words of wisdom

I dont think many of us learning or listening to Karnatic music have ever heard or witnessed something called Grahabedam. For me I really didnt have any clue about this area of Karnatic music nor I have never heard of Grahabedam before. But thanks to the Jaya Tv Margali Utsavam I got to know this concept and quite intrigued by it.

Grahabedam is really advanced and quite abstract concept in Karnatic music. We should be quite familiar and quite strong with the basic concepts in order to understand it. But if you are thinking of performing it to an audience you should be an expert in the other aspects before even thinking of this concept. Its quite complicated and takes large amounts of practice, talent and skill.

So usually we set a Sruthi and base our Sa or first note on that Sruthi and play an instrument or sing. But what Grahabedam is about is that we keep on changing the Sruthi or the base note of the Tampura or Sruthi petti, but keep our voice or the instrument’s sruthi constant. For example we may sing at 3 kattai Sruthi and the Tampura is set at 3 Kattai as well. If you want to experiment the concept of Grahabedam we keep on singing at 3 Kattai but change the Tampura either low or high. Therefore becuase of the change in position of the notes automatically by the Sruthi you will sing a different raaga without doing any change to your voice. Graham means placement, pedam means change. Grahabedam means change in placement. Grahabedam can be done for Janaha as well as Janya Raagas. Heres is an example I found on the web: Grahabedam

So this concept was demonstrated for the very first time on the Margali Maha Utsavam by the Violin duo Ganesh and Kumaresh. And I think it was a success. They explained the concepts very simply and used Kalyani my favourite raaga to demonstrate it. Their skill on the violin and the smoothness in their playing is spellbounding. I liked their ease and comfort in playing the instrument and the pleasant presentation they provided to the audience. Hats off to them. Here is how they used it:

1. Initially they started off with Kalyani.

2. Then the Grahabedam to R2 we get Harikambhoji- They played a piece on Sahana whihc is a Janya of Harikambhoji.

3. Grahabedam to G2 we get Nada Bhairavi- Then played a piece on Saaramathi (Janya of Nada Bhairavi)

4. Grahabedam to M2- This one is a bit complicated. Becuase when M2 becomes the base Pa becomes Rishabam. But Pa is a achala svaram where you cannot do any gamakam. Therefore they used M1 and M2 ignoring Pa and get the svaras of Hindolam.

5. Grahabedam to Pa results in Sankarabharanam. and They played Aarabi (Janya of 29)

6. Grahabedam to D2 resulting in Karaharapriya- Played a piece in Madyamavathi.

7. Finally Grahabedam to N2 resulting in Thodi and they played its Janya Thesiya Thodi.

This was a whole new experience for me. Eventhough its a very complicated concept it was really interesting to hear something totally new and experimental and being performed for the first time. We should also note that performing this concept using voice is quite complicated as many of us do not possess the range of voice needed to clearly show thsi concept. So it is best done using an instrument where we do not need to worry about range.

It is the month of December, which is called the month of Margali in Thamil. Its cold out side, we are less active physically, everybody is just about going to work and getting back into the house to keep away from the cold atmosphere. What better can you do in this season? I think keeping this on mind the Mahans (The great musicians) allocated the month of December to be celebrated as the festival of Karnatic Music. Which is called as the Margali Maha Utasavam. Therefore all the Sabas (Concert Halls) in the city of Chennai, India have various performances of great Karnatic musicians all through December. Well I am in Toronto not blessed enough to witness such great performances and get drowned in the sea of music. But I am lucky enough to have Jaya TV at my home which gives me atleast one hour of solid festival music to enthrall my ears and mind.

Maybe I dont get to listen to great Karnatic musicians in Canada as I used to when I was in Sri Lanka where we used to live close to various concert halls and also have much cheaper ticket prices, therefore we used to go to every single katcheri (concert) possible. And also the local artists in Canada really make me angry becuase they have limited talent but way big ego and think they are best but they dont even come closer to the artists from India. So this made me hate Karnatic music or in other words made me show less interest in it. But after starting to watch the Margali Utsavam, I am back into action! Karnatic Music rocks!

I figured out that raagam Kalyani, Kanada, Naatakurinji and Desh make me knock the doors of heaven. Especially Raagam, Thaanam, Pallavi, Niraval in Kalyani is the best.

I was listening to the sisters Ranjani and Gayatri singing Kalyani the other day man what a great sensation. It took me places Ive never been to. And listenign to them sing made me incredibly happy. I should say beyond happiness an average human being can ever experience. Its more like devotion, love , karuna and also peace (shantham) all in the same time. This concert was last Thursday and I am still singing Kalyani in me head all day. Secondly their Virutham. Which means a song that doesnt come under the limit of a thalam or beat. It was based on Kanada. Oh man it was terrific. The way they each rendered the song and also brought the raag rasa in two different perspectives was simply mind blowing. It reminded me of the song Alaipayuthey. Which also had that Love and devotion towards lord Krishna. They ended their concert with a Tarana type song with alot of energy in an Hindustani raaga. It made the concert wholesome. I am their newest fans! They are incredibly talented. Especially Gayatri. I really like her unique, Hindustan flavoured voice.

Then secondly I should mention Bombay Jayashree. Man what a voice, so unique and crystal clear. Its a totally different sensation. She sang Akhilandeswari in raagam Dvijvanthi, it was honey in my ears! The way she sang it brought goddess Parvathi in front of my eyes and filled my mind with Bhakthi ( love towards god) automatically. The fact about raagas and how they bring different rasas to ones mind can only be felt if its sung properly by great artists with great passion. Otherwise all the talk and theory about rasas and difference between ragas dont make any sense!

Raagas are magical. Each one with its own charm. Some that take you to heaven while some that make you cry. Some that make you go angry and some that give internal peace. There are some events associated with ragas. For instance, theres a story that when the raagam Amruthavarshini was sung it brought rain. Well to be really honest, maybe its coincidential oneday when ym violin teacher played alapana in this raaga it actually drizzled! Magical! I shoudl say.

Well I think anybody who hasnt witnessed the wonders of karnatic music and the different flavous of raagas should gte a chance to witness them. Musicindiaonline.com has many karnatic pieces both in instrumental and in vocal forms. Try it! Its a feast. A variety! A carnival of emotions!. Upcomming concerts are by Nithyasree, O S Arun, and also the viloin duo Ganesh Kumeresh which I cant afford to miss! Go listen and let me knwo your comments guys.