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Now, the situation is exactly opposite. There is an excess of not just films but also film-based programmes on TV. I hate TV programmes now. Even news and cricket coverage has suffered from excessive commericialization. Thankfully, I have rediscovered Carnatic Music.
I know nothing about Carnatic Music. Even if the songs are in a different language, I like them. I don't even need a human voice singing songs. Even instrumental music is okay for me. All India Radio (AIR) has been a patron for Carnatic Music for long. They now have a dedicated radio channel for Carnatic Music. On Dish TV, I get it as AIR Ragam on channel . I connect the audio output of the settop box to a set of 2.1 computer speakers and I do not need the TV any more.
When I started living in Bangalore, I did not have a TV. I had a short wave radio that I used to listen to Gyan Vaani education channel. The FM channel (107.2) broadcasts audio lessons for students of the distance education program of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). I used to listen to the lessons, as I learned at least one new thing every day. In the morning, they sometimes play devotional or folk songs. One day, they played recitals of a Purandara kriti by Kalavathy Avadhooth. I was completely taken aback by the quality of the vocals and execution of orchestra.
Initially, I did not know what song was or who was the singer. The song was not played regularly. One day, I recorded the song with my phone and with the help of some of my Kannadiga friends, I identified the song as a Purandara kriti. One day, I caught Gyan Vaani mentioning the singer's name. I then went to several shops and asked for the casette/CD. No luck. I got Sri Balamurali Krishna disc instead. (While my mother did not like his voice, I enjoyed it very much. I could not explain to her why it was great. My father was very happy with my complete transition. Balamuralikrishna is an acquired taste, even for avid Carnatic music lovers.)
Then, I set one of my friends, who is a real Carnatic musician, to investigate and find Kalavathy Avadhooth. He found her address, met her, and got me a casette tape of her album Pearls of Purandara. I have converted the songs to an audio CD and play it on my mp3 player as well.
The album is no longer under production. She still has copies.
The orchestration was by Anoor Ananthakrishna Sarma.
Here is a review from Sruti.com.
This is a well-executed recording of some of the compositions of Purandaradasa. Kalavathy Avadhooth has a melodious voice which traverses a wide range with facility and clarity. Her diction is clear, making the sahitya easily understandable. The orchestration is non-intrusive. Altogether, a good bit of music.
Everyone whom I had given the mp3s liked the album. Kannadiga recipients said that if I understood the meanings of the songs, I will like it even more. This seems to be true but I have not much headway in learning Kannada. The gist of Satyavantarigidu (நல்லவர்களுக்கு காலமில்லை) is already a part of popular speech in Tamil and probably other languages as well.
Here is a description of the singer-saint from Wikipedia.
Purandara Dasa (1484 - 1564) is one of the most prominent composers of Carnatic music and is widely regarded as the "father of Carnatic Music". Purandara Dasa addressed social issues in addition to worship in his compositions. Purandara Dasa's Carnatic music compositions are mostly in Kannada; some are in Sanskrit. He signed his compositions with the mudra (pen name), "Purandara Vittala". About 1000 of his songs are extant; Indian History credits him with having composed as many as 475,000.
Purandara Dasa systematized the method of teaching Carnatic music which is followed to the present day. He introduced the raga Mayamalavagowla as the basic scale for music instruction and fashioned series of graded lessons such as swaravalis, janta swaras, alankaras, lakshana geetas, prabandhas, ugabhogas, thattu varase, geetha, sooladis and kritis. Another of his important contributions was the fusion of bhava, raga, and laya in his compositions. Purandara Dasa was the first composer to include comments on ordinary daily life in song compositions. He used elements of colloquial language for his lyrics. He introduced folk ragas into the mainstream, setting his lyrics to tunes/ragas of his day so that even a common man could learn and sing them. He also composed a large number of lakshya and lakshana geetas, many of which are sung to this day. His sooladis are musical masterpieces and are the standard for raga lakshana. Scholars attribute the standardization of varna mettus entirely to Purandara Dasa.
The itinerant dasas who succeeded him are believed to have followed the systems he devised, as well as orally passing down his compositions.
Purandara Dasa was a vaggeyakara, a lakshanakara, and the founder of musical pedagogy. For all these reasons and the enormous influence that he had on Carnatic music, musicologists call him the "Sangeeta Pitamaha" of Carnatic music.
Purandara Dasa had great influence on Hindustani music. The foremost Hindustani musician Tansen's teacher, Swami Haridas was Purandara Dasa's disciple. Purandara Dasa's compositions are equally popular in Hindustani music.
The last part about compositions nearing 5 lakhs may seem too good to be true. But, , as it is physically impossible. However, it is true that most of his compositions are lost to our generation.
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This article was first published in February 2010.
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© V. Subhash, 2010. All rights reserved.
Moral Volcano is the work of an Indian, thinker, astrologer, software programmer, GNU/Linux user, web designer, technical writer, lexicographer, hacker, gamer, pioneer IE Blocker, amateur photographer, and somewhat podcast transcriptionist. named V. Subhash (Me). I have written a fake American Policy for Dummies book. My e-book How To Invest In Stocks PDF eBook is free but not fake. So, I my PDF eBook version of Ambrose Bierce's Devil's Dictionary, which was created using the all-text original provided by the Guttenberg project and a free software HTMLDoc.
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