మాతే మలయాధ్వజ పాండ్య సంజాతే - M S Subbulakshmi

Song: maatE malayadwaja (daru varNam)

maatE malayadvaja
raagam: kamaas

28 harikaambhOji janya
Aa: S M1 G3 M1 P D2 N2 S
Av: S N2 D2 P M1 G3 R2 S

taaLam: aadi
Composer: H.N. Muttayyah Bhaagavatar

01-Maate-Malayadhw...

pallavi

mAtE malayadvaja pANDya samjAtE mAtanga vadana guha
(mAtE)

anupallavi

shAtOdhari shankari cAmuNDEshvari candrakalAdhari tAyE gaurI
(mAtE)

muktaayi swara saahityam

dada nidani dadanida danipama dada nirisani sadanisa dapapama dada nigarini risanida panidama dada magamapa mapa dada nini dama dada risanida ni dad a madanima ni dada pa dad a ni dad a sada nida magari sani da nisanini dada pama

dAtA sakala kalA nipuNa catura dAtA sulabha hrdaya madhura vacana
dAtA sarasa ruciratara svara laya gIta sukhada nija bhAva rasika vara dAtA mahishUra nAda nAlvaTi shrI
krSNa rAjEndrara tAyE sadA pore mahite harikEsha manOharE sadayE
(mAtE)

caraNam

shyAmE sakala bhuvana sArvabhaumE shashi maNDala madyagE
(mAtE)

ma, ma pani dada papa magamapa ma ma nida masani dapa dada (shyAmE)

nidanida dapapama papa nidapama gamapa nidama sanidapa manida (shyAmE)

sa sa sa nidanisa nidapa magamapa mamama samagama pasanida ni
nidani padani mapadani gamapadani samagama padani samagari sasanida pada (shyAmE)

రాగం తానం పల్లవి - Raagam Taanam Pallavi

This below description about RTP is adopted from Dr. Shiv Kumar's Notes about carnatic music. Please listen to this raaga maalika while you go through what a raagam thaanam pallavi in carnatic music means. I always liked raagamaalikas as I heard them in old movies first to be frank. Later while in some concerts the RTPs were best and hence here is my post about an RTP.

raagamaalika.mp3

THE CONCERT MUSICIAN

If you have ever been to a Karnatic concert, you would have noticed that the ensemble sitting on the stage is usually only a few people strong. If the main performer is a vocalist (let us assume this, for the time being !) he is usually accompanied by a violinist and a Mridangam player. If he is lucky, there is also a Ghatam player tapping on a clay pot for accompaniment. There is, of course, a person strumming the Tanpura or the Sruti box and if the musician is a senior artiste, some of his disciples too sit on the stage and sing along - sometimes camouflaging the flaws of the Guru and reaching higher notes their Gurus cannot reach.

It is always a dream of every student to become a performing musician and to be top notch. But before being let loose on concert stages, they still have one final plateau of excellence to reach - the ability to perform what is called a 'Ragam, Tanam, Pallavi' or RTP or simply 'Pallavi'. (Note again, how we use the same word Pallavi to mean two different things) Ragam, Tanam, Pallavi is a total elaboration of a specific Ragam and is one hundred percent improvisation and creativity. It is the perfect place for a musician to show off his skill and mastery in enunciating a Ragam. The Ragam, Tanam, Pallavi is in fact the centerpiece of a Karnatic music concert.

First of, the musician chooses a 'strong' Ragam to perform his RTP. Oftentimes he picks a Melakarta Ragam, where the scope to make creative melodies is enormous (because they have all the allowed seven notes in the scale - remember they are all Sampoorna or 'complete' Ragams) He would also often choose a complex Talam to set his musical phrases in. Let us say he chooses Shankarabharanam and set to a Talam with a eleven beat cycle (!). In real concerts, usually the artiste does not reveal the Ragam of his RTP before hand. The audience and often, the accompanying musicians find out the Ragam just when the musician begins to play the RTP.

The first part of the RTP is simply the Alapanai of the Ragam (the word 'Ragam', is also a synonym for Alapanai, remember ?) After the Alapanai, the singer usually takes a break (and sips 'hot water' or milk kept on the sidelines) when the violinist takes over and tries to play the same musical phrases the singer just sang. This calls for a tremendous memory and ear for musical phrases. Of course, no one keeps tabs on how accurately the violinist follows the musician. The closer the violinists and the musicians are, the better. (This probably explains why specific violinist play for specific musicians because they 'know' each other well)

The second part of the RTP is called Tanam - don't confuse it with TaLam. Here the Ragam is elaborated even more. But now, the improvisation is in a faster tempo and set to a rhythm. Syllables such as 'Tum', 'Tanam' etc are used in this section (as opposed to syllables typically used in Alapanai). The violinist usually follows the musician after every passage. (unlike in the Alapanai part where he waited till the musician got done with the whole Alapanai) If instrumentalists are performing the RTP, in Tanam segment, they would play the sympathetic strings for added effect.

After the Tanam, the singer then starts on Pallavi, which in the context of RTP is just one line of text - often made up by the musician himself. He could very well have chosen 'Baa baa black sheep' as the Pallavi if he can massage the line to fit the Talam. Here, the Mridangam and Ghatam join in. The musician would embark on a series of 'Neravals' stretching the one line of Pallavi into several melodic phrases. The violinist of course follows the musician one step behind. Interestingly, at this point, the Mridangam would play when the musician sings and the Ghatam player would play for the violinist. The musician would cap it all off finally with a spate of Kalpana Swarams, by which time all the dimensions of the Ragam would have been (hopefully !) brought out.

Then the singer would break into an impromptu Raga Malika - singing Kalpana Swaram sequences in a bunch of Ragams, one after another. He chooses the Ragams in the Raga Malika to be widely apart, instead of being only subtely different. (Often 'light' ragams or Hindustani type Ragams are chosen). If Shankarabharanam is the Ragam for the RTP, then derivatives of Shankarabharanam are usually not chosen in the Raga Malika section). At the end of the Kalpana Swaram passage of each Ragam, he would sing the old Pallavi in that particular Ragam. The grand finale is when he breaks into a long series of Swarams (typically in the reverse order of the Raga Malika Ragams) and finally landing on the initial Ragam he had set out to play - (Shankarabharanam).

At this point, the singer typically lets the percussionists (Ghatam and Mridangam player) perform solo. This is called Tani Avartam or Tani Avartanam or Tani. This is also the time when the audience too takes a break and typically indulges in disruptive behaviour like chatting, rushing home or even dozing off. The percussionists grab this opportunity to perform the intricate aspects of the Talam.

A good Ragam, Tanam, Pallavi can last upwards of an hour and it is a vehicle for showcasing a singer's talent.

బ్రోచేవారెవరురా!! -- M. S. Subbulakshmi

Brochevarevaruva.m...

brOchEvArevaru rA – khamAs – chaturasra tripuTa

In this popular song, Mysore Vasudevacharya entreats Rama not to be indifferent to protect him. He expresses that Rama’s virtues and merciful nature are beyond any description by him.

P	బ్రోచే వారెవరురా నిను వినా రఘు వరా నీ చరనాంబుజ మును నేవిడజాల కరుణాల వాల ||	Who is there other than you to protect me, oh the most esteemed one of the Raghu dynasty? I can never leave your lotus feet, oh embodiment of mercy. ||
AP	ఓ చతురాననాది వందిత నీకు పరాకేల నయ్య నీ చరితము పొగడ లేను నా చింత తీర్చి వరములిచ్చి వేగమె||	Oh lord that is bowed by Brahma and other Gods, why is this indifference towards me? Your life and nature are beyond my description (praise). You please assuage my agony. Bestow me your grace soon. ||
C	సీతాపతే నా పై నీ కభిమానము లేదా వాతాత్మజా ర్చిత పాద నా మొరలను విన రాదా	Oh lord of Sita, have you no interest in me? Anjaneya, the son of the wind God, worships your feet. Why don’t you pay heed to my lamentation? ||
C	ఆతురముగ కరి రాజుని బ్రోచిన వాసు దేవుడె నీవు కదా నా పాతక మెల్ల పోగొట్టి గట్టిగ నా చేయి బట్టి విడువక ||	Are you not the same Vasudeva who rescued the king of elephants expeditiously? Kindly dispel all my sins and hold my hand firmly. ||

The Pangea Day - May 10th

The Pangea Day Mission & Purpose

Pangea Day (Pan= Entire; Gea= Earth) is a global event bringing the world together through film.

Why? In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference, and conflict, it's easy to lose sight of what we all have in common. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that – to help people see themselves in others – through the power of film.

The Pangea Day Event

Starting at 18:00 GMT on May 10, 2008, locations in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will be linked for a live program of powerful films, live music, and visionary speakers. The entire program will be broadcast – in seven languages – to millions of people worldwide through the internet, television, and mobile phones.

The 24 short films to be featured have been selected from an international competition that generated more than 2,500 submissions from over one hundred countries. The films were chosen based on their ability to inspire, transform, and allow us see the world through another person's eyes. Details on the Pangea Day films can be viewed here.

The program will also include a number of exceptional speakers and musical performers. Queen Noor of Jordan, CNN's Christiane Amanpour, musician/activist Bob Geldof, and Iranian rock phenom Hypernova are among those taking part.

What Will Happen After Pangea Day

People inspired by Pangea Day will have the opportunity to participate in community-building activities around the world. Through the live program, the Pangea Day web site, and self-organized local events, everyday people will be connected with extraordinary activists and organizations.

Many of the films and performances seen on Pangea Day will be made available on the Web and via mobile phone, alongside open forums for discussion and ideas for how to take social action.

A Pangea Day documentary will be created to catalyze future activities, and dozens of talented filmmakers will make strides in their careers.

History

In 2006, filmmaker Jehane Noujaim won the TED Prize, an annual award granted at the TED Conference. She was granted $100,000, and more important, a wish to change the world. Her wish was to create a day in which the world came together through film. Pangea Day grew out of that wish. Watch Jehane Noujaim’s 2006 acceptance speech now.