec 21 17:29:36 EST 2000
Hi Sree. Yes.. I was looking for the continuous presentation of the Vibhakti sets in their entirety. This idea was suggested by Kshyam. Of the trinity only Syama Sastri seems to have got embroiled in concerts , actually contests. The 'bhajana goshti' may be a forerunner for the kutchery from Tyagarajas and even PDasa times. Although MD and his family, especially the violinist BaluswamiD may also have had to with the vocal-violin format, their purpose of invoking the Kamalamba or Maduramba krities may be more introspective. An attentive but uninvited audience may have hushed itself to witness the Dikshitars majestic dialogue with the deity. The krities seem mostly descriptive and synonyms and may be regarded as MD's versions of a micro-Sahasranam. Their 'chanting' may have the same intent.
I agree that professional musicians can and do sing different krities and the more modern ones are always honing their repertoire.
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