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The classical music live performance dais poses plenty of challenges to artistes. They’re anticipated to continually increase the bar. Singing niravals, kalpanaswaras, or a ragam-tanam-pallavi (RTP) with intricate rhythmic patterns are time-tested methods to showcase one’s creativity.
Nonetheless, those that come to live performance halls for sheer enjoyment search for songs which might be easy however linger on within the thoughts and coronary heart. These are the ‘tukkadas’.
The follow of singing the thevaram, divya prabandham or pasuram, which date again to the seventh and eighth centuries, was widespread as a result of bhakti dominated the kutcheris and there was no time constraint. Additionally, the concert events weren’t confined to halls. Because the live performance format advanced, these items have been pushed to the concluding part.
Bombay Sisters – C. Saroja and C. Lalitha at The Music Academy’s 87th Annual Convention and Concert events in Chennai, held in 2013.
| Photograph Credit score:
GANESAN V
In the course of the 2013 music season, vocalist Kiranavali Vidyasankar, who likes to delve deep into all elements of compositions, introduced a lec-dem on ‘Conventional Tukkadas’. Her presentation included Tyagaraja’s Divyanama and Utsava Sampradaya keerthanas, Annamacharya’s sankeertana, ashtapadi, tarangam, Dasara pada, javalis, kavadi chindu, and extra. Do you know that the kavadi chindu ‘Kannan varugindra neram’ was by Oothukkadu Venkatakavi.
Small piece, huge affect
However why did these songs with positive elements of musicality and lyrical magnificence come to be often known as ‘Tukkadas’, which suggests small piece in Hindi?
“A small piece doesn’t imply trivial. Tukkadas are as wealthy and musical as the primary numbers in Thodi, Kalyani or Kamboji,” says vocalist Radha Bhaskar, who alongside together with her mridangam artiste-husband Bhaskar runs Mudhra, an organisation to advertise classical music. In 1999, that they had organised a Tukkada Pageant during which veteran vocalists Bombay Sisters Saroja and Lalitha carried out an unique tukkada live performance. Mudhra revived the thought this 12 months and ran a sequence of tukkada concert events by younger artistes. “The restricted live performance time immediately doesn’t provide musicians the chance to discover the immense number of tukkadas. So, we got here up with this distinctive idea,” says Radha.
Widespread vocalist duo Ranjani and Gayathri introduced a lec-dem on ‘Leveraging the tukkada’ at The Music Academy in 2018 and spoke about how they put together for this part. Their rendering of viruthams and abhangs are loved by the audiences. They construct the sangatis in abhangs steadily, sing the alapana as in khayals in Hindustani music and take the climax to a dramatic end.
Madurai Mani Iyer throughout a live performance.
| Photograph Credit score:
The Hindu Archives
Prior to now, many legendary musicians structured their kutcheris in such a approach that they might accommodate a minimum of 4 to 6 tukkadas after the primary piece. Individuals waited for ‘Eppo varuvaro’, ‘Vellai thamarai’ and ‘Kandhan karunai puriyum’ in each live performance by Madurai Mani Iyer. He additionally popularised Muthiah Bhagavatar’s ‘English Notice’ a lot in order that it got here to be often known as the ‘Madurai Mani be aware’. G.N. Balasubramaniam’s lilting, fast-paced presentation of ‘Radha sametha krishna’ (Mishra Yaman) and ‘Dikku theriyada kaatil’ in Ragamalika have been a lot appeared ahead to at his concert events.
MAHARAJA SWATHI THIRUNAL
| Photograph Credit score:
The Hindu Archives
As a distinction, Ok.V. Narayanaswamy’s vilambakala or slow-paced items comparable to ‘Varugalamo’ by Gopalakrishna Bharati (Manji), Purandaradasa’s ‘Jagadoddharana’ (Kapi) and ‘Eppadi manam thunindhadho’ from Arunachala Kavi’s Rama Natakam, set to tune by his guru Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar in Husseni, have been main points of interest. Who can neglect his sedate ‘Ali veni yentu cheyvu’, a Swati Tirunal padam in Kurinji?
Thanjavur Sankara Iyer throughout his lecture-demonstration on the fusion of devotion and artwork in Tamil songs at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, T Nagar, in Chennai on August 14, 1991.
| Photograph Credit score:
The Hindu Archives
Whereas D.Ok. Pattammal included the medium-paced ‘Eppadi padinaro’ (Karnataka Devagandhari) and ‘Naan oru vilaiyattu bommaiya’ (Navarasa Kannada) other than many patriotic songs by Subramanya Bharati, her sibling D.Ok. Jayaraman added compositions of his contemporaries comparable to ‘Nekkurugi’ (Abhogi) and ‘Nambikkettavar’ (Hindolam) by Papanasam Sivan, and ‘Mahadeva siva shambo’ (Revathi) and ‘Ranjanimala’ by Thanjavur Sankara Iyer. “He had sufficient songs, even in Sindhu Bhairavi, to select from comparable to ‘Vaa vaa vaa murugaiya’ (Gomathi Ramasubramanian), ‘Karunai deivame’ (Madurai Srinivasan), ‘Gangadeeswaram’ (Guru Surajananda), and ‘Manadirkugandhadhu’ (Thanjavur Sankara Iyer),” says his senior disciple Dr. S. Sunder.
The range in M.L. Vasanthakumari’s post-tani session consisted of attention-grabbing collections of Dasara padas and tarangams, amongst others. For the evergreen ‘Baro krishnayya’ by Kanakadasa set in Ragamalika, and ‘Muralidhara Gopala’ by Periyasamy Thooran in Maand, the ugabhoga and shlokam previous them gave her followers the trace of the songs.
Meera Bhajans, songs from Tamil epics (Vadavariyai Matthakki from the Silappadikaram), Annamacharya’s compositions comparable to ‘Cheri yashodaku’ and the preferred ‘Kurai onrum illai’ by Rajaji added color to the inimitable M.S. Subbulakshmi’s concert events.
T. Brinda.
| Photograph Credit score:
The Hindu Archives
Senior vocalist Rama Ravi traces the origin of those songs to the occasions when royal kingdoms ceased to exist, and the musicians relocated to numerous locations for livelihood. “The concert events shifted from the courts to the stage and wanted to be re-structured to current a spread in a restricted time. Musicians with a dance background such because the duo, Brinda and Mukta (from the illustrious Dhanammal household), launched padams and javalis, which have been normally part of dance performances, of their vocal live performance,” she says.
Rama factors out how musicians comparable to Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, who’s credited with creating the kutcheri format as we expertise immediately, tuned verses from bhakti literature comparable to Andal’s Tiruppavai pasurams and introduced them in concert events.
“Not solely music concert events, quick items comparable to Bharatiyar’s ‘Theeradha vilaiyattu pillai’, which affords sufficient scope for abhinaya, have been launched in dance performances. Even thillanas comparable to Veena Seshanna’s composition in Thodi later gave method to these in ragas comparable to Desh for enhanced enchantment,” says Rama Ravi.
Portrait of poet Subramania Bharati.
| Photograph Credit score:
THE HINDU ARCHIVES
In keeping with senior veena artiste Kalyani Ganesan, “After the tani avartanam that includes intricate arithmetic calculations, these creatively introduced viruthams come as a breather.” She remembers how as soon as throughout a live performance, after a grand tani, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer mentioned, “Marandhu poche” (I’ve forgotten), and even because the listeners questioned, started to sing Bharati’s ‘Aasai mukham marandhu poche’.
Music composer Papanasam Sivan.
| Photograph Credit score:
R.Ok. SRIDHARAN
“Thillanas give an attractive final touch to a live performance. However for instrumental music, we want well-known songs that may be simply recognized by listeners. Simply because these songs would not have alapana or kalpanaswaras, they don’t seem to be much less essential,” says Kalyani, who normally concludes her concert events with Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Karpagame kann parai’ in Madhayamavati, as an providing to the goddess of Mylapore.
Creatively composed thillanas
Violin maestro Lalgudi Jayaraman. Photograph : Particular Association
| Photograph Credit score:
The Hindu Archives
Whereas Lalgudi Jayaraman had an incredible selection to supply on this part with beautiful interludes such because the one at ‘Pinnalai pinnindrizhuppan’ in ‘Theeratha vilaiyattu pillai’ and his personal thillanas, M.S. Gopalakrishnan used to current items in ragas comparable to Darbari Kanada and Hamsanandi with touches of the Hindustani fashion. The latter, together with vocalist S. Kalyanaraman, used to render ‘Hari gun gavat’, a Meera bhajan set within the raga Dipali to the delight of connoisseurs.
Any common concert-goer throughout the Music Season will bear in mind T.N. Krishnan’s ‘Jingle bells’ on his Christmas day live performance at The Music Academy, because the penultimate tukkada in addition to his ‘Sri Venkatagirisam’ (Surutti).
At the moment plenty of up to date verses with social messages are additionally being included within the tukkada portion. T.M. Krishna set to tune and sang a kavadi chindu on Babasaheb Ambedkar, written by Perumal Murugan.
Although there are all kinds of tukkadas to current within the post-tani session, not many artistes try to make this an thrilling a part of the live performance. Perhaps as a result of, the length of Carnatic concert events have shrunk. However when sung in madhyamasruti, and in ragas comparable to Nadanamakriya, Chenchuruti, Brindavani, Madhuvanthi, Desh and Bageshri, the ‘small piece’ can change into the pièce de résistance.
T.N. Krishnan, Viji Natarajan, Sriram Krishnan, throughout their live performance at The Music Academy, Chennai on December 25, 2008.
| Photograph Credit score:
GANESAN V
Any common concert-goer throughout the Music Season will bear in mind violin maestro T.N. Krishnan’s ‘Jingle bells’, the penultimate tukkada in his Christmas day live performance at The Music Academy
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