EXTRACTS FROM THE BOOK ‘108 Divya Ragams’ By S.Parthasarathy
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There are answers to 27 Questions, some of which are
Before I proceed with my topic, a quick aside about Divya Desams. You will definitely be wondering why only 108 specific temples/places have qualified to be in this venerable list and why not others. Would that mean, other temples are not important or their sacredness any way stand diminished? No, certainly not. Every temple is a sacred place for worship of Lord Vishnu and nothing is any less important than the other. When we say this, then why the prefix “108 Tirupathis or Vaishnava Divya Desams”? To answer this question, one must go back in time to the days of Azhwars.....
This chapter talks about omosers and compositions in Carnatic music. The topic is introduced through answers to 9 Questions, some of which are..
This chapter is on the most important pillar of Carnatic music, viz. the musicians. In any concert, they occupy the center-stage (literally and figuratively) and bring the words and feelings of the composers to us, the Rasikas. Classical artists are “different” from the rest of us who have chosen careers that have nothing to do with classical art per se. That’s why they are given the center stage and therefore they ought to be listened to with due respect.
The tempo in a typical Carnatic music concert changes after Tani Avarthanam, So it is in this book. Chapters V - VII are lighter material.
When I told my friends and relatives about my plan to write a book on Carnatic music, the first question they asked me was ,’But how would you include crosswords?’ I said I’d find a way. I have been an addict of crosswords for nearly 40 years and my day starts with the morning coffee and Economic Times crossword. I have breakfast with The Hindu crossword and lunch with Indian Express crossword. When I was in Mumbai, there were more newspapers and more daily crosswords.
This chapter is about the second passion of the author, viz., Cryptic crosswords. 9 types of Cryptic crossword clues, viz.,
This is another light chapter and this 'garland' has 5 Ragams, viz.,
The last chapter of Volume-I talks about websites and books on Carnatic music through answers to 4 questions and concludes with these words Amritha Parthasarathy
VOLUME-I is in Paperback size- 350 pages
VOLUME-II is in A-4 size- 115 pages
Chapter-I - VARNAM
What does Carnatic music offer to a new listener?
Can persons of any age can appreciate Carnatic music?
Is music appreciation useful in this competitive world?
What is the origin of Indian music?
Which are the main centres of Carnatic music?
Can you tell me about the music season of Chennai? and so on...
A sample question- answer is here.
What are the types of listeners?
Listeners of music can be classified depending on their knowledge, expectations and behaviour. I classify them into 5-S types of listeners.
* S-1 - Super Listeners. People who just enjoy the tranquility, melody and beauty of carnatic music.
* S-2 -Sing-Along Listeners - People who are interested, but tend to distract the rest of the audience.
* S-3 - Showing Off Listeners - People who attend the concert for extraneous reasons like wanting to be seen in all their finery, for exchanging pleasantries and ‘showing off’ their power and importance.
* S-4 - Silly Listeners - People who keep talking or people who bring plastic bags and keep tinkering with them or people who think they are in a Railway station and keep walking up and down and so on. (Once when Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer found some Mylapore advocates chatting in the last row he asked them: “Would you let me talk in your courtroom?” And he had no more trouble! But present-day disturbers are made of sterner stuff)
* S-5 - Sleeping Listeners - People who are perhaps unable to sleep at home and find the concert atmosphere congenial to sleep............
Chapter-II - KRITHI
...........Finally I have defined Divya Ragam as one in which the compositions of Tyagaraja as well as that of either Shyama Shastri or Muthuswamy Dikshitar is available.
Out of 1028 Ragams in Appendix - I, I have selected 108 Ragams which satisfy the above definition........
I used the term ‘magical’ when describing the number 108. This number has been accepted in all civilizations as an unique number. A mathematical look at this number reveals why 108 may have been so popular. It consists of five factors (two 2’s and three 3’s, i.e., 2X2X3X3X3).....
Christian writers point out that from All Soul’s day (November 2) to Christmas (December 25) there are 54 days and 54 nights....
In the South Indian system of Astrology, there are 27 stars each of which is divided into 4 padams (sectors) making 108 in all......
The Question-Answer format has been used to explore new areas in Ragam. There are answers to 12 Questions, some of which are
How old is the concept of Ragam?
Is there any basis for naming the Ragams?
Can any arrangement of notes be defined as a Ragam?
What are the ingredients of a Ragam?... and so on
"..........Of course there is a more irritating method which would be to loudly ask your neighbour. But remember this advice. Whenever you want to know the ragam, always ask,’What ragam is it?’. Never ask,’ Is it ----- ragam?’. In the former query, you display your ignorance about one ragam while in the latter, it becomes obvious that you do not know two ragams!"
You are taken on a conducted tour of the 108 selected Ragams with the author as the guide. There are many anecdotes. A sample...
"Bhairavi was perhaps the first Ragam of Carnatic music to be recorded. Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer was invited by Maharaja Chamarajendra Wodeyar (1868-1894). As he was singing the krithi, ‘Chintayamakanda ‘ in Bhairavi, the Maharaja managed to record the music on a waxy cylinder in Edison’s phonograph. Vaidyanatha Iyer was later pleasantly surprised to hear his own voice. Unfortunately this cylinder was destroyed during the fire in Jaganmohini palace in the 1980s."
Chapter-III - RAGAM TANAM PALLAVI
What is the role of a composition in Carnatic music?
What is the difference between Carnatic music composers and film music composers?
What are the different types of compositions?
Who are the popular composers?... and so on
You are taken by the author to meet 72 composers with the pride of place being given to the music Trinity consisting of TYagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri. The author's conclusion about Tyagaraja is..
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), a contemporary of Tyagaraja, never met the latter. But his ‘Ode To a skylark’ seems to have been written about Tyagaraja. Read the following lines and you would agree.
Waking or asleep,
Thou of death must deem
Things more true and deep
Than we mortals dream,
Or how could thy notes flow in such a crystal stream?
There are brief biographies of the other 69 composers.
Chapter-IV - TANI AVARTHANAM
Voice and instruments are introduced through answers to 12 Questions, some of which are..
Why is voice considered more important than instrument in Carnatic music?
Is a good voice and voice culture unimportant in Carnatic music?
How important is Tambura in a Carnatic music concert?
What is the classification of musical instruments?... and so on
With that introduction about the voice and instruments in carnatic music, let us look at 108 musicians who have been/are famous in the 20th and 21st centuries (in tune with my fascination for the number 108 and its factors).
Among the numerous anecdotes about the 108 musicians is this one -- While Lata Mangeshkar called her (M.S.Subbalakshmi) ‘Tapaswini’ or the Renunciate, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan termed her ‘Swaralakshmi,’ or the Goddess of Musical Notes, and Kishori Amonkar labeled her the ultimate Eighth Note or ‘Aathvaan Sur,’ which is above the seven notes basic to all music.
Chapter-V - JAVALI
Chapters V called Javali is about Carnatic Music in Tamil films. After answering three questions, there is alist of over 500 songs that are available in 55 of the selected 108 Ragams.
Chapter-VI - TILLANA
ANAGRAMS
CHARADES
CONTAINERS OR SPLIT WORDS
DELETIONS
DOUBLE DEFINITIONS
HIDDEN WORDS
HOMOPHONES
REVERSALS and
STRAIGHT CLUES
are discussed and you are given clues based on Carnatic music terms. A few examples...
Thousand agar return for this feature of Carnatic music (5)
Ape, you say in this Ragam (4)
Ragam inside had to beg a dancer (6)
Solutions in the book...
Chapter-VII - RAGAMALIKA
18 Anecdotes/Jokes
27 riddles
12 cryptoquips
36 trivia quiz questions and
12 limericks
Some samples are given here.
Snuffing with Kings
At a concert in the presence of Mysore royalty, it was noticed that Patnam Subramania Aiyar was not his usual self. He was fidgeting away and none could guess the reason. Except the Maharajah, who produced a bejewelled snuffbox, full of the powder that cheered. Patnam inhaled gratefully and carried on with gusto.
What is the ragam of the Xerox Company?
KAPI (COPY)
Who is the Mridangam Top gun
Vellore G Ramabhadran?
who mastered Sarva Laghu
Or is it Palghat Raghu
who in maths is the big one?
Chapter-VIII - MANGALAM
...music is powerful and it is a part of our culture that needs to be nurtured. As I said at the beginning, Carnatic music has given me one of the greatest pleasures in my life. I thought I should help laymen get the same kind of great pleasure. This book is a part of my mission to get some of you interested in Carnatic music. I feel I would have achieved my objective if you view the accompanying CD-ROM now and start listening to Carnatic music as a regular habit.
Good-bye and may God bless you.
The author has dedicated the book to his late mother by reproducing a touching article he wrote in December 2002 for the family e-Newsletter published by him.
Volume-II contains a list of over 10000 compositions giving the first line, Composer's name and Ragam.
I do not think I can summarise the CD-ROM. All I'd say is that if you view and hear the CD everyday for 1 hour, it will take you 25 days to completely view the CD.
This is what the author said at the book and CD release.."Anyone with even a 0% knowledge of Carnatic music can go to 35% by reading the book and viewing the CD. To go further, you have to follow the advice of Pepsi -Yeh dil maange more (heart desires more) and Sooryan FM -kelunga, kelunga, kettukkitte irunga (listen and keep on listening).
Happy Listening and Happy Viewing
11th September 2004
for Publishers
Copies are now available only in Chennai and can be booked on 2534 7570 or 2534 7575 during working hours or on 2644 9251 on Saturday/Sunday/Holidays and will be delivered free within Chennai. We hope to tie up with bookshops soon. The cost per copy (consisting of Volume-I, Volume-II and a multimedia CD) is Rs. 378/-.
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