R.K. Shriram Kumar for most of us is a renowned violinist, sought after by most of the top-notch vocalists in the Carnatic music circuit. But when Shriram Kumar doubles as a vocalist it’s more than a surprise – he not only is competent, but sings with meaning. This was a recent discovery at the lecdem on Manodharma Sangeeta organized by Sri Rama Lalita Kala Mandira.
Carnatic music — Shriram Kumar said — is a perfect balance of kalpita and manodharma sangita, each feeding of the other. “We have a wealth of compositions that enrich our manodharma. Why were so many compositions created by the great vaggeyakaras? It was done with the prime purpose of giving life to illustrate and showcase the movement of the raga. Raga and laya are the lifelines of our music. Laya is an inherent part of everything,” he said, setting the stage for his lecture.
Illustrating with the example of raga Shankarabharana, Shriram Kumar listed its physical features – it is the 29th Melakarta raga, arohana, avarohana, vadi, samvadi, chaturashrita rishabha, so on and so forth. But are physical features the embodiment of a raga? Then what is manodharma sangita’s concern? The composition not only presents the raga’s constituents but also showcases the essence or where the ‘life’ of each raga lies. Manodharma begins here.
Both Shankarabharana and Kalyani share the same gandhara , but does that mean they are sung in the same way? “No book on music can tell you this…,” he emphatically said, implying the importance of a guru as well as listening. While the former uses gandhara straight, the latter comes with an oscillation or a gamaka. “If there are hundreds of compositions, each of them paints a different picture of the raga.” Scale of the raga is only a reference; a musician should be guided by the abstract of the raga.
Shriram Kumar took up the cases of Begade, Devagandhari, and Kanada ragas which, though allied in nature, conjure up dramatically different facets. “It is unfair to suffocate ragas into structures of notes. Tyagaraja himself gives you such a different picture of Begade in each of the many compositions he has composed. A serious musician must recognize the uniqueness in each of them. For instance, in “Nadopasana”, the phrases Tyagaraja deploys are so unique that you can build a beautiful raga inspired by it.” So is the case with Devagandhari. Look at the kritis “Ksheerasagara shayana”, “Kshitija Ramanam”, “Na Morala”, and “Koluvaiyunnade”… each of them are composed in different speeds, and Devagandhari can sound beautiful in all of them. However, a raga like Aarabhi comes to life only in madhyamakala. The examples for which are “Chalakalla”, “Saadhinchane”, “Narasimha Mamava” and “Sri Saraswati Namostute”.
The two great traditions of Tyagaraja and Dikshitar come with their own similarities and differences. There are several ragas that are only used by Dikshitar’s school and not Tyagaraja’s. Shriram Kumar made very pointed observations about how over a period of time, perhaps in a bid to make things popular, we have lost several authentic usages of raga. Hindola, he said, cannot use the ‘ma da ni sa’ phrase; the chitteswara in the great kriti “Neerajakshi Kamakshi” is a perfect illustration of how Hindola should be sung. “Manodharma has to be developed within the framework of tradition itself, and that allows a huge playing field,” he explained.
Shriram Kumar sang throughout his presentation to illustrate the points he was making and was sensitively accompanied by B.R. Shrinivas on mridanga and Charulata Ramanujam on the violin. Presenting the neraval, he said lyric and music should never be separate components. “It is imperative that the violinist and percussionist must understand the vocalist’s sentiments, else it will end in a disaster.”
The presentation ended in the traditional way with the rendition of the ‘mangalam’, but as Shriram Kumar himself said, there was a lot more left to say.
