Musical gems

The class gets familiarised with the kritis of Saint Tyagaraja.

Paying tribute: At his samadhi. Photo: B. Velankanni Raj

After settling down, Shyamala Miss continued with the story of Saint Tyagaraja...

“List the group kritis composed by the saint?” asked Miss.

“

Sriranga Pancharatnam …

Kovur Pancharatnam …” started Laya.

“My mother sings the

Ghana Raga Pancharatnam ,” said Rasa.

“What is that?” said Mukund.

Something special

“ Ghana Raga Pancharatnam is a special set of five kritis set in the ragams — Naattai , Gowlai , Arabhi , Varaali and Shree . They are special because the structure of the compositions is slightly different than the regular kriti format. They do have the pallavi , anupallavi and charanam structure, but there are multiple c haranams of varying lengths, and the uniqueness lies in the way it is rendered. All five of them have swarams and sahityams , which are sung in succession. Hence, this rare combination holds a special place even now.”

“They are special because these five are performed annually. Scores of musicians congregate in Tiruvaiyaru to pay homage to the bard, on Pushya Bahula Panchami, the day he attained salvation,” explained Miss. “Other than these three, there is another set of five compositions, that he composed when he visited the temple in the Lalgudi, which is known as the Lalgudi Pancharatnam .”

“When Sri Tyagaraja, visited his disciple Veena Kuppaiyer, he composed the Tiruvottriyur Pancharatnam , as it was the family deity of his disciple.”

“So, it is five different sets of five gems each,” concluded Laya.

“Today, we have learnt extensively about Saint Tyagaraja’s different group kritis . In our next class, we will discuss two sets of compositions meant for specific occasions. Meanwhile, for our next discussion, I will give you a clue — you have already learnt one of the compositions which belong to this group...” said Shyamala Miss.

“We will find the answer and be ready with it in the next class,” replied Rasa as the bell rang.