There is rhythm in life. There is rhythm is nature. There is rhythm is every living being. There is rhythm in every art form. There is rhythm is poetry.
Yes, I have stated the obvious
and surely not something which is not known to a connoisseur. But what is rhythm?
Is it a pattern? Is it what is called ‘beats’? Is it the TaaLa?
Rhythm is all these and also
much more than all these.
Look at this verse:
கண்ணொடு கண்ணிணை நோக்கொக்கின் வாய்ச்சொற்கள்
என்ன பயனும் இல.
It simply means – When two
pairs of eyes meet in unison, is there any need for words?
What is rhythmic about this?
Let me try deciphering the
syllables in music parlance:
Ta ka dhi mi/ ta ka dhi mi/ ta
ka ta ki ta/ ta ki ta/ta ka/ta ka/ta ka.
Am I talking about this rhythm
alone? Not really.
As mentioned in the beginning,
rhythm is not just the beats or the count, though these too are part of it. It
is the inner meaning, the subtler one.
One pair of eyes meets the
other pair; Silence.
Visualise the above-mentioned
line. You will feel the rhythm, the rhythm of love.
And this is what immortal
works do for us- make us see the unknown through the known. And that is why,
ThurkkuRaL is still popular even after 2000 years.
What I am going to discuss now
is on yet another work, which though is not that old-compared to ThirukkuraL-
will surely fall under the category of ‘immortal works’, a fact which will be
known 2000 years from now. Needless to say, whose works are being referred to
here and so let us move on and look at one of the compositions under this
category.
Without a doubt, ‘Kalise prati
sandhyalo’ from ‘Aalapana’(1985) is rhythmic in the literal sense because of
the role played by the rhythm. But beyond the obvious rhythm, there is
something subtle as well.
Based purely on
Mayamalavagowla, the composition starts directly without a prelude. SPB sings
the first phrase just at samam(the first beat of the taaLa cycle) and leaves a
gap for 3 beats. What happens during the 3 beats?
The mridangam sounds the four
syllables-ta ka dhi mi- during the second and the third beats subtly and sounds
the first and the third micro-beats during the fourth beats. Alongside, the
flute plays the ascending swaras of Mayamalavagowla with finesse. When the next
phrase is rendered, one sees the same pattern, except that now the flute plays
the descending swaras(Sa ni dha pa). The same pattern gets repeated during the
next two cycles, but here one also gets to hear the subtle sound of the bell.
The next two phrases witness
subtle overtones, first from the violin which plays along with the vocals ever
so subtly and from the keys which give some special sound, making us also see
some different shades of the raga.
The same pattern is seen when
Janaki joins, but this time it is just half as she sings only the first four
phrases.
The first interlude starts
with a catena of rhythmic phrases in Chatushram with the tabla and the
mridangam involved in a healthy competition. With flourish and buoyancy, the
twin-veeNa gives some beautiful shades of Mayamalavagowla. The flute swirls
with unobtrusive energy unmindful of the interjections of the sympathetic
strings followed by the veeNa. The rhythm in the melody of the twin-veeNa and
the flute, cannot be missed if one observes with perceptive ears and the heart.
What happens then is a
cascading progression.
In Classical music, there is
something called yati. Rather than delving into it, this being a deep subject
and would require a lot of explanation, let me just say that it is an
arrangement in a particular pattern. There are 5 different yatis. What we hear
in this composition now is what is called a Srothovaka yati with the syllables moving
in ascending numbers:
1 2
1 2 3
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Once this is completed, there
are three beats and this is followed by ta ka ta ki ta( 1 2 3 4 5) 6 times, to
make the total count 60.
Note that the yati stops at 1 2
3 4 5 6 7.
The CharaNams have four
segments. In the first segment, SPB sings for one and half avartanams(cycles)
with the akaaram of Janaki occupying the next two beats. In the next segment,
the flute sparkles for the two beats with the first six beats(one and half
cycles) being sung by SPB. The third segment goes plain. Or does it? Don’t we
hear the subtle strings and the bell along with the vocals?
The fourth segment is a
rhapsody of sorts. Janaki sings the akaaram reminiscent of the janta varisai
and SPB who joins in the next cycle sings along but in a different octave.
Harmony and rhythm flow like a
bright stream in the second interlude. The veena plays a melody with the ankle
bells backing it. Just after one cycle, the sitar interjects giving a quiet
glow. With rounded mellowness, the flute plays the same melody as that of the veena
even as this is on. The santoor takes a meandering stroll and plays the melody played
by the sitar. This concatenation and the blending of delicate and sonorous
sounds, seem like paradise on earth.
The group of veena and the
flute glide through with deftly interwoven swaras in Mayamalavagowla. The veena
plays the ascending swaras and as if to show that beautiful things never end,
the veena and the flute weave a small ‘korvai’ a la Carnatic music concert.
There is rhythm in life. There
is rhythm is nature. There is rhythm is every living being. There is rhythm in
every art form. There is rhythm is poetry.
What is that rhythm?
