When we listen to the Carnatic raga Reethi Gowla, what are the first impressions we get?
It is absolutely soothing on the ears, possessing infinite grace. It takes one on a journey - with gentle turns, gradual ups and downs; never does it feel like a rough and raucous roller-coaster ride. In fact, it reminds one of the river’s journey – happy, calm, sedate and ecstatic in turns.
There are several kritis composed in this divine raga . Swathi Thirunal’s composition “Paripalayamam” is a popular kriti in the raga Reethi Gowla. The essence of bhakthi is beautifully captured in the endless grace of the raga .
Similarly, the kriti “ Janani Ninnuvina” written by Subbaraya Shastry is set to this same raga and has a divinity associated with it, with its graceful movements and gentle gamakams that render it soulful. While the song pleads with the Goddess to have compassion on the devotee and bless him, Reethi Gowla does complete justice to the composition by steeping it in the ‘ karuna rasa’ . It leaves us drenched in a beautiful shower of empathy, benevolence and compassion.
A sense of contentment and peace flashes through our mind when we listen to kritis composed in this raga . Thyagaraja’s composition ‘Dvaitamu Sukhama’ is another classic example of a kriti set to Reethi Gowla. Here Sri Thyagaraja asks Lord Rama to clarify as to which is better – Dvaita or Advaita – duality or non-duality. Reethi Gowla enhances the beauty of the composition – with its slow but fluid movement, it is smooth and elegant, very soothing on the ears and extremely comforting. While Thyagaraja questions if duality is more comforting ( sukhama) than non-duality, it is easy to see that raga Reethi Gowla is definitely the most comforting!
With such alluring charm about it, it is no wonder then that this raga has been used in quite a few romantic duet songs in movies. One fine example is the song “Chinna Kannan Azhaikiraan” from the movie Kavikkuyil which was released in the year 1977. This was picturised on actors Sivakumar and Sridevi and the music director was none other than the music maestro Ilaiyaraja. The song was sung by renowned classical music singer Dr. M. Balamurali Krishna. It has an evergreen feel to it and even after four decades of its rendering, it retains its charm. The song’s lyrics were penned by Panchu Arunachalam who was mentored by his illustrious uncle and famous poet Kannadasan.
At the start of the song, Sridevi is shown drawing water from the well while humming a tune to herself. She suddenly hears the same tune being played on the flute by Sivakumar and rushes out of the house to the open ground to hear him. She is drawn and magically attracted by Sivakumar’s tune in the same way as Radha is drawn to Lord Krishna when he plays her favourite and secret tune in his flute. Raga Reethi Gowla does wonders to this song – it lends divinity and an ethereal grace. The gentle zig-zags in the ‘ pallavi ’ make it extremely melodious while the smooth ascent and rise to the peak in the ‘ charanams ’ followed by a gradual descent and a meandering flow adds a lovely rhythm to the song.
Another film song in Raga Reethi Gowla that is at once impressive, captures the heart and pleases the senses is the song “Kangal Irandal ” from the Tamil movie Subramnayapuram. The tune is supremely melodious and delicate in its twists and turns. Reethi Gowla captures the tenderness of love depicted in the song and heightens the moments of light-hearted passion. The raga brings alive the simplistic beauty of the mutual affection and love felt by the hero and heroine – playful at times, sharp and poignant at some moments; and heart-achingly defined in some others. The song composed by the young music director James Vasanthan became a super hit and catapulted him to instant success. In the movie, the song talks about how the heroine, played by newcomer actress Swathi, has captivated the hero Jai, with the simple beauty of her expressive eyes and her bewitching smile. The protagonists’ eagerness to meet, to talk, to be together, their bitter-sweet longing and their desire to be united in love is wonderfully captured in the song – the lyrics, the picturisation and the captivating raga have blended together into one mesmerising melody.
The same movie was remade in Kannada as Prem Adda . The song “Kalli Ivalu”, also set to raga Reethi Gowla is beautifully rendered by singers Sonu Nigam and Shreya Goshal and it gracefully captures the same expression of love and ardour felt by the hero and the heroine, their playful tenderness and their moments of passion and bliss.
Raga Reethi Gowla is an absolute treat to the senses and transports the listener to a world of nostalgia and happiness.
