From: Rajan P. Parrikar <parrikar@colorado.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.music.indian.classical
Subject: Folk And Classical Music
Date: 14 Mar 1999 18:42:28 -0800

Namashkar. Some weeks about there was a discussion about Asa/Mand,
folk music etc. and Arnab et. al had sought further elucidation on Asa 
and Mand. The following beautiful lecture (with demonstration) by 
Pandit S.N. Ratanjankar, delivered in Colombo (bad idea, wrong direction
to aim for if you want the B-Ratna) in 1952, touches upon Asa and Mand 
and much, much more. One wonders if recordings of similar lectures by 
Annasaheb (as Ratanjankar was lovingly called) are archived at the Sangeet 
Natak Akademi. This feature, which I have divided into four parts, is 
reprinted in an anthology of Ratanjankar's writings and talks entitled
"Aesthetic Aspects of India's Musical Heritage," published by the
Acharya S.N. Ratanjankar Foundation. The article has been scanned and 
then massaged to overcome scanning anomalies. If you spot any typo, keep 
it to yourself. It is hoped that some few will find the lecture interesting.

Warm regards,

r

-----

FOLK SONGS AND MUSIC Part I - by S.N. Ratanjankar

(Lecture By Professor S. N. Ratanjankar, B.A., D.Mus.
delivered before the Branch on Friday the 13th June, 1952)


Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen.

This is indeed a happy occasion for me. I find myself this evening in 
the midst of musicians, music listeners, poets, artistes, art critics and the
elite of this city of Colombo. Great will be my satisfaction if I find
myself to be of some little service to this learned assembly.

I am here to place before you a few thoughts on Folk Music. The title of my
lecture is 'The place of folk songs in the development of Music.' The 
subject is very wide and will fill volumes. It can hardly be covered in a
lecture if we were to consider it in its full scope. I can only offer a few
remarks on some important topics concerned with the subject which will be
sufficient for us to draw a broad outline thereof.

The folk songs of a people are an invaluable and unforgettable chapter in 
their history. Like the ancient manuscripts, specimens of pottery and other
archaeological relics of an ancient civilization preserved in a museum, the
folk songs, if genuine and preserved intact in their correct form, go a long 
way in representing to us the religious, social, economic and cultural life, 
the customs and manners, the thoughts and emotions, nay, the very basic
principles which protected, preserved and maintained the worldly existence
of a people. The study of the folk lore of a people is therefore important
enough for all students of History, but it is all the more important for a
student of Music. All Music, may it be religious, classical, popular,
theatrical or festive, owes its origin to the folk lore. The folk songs are 
songs with poetic import chanted in simple cadences of music by the common
people. The tillers of the land, labourers, craftsmen, carters, boatmen,
hunters gather together in the evening after a full day of strenuous work and
amuse themselves with their rural music, the Rasiyas, Goths, Birha, Tulsidas'
Choupayis, to the beat of the Dholak or Davula as it is called here, the
famous rural drum. The housewives and the marriageable young girls of the
village always entertain their guests with their rural music at domestic
festivals. All these, besides lullabies, nursery songs, ballads, are songs
coming under the category of folk music. The makers of these songs and the
minstrels who sing them are not professional musical composers or musicians as 
such. The songs come out spontaneously as little poetic utterances of some
inspired rustic and are sung in a kind of chant which is limited in its range
and simple in its form. It is the type of music which is natural to the folk
who create it and is therefore effortless. The points that go to make folk 
music so interesting are (i) its simplicity of form (ii) its reference to the
every day life of the countryman (iii) its poetic content and (iv) its regular
and simple rhythm. Folk music is not affected. There is no conscious attempt
at showing off. And yet it does make its effect even though it be sung by an
indifferent voice. The musical setting is of course limited. There is much
repetition of identical cadences all over the song. Folk songs are not music
in its pure form. They are a sweet combination of word of language, rhythm and
musical tones. Music itself is a pleasing composition of tones. It is the art
of arranging these tones and expressing them by voice or on an instrument so 
as to make an effect, i.e. in other words, to touch and awaken the music in 
the listener. This art itself owes its origin to folk songs. Every nation, 
every region that has a distinct language and a distinct culture of its own 
has a rich treasure of its own particular folk songs. This fact is most
prominently noticeable in India. Indians are a nation of diverse sects of
peoples each speaking its own language, having its own particular manner of
living, its own social customs, and yet all united together under a common
faith in spiritualism, a firm faith in a life after death, in their efforts 
to secure happiness in which, they are indifferent, so to say, towards the
pleasures of worldly existence. Hindusthanis, Bengalis, Biharis, Oriyas,
Punjabis, Rajputs, Kashmiris, Nepalis, Kumaonis, Assamese, Gujrathis,
Mahrattis, Andhras, Tamilians, Malabaris are every one of them a distinct 
tribe having its own traditional culture and its own language, its own folk
lore, its own social life. There is no end to the wealth of folk lore of
India. In fact it would not be far wrong to say that what we call classical
music of India is just a very small part of the music of that country.
Classical music is a learned art cultivated with a special 
concentration and effort towards certain aspects of music and, as such,
patronised by Royalty. This art has gone on changing and progressing
through the ages. This music, I mean the Classical Music, or, to put it more
correctly, the Ragadari Music, is prevalent in the towns and cities, but in
the interior, in the villages, the rustic has, throughout these past ages, 
sung and played and is still singing and playing his rural airs in almost the
same form as did his forefathers. I have referred here to India just for one
instance of a condition common all over the world. No study of the music of
any country is complete without a critical investigation of its folk lore.

Let us for a moment stretch our imagination and try to look into the remote
past. Of course it is not possible to give historical evidence for the
observations I propose to put before you. We can only take a rational view of
what could have happened regarding the creation of music. The prime fact
about music is that it is, like religion, language, art, man-made. It is a
creation of man. May be it came out spontaneously without a conscious effort.
But all the same music is human. Looking into the remote past we find that the
very first attempt at musical expression has everywhere been on the background
of religion. Noticing the regularity and punctuality with which light and
darkness and the seasonal changes in the climate follow each other, and this
cycle of changes and counter changes going on ceaselessly year after year,
looking at the sky-scraping heights of mountains, the bottomless
depths of valleys, the ceaseless flow of waters of the rivers, the endless
extent of the sea, and last, but not the least, death. Man seems to have been
inspired with the idea of some power behind these wonders over which he had no
control, and to which he had therefore to submit and adapt himself. This power
he called Parabrahma, Paramatma, Deus, Zeus, Juhova, God, Allah, Khuda etc. He
looked upon this power as his master who, though remaining incognito Himself,
was looked up to by man for protection and guidance so that he may live happily,
free from danger and in peace with his fellow beings. It is instinctive for us
to cry for help when in distress and danger, and, on the other hand, to express
our grateful joy for any kind of bliss. We are grateful for the sunlight and
express our gratitude in prayers. We are afraid of the darkness of the night and
pray again for protection.

The call to the power behind these natural phenomena, be it Paramatma, God or
Khuda, was in a prolonged vowel sound. The Paramatma, the Father in Heaven,
Incognito for ever, was, by instinct, supposed to be at a distance and the call
to Him, the invocation, must needs be in comparatively highpitched, prolonged
and repeated accents. The Hindus know this first invocation to God Almighty by
the syllable 'OM'. 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.' The Hindus consider the Word of God as God Himself and
worship it. And it is in such prime invocations to God Almighty that music has
its origin.

There is a peculiar gong which vibrates with a powerful sound filling the whole 
atmosphere, with that single tone. It is not struck as other gongs. Instead of
that a stick is rubbed against and around its edge as a result of which a sound
growing louder and louder gradually comes out of it and resounds with great
strength filling, as I have just now pointed out, the whole atmosphere round
about. I forget now its name. It is probably a Japanese gong. It is found in
Buddhist temples. I have not come across it anywhere in Ceylon so far. This
sound would represent what we in India understand by the syllable 'OM'.

(continued)

Folk Songs and Music (Contd) Part II - by S.N. Ratanjankar

Our ancient musicologists refer to four types of chantings, namely, arcika,
gathika, samika, and svarantarita. These terms refer to chanting respectively
in one tone, in two tones, in three tones and in four tones or a full
tetrachord. The most interesting thing about these chants is that they are
still in vogue today. The use of these chantings in simple and musical
intonations and in simple rhythmic measures was that they helped in memorising
the subject matter. There were no books in the ancient days. All knowledge was
to be memorised. God's name was to be mernorised by the help of these simple
intonations and punctuations. Even today our children chant their lessons
which they have to learn by heart in two or three toned vocal transitions 
and simple measures of time duration.

Let me now give a few instances of these chantings.

The bIjAksara, the fundamental syllable of OM, is itself
repeated in one single tone, for instance (Demonstrate) OM, OM, OM

Then, certain expressions in humble submission to God are
also recited in single tones; for instance (Dem.) Om tat sat Om
brahmane namah, om namo bhagavate vAsudevAya. That alone
exists; I bow down to the Universal Soul; I bow to Vasudeva. 
Om sAntih, sAntih, sAntih. May there be peace, peace for ever.

In another invocation man pleads for deliverance from evil, something parallel 
to the famous prayer 'Lead kindly light.' (Dem.)

asato mA sadgamaya, tamaso mA jyotirgamaya, mrtyormAmrtam gamaya. ('From 
untruth lead me to the Truth, From darkness, Oh, lead me to bright light, 
From death lead me to the eternal').

All these incantations were in one single tone.

I shall now demonstrate a verse in two-toned voice modulations.

Man dedicates all his actions, all his words and all his thoughts to the Deity, 
saying:

kayena vAchA manasendriyairvA budhyAtmanA vA prakritisvabhAvAt

karomi yadyat sakalam parasmai nArayanAyeti samarpaye tat. 

In chanting this I shall be moving my voice between two degrees of pitch. Each 
line of this verse contains eleven syllables four of which are short and the 
rest are long. I shall raise the voice to the higher pitch on the 2nd, 3rd, 
4th, 8th, 9th and 10th syllables in every line. The 1st, 5th, 6th, 7th and 
11th syllables will be on the lower pitch.
For instance (Dem.).

I will now recite another verse in the same metre. This is a Stotra, a verse in 
praise of Shri Ramachandra, the celebrated king of Ajodhya, who is looked upon 
by the Hindus as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The verse runs like this -

        lokAbhirAmam ranarangadhIram
	rAjiva netram raghuvamsAnatham
	karunyarUpam karunAkaram tam
        Sri Ramacandram saranam prapadye

	I shall now recite it (Dem.).

Let us now turn to the next class of chantings, namely that done in three
degrees of pitch. The three-toned chanting is very common. All kinds of
religious chantings, recitations of verses, even memorisations of lessons are
done mostly in the three toned modulations of the voice. Let us take a few
instances. The learned lectures of the ancient sages explaining to their
pupils some topics dealt with in the Vedas are known as 'Upanishads.' In 
one of the Upanishads known as the ISHAVASYA UPANISHAD which explains how 
God Almighty pervades the whole Universe, that there is nothing in the world 
in which God does not dwell, this verse occurs -

om pUrnamadah pUrnamidam pUrnAt pUrnamudacyate
pUrnasya, pUrnamAdAya pUrnamevAvasisyate

meaning thereby 'That is complete, this too is complete;
                 A complete thing has evolved out of the other 
                 complete thing; and yet
                 Even taking a complete thing out of the complete, 
                 what remains is also complete.' 

This verse when chanted moves over three degrees of pitch. Let me
demonstrate it (Dem.).

There is a Vedic Mantra which is very common. There is no Pooja which is
complete without the recitation of this Mantra. This Mantra is also chanted
in three toned modulations. It is a prayer to God for His blessings and grace. 
I shall recite it now -

yajnena yajnamayajanta devAs 
tAni dharmAni prathamAnyAsan 
tehanAkam mahimAnah sahanta 
yatrapUrve sAdhyAh santi devAh. Harih Om

In musical terms of today these three intonations are the Komal ni of the 
Mandra Saptak, Shadja of the Madhya Saptak and Komal Rishabh of the Madhya
Saptak. These three Svaras occurring one after another turn by turn, and
chanted by sonorous voices create a solemn atmosphere. The murmur is sweet
enough to attractthe mind of the listener and get it focussed as it were on
the subject matter, especially by the musical effect of the words which carry
these intonations.

I would like to draw your attention here, ladies and gentlemen, to the way of
chanting these Pirits here. As soon as I heard these Pirits for the first time, 
they struck me as the equivalents, prototypes of the Vedic incantations.
Unfortunately I have not been able to learn any Pirits by heart. I would have
very much liked to recite them here and compare them with the Vedic
incantations of the Hindus. The Pirits too seem to move up and down on the 
three svaras I have just now referred to.

The three toned recitation is very common even among children in India. When
they memorise a given lesson they repeat it in such intonations as I have
demonstrated a few minutes ago. For instance -
(Dem. a i u n; r l k; e o n g; ai au c; ha ya va ra t; lan; vrddhiradaic;
adengunah; iko guna vrddhih.)

The priests of the Hindus have to learn by heart a whole book of instructions 
on the way how certain religious rites are to be performed and they go on
reciting these verses of instruction to the host who performs the rites as per
the instructions. These verses are also sung in three intonations. These books
have now been printed, but the priests still recite them by memory. These books
are called Pothis. All such Pothis are normally read or recited in the three
toned voice modulations much as I have been demonstrating.

All these chantings that we have discussed so far are chantings only. There is
no suggestion of music in them. It is in the fourtoned recitals, chantings in a
full tetrachord, that we get a glimpse of music for the first time. Along with
the svarantarita or fourtoned chants some sort of systematisation of the
pauses, punctuations, and accents occurring in the chants is felt. The 
fourtoned chant is quite common in recitations of poems. Now in the fourtoned
chant we have, for the first time, a choice to add the fourth either below or
above the little phrase of three tones we have discussed earlier. Thus the
chanting may be either within KomalRishabh of the Madhya Saptak, Shadja of the
Madhya Saptak, Komal Nishad of the Mandra Saptak and Shuddha Dhaivata of the
Mandra Saptak, for instance, (Dem. r, S, n', D) or within Shuddha Ga, Komal
Rishabha and Shadja of the Madhya Saptak and Komal Nishad of the Mandra
Saptak. i.e. (Dem. G, r, S, n'). I shall now demonstrate both the kinds of 
the four-toned recitations.

The poetic metre known as anustubh in Sanskrit literature is sung in the 
four toned modulations.

Explaining the production of a musical tone by the human voice and the 
etymology of the word nada our musicologists say -

sa re, re, sa, ni sa, re, sa, ni sa, ni dha ni sa ni re sa

na kA ram pra na nA mA nam da ka ram a na lam vi duh

sa, re, re, sa, ni sa, re, sa, ni sa ni dha ni sa ni re sa

te na prA nA gni sam yo gAm nA da i tya bhi dhi yate

meaning thereby that the letter nA occurring in the word nAda stands for the
breath and the letter da stands for fire or motive energy in the body. Thus
by the co-operation of the breath and energy in the human body a tone is
produced. This verse is in the anustubh metre which I mentioned a few minutes
ago. I shall now chant it once more in the four toned modulations. (Dem...).

In this recitation the fourth note added is below, i.e. dha of the Mandra
Saptak.

I shall now quote a verse, a very popular one, a verse which in fact is recited
by every orthodox Hindu in the evening twilight. This verse is in the 2nd type
of the four toned chant, i.e. the one with the Shuddha Ga of the Madhya Saptak,
added at the top. This verse is in praise of Lord Vishnu. It runs like
this (Dem ... )

sAntAkAram bhujagasayanam padmanAbham suresam
visvAdhAram gagana-sadrsam meghavarnam subhAngam,
Laksmi-kAntam subhaganayanam yogaviddhyAnagamyam
vande Visnum bhavabhayaharam sarvalokaikanatham

These two tetrachords namely those of D' n' S r and n' S r G together form
a line of notes which occur prominently in the folk music of India. The
intonations are at times shifted unconsciously a little up or down by the
rustic minstrels. Let me now give you a few instances of these primitive
attempts at musical expression and extempore improvisation (Dem. S, r M, G r,
G, r, r G r S).

The addition of the fourth below and the fourth above give us a scale of five
notes, namely D' n' S r G.

The Sanskrit poetic metres are often recited within the range of these five
notes. I shall illustrate a few.

There is a metre known in Indian prosody as sArdUlavikrIditam which means a
tiger's pranks. This metre appears to be quite common in the Mangala-Astakas
of Ceylon. As those of Ceylon, the Mangala-Astakas of India are also verses of
benediction recited at a wedding to express good wishes to the newly married
couple, and these verses are mostly in this very metre. I shall now recite a
verse in this metre. This one is not a wedding benediction however. This verse
describes Lord Vishnu as the unfathomable Power behind all creation.

'The Gods themselves, namely, Brahma the Creator, Varuna the  Lord of the
Waters, Indra the God of the Clouds. Rudra, i.e. Siva and Marut the God of the
Winds, sing His praises, the chanters of the Saman celebrate His name in the
Vedic Hymns and the yogins, the sages are able to get a glimpse of Him only
when they practise Yoga and are in concentrated communion with Him. Him whose
full form and nature not even the Gods have been able to understand; the Lord,
I bow down to.' 

I shall now recite this verse (Dem.).

Yam BrahmA Varunendra-Rudra-MarutAstunvanti divyaistavaih
vedaih sAngapadakramopanisadair-gAyanti yam sAmagAh
dhyAnAvasthita tadgatena manasA pasyAnti yam yogino
yasyAntam na viduh surAh suraganA devAya tasmai namah

This is also a prayer which is sung by the Hindus every evening.

A number of other metres are also sung within the range of these five notes.

This little scale of five notes is very common in the folk lore of India. 
Mendicants, wandering minstrels often sing their songs in this scale to the 
tune either of the Ektari, a crude type of lute which has only one string on 
it. The string is tuned to a high pitch and the minstrel strikes it with his
indicative finger in quick succession and sings on this pitch as his basis.
He has not got to go much high above. The range of the scale is limited. There
is another instrument which these minstrels use. This is like the instrument
of the Veddas but a more refined one. It is called Chikara, probably in
imitation of the sound produced on it. This is of course played by the bow.
This instrument has got two or sometimes three strings on it. The subject 
matter of the song is some mythological story from Ramayana, Mahabharata or
Bhagavata, all epics on mythological subjects. Songs depicting some
interesting incident in the life of Lord Krishna are quite common. 
I shall now demonstrate a few lines of these. These songs are of course in the 
Provincial languages, or in Hindi, the Lingua Franca of India. (Dem.)

(i)   ari jasodA mahariya chhoro tihAro
(ii)  AlA vanamAli rAtrin satyabhAmeche mandiri
(iii) Harichibhagini mhane subhadrA

The latter two are in Marathi. One of them refers to the visit of Lord Krishna
to
the House of Satyabhama, his wife. The other refers to an appeal by Subhadra,
sister
of Lord Krishna to Rukmini, Lord Krishna's another wife, asking her to persuade 
Balarama, the elder brother and the Head of the family, through Lord Krishna, 
to find out Arjuna, the famous Hero of the Mahabharata epic on whom she has 
set her heart and get her married to him. The four notes namely n' S r G 
raised each to its fifth and tacked on to the original four notes give us the
complete scale of what we understand today by the name Bhairava. Let me
illustrate it. (Dem. n' S r G and n' S r G). The latter will be called ma pa
dha (Komal) and ni. Thus we get these notes sung successively as 
n' S r G M P d N. Dropping the starting note and adding the octave of the 
second we get the Bhairava scale. This scale appears to have been in vogue 
long back in the ancient days. It was then known not as Bhairava but Gauri. 
In the Daksinatya or what is known here as the Tamilian system of music this
scale is called the mAyAmAlavagoula and every new student of music in South
India is initiated into music by this scale. Thus the word Gauri
slightly changed into gaura, gauda and gaula has been still retained. In
Hindustani Music Gauri is a Raga, a classical melody of the Bhairava scale
which is more or less akin to the tune of the folk songs I have demonstrated 
a few minutes ago. I shall now sing a classical song in this Raga. (Dem.)

Mohe bAta chalata chhedata hai behAri
lAja ki mAri ina gopiyana men, sudhi budhi gayi
mori sAri; dekho sakhi ye nithura syAma nen uchaka kankari mAri

I have pointed out here before that in the course of the rendering the actual 
intonations are likely to be shifted slightly above or below. The note which 
is most exposed to such shifts is the note Rishabha which is at a large 
interval below its higher neighbour. Thus this note acquires a pitch about 
a quarter tone above in the rustic airs and a full semitone in the more 
refined types of melodies.

Let me now illustrate these shifts (Dem.). When raised a full
semitone above, all the rest being retained in their places, the new
tetrachord now gives us roughly the lower tetrachord of the C. Major
Scale, the Sankarabharanamel of the Daksinatya, Tamilian, system
or the Bilavala thata of the Hindustani system. Thus by the same
process of raising the tetrachord to its' fifth or samvAdi as we did in
the case of the other original tetrachord we get the full C. Major
Scale. To illustrate (Dem.) n' S R G and the same raised to the
fifth n' S R G. The latter tetrachord will now be called ma pa dha
ni. Dropping the starting note below and adding the octave of the Sa
we come to the Bilavala or C. Major Scale. Let me now sing it once more. 
(Dem. S R G M P D N). This scale is very common in the folk songs of 
Northern India. The Ghazal Qouwalis of the Muslims which have 
supplied the basis for a lot of the modern Sinhalese song are in this scale. 
The Komal Ni of the mandra saptaka is, by the by, duly retained in these songs. 
The general outline of these songs is like this (Dem. G M, P D N S" D n G,
M R S, S R n, S G R G M, etc.) The folk songs of Rajputana, the Mand and 
Mevada, are also in this scale. A good part of the Gujrathi Folklore, is in 
this scale. To give a few examples (Dem. vAge vrndAvanamAn vansalIre). This 
very scale, in fact the Mand and Mevada themselves with the Ri and Dha 
modified slightly and brought down by a quarter tone, become the most popular
folk tune of the Punjab called Asa. (Dem. sa re ma pa dha pa dha sa ni dha).
There is a poetic metre called latitachanda, in Gujrathi which is very
common. It is the same as the kAmadavrtta of the Sanskrit prosody. Gujrathi
verses in this metre are sung in the bilavala scale. For instance, sa, sa sa
rema, ga, ma, pa, maga, re gare, re, ga re, sa,

Karana rAja tUn kyAn gayo hare
Nagara chorIne sida ne gayo.

Somehow or other this little tune seems to have come into common vogue in this
country and a good many modern compositions are heard in this tune.

Then again there is a folk tune of this island which seems to have been in 
vogue since the long past. I have heard it in the Karatta-Kavi, Sivupada 
and others of the Sivupada category. I do not remember now the exact 
cadences. But it is roughly like this : dha sa, re ga ma pa, pa ma pa ma, 
ga re, ga ma ga, (sa) re ga re (sa)re ga re sa, ni sa rega, (re)ga ma ga re.
This tune is also common in the folk songs of India. Classically treated it
becomes the Raga called kukUbha of the Hindustani system of music.

There are a number of Ragas in the bilAval scale such as Mand, Mevada, Pahadi, 
Deshkar, Kukubha, Lachchhasakh, Sarparda, Alhaiya Bilaval, all considered as 
classical tunes, which owe their origin to the folk song. Durga is a form of 
Pahadi itself on a different key. It is a very common folk tune of the 
Himalayan tribes. I had occasion once to spend a few weeks in the Himalayan
State of Sundar Nagar near Kashmir. I collected a few songs of the villagers
of the State. Most of these songs were in Pahadi or Durga. Let me illustrate 
the general outline of these folk songs (Dem.). Durga is Pahadi itself on 
the scale of Pa (...). These Himalayan people have also a dance called 
Deota Dance which is like the Spirit Dance of this island.

(continued)


Folk Songs and Music (Contd) - Part III (by S.N. Ratanjankar)

There is a tendency in the folk music of India in this country to suppress 
the Ga while going up the lower tetrachord. Thus the combination S R
M G R S n' S, R M P M, G R S occurs quite often.

There is another set of tones which appears to have been in use since very
ancient times. This is what we know today as the sAranga Raga. It is not
possible to say when and how this scale came to be so much popular and so
commonly in vogue. This scale had other names in the ancient times. But side
by side with the chromatic intervals of the Vedic chants this scale too seems 
to have influenced the songs of the ancient times. The scale sounds like this:
(Dem. n' S R M, R, S n'). The notes S R M raised to the fourth above complete
the present sAranga. To demonstrate S R M  and S R M on the fourth above give
us S R M P n which is the full scale of sAranga. Let us now see how this scale
has influenced our folk music. There is a lullaby in which the infant Rama is
lulled to sleep by his mother. It sounds like this: (Dem. bAlA jo jo re,
kulabhusanA dasarathanandanA, nidra kari bAlA). This lullaby is in Marathl and
it is the Maharashtrian mothers who sing this to lull their babies to sleep.
Quite a large number of folk songs of India are sung in this scale. It is a
melody common all over India in the folk lore. It is also treated as a highly
classical tune. A good many Garbas of the Gujrath are sung in this tune.

The scale of sAranga appears to have been the basis of a number of folk tunes. 
Slight modifications in this scale give a variety of melodies such as soratha, 
mallAra, kAnhdA, savana. A little use of the note Dha in the avaroha gives the 
soratha. Soratha is very common in Gujrath.

The word mallAra was the name of a class of folk songs, seasonal songs,
prevalent in North India. These songs were sung usually in the rainy season.
The name of the song seems later on to have been given to the tune in which 
the mallAras were sung. MallAra appears to be a modification of sAranga. In
mallAra also a little use of Dha is allowed. The mallAra is today a classical
Raga and there are a number of varieties of mallAra. In some of the folk songs
called by the name of mallAra a little use of the Komal Ga is also made. Let
me illustrate it with a few AlAps. (Dem.)

The introduction of Komal Ga and Shuddha Dha in the scale
gives us the scale of kAphi or srirAgamela as it was called in the
Tamilian system. The modern name of this scale in the Tamilian
system is Kharaharapriya. This is a very prominent scale in Indian
music and is the source of a good many tunes classical and folk;
kAphi, pIlu, barvA, dhanAsi, mallAra, some kAnhadas and sindurA, all of which 
have their prototypes in folk music are some of the very popular Ragas of 
the classical music of India. A few of these are prevalent in their crude form 
in the folk music of this island also. In the modern Sinhalese songs all these 
have come in, in some form or the other. I have had recently occasion to hear, 
during the auditions, the genuine folk music of this country. This folk music 
is absolutely pure from any mixture either of Western music or of the modern 
Bengali music, film music or the Ghazal Qouwali of the Muslims of India. And I 
cannot resist the conclusion that this folk music is exactly like the rural 
music of India. This music and its traditions are very old. They have probably 
come into this country along with the first migrators from India 2,000 years 
ago. These people were not Tamilians. They were from the North-Eastern part of 
India, most probably Orissa. Except perhaps the Kandyan Dance all the rest of
the music and dance of this island appear to be North-Indian or say East-Indian.
Even in the Kandyan Dance which is a local adaptation of South Indian dances 
there is some influence of the Manipuri Dance of Assam. May be in Jaffna and 
the Northern districts we may come across folk songs of the Tamilian style. 
I have not had occasion to visit that part of the country nor have I so far 
heard any folk music having a Tamilian touch in it.

To turn back to the Ragas and folk tunes of the sArang scale.
I shall sing some of these and leave it to you to see whether any of these 
correspond with the folk tunes of Ceylon, genuine folk tunes, and not the 
modern Oriental music of India which is nowadays being called the Deshi 
Sangeet of Sinhala Dweep. I am not going to sing these melodies in the 
polished classical style. I shall sing them in a simple style of an 
amateur. (Dem.)

Raghupati rAghava rAjArAma, patIta pAvana sItArAma, etc. (Sindha Kaphi)

GovindagiridhAri gopAlakrsna hari (Pilu)

(a) rAmakrsna bolare rAmakrsna bolare pyAre, pApatApa
duhkhadvandva AdhinvyAdhi bhavajanjAla china men hare sAre (Dhanashri)

(b) rAmabAnavAgyare-hoyate jAne, dhruvane vAgya prahladane
vAgya thAri betha thikAne
bitiyAko byAha lAgyo jiyAmam more kAnlo lAgiraho lAgiraho (Sarang Dadra).

The Marathas and the Rajputs have each a special type of Ballads which are 
called Powadas and Alha, respectively.

The Kandyan dancers sing a tune in this scale with a touch of Komal Dha in the 
Avaroha. This tune is in the Deepchandi time measure. i.e. 3 + 4.

I shall try to sing it:  pa pa pa; pa--dha pa; ma pa ga re re sa: sa re re, re
ga
ma: re ga re: sa sa.

This passage raised to the fifth degree gives us the complete Kaphi scale with 
an additional note namely Komal Dha. For instance, 
R" R" R", R" g" R", S" R" S"; 
n D D P; P D D; D n S"; D n D; P-P. These notes tacked on 
to the original passage give us this scale - S R g M P D n S", S" n D
P D P M g R S. 

The range of the folk songs proper is very limited. 
They do not go much beyond a tetrachord, i.e. four or five notes. But 
the intervals coming into use in them when repeated on a higher pitch
give rise to a number of modes. In music whether classical or folk the
musical intervals which form a tetrachord are not more than three.
In Western music as well as Indian music these three intervals form
the modes. They are roughly equivalent. In India they are called
dvisrutika, i.e. two Shrutied, trisrutika (three Shrutied) and
catuhisnttika (four Shrutied), dhvanyAntara Shruti is roughly a
quarter tone. Thus the smallest interval that can be called a
svarAntara, not the svarAntarita of the four types of chants that we
had discussed, but the svarAntara referring to the musical interval
between two Svaras. The smallest of such a svarAntara is the one of
two quarter tones, the medium musical interval is the one covering
three quarter tones and the largest musical interval covers four
quarter tones. In Western music we have equivalents roughly of
these respectively namely Semitone, Minor tone and Major tone. If we
take the C. Major scale of the Western music which is roughly an
equivalent of the Hindusthani bilAwal or the Tamilian
sankarAbharana, the interval between ga and ma (E and F) is a
Semitone, that between re and ga (D and E) is a Minor tone and the
interval between sa and ri (C and D) is a Major tone. All the modes,
which are called Melas, or Thatas in the Granthas and which were
the murchana or the ancient system of music of India are formed
with the permutations and combinations of these three intervals as
regards their sequence. All these together, arranged one after
another in a certain order, form a tetrachord or what we call
purvAnga. A tetrachord repeated with the last note to start with or
the fifth or dominant of the basic note forms a mode. Let me
illustrate (Dem. S R G M + S R G M (M P D n) and 
S R G M + S R G M (P D N S") ). 
The latter part, the repeated tetrachord on the higher pitch is called
uttarAnga. In folk music only one tetrachord is employed, while in the
more refined types of songs a full scale comes into use.

It is not necessary that the order of the musical intervals in the purvAnga 
must be the same as in the uttarAnga, the higher tetrachord. For instance if 
the purvAnga tetrachord consists of Major tone + Semitone + Minor tone, the 
higher tetrachord may be the same as the purvanga one or it may have a 
different order, e.g. it may have Semitone + Major tone + Minor tone. In 
the former case, i.e. when the second tetrachord has the same order of 
musical intervals as the first, we get the Kafi scale. It sounds like this: 
sa re ga ma pa dha ni sa while in the second case, ie, when the Uttaranga
tetrachord has semitone + major tone we get what we call the AsAvari thAta.
This thAta sounds like this: S R g M P d n. Both these scales are obtainable
from the opening musical chantings of the Kandyan dance.

I shall now demonstrate a few more Indian folk tunes which have developed into 
Ragas of the classical style. This little tune which I am going to demonstrate 
has come into classical music as Bihari (Dem. dhAnvavibhokarunA, etc.). This
tune of course comes under light classical music. The songs sung in this Raga
are of the light type. No Khayals or Dhrupads are sung in it.

Another tune which is very common in the folk songs of India is what we know
by the name of Kalyan or Yaman. A little touch of komal Ma is included in the
folk songs in this tune. Let me illustrate it. (Dem. kAn, manIn dharatI adhi
dayAlA utarA pailathadi). It is from this folk tune that the classical Raga
Yaman has come out.

The next tune is Jaijaivanti in its undeveloped form. To illustrate:

g  R  g  R  S    N  S  R  G  M  GM
Go....ku li chi  goula na hi......

g  R  g  R  S    D  n  S"  n  S"
Ve....nu ni na...di..  ra  ma li

A lullaby is sung in a tune which sounds like a part of Pilu. It is sung like 
this : nija nija bAlA re, etc.

The next tune is a crude form of Jhinjhoti. (Dem. dha, dha sa, sa re, etc)

D'  D'  S  SR  MG  R  S  M,  M   M   M   G  M  G  S  S  R
va  yu  ke jhakore khAta chali chhotili mori naiyA

We have quite a large number of such folk songs each having its own peculiar
tune
and its distinct form of rhythm.	

(continued)

Folk Songs and Music (Concluded) Part IV - by S.N. Ratanjankar

If we look into the early history of European music we find
almost the same steps of progress of music as in the East. Music
there seems to have begun with David's psalms, the later
developments of Church Hymns and the folk songs. We find the four
toned tetrachord, the progressions of the fifth which we call 
sad japancambhava or samvAda and the evolutions of the Greek modes,
namely the Ionian, Phrygian, Lydian, Aeolian, Dorian, etc. These
modes are the same as our murcchanas. The three musical intervals
namely the Semitone, Minor tone and Major tone gave rise to the modes by 
changes in their order of sequence and carrying them up to the fifth or to 
the fourth principles of harmony came into prominence about five centuries 
ago. Harmony, i.e. playing together a number of tones simultaneously is 
now the very basis and distinguishing feature of Western Music. But in the 
folk songs of Southern Europe, Spain, Portugal and Italy we still hear melody 
in its pure form. We can name some of our Ragas such as Bhopali, Bhairavi, 
Mand, Khamaj in them. Why, the other day I happened to hear some music which 
is called Kaffrinha here. It is a relic, they say, of the tunes sung and played 
in Portugal and called probably by the same name and introduced by the early 
Portuguese settlers in Ceylon. This music is distinctly melodic and much of 
it sounds like oriental music. Last year at the Madras Music Academy's 
conference an English lady gave a demonstrative lecture on the folk music 
of Europe. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Indian tunes like Bhopali, 
Bhairavi, Bilawal in the songs that she sang. There was no 'accompaniment' as 
they call it, with her music. She herself played on a string instrument and 
sang. Classical European Music today is based on harmony and orchestration. 
The principles of harmony introduced into European Music have made it necessary 
for the Westerners to manufacture various instruments tuned to a standard pitch 
and standard keys. There are no such instruments in our countries and it is a 
great problem before our musicians as to what sort of groups of instruments 
we should use for the new type of music which is fast coming into vogue. We 
call it Orchestra. But I wonder if this is the correct name for the groups 
of instruments and the music we play on them. Our first problem is the type 
of music which we have to compose so that it will be distinct from the Western 
harmony. This music will then suggest to us what types of instruments we may
need or what improvements we may have to make in those that are in use now.
Except the Sarod, Shahnai, Algoja which is like the Horana, Sarangi and Violin
and the drums,all our instruments are meant for chamber solo performances. We
may have to reintroduce some of the ancient instruments that have gone out of
vogue now or invent new types of instruments to suit the group music that is
now coming into vogue.

Now a word about Deshi Sangeet. The qualification of Deshi is used by our 
ancient and modern musicologists with reference to the music of the people. 
Our Granthakaras say :

dese dese janAnAm yadrcyA hrdayaranjakam
gAnam ca vAdanam nrtyamtaddesityuccyate budhaih

meaning thereby that 'music vocal and instrumental and dance which develop 
in different regions according to the taste of those places are Deshi.' 
Thus in music too the problem of voting and election is always before us. 
It seems the Ghazals and Qouwalis, the Gujrati theatrical music, Late 
Dr. Tagore's songs and the Hindusthani Film songs have impressed a lot of 
listeners of the towns of this island. At least one comes to such a 
conclusion when one hears the popular modern compositions. The Westernised
melodies also appear to be quite popular. This music may be called
DESHI because the common listener likes it. But it is not the music
of Lanka. The proper DESHI SANGEET of Lanka is in its villages. The
Vannams, Astakas, the Sivupadas, the Stotras, the Pirits are the proper 
DESHI SANGEET of Lanka. They are still retained in their traditional forms. 
But much refined music can be built upon the basis of these. I have already 
pointed out one or two instances which supply the basis for full grown melodies 
that can be treated and composed on artistic lines. These folk songs, as they 
are in their present forms, have more emphasis laid in them on the Tala. An 
analysis of the syllables produced on the several drums, and the relative 
time measures of these syllables will provide a valuable and scientific 
basis for fresh creation and a system of music will evolve
out of this material of which we may well be proud. The people of this land 
have this music and the rhythm in their blood; and possessing a genuine love 
for music, good quality of voice and fairly good ear for music as they do, 
there is no reason why Lanka will not have a national art of music of her own. 
I will not be surprised if by a critical research our scholars are able to 
prove in the near future that India, Ceylon, Malaya, Java and the other islands 
in the South and even Australia were contemporaries in a common pre-Aryan 
civilization, the glimpses of the remnants of which we still come across in 
the arts and cultures of these South Asian regions.

In India classical music has evolved out of the religious and temporal folk 
songs as we have just now seen. Dhrupad and Hori which are supposed to be songs 
of the most pure style of classical music of Hindustan are adaptations of the 
temple music employed at the morning and evening services in the temples. In 
the Tamilian system of music the Keertanams are like the Dhrupads of the 
North. They are also songs based on the temple music. The difference between 
the temple music and the Dhrupads, Horis, and Keertanams is that while the
object of the former is purely devotional the latter are adapted and modified
so as to create a musical effect. Dhrupad and Hori are sung in Choutal and
Dhamar respectively. There are a number of other tAlas of the Dhrupad style
such as Brahma, Rudra, Lakshmi. All these tAlas are played on Mrudangam which 
is known here as Maddala.

The Khayal is a class of songs introduced by the Muslim artistes. The Khayal 
is a sweet combination between the pure classical music of the Dhrupad and 
the folk music. The song itself may be a composition of some old master. But 
the musicians are at liberty to elaborate it extempore according to their
ability and inspiration within the limits of the Raga concerned and the general
outline of the composition. Khayals are sung in Tritala, Ektala, Jhoomra, Ada
Choutala which are played on the Tabla. Two types of Khayals are sung, one
Druta and the other Vilambita.

The third style of singing which Is quite popular in India is the Thumri style. 
Thumri is an amorous song. The word sense is quite important. The Thumri singer 
has to sing in conformity with the delicacy of the word sense. He is not
expected to be violent or jerky in his vocal modulations when singing a
Thumri. Thumri is properly a woman's song and a little feminine affectation in
the voice production would not be out of place. Thumris are also of two types;
slow and medium. The medium Thumris are sung in Tritala, Dadra. The slow
Thumris are sung in a form of Tritala which is known as the Punjabi Theka and 
in Deepchandi. Thumri is definitely a folk song refined in the classical style.
Under the class of Thumri all other light types of songs come in. These are
Kajri, Chaiti, Sawan, Jhoola, Baramsa. Bhajans or devotional songs of the light
style are a class by themselves. There is another type of song known as Tappa
which was introduced by the great musician by name Ghularn Nabi, or Shouri
Miyan by his pen-name. This song was composed, it is said, by Shouri Miyan on
the lines of the songs of the camel drivers of the Punjab and Sindh. The
Tappas are all in the Punjabi language.

The Ghazals of the Urdu language seem to have caught the minds of our modern 
music-minded poets. Ghazals properly are poems, lyrics. They do catch the
listener's imagination on account of their sweet and often convincing words.
But the art of music is not meant to be exhibited in them. Like all other folk
songs repetition of the same cadences of music is quite inevitable in them.
Our modern poets of India are producing Ghazals in the provincial Indian
languages. They do not call them Ghazals however. They give these songs a
more dignified name, and that is Bhava-Geet, Sentimental Music. You can hear
these so-called Bhava-Geets any evening at their appointed hour if you switch
on to India. The All India Radio calls these songs either Halke Phulke Ganay 
or Apki Pasand. Halke Phulke Ganay means feather weight songs and Apki 
Pasand means as per your liking.

The principal two forms of rhythm namely the common time measure and the
triplets are most common in the folk music. The common time measure
progresses in twos or fours while the triplets progress by threes. But the
poetic metres of India which seem to have been prevalent in the religious
music of this country also have brought into vogue a number of odd time 
systems, e.g. 2 + 3, 3 + 4 in the folk songs of India and Ceylon. The Vannams 
as I see them in the folk song are technically various kinds of time systems 
set to music. Every Vannam must begin with its Tanams which fix the form of 
the rhythmic pace. The words of the Vannams follow afterwards in the same time
system as the Tanams. The musical setting of Vannams appears to be immaterial.
One and the same musician if asked to repeat a Vannam will sing it no doubt
in the same time system, but the musical setting may shift to a different key.
In fact these Vannams are Tala-Vannams and not Tana-Vannams or Raga-Vannams.
In the Dakshinatya system or the Tamilian system of music both kinds 
of Varnams namely Tala Varnams as well as Tana Varnams are available. The 
explanation of the word Vannam as given by the artistes is not correct, I 
think. Varnam or Varna in the technical language or music means a form, an 
idea, a pattern, and the word Vannam would fit this sense better than in the
sense of 'Description.' If we take the latter sense there should not be more
than one single composition for each Vannam, because Vannam, according to this
sense, would describe the gait of an animal or the nature of the thing after
which it is named, e.g. Gajaga Vannam would describe the gait of the elephant
and would of course proceed in that gait, Turanga Vannam would describe the
horse's trot. A good poet may write a volume of ideas on the gait of an
animal. But all these ideas may be brought into a single Vannam of great 
length. But in the other sense one and the same Vannam may have various 
subject matters. Any set of poetic lines written on the pattern of a 
particular Vannam will be called by the name of that Vannam. But it may or 
may not contain the description of the gait of that Vannam.

These Vannams, the Kavis, the Astakas, Stotras, Shringaras are important
specimens of the musical traditions of Ceylon and must not be allowed to fade
away in the oblivion. We can yet build upon them an independent system
of music.

JAYA LANKA

13th June, 1952
Colombo

(concluded)