Myth of Patantharam & tradition exploded [a portion from my forthcoming book for your comments]: Star performers have done sterling service over the last century by spinning out alluring sangatis to various kritis.. Contributions by these star performers can be listed when we take up the history of development of music. As your learning of this art progresses, you will find that even the compositions of such great composers like Thiagaraja swamigal (a term used to denote the reverence to sage), are rendered differently by different artistes. The reason attributed for this is “Patantharam,” traditional way of learning but what it actually is difference in internalization.” We are told that Thiagaraja swamigal had many disciples. Though all of them were taught by him personally, the way they internalized these compositions were different, depending on their merit and scholarship or say capacity. As these compositions were not reduced to notation, changes not only in Sangatis, but also in contents of kritis in large scale took place. Even the original ragas in which these were composed were also changed. I here below give you a list of such changes. I quote here an article by Sri BVK Sastry, a noted musicologist and art critic. “During the later 1940s, a Bangalore daily published a controversy about the raga Tarangini. What sparked off this controversy was the statement of a veteran Vdiwan who presided over a music conference held earlier in the city. The Lakshana of Tarangini was one of the subjects of discussion in the conference. Perhaps many people are not aware that there is a disparity between the Lakshana of this raga as defined in the theoretical works on music and its current version as exemplified by the well known kriti “Maaye tvam Yaahi” of Muthuswamy Dikshitar. The Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini (a very informative book written by Brahmashri Subbarama Dikshitar) places Tarangini as the 26th Mela corresponding to Charukesi in the Mela scheme (you will learn these mela karta ragas in the following pages) as enunciated in Sangaraha Choodamani (another important work by Govinda Charya) and which is in vogue at present. Sampradaya pradarshini has also published the kriti “Maye” in notation in accordance with its definition of Tarangini. But in its, current version, Tarangini sounds, as a derivative of Harikambhoji as seen in the above kriti. When and how this deviation occurred is not clear. The late Vina Shermadevi Subramanya Sastry attributed this change in Tarangini and some other ragas to the Nagaswaram players (Nagaswaram is a piped instrument of Tamizh Nadu) who (according to him) due to some technical difficulties gradually drifted into other notes. Anyway unable to reconcile these two versions, the Vidwan wriggled out of the dilemma by declaring that the Kriti was composed in Sudha Tarangini which is a derivative of Harikambhoji. This statement was disputed and a controversy raged which generated more heat than light. The predicament of the Vidwan is understandable because he was well versed both in Samgita and Samskrita. The latter enabled him to study the treatises and realize this anomaly about the raga Tarangini. But if the kriti, printed in notation in a book published barely 70 years ago should change its model form in this interval it is no wonder that many compositions of yore that were aurally transmitted have suffered this fate and transmitted in course of time. We come across numerous instances in the kritis of Tyagaraja at variance with the ragas assigned to them in the books published at the turn of the century.” (Now Sri Sastry reels off certain examples which are worth noting: Author) “The Kriti “Samgita Jnanamu” may be recalled in this context. How its present version has deviated from the older one may be verified from the “Tyagaraja Hridayamu” of K.V. Srinivasa Iyengar. Similarly we find that the kriti “Ne Pogada kunte” which was originally set in Desya Todi is being rendered in Subha Pantuvarali now. In some case the structure of the Kriti is altered, while the raga itself has been altered in some other cases. And all these changes seem to have occurred in the shadow of tradition. The deviation may be attributed to various cases. Firstly the absence of a precise notation which could have preserved at least a major portion of the compositions of the maestros of yore. Secondly, while most of the musicians were very competent performing artistes, very few had studied the lakshana (grammar) aspects which was either due to their lack of knowledge of sanskrit and other languages or the reluctance of the repositories of this knowledge to impart it to them. Further the time honoured training system that is aural transmission had its defects and led to many anomalies later. Ignorant of the lakshana sometimes even the name of raga in which the kriti was composed, many musicians may have unconsciously introduced notes and flourishes though alien to the raga were certainly pleasing on the ear. Similarly there may have been alterations in the form of the kritis too. The following kritis of Tyagaraja, for instance are noted with the ragas assigned to them in the “Samgita Sarvartha Sara Samgrahamu” published in 1875. We must remember that this book was published within three decades after the death of Tyagaraja. And we are led to presume that they represent the version in which they were sung then. A glance at the list is enough to prove the kritis have changed their garb during the course of time. Opening line Raga in SSS* Present Version 1 Etladorakithivo Vasantha Bhoga Vasantha 2 Entharanithana Kharahapriya Harikambhoji 3 Entha Nerchina Saraswaqthi Manohari Udaya Ravichandrika 4 Kalinarakalu Harikambhoji Kuntalavarali 5 Jnamosagarada Shadvidhamargini Poorvikalyani 6 Dandamubettenura Poornachandrika Balahamsa 7 Nagumomu Nagavarali Abheri 8 Niravadhi Sukhada Dhira Sankarabharanam Ravichandrika 9 Nee Muddumomu Manohari Kamalamanohari 10 Nenarunchinanu Harikambhoji Malavi 11 Marubalka Abheri Sriranjini 12 Seethapathe Devamanohari Khamash [to be contd.]
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 00:20:39 +0000
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