I'm not a Carnatic singer. I have very limited knowledge of the technical aspects of Carnatic Music. But as an avid listener of Carnatic songs, I can understand the happiness of listening to one. I know how it feels good after the whole technical matter is presented in a nice manner. I've listened to a lot of songs of this genre of music and it always feels good when I listen to it. Well, I don't know why.
Though I know how famous the Pancharatna Keerthanas are, it has been rare for me to have gone to the extent of knowing the meaning and how Thyagaraja has written and composed it. Recently, I listened to T.M Krishna accompanied by the very famous Arun Prakash in Mridangam. The song is Dhudukugala. Ragam is Gowlai in Adi thala.
You can listen to the song and read this on.
The song has been written with a religious sense. Thyagaraja puts himself in the place of a sinner. He questions the materialistic life after he realises that devotion gives immense happiness. He realises that he has been foolishly happy all his life over carnal desires, wealth, and being selfish. He seeks Lord Rama for rescuing him from his sins.
The song has been written with a religious sense. Thyagaraja puts himself in the place of a sinner. He questions the materialistic life after he realises that devotion gives immense happiness. He realises that he has been foolishly happy all his life over carnal desires, wealth, and being selfish. He seeks Lord Rama for rescuing him from his sins.
The meaning goes like this:
Arrogance. The one with Arrogance. Myself. Oh Dhasaratha's son, Rama! Save me from this arrogance.
My time was filled with the attraction to bad deeds and bad things.
I realize that Goddess Lakshmi, the embodiment of speech and mind is beyond comprehension. (He tells how he has succumbed to his false pride.)
I am a sinner who lost the sense to understand your omnipresence in all the living things.
I am a sinner who went astray and repeatedly hurt people’s feelings for the sake of coveting their wealth.
I am a sinner who whiled away the time thinking that everything happening in this materialistic world is happy living.
I was carried away by outward appearances, women, land, property, children, servants and wealth thinking that these were permanent. Moreover, I have sinned by forgetting to worship your lotus feet.
God’s face did not dwell in my mind. I sought egoistic men. I did not shun evil thoughts. I was tormented by them.
I forgot to appreciate the great value of having got this rate opportunity of human birth. I was slave to carnal desire and other evil thoughts. Though I have been born in the highest Brahmin class, I have been performing functions, which are very unbecoming of my class. I have continuously sinned.
Oh my god! I have been a sinner who has gone astray in research of women, children and wealth at various stages of my life.
Thyagaraja has showed how good a writer that he is.
Now I'll tell you what makes Thyagaraja, great as a composer.
As a layman who do not know the deeper aspects of Carnatic music, there are certain things that can be looked for in a Thyagaraja song irrespective of the singer. The listener can look for speed variations, the arrangement of swaras, the wide range between low and high notes, the breath control required, the coordination of the poem with the raga and the marriage of all of these to present a great song.
The song that I listened to, starts at a keel kalam. It starts with 2 beats per beat of thala. Then slowly it picks up speed as the meaning becomes in-depth to Madhyama kalam. It is 4 beats per beat of thala. It stays at Madhyama kalam and traverses between Mel kalam and keel kalam in the middle. As the song moves on, the thala moves in one track and the song in
another. After sometime both of them join together to form a complete
package. The charanam starts in pure synchronisation with the thala and
as the song goes on it becomes so difficult a combination. This part
needs rigorous practice to spontaneously perform on stage. If gone wrong can end up in a deep mess. The ragam has been very well synchronised with that of the poem. The charanam starts with low notes. Infact T.M Krishna has been good enough to touch these very low notes and excelled to stay with the shruthi at the same time. If you have a 32 key piano you will not be able to go beyond an extent to the lower region. That's how low it gets at the start of the charanam. The selection of the swaras has been very cautious. It has been arranged in such a way that the high and low notes are nearby and this gives a tempo to the song. In one line of the song itself there are variations in notes. This part is what makes you adhere to the song. There is a surprise element in every part of the swara. It keeps you alive into the song.
There is a marriage of low and high notes through combination of the swaras, repetition of swaras, breathing spaces, pauses wherever it pleases the listener and makes him wait in anxiety for the next swara, the beats the thala and the tempo. All these technicalities are presented without the expense of the appeal, feel and the meaning of the song. This is what makes a Carnatic song special. The ragam is not very heavy on the listener. It takes a easy travel in the ears and mind of the listener.
Arun Prakash, on the Mridangam, has done a tremendous job by giving the right pressure on the percussion for the beats, wherever required. It is not the main instrument and he has just shown how it should be used as a support to the vocal artist. He doesn't try to be dominant in any part of the song. This is how a percussion should work. He uses subtle beats and very simple theermanams which are at the right frequency to the human ear. It is one of the sole reason for any listener to stay in the song and expect for more.
The song has truly won my heart if not anybody. Though the meaning is religious, the feel is positive. It is a song that represents "total surrender". It is about humility. It is about renouncing inner pride. It teaches a human being of how not to be.Simply tells how great Thyagaraja has been. It is no doubt that a singer who is able to present these five songs without the expense of all the technical nuances should become a great singer for these songs demand great technical expertise in Classical music.
-Satz B)
There is a marriage of low and high notes through combination of the swaras, repetition of swaras, breathing spaces, pauses wherever it pleases the listener and makes him wait in anxiety for the next swara, the beats the thala and the tempo. All these technicalities are presented without the expense of the appeal, feel and the meaning of the song. This is what makes a Carnatic song special. The ragam is not very heavy on the listener. It takes a easy travel in the ears and mind of the listener.
Arun Prakash, on the Mridangam, has done a tremendous job by giving the right pressure on the percussion for the beats, wherever required. It is not the main instrument and he has just shown how it should be used as a support to the vocal artist. He doesn't try to be dominant in any part of the song. This is how a percussion should work. He uses subtle beats and very simple theermanams which are at the right frequency to the human ear. It is one of the sole reason for any listener to stay in the song and expect for more.
The song has truly won my heart if not anybody. Though the meaning is religious, the feel is positive. It is a song that represents "total surrender". It is about humility. It is about renouncing inner pride. It teaches a human being of how not to be.Simply tells how great Thyagaraja has been. It is no doubt that a singer who is able to present these five songs without the expense of all the technical nuances should become a great singer for these songs demand great technical expertise in Classical music.
-Satz B)
