Saturday 16 April 2016

An essay on Papanasam Sivan

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to listen to a lec-dem by Gayatri Girish and Dr Radha Bhaskar. The topic was Papanasam Sivan's compositions. It was an eye-opener and in two hours, we got a peek into Sivan's greatness. I jotted down a few points during the program. This is a breezy essay based on what I recall. Errors if any....are entirely mine!
 

Sivan- Tamil Tyagayya:

 
The Trinity occupy a pride of place in Karnatic Music. Their contribution is so immense, that every composer is classified as either belonging to the "pre-Trinity era" or the "post-Trinity era". Amongst the post Trinity composers, Papanasam Sivan reigns as one of the most prolific composers.
 
Fondly, he is called "Tamil Tyagayya". It's as if Tyagaraja was reborn to compose....this time in Tamil. We have about 500-odd compositions of Papanasam Sivan. Of these, about 50 are in Sanskrit and some in "mani-pravaalam" (combination of languages) and the rest, entirely in Tamil.
 
Papanasam Sivan modeled himself after Tyagaraja. Like Tyagaraja, most of the compositions are in "madhyama kaala" (middle-tempo in terms of speed). The kritis are brisk and energetic- a technique which Tyagaraja perfected to ensure that the listener's attention doesn't waver.
 
Like Tyagaraja, most of the kritis are personal in nature. It's as if his personal outpourings in a variety of moods, took the shape of these songs. The colloquial, conversational style of language also stands out in his compositions, much like Tyagaraja.
 
Sivan deviated from Tyagaraja on one point. In Tyagaraja's compositions, we often see a repetition in tune- the tune which he uses in the anu-pallavi is borrowed in the charanam. We don't see this in Sivan's compositions. Here, he seems to have followed Dikshitar, where every stanza has an entirely original score.
 
Sivan used the mudra "raama-daasan". But we find the mudra used sparingly- unlike Tyagaraja.
 
Tyagaraja's isha-devata was Lord Rama. Sivan's isha-devatas were Kapaaleeshvara and Karpagaambaal (Shiva-Parvati) at the Mylapore Temple in Chennai. Many of his compositions are addressed to these two deities.
 

Range of compositions:

 
Sivan's compositions range from "pada-varnas" to keertanas to thillanas. He has explored every genre. The program (by Gayatri Girish and Dr Radha) opened with the rendition of "shri vaataapi ganapatiye" in praise of Lord Ganesha in the raga Sahana.
Next, the pada-varnam in the raga Dhanyasi was presented. In pada-varnams, we find the nice crisscross of swara-sahitya for every line. This is unlike regular varnams, where we may not find sahitya for every line sung with swaras.
Sivan has composed similar pada-varnams in ragas like Sriranjani, Mayamalavagaula and Natakurunji to name a few.
 
In keertanas, we find songs with a single charanam  (ending-stanza) as well as with multiple charanams. If there are multiple charanams, we find examples where they have a single tune and others, where each stanza is individually developed.
 
The beautiful keertana "thiruparankundra vela" in the raga Hindolam was rendered as an example where the multiple charanas maintain the same tune.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM412sBxvpQ
 
A contrasting example was presented as the well known piece"ka va va" in the raga Varali. Here, the charanas are not repeated.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCCdH5kusH0
 
 

Variety of bhavas:

 
We see a gamut of emotion splattered over Sivan's many compositions. Some examples quoted were the following:
 
 
  •  thaai-sey bhava (mother-child relationship):  We see this in the famous Shanmukhapriya kriti "parvati naayakaney sharanam". Here, we have the line that a child may forget its mother due to indifference, but the mother can never commit that mistake. So too...should the Lord protect Sivan (and thereby us too!).  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHqNPqcSnLY
 
 
 
 
 
  • "Lord, may I always worship your feet": (paada-sevanam). An example is the kriti "tava charanau mama sharanam" in the raga Thodi. (Can't find an audio track).
 
  • nindaa-stuti: "Using sarcasm to take a dig at the Lord (and indirectly praise him)". Lord Shiva has Kubera, the deity of wealth at arms length! Still, he goes around begging for alms. "This duplicity....does it befit you, my Lord!?" questions Sivan. We see this in the composition set to the raga Surati called "pichchaikku vandeero". Interestingly, there is reference to Shiva as a "gudu gudu paandi"- the one who dresses up oddly and wildly!
 

Range of ragas:

 
Like the Trinity, most of Sivan's compositions are in the "rakti-ragas"- the time-tested ragas which give "instant relish". These are ragas like Thodi, Kalyani, Kambhoji, Shankarabharanam, Kharaharapriya, Bhairavi etc.
 
Sivan believed in delineating the raga's svaroopa in the first stroke in his songs; leaving no ambiguity at all. Sangatis (different nuances in which a particular phrase/line in sung) are built like a gopuram- from the simple to the most ornate...successively. An example is the kriti "kundram kudi konda velava" (raga Thodi). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgVqoJwuPYg In keeping with the lyrics, the sangatis are also stacked like a mountain (kundram) (adukku-adukka)!
 
One of Tygaraja's priya-ragas, is Kharaharapriya. Tyagaraja has composed around 20 kritis in this raga. So too, Sivan has composed around the same number- each time delving into a totally new facet of the raga. An example is "jaanaki pathey", exploring the raga in an altogether different way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Blq-y8gpWJM
 
Sivan's other well-known compositions in Kharaharapriya are "senthil andavan" and "srinivasa thava charanam" and "daya villaya".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZbW5ZQW8eQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_F0YFmImkg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-O-BppE3VQ
Interestingly, both Shyama Sastri and Dikshitar don't appear to have composed any song in this raga. It is odd. This raga is entirely Tyagu's bastion and after him, this Tamil Tyagayya's!
 
 
In the well known kriti "aadum deivam", he starts with an unusual opening for raga Kambhoji- "ni dha pa"...but quickly follows it up with "ma ga pa dha sa" leaving no doubt whatsoever. This kriti is also a lovely example where the words and the sangatis are so apt. We see the "oscillation, the dance of notes" in the way the phrase"aadum" is sung.....just the way Lord Shiva would dance...as the kriti describes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-JEKADz9N8
 
In the kriti "malarinai thunaye", raga Ritigaula is presented with no ambiguity from the start. There is no confusion with the related raga Anandabhairavi at all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWKNOlwEO7M
 

Foray into "lighter" ragas:

 
In addition to rakti ragas, unlike the Trinity, Papanasam Sivan has a number of compositions in the so called "lighter" ragas which are very popular.
 
In the raga Valaji, we have "paadamey thunai".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9XwHoo2N2s
 
In the raga Shivaranjani, we have "tarunam idhu" in praise of Lord Ganesha.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbgHU5IfEc8
 
In the raga Tilang, we have "shri ganesha charanam".
 
In the raga Bhimplas, we have "kannan madhura" 
In this kriti, Sivan identifies with a flute and how it has the fortune to stay pressed to Lord Krishna's lips!
 
How can we miss Sivan's most elegant kriti in the raga Behag?
 
Sivan had a particular fascination for the raga Hindolam. We will see in the next section how he has treated the raga in different ways.
 

Variety of themes:

 
While devotion is the bed-rock in Sivan's compositions, we find other ideas too.
 
During the atheistic movement in Tamil Nadu, Sivan composed "deivam illai endru sol vendaam" again in the raga Kharaharapriya.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dzq3LtWq8gg
The song says- "That God doesn't exist...may we never make that statement!"
 
Sivan has composed a kriti in Hari Kambhoji on the poet Subramanya Bharati "paamaalai".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-O-BppE3VQ
 
He has composed kritis on nature, on Tamil language and songs imbued with patriotic fervor.
 

Interesting aspects in Sivan's compositions:

 
The use of swarakshara- (the opening letter of a word and the swara in which it is sung...perfectly match)
  • sa-ma-ga-nalolaney sa-dashiva - Hindolam
 
  • parvati nayakaney sharanam.... - Shanmukhapriya
       saarvabhaumaney - (same song)
       nee marava....(same song)
 
 Madhyamakaala sangati: Swift, double phrasing as seen in Dikshitar's compositions. We see this in Sivan's Madhyamavati kriti "karpagamey". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcSSV-rihXQ

Hindolam in 3 speeds:

He has composed kritis in Hindolam in all 3 speeds. It is interesting to see how the gamakas are handled differently in each case.
Use of rhyme (praasa):


We see the usage of rhyme in many compositions. An example is the Bhairavi kriti "shri vishwanatham bhaje".
The lines end (antya-praasam) with rhyming words...."deeksham", "kataaksham"..."mahoksham" etc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0JM6JJD8ps
There are compositions where we see "diviteeya praasam". Here, the second letter rhymes in each line.


 Composition with no base "sa":


A raga is recognized in terms of the arrangement of other notes with respect to the base-note, the aadhaara, the shadja, the "sa". Sivan's "Devi neeye thunai" stands out as a composition where he has cleverly suppressed the lower "sa" and still brings out the flavor of Keeravani.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkNujASrFpM


 Tala:

An entire section in the program was devoted to enumerating the different talas used by Sivan in his compositions.

A musician apparently dismissed Tyagaraja's compositions as ordinary because he employed no complex talas. Tyagaraja composed "chede buddhi maanura" as a rebuttal of sorts. In this composition, he began the kriti before the "samam", creating a novel tala pattern. Sivan has used the same approach in one of his compositions.

 The conclusion:


A fleeting mention was made about "enathu manam", (my absolute favorite!) in the raga Hari Kambhoji https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfFNQOwSvHI
This kriti is in Tamil. It was used as an example to contrast it from other kritis which follow the "manipravala" format. In manipravala compositions, Sanskrit and Tamil are intertwined. It looks as if the kriti is in Sanskrit, till we find the usage of usage of Tamil also. 

Breaking the norm, Sivan composed a mangalam in praise of Lord Ganesha. Normally, we begin anything with an invocation to Ganesha. That the end and the beginning are the same....or perhaps to convey that there is no beginning and no end...as in a circle, Sivan employs this technique.

The concluding remarks were wonderful. Ragas are like uncharted territory. It is only through the compositions of these masters that we can hope to give them a swaroopa, an unmistakable structure. Hence, the importance of looking into these compositions with a keen eye. Though manodharma sangeetam is an important part of Karnatic music, where the artist explores a fresh facet of the raga each time, these keertanas have to serve as the guide, as the flag-post. Each raga is a journey into a mirage.....We feel we have arrested it completely, till we find there's something more...and more! It is an endless journey....and an enjoyable one!
And finally, no artist is bigger than the art. In our own small way....we take the cup of our hand....to gather a few droplets...a little trickle....from the ocean of music!






 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 








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