Play of emotion

September 22, 2016 05:33 pm | Updated November 01, 2016 08:13 pm IST

Researcher-musician Arimalam Padmanabhan talks about the appeal of drama songs.

Dr Arimalam Padmanabhan.

Dr Arimalam Padmanabhan.

Koothu or folk theatre has a long and rich history in Tamil Nadu. Like traditional theatre elsewhere in India, it is sacred, ritualistic and part of temple festivities in villages, presenting stories drawn from epics. The koothu traditions are replete with music, a unique repertoire and style of presentation.

“Temple festivals include at least two koothus – it is inauspicious to have only one,” says Arimalam Padmanabhan, whose presentation on drama music won him the best lec-dem award at The Music Academy, last December. He shares his bitterness at this musical tradition not being given its due.

“Real music is here, in drama music. Carnatic music is all tied up in raga and tala.”

Musician, musicologist and composer Dr. Arimalam Padmanabhan was born into a family of Carnatic musicians in Arimalam, Chettinad.

“As a boy I have heard many Carnatic stalwarts. Chettinad celebrated every little event with music concerts — even a child’s ear piercing ceremony would occasion an MLV concert. I have also listened to a lot of nagaswaram and attended koothu at our village Mariamman koil.

“Noted playwright Indira Parthasarathy suggested that I research the music and work of Sankaradas Swamigal and that led me down the path of drama music.

“If one has heard of S.G. Kittappa whose singing dazzled everyone, including leading Carnatic musicians of the day, the man behind him was his guru, Sankaradas Swamigal, a person who revolutionised traditional koothu, a musician and an erudite composer. Sankaradas Swamigal came under the tutelage of Manpoondiya Pillai who, seeing his talent in chanda, encouraged him to compose.

“Koothu before Swamigal was a haphazard affair. The actors would come in, render any dialogue, sing any song at that point and the story would be communicated, mostly on the strength of it being well known. Swamigal brought in the discipline of a script and packed it with songs — as many as 70 to 80 in each play — songs with high literary content. He had composed many of them. They were in different forms including folk, kriti, kirtana and kavidi, even ghazal, Western and Hindustani tunes. He used variety to evoke a spectrum of emotions.

“Such was the impact of his plays and their songs that every villager could identify the major ragas of Carnatic music. Though these plays are still performed, apart from some core ones, the songs are mostly from films.

“The rendition of songs in drama is different. Take the composition of Gopalakrishna Bharati – ‘Vazhi Maraithirukkudhe Malaipolae Oru Maadu Paduthirukudhe.’ The actor would sing ‘Vazhi Maraithirukudhe Malai Polae’ a few impassioned times and then sing ‘oru maadu’, showing his despair with the very utterance of that word. This is how the feeling of that song is brought out, and not by tying it up in tala avartanas. Carnatic musicians have not paid much regard to drama music.”

Arimalam Padmanabhan’s passion and musicianship are remarkable. But, one wonders how Carnatic musicians would address his complaint. The artistic intent of the two is, after all, different.

Certainly, drama music has had an impact on Carnatic music. Drama singers such as K.B. Sundarambal and Carnatic musicians of the first half of 20th century bear a striking stylistic similarity. High pitched renditions with brigha-s, modulations of the voice, and other dramatic flourishes are seen in Carnatic vocalists of that time continuing to the present. Virutham singing is clearly a legacy of Harikatha and drama music.

The repertoire of Tamil drama music might well be apt for the ‘tukkada’ section but it has not found takers among Carnatic musicians. Marathi Natyageet, songs from Marathi musical plays from about the same time, are still sung — even by Hindustani classical musicians. It would be interesting to explore why a similar situation did not occur in the case of Tamil nataka isai. The issue is complex, not to be summed up in any alleged superior attitude of the Carnatic musician.

That may well be true but it is likely that there are other dimensions.

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