Nalinakanthi

Today, I count Nalinakanthi as a great friend. I am not a believer in having a list of favourites - favourite colours, cities, best friends and similarly ragams. But I cannot ignore that wonderful feeling of instant bliss when I listen to this ragam. There is something magical about it. On several occasions, I have been rejuvenated and my spirits uplifted purely by listening to some good Carnatic music. Music can certainly inspire and most definitely elevate. But with Nalinakanthi, I feel a special bonding, an instant connection that can bring me up from the depths of sadness to elation, even ecstasy.

Over the last year or so, I have most certainly grown a lot calmer internally in the face of life's many challenges, and music has been a support I have always fallen back on. And although, I single out Nalinakanthi for a special token of gratitude, I am very thankful to every other ragam too, for giving me joy, peace and sanity - when I needed them the most.

Coming back to Nalinakanthi, it is a janya of the 27th Melakarta, Sarasangi with the Aarohanam of S G3 R2 M1 P N3 S and Avarohanam of S N3 P M1 G3 R2 S. The fact that the ascent is not in the regular order of the notes with the G3 coming before R2 possibly contributes to the magic of Nalinakanthi. Apparently, this form of rearrangement is called a vakram, and perhaps is more common than I would know. And though the compositions in this ragam are fairly rare, I am not the first to be mesmerised by this ragam. The late great GNB apparently loved it too. His composition Nee padame gathi in this ragam is a wonderful song. A couple of film songs too are based on this ragam, which suggests to me that the magic of Nalinakanthi appeals to a lot more than a few like me.

Beauty and form

Music is beautiful. Very beautiful. As much as it can move, inspire and calm you, it can charm and captivate you leaving you mesmerised in complete awe of its grace, power and splendour.

In Carnatic music, one finds arguably the best example of such uncommon beauty. And if such beauty were to be conceptualized to have a form, it could be best described by the complete harmony of ragam and talam. The talam may be conceptualized as forming the bones, the rigid, crisp structure around which the rich flesh and substance of the ragam is neatly woven around. And to top it all, the lyrics that add so much beauty and meaning to a song are like the choicest, flowing garments and sparkling gems and ornaments that adorn the perfect form.

Needless to say, the early Carnatic composers knew exactly this truth: that the most beautiful words, the sweetest melodies and the most perfect rhythms are most appropriate if they are dedicated to God, the most beautiful. And that is why we are forunate today to inherit the legacy of Carnatic music, that brings together some of the best poetry, some of the highest devotional and spiritual purports into the most beautiful form of music. Beauty may lie in the eyes of the beholder, but when it comes to music, it may lie in the ears of the listener. What's more, when you are ready for it, Carnatic music will turn into a form of beauty that transcends all your senses, and unites into a stream that flows right into your soul.

Lord Ganesha and Carnatic music

Carnatic music is very devotional in nature. I would like to add, it is not only due to the compositions themselves, but also because the music itself is undeniably capable of deeply inspiring the artist, while providing the listener with an equally spiritually uplifting experience. The fact that Carnatic music provides an ideal platform for the bhakta in both the artist and the listener to seek a spiritual union with God, is, according to me, the single most important reason why Carnatic music occupies such a sacred place in the South Indian society, and it is probably the greatest aspect of Carnatic music in my opinion.

Lord Vinayaka or Ganesha is the God of the intellect and wisdom and the Lord of good fortune. In fact His name, Ganesha, or Ganapathi literally means 'isha' or 'pathi'(the lord) of 'ga' (the intellect) and 'na' (wisdom or gnana), and also the lord of 'gana', or groups of devotees. Lord Vinayaka is invoked and his grace is sought before embarking on any good deed or noble tasks, as he is called Lord Vigneshwara, the destroyer of obstacles.

Most Carnatic concerts,therefore begin with an invocation to Lord Vinayaka, as the first or second piece, and in the same light it is quite appropriate that one of the first posts on Carnatic journeys should be on the kritis in praise of Lord Ganesha.

In this post I attempt to compile a list of kritis in praise of Lord Vinayaka, in no way intended to be exhaustive, but only the songs I have heard or come across so far. Some of them are very popular, some others are not, but needless to say, all of these ooze devotion to Ganapathi.

These are arranged by first alphabet, and not exactly alphabetically. I will also add the composer's name shortly, but here is the list so far:

The songs italicised are ones that are my favourites:

1. Abishta varada (Hamsadhwani)
   
2. Arul puri (Saraswathi)
3. Bhaja manasa vighneshwaramanisham (Bahudari)
4. Ekadantam Bhajeham (Bilahari)
5. Gajananam bhaje (Kamala manohari)
6. Gajananayutam (Vegavahini)
   
7. Gananayakam (Rudrapriya)
   
8. Ganesa Kumara (Junjhuutti)
   
9. Ganarajena (Arabhi)
10. Gananathaya (Gowla)
    
11. Gam Ganapathe (Hamsadhwani)
12. Ganapate sugunanidhe (Janaranjani)
13. Gnana vinayakane (Gambeera Nattai)
14. Giriraja Sudha (Bangla) (As made famous by Remember Shakti. Surprised ?)
    
15. Gajavadana karuna (Sri Ranjani)
16. Gajavadana beduve (Hamsadhwani)
17. Gam Ganapathe Namasthe (Durvangi)
18. Ganapathiye Karunanidhiye (Kharaharapriya)
19. Gananathane (Saranga)
20. Hastuivadanaya (Navaroj)
    
21. Herambaya (Athana)
22. Lambodaraya (Varali)
    
23. Lambodara mahaganesha (Navarasakanada)
24. Karikalabhamukham (Saveri)
    
25. Karimukhavarada (Hamsadhwani)
26. Karunai seivai Gajaraja (Hamsadhwani)
27. Karuna nidhiye (Hamsadhwani)
    
28. Kai koduthalaiya (Begada)
29. Karunamethaiya (Sivaranjani)
30. Mooladharamoorthi (Hamsadhwani)
31. Mahaganapatim (Nata)
    
32. Mahaganapate (Nata Narayani)
    
33. Mahaganapatim vande (Todi)
    
34. Mahaganapathe ma vallabhapathe (Kanada)
35. Mahaganapathi vaa vaa (Nattai)
36. Panchamathanga (Malahari)
    
37. Paripahi ganadhipa (Saveri)
38. Prasanna Ganapathe (Bahudari)
39. Pranavakaram (Arabhi)
40. Pranamamyaham Srigowri sutham (Gowla)
41. Rakta Ganapatim (Mohanam)
42. Sri Gananatham Bhajare (Isa manohari)
    
43. Sri Mahaganapatiravatu mam (Gowla)
    
44. Swetha Ganapatim (Ragachudamani)
    
45. Sakti Sahita Ganapatim (Sankarabharanam - Nottu svara)
    
46. Sri Muladhara Cakra Vinayaka (Sree)
    
47. Siddhivinayakam (Chamaram)
    
48. Sri Ganesatpparam (Ardradesi)
    
49. Sri Vathapi Ganapathiye (Sahana)
50. Sri Ganapathini (Sourashtram)
51. Sri Vighnarajam Bajeham (Gambeera Nattai)
52. Sri Gananatham Bhajamyaham (Kanakangi)
53. Sri Mahaganapathe Dehi Shivam (Malahari)
54. Sakti Ganapathim Bhajeham (Nattai)
55. Sharanu siddhi Vinayaka (Saurashtram)
56. Sri Ganesha Charanam Gajanana (Thilang)
57. Sri Ganapathiye Thiruvarul (Devamanohari)
58. Sadashiva kumara (Suddhasaveri)
59. Tattvamariya tharama (Reethigowlai)
60. Thanthi ma (Nattai)
61. Uchchishta Ganapatau (Kasiramakriya)
62. Vigneswaram (Malahari)
    
63. Vatapi ganapatim (Hamsadhwani)
64. Vaamaanga sthitayaa (Athana)
    
65. Vinayaka vighna(Vegavahini)
66. Vallabha Nayakasya (Begada)
    
67. Varasiddhi vinayakam (Chala Nata)
68. Vandehinisamaham (Hamsadhwani)
69. Varavallabharamana (Hamsadhwani)
70. Vighna vinayaka murthikku (Madhyamavathi)
71. Vaaranamukha vaa (Hamsadhwani)
72. Vinayaka ninu vina (Hamsadhwani)
73. Vinayaka (Ganapanchaka Ragamalika)

The list goes on, and I will continue to add, as I find some more.

For the lyrics of most of these compositions and other interesting reading, go to:
http://carnatica.net/special/ganesha-aug03-part1.htm

Dikshitar's Panchabhootha kritis

The Panchabhootha sthalam are five temples of Lord Shiva in South India, where Lord Shiva is believed to have taken the form of each of the Pancha bhoothas, or the five elements of the world, namely,air ,water, fire, earth and space.

There are many stories associated with how the Lord came to assume these forms in each temple, but the fact is that these temples are regarded amongst the most sacred temples of Lord Shiva in India to this day.

These temples are at Sri Kalahasthi (Andhra Pradesh), Chidambaram, Tiruvannamalai, Kanchipuram and Tiruanaikkaval in Tamil Nadu. At Sri Kalahasthi, Lord Shiva is believed to represent the element air or vayu, at Chidambaram, Lord Shiva represents space, ether or akash, at Kanchipuram, earth or prithvi, at Thiruanaikkaval, water or appu and in Tiruvannamalai, fire or agni, tejo or jyoti.

Muthuswamy Dikshitar, the youngest of the trinity of the greatest Carnatic composers, was also the most learned and the one who had travelled the most among the three composers. And when Dikshitar visited these Panchabhootha sthala temples, he composed five wonderful kritis, which besides being extremely rich in devotion to Lord Shiva, are sublime compositions of unsurpassed melody and lyrical beauty. But not just that, these five compositions clearly emphasise on the specific aspect of Lord Shiva in each of the five panchabhootha sthalams. Appropriately, these five kritis are called Panchabhootha kritis or Panchalinga kritis.

These five Panchalinga kritis are to Lord Shiva what Sri Tyagaraja's Pancharatna Kritis are to Lord Rama. They are:

1. Sri Kalahasthisha in Raga Husseini set to Khanda chapu or Jhampa talam, in praise of the diety at Sri Kalahasthi.
2. Ananda natana prakasam in Raga Kedaram set to Misra chapu talam, in praise of the diety at Chidambaram.
3. Chintayamam in Raga Bhairavi set to Roopaka talam, in praise of the diety at Kanchipuram.
4. Jambupathe in Raga Yaman Kalyani set to Tisra Eka talam, in praise of the diety at Tiruanaikkaval.
5. Arunachalanatham in Raga Saranga set to Roopaka talam, in praise of the diety at Tiruvannamalai.

The lyrics of these songs contain many play on words in Sanskrit with references to the name of the corresponding Panchabhootha sthalam, the particular element or aspect of Lord Shiva at this sthalam, and many references to stories of Lord Shiva with regards to this sthalam.

I do have to confess a very special liking for Ananda natana prakasam and Jambupathe among the five, but all five of them bear testimony to the fact that, purely in terms of the variety and depth of knowledge in music, the Vedas, the scriptures and lyrical melody, Muthuswami Dikshitar was the greatest Carnatic composer ever. Kudos to Guruguha!