raagarasika

In this episode, we feature Smt. Gayathri Satya from San Francisco Bay Area, California. Smt. Gayathri has sung a Thyagaraja composition “Vinayakuni” in the raaga Madhyamavathy and set to Adi tala. Unlike most Thyagaraja compositions which are in praise of Lord Rama, this composition is fairly unique in that it is a Devi (Goddess) kriti. Vidya provides examples of other compositions by the Trinity in this majestic raga.

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In this episode, we feature a submission by our listener Sri. Aren Skalman, from San Diego, California. Aren submitted a swarajati: Raara Venu in raaga Bilahari and Adi tala. Vidya elaborates on swarajatis. She also shares with us an example from a complex and involved Swarajati by Sri. Shyama Shastri in the raaga Yadukulakambhoji. We wrap up the episode with a rendition of Thyagaraja’s Raaka Sashivadana in raaga Takka and Adi tala by Smt. Padma Govardhan, from Auckland, New Zealand.

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Happy Deepavali! We have received an excellent response to our call for listener submissions. We really appreciate your involvement and enjoyed listening to each submission. Given the response, we will be spreading the submissions as well as our discussion on each selected entry across the next few episodes. In Part I, we feature submissions by: Kum. Ashraya Ananthanarayan who sent in a Tyagaraja composition in Bangala raaga, Adi tala and Smt. Durga Krishnan who submitted a thanam on veena in two raagas — Hamsanandi and Kalyani.

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We wrap up our introductory series on Arohanam and Avarohanam with a discussion on whether or not raagas are entirely and solely defined by their corresponding ascending and descending scales. Using examples of raagas such as Reetigowlai, Madhyamavati, and Hamsaroopini, Vidya highlights the varying degrees in which textbook definitions of Arohanam and Avarohanam may (or may not) help understand the form of individual raagas.

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We continue our discussion regarding arohanam and avarohanam, and define several terms commonly used in Carnatic music to describe raagas. With several examples and illustrations, Vidya elaborates on terms such as Audava, Shadava, Sampoorna, Krama, Vakra, Varja, Melakarta and Bhashanga, and describes how a raaga can frequently represent a combination of these attributes.

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In this episode, we discuss two very familiar terms in Carnatic music: Arohanam refers to the ascending scale and avarohanam refers to the descending scale. Vidya shares some examples of raagas to discuss kinds of arohanam and avarohanam in terms of number of swarams and the impact of this on the phrases that are permitted. Finally, we discuss how the importance of the arohanam and avarohanam varies from one raaga to another as raagas continue to evolve over time.

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We conclude our introductory series on talams, with a discussion on two chapu talams: misra chapu talam and kanda chapu talam. Vidya illustrates these talams using snippets from concert recordings of master musicians Smt. Brinda and Smt. Mukta; and Smt. D. K. Pattammal.

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We continue our discussions of talas from the previous episode and name the seven basic talas in Carnatic music. Vidya highlights two very common talas: Rupaka tala and the Adi tala. She then explains the angas that make up these talas, and illustrates these with snippets from concert recordings of master musicians Sri G. N. Balasubramaniam and Smt. M. S. Subbulakshmi.

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In this episode, we introduce the fundamentals of rhythm. Vidya explains how rhythm manifests itself in Carnatic music and discusses terms such as laya, kala, and tala. We finish this episode by defining the basic constituents of tala, called “angas”.

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