MANODHARMA SANGEETA
Before we attempt an
account of Gamakas,
it is better to place Indian music as an essentially Manodharma Sangeeta (or,
"individual-imagination (intuition) -driven-music" in its
perspective.
Indian, and in
particular, Carnatic, classical music is most often performed by single
individuals (with accompanists, as in the case of a typical concert). This contrasts
with Western music in which mostly, groups of people sing, or an orchestra
with segments of instrumentalists, performs in harmony according to given detailed
notations for the music, melodic ornamentations
as such not usually having a dominant
role which is taken over by the concept of harmony which has historically been the subject of development
by great classical composers of the West.
Indian classical music has been developed more in accordance with the
cultural discipline which emphasizes the identification of one's individual
self with the cosmic supreme. However,
the practice of singing in choirs with traces of harmony has been in vogue
since time immemorial - in the South, for example, even as early as during the Cilappadhikaram
days. Sadly, this tradition has largely fallen
into disuse, confined nowadays as it is mostly to Devaaram singing in some temple
processions by trained Odhuvars
of Tamizh Naadu and group Bhajan singing.
In Manodharma Sangeeta, the
hallmark of Indian classical music, the items
are rendered by the individual with an effort to give expression to his
or her own creative ideas, 'ex tempore', that is, distinctly and spontaneously for
the occasion and time of presenting the item. The individual singer (or the
instrumentalist when playing solo) is expected to display his (or her) creative
ideas according to well-established rules. This he should do while reverently
adhering to the composer (vaag-geya-kaara)'s original intentions in prescribing melodic patterns to suit the Bhaavas (emotion, feeling) he seeks to express
through words and Raaga-music.
(More on Bhaavas below.)
GAMAKA
AS AN ESSENTIAL ASPECT OF INDIAN MUSIC.
Gamakas are one of the
primary/essential aspects of Manodharma Sangeeta which has 22 microtones or "shrutis".
(Microtones are of course used in Western classical music, although
relatively sparingly, due to the difficulties of incorporating them along with harmonic chords but they are used much more frequently
in non-classical music especially in electronic music). The shakes and quavers used in Western music
do not have the rigorous rules of the Indian classical system which is based on
the Raaga (or colour/ emotional quality)
concept. This is a unique aspect of Indian
classical music, especially, Carnatic music.
Every Raaga has to be
necessarily rendered with the appropriate Gamakas for the Svaras, since Svara is not a discrete note, but
a scale degree and all its associated melodic movement, or Gamaka. There are different types
of Gamaka
which are available for use and each Svara of Raaga may be employed
by a musician according to well-defined rules and with flexibility and elaboration
limited only by the musician's creative imagination.
The other primary
features of Manodharman Sangeeta may not
be discussed in
detail in this brief article on Gamakas. Suffice it to say they are, primarily : Bhaava and
Raaga, and, for
compositions like
Sangatis and Kaala, and
other specialized techniques of sophistication.
The Bhaava aspect, as
noted earlier, is
applicable sentiments contained in the
words (saahitya)
of a lyric. There are also specially
suitable Bhaavas
for which particular Raaga can be used with effect for a song, with or
without time measure - pathos by use of Raaga Sahana, rejoice using Vasanta, poignancy usingr Kaanada, anger/heroism using Athaana,
for instance. Bhaavas
are expressions of
love/devotion (and suppliance) to the
deity if a deity is focussed, humility, compassion, and other feelings/emotions. Most often the Bhaavas
in lyrics are broadly formatted by the composer himself who indicates appropriate
choices of raaga sanchaaras (or
musical phrases) for the lyrics in desired contexts in order to emphasize them (the Bhaavas)
and the performer may build up on the format
using his innovative imagination even as he conforms to the tradition
imbibed from his Guru/s.
All the aspects are
duly taken care of by an adequately knowledgeable and creative performer (and
further, for a vocal singer, gifted with a melodious voice) who is well-trained
and skilled. The music thus becomes a memorable
spirit-impacting experience which is
mutually rewarding to both the audience and the performer, in terms of
the enduring peace, tranquillity, strength and joy which are obtained. A performer cannot hope to entertain and please
the audience unless in the first place, he himself enjoys as he performs. It is
very evident that although Bhaava, Raaga and Gamaka concepts are
discussed in separate terms for analytical understanding of Indian classical
music, they are truly interwoven such that each cannot be separated from the
others, given the idiom of the Manodharma-sangeeta.
GAMAKA
DESCRIPTION.
In the words of Ravi Shankar, the world-famous sitar
player who contributed greatly to popularising Indian classical music in India
and abroad, writing in his "My Music - My Life", "the gamakas ,
or grace notes--the many different ways of sounding, embellishing, and
resolving notes--are the subtle shadings of a tone, delicate nuances and inflections
around a note that please and inspire the listener. . . . The ornaments are not
arbitrarily attached to a melody; rather, they seem to grow out of it."
Gamakas greatly help to
bring out the Bhaava(s) of a Raaga.
Each Raaga in its comprehensive definition, or 'Lakshana' in Sanskrit, is associated with rules for the use
of Gamakas for its notes, and not all of the notes in
a Raaga may be sung with Gamakas. (An example illustrates this point: The Bahudaari raaga has the ascending notes - Aarohana
sgmpdns , and Descent - Avarohana
: snpmgs. The svaras ga and dha
are not rendered with gamakas,
although ga may find a subtle place in a gamaka for 'ma' as ma
= gpg, and dha in
only in Arohana,
as in ni = dsd . Also these gamakas
are not appropriate for the descent, and this differential gamaka
availability produces a beauty that can only be experienced by actual
listening!)
GAMAKA
TYPES.
With the above borne
in mind, it is useful to note briefly about the types of Gamakas.
The specific types of Gamakas depend on the manner of
quivering or shaking, inter-svara transitory phrases
and svara overtones. They come in various forms and
are incorporated into Raagas, giving each note a unique characteristic and a
delicate beauty when performed.
Incidentally, a
keyboard type of instrument cannot produce these life-giving Gamakas for the svaras and
musical phrases and hence for Raaga-music - except to
a small degree of approximation, that too only at the hands of a very dexterous performer. Hence, it is that a harmonium or piano is not
a good, let alone ideal, instrument for playing Indian classical/ Carnatic
music. The harmonium, which is still widely used in
In the srgm notation of compositions, Gamakas
may be indicated by use of marks for the type of Gamaka,
at the appropriate places but listening to them and innovating wherever
admissible is considered more advisable than the composer or Guru writing down
all Gamakas, only the very essential ones being shown
in the notation, and the others being left to the creative ability of the
performer, rather like the Kalpanasvaras that are to
be left to his or her imagination, ex tempore. Attempts to accurately represent
the Gamakas in Carnatic music compositions have not
yielded satisfactory results, because of the elusive and extremely subtle
character that would only be properly left to practice under the guidance of
the master musicians.
The Carnatic oral
tradition has established ten Gamaka types through a
process of acceptance and evolution by thoughtful Gurus of musical theory and practice . On the other hand, the classic treatise on
Indian music, "Sangeeta Ratnaakara"
defines some
more, in all, fifteen variants of Gamakas (including one mixed, or Mishrita, type
imaginatively combining two or
more of the others).
The Carnatic gamakas in vogue, which differ basically in the manner of
their quiver/shake, to produce musical effects each with a distinct, subtle beauty
are named below, with their classes in which they are grouped. The classification is as per the renowned
flautist, T. Viswanathan late professor of music at
the Wesleyan University (U.S.) and an inheritor of the music traditions of both
the great Veena Dhanammal
and the legendary Bharatanatyam T. Balasaraswati, his sister - who distilled this classification
based on traditions and his own knowledge:
Gamaka class Type
A. ULLASITA/JAARU (Slides) Irakka-jaaru Descending slide.
Etra-jaaru Aascending
slide
B. GAMAKA* (Deflections) Nokku Stress
from above on successive, non-repeated tones
Odukkal Stress from below on successive
(non-repeated) tones
Kampita Oscillation
Orikai Momentary flick, at the end of
the main to a higher tone
C. JANTA
(Stresses) Ravai Turn from
above.
Sphurita Stress from below on repeated tones
Pratyaahata Stress from above on repeated tones
Khandippu Sharp dynamic accent
*Not to be confused
with the use of the generic Gamakas which we are
discussing.
ILLUSTRATION OF
GAMAKAS
Raaga NATAKURINJI and Raaga
MUKHARI with reference to stanzas in Swati Tirunaal's Raagamaalikaa Kriti "Bhaavayaami" Pallavi in Saaveri.
1. The Raaga Natakurinji is a derivative (Janya)
of a basic Melakarta, ARIKAMBHOJI. It has for its:
AAROHANA(ascent): srgmndnpdns and
AVAROHANA(descent): sndmgs/ sndmgmpgrs.
There are some other
slightly different variations of representing the ascent and descent of this Raaga, but the underlying method of all
representations is to indicate in the srgm notation and
bring out the possible permutations and combinations for producing sancharas of this Raaga whose main
emotions are Shringaara (love) or other elegant
emotions.
Before trying to
master Gamakas in any Raaga,
whether in an Aalaapanaa or a composition, it is
essential for a classical music practitioner / student to a have a thorough grasp of the sanchaaras of a Raaga and the
characteristics of the Raaga as regards the Jeeva svaras and sanchaaras, Kampita svaras ( that is, only those svaras that admit of the possibility application of
'shaking' as distinct from those that should always be sung flat without
bending or shaking ), Nyaasa svaras
(that is, those at which a phrase or line in a composition can pause for additional beauty to the
presentation). This grasp CANNOT BE
REALLY OBTAINED THROUGH
ANY AMOUNT OF STUDY OF SPECIAL LESSONS AND BOOKS, BUT will come
normally through listening to music -vocal and instrumental - rendered by
: ......
( a) MASTERS OF OLDEN DAYS - examples, Semmangudi
Srinivasa Iyer, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Ayyangar, Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, Madurai Mani Iyer,
MS Subbulakshmi,
GN Balasubrahmanyan, Dwaram
Venkataswami Garu, Mysore Chowdiah
, Musiri Subramania Iyer, Balamurali Krishna, ML Vasanthakumari, Veenai Sambasiva Iyer, DK Jayaraman, DK Pattammal - some of them in our midst today whose recordings including full
length recitals are available in the market and from music
collectors/connoisseurs; and
TOPRANKING MUSICIANS
OF PRESENT DAY for example, Sanjay Suahbrahmanyan, Sudha Raghunathan, TV Gopalakrishnan, Nithyasree, TM
Krishna, Mandolin Srinivas, Vijay Shiva, Sowmya, Ganesh-Kumaresh. (Their
full list is
long and growing).
Now, back from the
above IMPORTANT aside, we turn to Naata-kurinji, the
theme we were discussing:
The sanchaaras with Kampita Gamakas (marked by )
may be illustrated thus:
On the lower octave:
SSdN*S;;; sr*sddnsR*R*gM;;; sdn*sR*GM;;;;
Middle octave: srgM* gmgsr*gM* GpmgS mgmgS gmNddNPDN*S;;;;;; S(l)S(u)ndN*S;;;
Higher octave: S;;; SR*S;; n*sr*gmgS;;;; SmgsS;;
n*sr*gmpmgS;; etc.
Descent
:
SR*S; dn*srsnd mgmndnS,,,, mgmgS; rgM*gs sR*sndndm,,, N,d S, SR*;;;;S
(S(l)
= S-lower, S(u) = S-upper
The reader would do well
to listen, in this context, to the Kriti "Bhaavayaami Raghuraamam" sung by MS Subbulakshmi
(you may go to musicindiaonline for listening online)
- in its stanza beginning with "Dinakara-(a)nvaya-tilakam"
(that is I Charanam). This stanza desccribes the valorous acts of Sri Rama
in killing Subahu and subjugating Parasurama,
besides the chivalrous act of liberating Ahalyaa from
her cursed existence as a stone.
The Naatakurinji raaga
is apt in this context, what with its brilliiantly
executed musical phrases with graceful gamakas
(some of them found above) being used with the svaras
and lyrics to express an admiring astonishment at Sri Rama's warrior qualities of chivalry and valour. The
kampita used for Ma, Irakka
Jaaru for R, and Odukkai
for N, are particularly impressive. The gamakas of the
various types are woven with simple Mdhyama to second and third durita
Kaala pramaanas (fast tempo
rhythms) - at once in keepng with the Laya (here, Roopaka Taala measures) and
the Raaga requirements, without violating the lyrical
import - that is, with low or high frequency svaras
to go along with subdued or deepened sentiments, respectively. 'Effortless and inspired intuition' (or anaayaasa
kalpanaa), will be at work to realize such a lyric-Raaga-Bhaava-Gamaka-laya coalition.
2. The Raaga Mukhari is a derivative of
the 22nd Melakartaa Raaga, Kharaharapriyaa and has:
ASCENT: srmpdnds
DESCENT: sndpmgrs
{Note:In the
phrases nds, pds, pdnds, Chjatus-shruti Dhaivata shoul be used and
in mpdp, dpdp, mndp, sndp shuddha
Dha must be used.
Although, as a Kharaharapriya
janya, Naatakurinji has a prominent Chatus-shruti
dhaivata, which occurs freqsuently
in its sanchaaras (see below), the shuddha-dhaivata (shown in the Descent svaras
above which is the same as for Natabhairavi) occurs
not as a prominent note, with its usage relatively restricted to sanchaaras involving pdp and ndp (see below). It is pertinent to note here that the Raaga Bhairavi - a Janya of Natabhairavi - has both
the Dhaivatas
as well as the other notes as Mukhari, but Bhairavi gives much more prominence to the
Shuddha Dhaivata than its
other Dha. Upon
reflection, this fact helps to understand the predominant emotional quality of Bhairavi
is devotion and suppliance, whereas that of
Mukhaari is pathos or else
compassion.}
Sanchaaras of Mukhari (Brief Illustration) :
MADHYAMA & LOWER
OCTAVES: S,,,,,nnnDS;;; RRgS; ddS; R*MP
;mN*dP;; Pm*pdP,mgR; rgrgrgS rmPP pD,p mpdpmgR; rmN*N*D DrsndP;; rmpdndS;;
UPPER OCTAVE: S;;;;
ndsR;; R;;;;;
SRSRmgR; ( R ;Rmmgrsrgrgrs
srNDSS;; dsRR;;) rMgr; R;;rPmgR;; srmgrsS;sR ,sND DESCENT TO
MADHYAMA : dsrsndP;;
(rmpRsnDP;) rmPPPndP;; mp mpdp mgR;; rpmpmgR;; rgsrgrMgrS R;,pmpmgR;;
RRgS rGssnDM,pdndDDS;;;
{Note: In the above
applications (Prayogas), ndp
goes with shuddha dhaivata
as in the Aaroha, nds s has
chatus-shruti dhaivata, as
in Avarohana. ndp or pndp or pnds can be
used with a quaver in
n as sn}.
Listening to the
stanza commencing with
"Kanaka-mruga-roopa-dhaaraka-" of the illustrative Kriti, we find a profuse use of Gamakas,
almost all the Gamaka types being deployed in order
to bring out the Raaga
in its full colour with shades, to
produce the effects of poignancy
coupld with wonder at the
chivalrous Raama alleviating it. The Gamakas are carefully chosen without impairing the basic emotion of pathos and at the same time carefully
adhering to e Taala measure and
packing a single Svara with its Gamaka
tones - s(U)p instead of P, Rpmgr instead ogf Rmgr , for example, - in order
to avoid monotony of repetition while at the same time bringing out the nuancves
of the Raaga .
These and the other stanzas forming the whole of the composition of Svati Tirunaal are, it is easy to see, are greatly
embellished in rendering, by the wel-spun Gamakas both in the imaginatively repeated lines and in the
Chittasvara, in such a manner as to fully bring out
the emotions (Bhaavas) pregnant in thenumerous Raaga-lyric combinations. The overall effect of the
individual-intuition based music has an inexplicable, enduring quality in terms
of the tranquillising effect on both the appreciative audience and the committed
performer him(her)self.
It is extremely
important for one, right from younger years if possible, to make a regular habit of attending wholesome entertainment, such as in
Music Festivals, Temple and "Sabha"
recitals especially in India, and abroad
: the US, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada,
wherever the listener is located. Augmented by help through discussions
with musicians and musicologists, talented friends, and attending music lecdems (lecture- demonstrations),
and help from the WWW and guidebooks/notation books, healthy habits of spare time use in "Cutcheries"
and events like contests, an aspiring
student can learn music rich with Gamaka-laden ,
pleasing classical music. If music is
NOT a main line of pursuit, it will be highly rewarding to be a knowledgeable and
appreciative listener and patron of our musicians who are among the TRUE
representatives of our cultural heritage.
The main occupations
will only become more productive for such listeners, since they will develop
high levels of concentration and mental endurance and concentration which, as
the practically wise know,
can be used in the main occupations
for their self-advancement! Indeed,
there is no better and more cost-effective ways than music, to develop these
potential abilities of a person than CLASSICAL music. A couple of years of
regular learning from a well-trained music teacher and habit of
attending (full) concerts as well as spare-time listening to good music
with hi-fi systems as a hobby of one
hour in a 24-hour day is well recommended for such aspirants. (Light and film
music especially of the present genre is rarely good for the spirit or the
intellect, as it is churned out in the belief that such music with vulgar
lyrics are unavoidable
in order to pull large masses to the box office, and in the absence
of the above wholesome habits and
hobbies, the resultant vacuum will be swiftly filled by harmful ones.)