Once upon a time, padams and javalis as well as viruthams and slokams were the most anticipated pieces during the second half of concerts. Following my guru Kanjivaram Ellappa's style of singing, I was able to learn many classic pieces composed by the masters and for 40 years have included them as a highlight and not as fillers in the second half of my dance recitals. The exact tempo for a padam in thisra triputa tala, composed by Kshetragna, is vital for bhava in abhinaya. My guru emphasised this aspect to great effect.
The next is proper pronunciation of the language of the padam. He always used to warn us that a small mispronunciation would change the whole meaning of the song. And then comes the studied and subtle ‘sangathis,’ which are permitted. Singing these nuances are tricky, and demanding.
The bhava inherent in the small phrases have guided not only my movement but also my facial expressions. With a vast repertoire, I have been committed to sharing these treasures with diverse audiences in India and abroad.
Similarly a javali has to be handled with the correct tempo, often faster than a padam, but very subtle in the rendering of sangathis, with the correct pronunciation, in order to bring out the meaning both in song and dance.
As for slokas and viruthams, my guru had a repertoire which was challenging to me as a dancer. A Thayumanavar virutham with philosophical meaning, needed a choice of ragas to enhance the core ideas. One was not free to make up a Ragamalika of random ragas. He chose, in the style of temple bards, ragas such as Harikhambodhi, Atana, Natabhairavi, Sahana and so on. When we performed Sanskrit verses from texts such as the ‘Krishnaleela Tarangini,’ the core ideas were enhanced by the way it was sung, which in turn influenced the abhinaya that gave the music visual dimensions.
The above aspects of classical music are not merely the preserve of dancers. Every great master I have heard in the past included them in their kutcheris.
Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer would sing sparkling javalis such as ‘Parulanamata,’ and also take us to great heights of mysticism with Appayya Dikshitar's ‘Moulau Ganga’ in a breathtaking Ragamalika. M.L.Vasanthakumari would sing the Kalyani javali, ‘Enthati Kuluke,’ and the great verse in Sanskrit – ‘Sayankale Vananthe,’ in a supremely lilting Ragamalika.
M.S. Subbulakshmi would sing an arresting Tamil padam and sing a Pasuram as a virutham in the most moving manner. Srirangam Gopalaratnam would regale listeners with highly melodious Kshetragna padams such as ‘Evvade Nenu’ in Sankarabharanam. Many would remember K.V.Narayanaswamy bringing the house down with his electric rendering of the padam, ‘Varugalamo.’ Having recorded the entire Narayaneeyam verses, Trichur Ramachandran always raised the divine message of music by singing select verses from that magnum opus in great ragas.
In the present concert scene, there seems to be a hurried and uninitiated approach to such music, which dominated the second half of kutcheris barely 25 years ago. Contemporary songs with trivial meanings are getting prominence. Ragamalikas today are not the tools for expressing great lyrics, but merely to make a show of the singer's ability to make quick switches from one raga to the other. Dancers too, are not able to do justice to classic pieces such as padams due to their lack of knowledge in music and also their inability to train their accompanists to sing in the right tempo with bhava.
A considerable degree of scholarship is needed to gain a repertoire of the classic padams, javalis and viruthams.
The exploration of the true depth in their meaning takes years of dancing or singing them. There are no short cuts to evolved and poignant abhinaya.
A taste for that kind of music first needs to be cultivated. The real work is in internalising the meaning and then sharing both melody and amood through inspired song and dance. Such artistry would leave a lasting impression on a sensitive listener and viewer. After all, great artists have shown the way, and it is up to the present day vidwans and mature dancers to study the deeper aspects more seriously. Aesthetic principles never go out of fashion.
