Monday, December 11 2000
The Kanada Constellation (Part 2/3)
Rajan P. Parrikar |
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Ramashreya Jha "Ramrang" and his many moods
Raga Suha Kanada
The dhaivat is varja in most Suha versions. In most versions an alpa rishab in
ArohAtmak passages and a strong shuddha madhyam characterize Suha. Its essense
is carried in the following tonal sentence:
n' S (M)g (M)g M, (M)g M (P)n-->P, (P)n M P S"...
(P)n-->P (M)g M, R S
The Kanada markers are discernable above. Ramrang's composition quickly
bares the rAga lakshaNAs. Notice the recurring (M)g M,
M n P
and the P S" interval: aba ghara jAne
de -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/jha_suhak.ram
Bhimsen Joshi, in a traditional Suha cheez attributed to
"Sadarang." A point of note is the (M)R M P
usage of the
rishab, occasionally found in some Suha treatments: tu hai
Mohamadshah -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/bhimsen_suhak.ram
<-- Mushtaq Hussain Khan (1880-1964)
Mushtaq Hussain Khan (1880-1964) of Rampur-Sahaswan sings the
old composition piyA banjArA in Suha. Later, we shall find it cast
in Sughrai. Mushtaq Hussain's Suha takes in
the R M R P cluster on the mukhDA and this
combined with
movements in the uttarAnga facilitate an AvirbhAva of Sarang,
which is then quickly dissipated by the dominant Suha machinery -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/mhk_suhak.ram
The Agra view of Suha presented by Latafat Hussain Khan deviates from the
canonical Suha outlined
earlier first in the S R (M)g usage of the
rishab and then via a
Sarang-like avarohAtmak n P M R S. The alert
will notice the
shuddha nishAd en route to the tAr shaDaj in the antarA.
This ArohAtmak-only shuddha nishAd laden phrase - M P n
P N S" -
occurs in several Kanada prakArs. By now the nexus
between the Sarang and Kanada Ragangas should be obvious: a
soupcon of Sarang is residual to most Kanada melodies. Its
influence in Suha must be minimized so as not to tilt it
towards Sughrai. Latafat Hussain Khan: balamA more gA'oN ki -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/lhk_suhak.ram
Mogubai's version is the odd one out, peppered with
Sarang-inspired gestures that imperil Suha by inclining it
towards Sughrai. However, the Atrauli-Jaipur Sughrai claims
other features which we shall come to in a moment. In this
short recording, a strong Suhaic madhyam is suggested although
never quite fulfilled -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/mogubai_suhak.ram
K.G. Ginde (1925-1994)
-->
K.G. Ginde adheres to the canonical Suha proposed by Ramrang.
The madhyam is brightened by a direct approach from S, as
in S M. The traditional bandish in tilwADA:
Aja re badhAwA -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/ginde_suhak.ram
The final Suha item, courtesy Jitendra Abhisheki. By now the
reader should know what to look for. When we are done with Nayaki
and Sughrai there will accrue, hopefully, some order and clarity to the
prevailing chaos in the Kanada universe. Remember: the Raga name in itself
is not important; ability to recognize and see its internals is.
Jitendra-bab -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/abhisheki_suhak.ram
Raga Sughrai Kanada
This old rAga comes in at least two distinct versions, one
without and the other with the (shuddha) dhaivat. The former
type is more common. The key idea in Sughrai is the intertwining
of the Kanada and Sarang threads. The definitive phrase in
most treatments is considered to be: nnPMRS R (M)g.
Unlike
Suha, Sughrai looks to the pancham for its nyAsa sthAna. In the
first clip, Jha-sahab sings a composition of Anwar Hussain
Khan "Rasrang." Freewheeling runs of the
N'SRMPNS"R"SNPMRS R g
type are observed -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/jha_sughraik.ram
<-- Omkarnath Thakur (1897-1967)
Since there is overlap in the lakshaNAs of Suha and Sughrai,
oftentimes the two are bundled together and sung as Suha-Sughrai.
This is a lovely composition of Krishnadas, the saint-composer
from the Vaishnavite Vallabh sAmpradAya. Jha-sahab knows a
number of his compositions although very few have made it into
his published volumes. He holds forth on matters of Suha & Sughrai:
barasata rasa boondariya -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/jha_suhasughrai.ram
Omkarnath Thakur quickly scythes to the core of Sughrai,
in this traditional bandish: mA'i kanthuwA -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/ot_sughraik.ram
The Agra statement retains the essence of the earlier versions. We have
already scraped an acquaintance with the composition, albeit in
Suha. The heavyweight Vilayat Hussain Khan: piyA banjArA -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/vhk_sughraik.ram
Alladiya Khan (1855-1946) in his younger days -->
Now watch the same composition morph again in the Atrauli-Jaipur
hands. Take stock of the mukhDA. The Sarang-anga still
precipitates but there's a noticeable change in flavour. Mallikarjun Mansur -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/mansur_sughrai.ram
Kesarbai sings another traditional Sughrai bandish -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/kesarbai_sughraik.ram
The second dhaivat-laden variety of Sughrai is now advanced
by K.G. Ginde. Here the dhaivat appears via D n
P, a la
Shahana. However, the Sarang dominance of Sughrai reins
it in. This is a composition of the great Bhatkhande: piyA
bina -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/ginde_sughraik.ram
Raga Nayaki Kanada
Nayaki plies gestures similar to Suha with one phrase all its
own: R n' S R P (M)g. Nayaki's poorvAnga is
redolent of
Darbari - the gandhAr treatment, to be precise. There is also
a quick flourish of the type gMPMRS R, S. A
sample chalan is:
S, R n' S R P (nM)P (M)g, M, gMPMRSR, S, S R (R)g M, M
n-->P
<-- Abdul Waheed Khan (d. 1949) of Kirana
Sharad Zambekar is a veteran of Marathi stage music. From the
play SHIKKA KATYAR: tuzyA vinA bhAnvanA -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/zambekar_tujya.ram
Ramrang's composition dehisces the rAga in the first line
itself: barani na jA'i chhabi -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/jha_nayakik.ram
K.G. Ginde's assay in a traditional composition set in tilwADA: banarA
morA pyArA -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/ginde_nayakik.ram
The Darbari influence as well as the shaken (but not stirred)
phrase gMPMRSR S are visible in this snapshot of
the
Rampur-Sahaswan vocalist Ghulam Mustafa Khan. The vilambit
composition E maga vArana is attributed to Mehboob Khan
"Daraspiya" and the druta is due to "Rasrang" (Anwar Hussain Khan) -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/gmk_nayakik.ram
Bade Ghulam Ali Khan -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/bgak_nayakik.ram
The next three Nayakis are from the Atrauli-Jaipur pack.
They share the bandish, mero piyA, with the Agra musicians.
This Nayaki is a departure from the canonical, i.e. the R P
sangati is de-emphasized. But the other lakshaNAs are in
full force, eg. the S R (R)g (R)g and gMPMRSR and (M)g M (P)n
P.
First, Mogubai. Notice the komal dhaivat at 0:43 into the clip.
Nayaki admits of this d very occasionally in a
S" (n)d (n)d n P
format. Mogubai also clearly articulates the
R-P sangati -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/mogubai_nayakik.ram
Kishori Amonkar -
Mallikarjun Mansur (1910-1992) -->
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/kishori_nayakik.ram
Mallikarjun Mansur -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/mansur_nayakik.ram
Raga Shahana Kanada
With Shahana we step into newer Kanada space where the
shuddha dhaivat holds court. It is, in fact, the definitive
nyAsa sthAna in this rAga. The gist of Shahana is to be found
in the following passages:
- n D n P, D M P S"
- (S")D (D)n P, M P (M)g M D,
- n D n D (P)n P, n P (M)g M (S)R
The rAga steers clear of both Bageshree and Bahar and has
a swaroopa altogether its own. It must have occurred to the
alert reader that in the Kanadas a straight run of the type
S R g M P almost never happens, either in AlAp
or in tAna.
Sure, the degree Andolan of the gandhAr is variable across
rAgas but the prayogas are always vakra and mediated by kaNs.
The occasional M P N S" approach to the tAra
shaDja with
the shuddha nishAd ought to have registered by now.
Jha-sahab's exquisite cheez: chanchala chapalA si -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/jha_shahanak.ram
Patiala's Fateh Ali sketches a textbook Shahana -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/fatehali_shahanak.ram
Shaila Datar, in a traditional composition attributed to
Sadarang: more Aye hai Kunwar Kanha'i -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/datar_shahanak.ram
Basavraj Rajguru iterates the same composition but with
some textual and melodic interpolation -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/rajguru_shahanak.ram
Shivkumar Shukla's composition sundara anganA baiThee nikasa
ke is reproduced in Jha-sahab's Volume II of Abhinava
Geetanjali,
where it is set to dheemA teentAla. Here, Amir Khan renders it in faster laya
-
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/amirkhan_shahanak.ram
The Shahana plied by the Agra musicians has a decidedly different flavour.
The shuddha
gandhAr is introduced in the standard Shahana via a tonal phrase
of the type: R n' S R G, M. This is reminiscent
of Gunji Kanada
but the remaining features conclusively help instal Shahana.
Latafat Hussain Khan's gagari mori bharana nahiN deta -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/lhk_shahanak.ram
Raga Raisa Kanada
Allied to Shahana, this rAga is the preferred choice of the
Atrauli-Jaipur musicians. No consensus prevails as to
its swaroopa, but there is broad agreement that a cluster
around the shuddha dhaivat is definitive.
Jha-sahab delineates the chalan and sets it apart from
Shahana. His D-cluster is n DPD PMP -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/jha_raisak.ram
The Agra interpretation is not too far off from Ramrang's.
It presses the shuddha dhaivat into MP, P D, D n
and in
a quick MPDnS". Vilayat Hussain Khan, with the
well-known
ri tum samajh -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/vhk_raisak.ram
<-- Mallikarjun Mansur with the great Kannada poet D.R. Bendre
The Atrauli-Jaipur masters assay the same composition with
their own spin of course. Here we find Mallikarjun Mansur,
in bed with Raisa (not to be confused with Gorbachov's late wife) -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/mansur_raisak.ram
Raga Devsakh
There are the four traditional "Sakhs" - Devsakh,
Ramsakh, Bhavsakh and Lacchasakh. Of these the last named is a
Bilawal prakAr, the rest are Kanadas. Bhavsakh comes in two flavours,
Kanada and Bilawal. All the Sakhs are nearly extinct, only
Devsakh is occasionally heard in performance today. Jha-sahab has documented
traditional dhrupads in all the Sakhs as received from
his guru. These dhrupads represent the 'fossil record' of the original
swaroopa of these ancient rAgas.
The sangati g-P (G-P in Lacchasakh) is the
key lakshaNA of the
Sakh clan. In Devsakh the dhaivat is varja. The Sarang-anga alongside
Kanada is visible, as Jha-sahab explains before sketching his
bandish: panaghaTa roke mero gail -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/jha_devsakh.ram
A composition of S.N. Ratanjankar is delivered by his disciple
K.G. Ginde: nanadiyA mori jAge -
Srikrishna Narayan Ratanjankar (1900-1974) -->
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/ginde_devsakh.ram
While the sArang-anga is visible in this Atrauli-Jaipur Devsakh
there is no g-P sangati. It is left to the
reader to figure out
the features of this version. The composition is also shared by the
Agra musicians: haNs karana duvA dalana -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/mansur_devsakh.ram
Raga Bhavsakh
The version adduced by Ramrang contains both the dhaivats, with
following chalan:
S M, M P (M)g (M)g P M, (P)n P D n R" S", (n)d n P
The swaroopa will be clear from his bandish. Some of these
recordings made in Sept 2000 in Goa saw Jha-sahab's enthusiasm
overcome his severe fatigue -
mangala moorata puta pavana ke
sankaTa shamana dukha dAridra davana ke
dAtA ashTa siddhi nava nidhi ke
`rAmrang' sakala vimochana vipati ke
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/jha_bhavsakh.ram
Another type of shuddha dhaivat-only Bhavsakh comes to us
from the Agra musicians. The D is taken in in
an avarohAtmak
prayoga - M P D, D P - as will be evident from
this clip of
Khurjawale Aslam Hussain Khan -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/aslamhk_bhavsakh.ram
Raga Ramsakh
Ramsakh today lies moribund. It employs two gandhArs, two
nishAds and the shuddha dhaivat. There are strains of both
Bilawal and Shahana. Jha-sahab's bandish -
Aja kunjana meN rAsa rachyo Hari braja yuvati sanga
saba gopiyana ke sanga birAjata
`rAmrang' nirakhi mukha lAje ananga
http://www.sawf.org/audio/kanada/jha_ramsakh.ram
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