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Madhyamaavathi - An under-estimated raaga....

I just chanced upon a great rendition of Madhyamaavathi about a month and a half back by Bombay Sisters ("Ramakatha Sudha....." ofcourse) and had put it on my iPod for casual listening during my walks. I suddenly realised after listening to it carefully one evening that there was something about this piece. I must have probably listened to it a hundred times since then and still my appetite is far from being whetted and I want to listen more....... such is its power over me. M'vathi has always been a Raaga sung at the end of a Katcheri as audience are starting to think of home and how to pull out their cars out of the parking lot quickly and about all the rest of the problems they all left behind that evening when they walked into the concert. I have seen many in the audience also start to slowly file towards towards the exit. Seeing the mood among the audience, the performers also keep these pieces short without the usual alaapanas, neravals, swara renditions etc. Thanks to this piece, mentioned above, by the inimitable Bombay Sisters, I have enjoyed the consummate beauty of M'vathi raaga. For me, this piece is 23 minutes of sheer ecstasy and I wish I knew all the technical terms of classical carnatic music to be able to do justice to my description of my feelings. It is a masterpiece in itself and arguably the best ever by this Bombay duo in their long illustrious career of 35+ years, if my memory is right. The piece itself starts with a simple alaapana and moves on to the pallavi and then into a nice neraval but the best is yet to come..... the swara rendering is outstanding and a pedagogical masterpice, if any serious student of music wants to know how to sing swaras in a song and how to present the various shades and speeds of it. Importantly, it is a showcasing of how beatiful a raaga M'vathi really is and how it has remained relegated as a closing piece - not "unsung" but definitely under-estimated and un- or under-appreciated as many lovely things in life on this earth. Thanks, Bombay Sisters, Ms. C Saroja and Ms. C Lalitha, for opening my eyes and ears to this lovely Raaga.

Comments

  1. vassuTuesday, January 27, 2009 1:40:00 PM

    Hey Sreeram

    The way you have done the article, has inspired me to listen to this raaga even though I am a novice to Carnatic music. Well written! I will definitely get this song on to my i-pod and will let you know if I am hooked to the classical music.

    Vassu-Dubai

    ReplyDelete

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