Note: Readers who are not familiar with carnatic music – please excuse me while I indulge in one of my passions yet again. I invite you however to see if you can expand your musical horizons by at least listening to the audio samples. The ones that are marked “kalpanaswaras” may be easy to get into from a pure aural experience – others are admittedly more serious carnatic stuff. Also for non-tamil readers “kuLirchi” in the title is a tamil word which means thrill in this context – as in “what a thrill” (this raga gives me).
On to another one of my favorite ragas – nATakurinji (Sanskrit: नाटकुरिञ्जि) or nATTaikkuRinji (நாட்டைக்குறிஞ்சி) in Tamil.
When I decided to post on this raga, I was wondering if I really should do so given that there are excellent articles already available on the web here (www.sawf.org) and here (www.carnatica.net). So I was thinking What are you, just a rasika, going to say anything that would be worth anything? But, this is my blog, my space, and I have decided to blog on my favorite ragas. And this is one raga that I adore! So I am going to blabber on it – end of discussion. Carnatic aficionados – please accept my apologies in advance for mistakes and misrepresentations. Please let me know of any and I will make the necessary corrections.
Before, I begin the verbal diarrhea, let us just jump ahead an listen to some nATakurinji. Here is an excerpt from an alapana by the late K.V. Narayanaswamy:
(Download by clicking here)
Now, a kalpanaswara excerpt by the late M.D. Ramanathan, one of my very very favorite musicians . In this sample, he is using the word budham (the planet Mercury), which is the very first word of the opening line of the composition (of which this is a small excerpt of) as the refrain. I find his usage of that here to be quite playful, and is a big reason why I love this particular rendition.
(Download by clicking here)
By the way, did you hear the birds in the background? This is from a private, chamber concert – in Chennai probably, I imagine in a house with big trees, birds chirping and cawing – Ah! Takes me to India instantly!
nATakurinji in the Tamil Film Word
nATAkurinji raga is also like kAnaDa in the sense that its basic melodic structure has a lot of innate beauty that makes very attractive to most listeners. However, unlike kAnaDa, it unfortunately does not figure as often outside the Carnatic world – at least in Tamil Nadu. In the Tamil film world, I can think of two examples:
- The song kavalaiyai tIrppadu nATTiyakkalaiyE from the very old movie Sivakavi. This is a very classical representation of raga as you would find in a carnatic composition. In fact, the composer (and I would wager the tune smith too) is Papanasam Sivan, a prominent 20th century Carnatic composer. So even though this figures in a movie, it is pretty much a regular carnatic song.
- The other is the song kaNNAmUcci EnaDA from the movie kaNDukoNDEn kaNDUkoNDEn with A.R. Rahman as the music director. This one is on the other end – a way too diluted, watered down version of the raga. It is still very attractive, and the song was a big hit. However, I sort of cringe to call this nATakurinji. The raga nATakurinji‘s melodic flavor is very highly dependent of specific phrases, and specific gamakas and slides (more on this below) – most of them seem absent or at least not very apparent here.
- In the movie, after the song, an inebriated Mammooty, whom the heroine Aishwarya Rai does not think highly off to begin with, makes a dialog that the song was beautiful, especially how it changed ragas from nATakurinji to sahAna (another exquisite Carnatic raga). The import of course is that he knows more than what his uncouth behavior and rough exterior shows. The dialog is quite effective for the scene and story, but given that specific dialog, in my opinion, ARR could have made a more honest attempt at two very classical ragas! And believe me that the song would still have turned out to be beautiful as those two ragas are true gems in carnatic music which have instant appeal. So I am disappointed that ARR did not take more advantage of the ragas here. There was lot of potential but he chose a different path. Of course, he still succeeded as the song was a huge hit.
I do not know if other South Indian language films employ nATakurinji more (please let me know!), but at least in Tamil Nadu, this gem remains pretty much inside the Carnatic world. Not that it is somehow confining as it shines quite brightly within that world. It is widely recognized as a rakthi raga and thus with high emotive appeal. The term rakthi raga is sort of an enigma with different interpretations. I take it to mean a raga whose melodic character is more established by specific special phrases in which some swaras take different gamakas in different contexts. In any case, rakthi ragas are of high stature in the carnatic music arena.
Compositions/Renditions of nATakurinji I love
You know the best part of having to write and express my love for nATakurinji? That I got to listen to a lot of it! So much so that I was drawn into listening to it more and more instead of coming up with what to write! I listened to many compositions, and I find that I really like all of them. It is hard to pick some diamonds from a bag when each one strikes to you as brilliant. So this list is going to be long:
chalamEla: This is a varnam in the raga, as in the “text book” song, and it is a very popular varnam, which I believe is largely due to the melodic beauty of the raga. I love this varnam and hope to learn it soon!
ekkAlattilum nAn maravEnE: This is a fantastic composition by Ramaswamy Sivan and I like the D.K. Pattammal (DKP) / D.K. Jayaraman (DKJ) version with beautiful, elaborate sangatis (variations) particularly in the pallavi (opening section) itself. I like their version so much so that I am trying to learn it just by listening to it. I think it is a tall order for my level of carnatic training – but it is way too inviting! Here is a short excerpt showing the beautiful sangatis in the pallavi part, and also the anupallavi part.
(Download by clicking here)
The lyrics of the composition are also very beautiful with lot of rhyme built into it. For example: Isanai prakAsanai guhadAsanai kAkkum nEsanai nal pUsanai seiviSvAsanai tillai vAsanai naDarAsanai (ekkAlattilum). As you can see the same/similar suffix is used as rhyme throughout the metre (naDarAsa is colloquial tamil for naTarAja – i.e Shiva). Similar concept is seen in other paras too. Very poetic, very beautiful.
mAyamma nannu brOva: A brilliant, and masterful composition by Syama Sastry. Among all the compositions in nATakurinji that I have heard, this one has the most elaborate, exquisite sangatis. It is indeed a majestic composition. Gayatri Venkatraghavan has sung it in a commercial CD janani released by Charsur, and her rendition is simply beautiful! Would love to learn this composition someday – but that day is probably very far away!
budham ASrayAmi: This is a composition of muttusvAmi dIkshitar, and is perhaps the one you are most likely to run into in a carnatic music concert. It is set to a leisurely pace typical of dIkshitar’s compositions. I love this composition, have listened to renditions by many artists, and I especially love M.D. Ramanathan‘s (MDR) rendition.
jagadISa sadA: This is a popular composition by Swati Thirunal, the king of Travencore. I have renditions by MDR and Sanjay Subrahmanyan. I always loved the MDR one (he is one of my favorites), but I have now fallen in love with Sanjay’s rendition too. He has handled the raga brilliantly embellishing it with caresses at the right spots.
pAhi janani santatam: This is another composition by Swati Thirunal. I had never heard this composition until very recently, when I came across a rendition by KVN, and I absolutely love it! It is somewhat unique in the sense that among all compositions mentioned here, this is the only that starts in the upper octave and that too on the rishabam, which although not unimportant, but not the most prominent swara in the raga. It provides a unique look at the raga.
swAmi nAn undan aDimai: This is a beautiful composition by Papanasam Sivan for dance (as a pada varnam). There is a version on musicindiaonline.com but it is too fast. I have listened to it set in slower speed as a main item in dance, and it is truly magnificent.
manasu vishaya: This is one of Thyagaraja‘s composition – short but very sweet. Perhaps surprisingly, Thyagaraja has not composed what you may call “big” compositions in nATakurinji.
Under the hood
Now on to a “under the hood” look at the technicalities of the raga. I will try to avoid a dry presentation of the technical details and instead mix it with some context and audio samples.
What does it mean for a song to be in nATakurinji?
Here I will try to show (via audio samples) some core prayogas and swara combinations that are integral to the melodic identity of nATakurinji. Even if you cannot intimately relate to the hard technicals, I hope you can still discern the melodic similarities of the occurrences in these different songs. Note however that nATakurinji offers wide scope for elaboration (and thus is frequently taken for the ragam tanam pallavi), and I think that is why there are so many variations of the key prayogas. I am presenting just a handful of those that I know, and were present in the renditions in a way that I found easy to be used in demo. Besides, I am not an expert and certainly do not know everything about naTakurinji (and I am not being humble here – just being honest).
The grand entrance – ma ga sa
This phase ma ga sa, is how the varnam chalamEla starts. I don’t know if it “set a trend” or established such a firm stamp, but many songs of nAtakurinji start with this phrase! If a performer started an alapana of nATakurinji with just these 3 swaras – most carnatic rasikas would immediately guess it is nATakurinji. It is that much associated with the raga. In fact, the alapana and the kalpanaswara example above start with this phrase 🙂 ! Need I emphasize the value of this phrase to nATakurinji more?
Here is a sample, that shows three compositions jagaDisa (sung by Sanjay Subrahmanyan), sivakAmi patim (sung by D.K. Pattammal) and calamEla varnam (sung by T.M. Krishna) start with this. The swaras are from the jagadISa rendition and sung by Sanjay.
(Download by clicking here)
Note that the pitches are slightly adjusted to make them closer to each other, which should allow you to see the similarities easier.
The sa in this phrase can be sung flat as in the above sample but it is also not uncommon for it to be sung as a slide down from ga.
ma-ni-da, and slide from ma to ni
While ma da combination is allowed, the combination ma ni da is a lot more common. You can see this in the MDR kalpanaswara sample above. The ni after ma comes in different flavors, and one such flavor involves a deep slide from ma all the way to ni. Here is a sample that shows it in two compositions: manasu vishaya (sung by Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer – SSI) and budham AshrayAmi (sung by MDR). The swaras are taken from a different rendition and are sung by Sanjay Subrahmanyan.
(Download by clicking here)
(Note that the pitches are slightly adjusted to make them the same, which should allow you to see the similarities easier.)
da-ma: slide down from da to ma
While descending from da to ma, it is not uncommon the ma to be done as a caressing slide down from da. This is another characteristic stamp of the melodic flavor nATakurinji. Here is a sample that shows it in kalpanaswaras (T.M. Krishna), in manasu vishaya (SSI), and JagadISa (MDR).
(Download by clicking here)
I wonder if the melodic nature of ni da ma sort of works in tandem with the above mentioned ma ga sa. If you look at them closer, they are symmetrical in terms of basic pitch spacing. You have the flat ni da ma and flat ma ga sa, and you have the ni da ma with slide down from da to ma, and you have ma ga sa with slide down from ga to sa.
sa ri ga ma~
This is a common way to ascend from sa to arrive at ma, with an oscillation. Here is a sample that shows it in kalpanaswaras (KVN), jagaDiSa (Sanjay), sivakAmi patim (DKP), ekkAlattilum (DKJ). Note however that the version in the kalpanaswara part is of a different flavor, and the occurrences in the songs include extra flourishes:
(Download by clicking here)
pa ga ri sa
The above representation is a simplied one as each swara has built-in pitch movement. This seems like a prayoga which instantly gives me the naTakurinji feel. Also, it is common for this to be part of ga ma pa ga ri sa.
(Download by clicking here)
Constituent Swaras and their importance
sa, ga, ma, da, and ni: It seems to be that almost all swaras play important roles in nAtakurinji, although sa itself and ma seem to be the life blood swaras. It is said that da is very important in the higher part of octave, but I find ni to be equally important. The ga also can be emphasized.
ri: The ri supposedly cannot be used as a jIva swara (e.g. hovered on long, used as an anchor). However, I think it is not a rare (alpa) swara, and in many contexts it is lengthened (dhIrga) and thus emphasized. So it does have an important role. As I mentioned earlier, the composition pAhi janani satatam, I think begins with ri (upper octave) as shown in this sample (sung by KVN):
(Download by clicking here)
This composition demonstrates nATakurinji in the upper octave quite effectively as most of the song revolves there. I found it to be very unique that way (besides the start with ri, which I think is quite unusual?). What a composition!
pa: The role of pa is subdued compared to the swaras, but it certainly is indispensable. Its usage is also quite unique. Basically the rule seems to be that you cannot go from ma to da with pa in-between, and vice versa. So ma-pa-da and da-pa-ma are disallowed. So you have pa-ga-ri-sa, pa-ma-ga-sa, ni-pa-da-ni-sa, da-pa-da-ni-sa etc. Now try representing that in standard arohana/avarohana structure!
Here is a kalpanaswara sample, where MDR has used emphasizes sa, ri, ga, ma, da and ni at various points.
(Download by clicking here)
Note that he not only uses ma ni da but also ma da. He also uses the slide down from da to ma we discussed above in ni da ma. Also, note the sparing use of pa, and it occurs here as the ga ma pa ga ri sa mentioned above.
The structure
nATakurinji is another one of those ragas for whom assigning a structure is sort of pointless as it always ends up giving an incomplete and misleading picture. It is indeed a phrase oriented rakthi raga, and those kind are always like this. Some of the idiosyncrasies in the structure that prevents a straightforward representation are:
- While ma da is indeed employed, ma ni da probably figures more often – way more often.
- We saw above how the usage of pa is such that including pa in a arohana/avarohana of nATakurinji is tricky – perhaps even impossible.
- ma ga ri sa is technically allowed, but it is very rare and avoidable according to some. The descent from ma to sa is almost always as ma ga sa. However, ma ga ri is allowed (e.g. ma ga ri ga sa), as well as ga ri sa (as in pa ga ri sa).
Similarity to ravichandrika
The one raga that is melodically close to nATakurinji is ravichandrika. The main differences are:
- no pa in ravichandrika
- To go from da to sa, it is da sa in ravichandrika vs. da ni sa in nATakurinji
- ma ga ri sa is quite common in ravichandrika while it is very rare in nATakurinji as we saw above. I am not sure if ma ga sa is used in ravichandrika (although it seems to be allowed by the structure?).
Perhaps, this points to the importance of pa in nATakurinji, and why it is indispensable as without it, it may be quite close to ravichandrika. There are some interesting points made regarding these two ragas in the discussion thread associated with the sawf.org article on nATakurinji (click on the View and post comments on this article link at the bottom of the page).
Here is a kalpanaswara sample of ravichandrika by the late Tanjore S. Kalyanaraman for the Thyagaraja composition niravati sukhada. Can you spot similarities and differences to naTakurinji?
(Download by clicking here)
In conclusion
Hopefully, from the above you can see that nATakurinji‘s melodic contours are largely determined by specific swara combinations and phrases, which also carry specific gamakas. This makes it a very emotive raga. This makes it a rakthi raga – a evolved, sophisticated melodic concept. Treating it like standard “scalar structure” (I know, wrong term) would result in something that sounds different with some vague and fleeting resemblance to nATakurinji.
September 24, 2007 at 1:44 pm
Good post Arun!
While I do not debate the “phrase orientedness” of nATakuranji, I think, the standard Arohana- Avarohana for this rAga, did as much justice possible 🙂 to the rAga!
s r g m n d n p d n s – s n d m g m p g r s
Another very important point you seemed to have overlooked is singing it without any sancharas with panchama, and still adhering to the rAga svaroopa. It is very much possible.
In fact s r g m d n s – s n d m g s is the murchana proposed in the SSP (and in the RL of MVM)
-neelanjana
September 24, 2007 at 4:41 pm
thanks neelanjana!
Actually I had that “Structure” section give a few varieties with some “analysis” – but felt it was too dry. The structure you give is the closest but not highlighting ma-ga-sa is still a big miss. Also overlooks ma-da.
pa – I was going by what Prof SRJ (and Dr. Srivatsa) in that pa is indispensible. Although you know in the carnatica article Dr. Srivatsa says without pa it would be close srIranjani! I think he probably misspoke as the ga’s are different. If any, I am assuming he meant ravichandrika.
While I agree that one can do fair justice to the raga without pa – the prayogas with pa IMO add a lot of beauty (e.g. gmpgrs) and character to the raga. Also I found pa used in pretty much in every rendition I listened to “in preparation”. So how could i say “it is ok to dismiss pa” 🙂 ?
September 24, 2007 at 5:06 pm
I think I left my sentance incomplete 😦
If I had written –
Singing it without panchama quite some time, and then grandly announcing it with “g m p g r s”
it would have been more apt!
-neelanjana
September 25, 2007 at 4:33 pm
Agreed. One can indeed not introduce it for a while and establish the flavor of nATakurinji for quite a while.
But if one completely eschews it, then it would be like the moon one or two days before “full moon” – very nice and bright but not a complete picture :)!
September 25, 2007 at 6:50 pm
Now I understand how a loyal reader must be feeling when up against my ‘Humerus News’ posts!
Do you ever do Western classical or rock/jazz stuff?
Just asking!
Arun: 🙂 – I did touch upon western classical and rock stuff before but only within a carnatic context. But just rock stuff? Quite possible (but not at this level!) as it is remnant of my “previous life” 😉
September 25, 2007 at 10:36 pm
Wow !! Amazing and elaborate post 🙂
Your presentation with lots of valid points and examples in the simplest form, can even make a child to follow and know about nattakurinchi raaga.
Please continue the same kind of posts.So that, we can taste the essence of each raaga in different angle.
it gives me immense pleasure :)Thanks a lot!
Arun: Thanks a lot sowmya!
September 26, 2007 at 9:15 pm
Brilliant!
Some months back, MMI searching searching i arrived at ‘O Kanada’. Havent quite indulged myself in MDR that much yet, but I will now.
Ma Janaki by MM – if you’ve heard a particular rendition, is a great treat of Kambodhi – almost as powerful as Suki evvaro.
September 26, 2007 at 10:38 pm
I am a big fan of music… but didnt understand a word here… this is like ultra professional stuff 🙂 Keep it up
September 27, 2007 at 8:55 am
yet to read this entirely! but fantastic post man! will read it fully and probably comment more.. 🙂
September 27, 2007 at 11:42 am
@Pathe: Thanks! MDR is an experience. Some people find him a bit harder to get into because of his unique delivery and idiosyncrasies. But you get past that and you can see that he is indeed the king in raga alapanas.
@oemar: Thanks – 😉
@Arun: Thanks!
September 27, 2007 at 1:07 pm
once again fantastic post! finally learnt a good deal about this ragam. I was always confused between navarasa kannada and nattai kurinji…one because of the name – i know, silly! the other reason being, the very first carnatic compositions i ever listened to in these ragams were – Naan Oru Vilayaattu Bommaya & Paal Vadiyum Mugam, respectively, and they sounded a little similar to me then. maybe the s-n-d-m-g-r-s in navarasa kannada was the reason for confusion… but then it may just be me. 🙂
Arun(k): Hmm.. I myself did not (and also cannot now) see the resemblance. But different people do see things differently. It is quite possible that the avarohana may have given you the impression
September 27, 2007 at 10:20 pm
Excellent post! Nattakurunji is one of my fav raagas too 🙂 Thanks for all those wonderful audio clippings.
Looking forward to more posts of this kind
Arun: Thanks Aparna! They are quite fulfilling to write as I get to learn a lot in the process too (and like I mentioned listen to my favorite ragas a lot).
September 28, 2007 at 11:48 am
That’s one good thing that happens when you blog about your passions 🙂
Btw, Nattakurunji Varnam played by MSG and Vazhi Maraitthirukkudhu by Sanjay are my favs. I love the neraval at the line uTruppArkkave in Vazhi maraitthirukkudhu. Ever since I read your post in the morn, I have been waiting to listen this one and that’s what am doing now 🙂
September 28, 2007 at 12:44 pm
I need to listen to it too 🙂 I had heard about the thillai CD for a while and only recently bought it.
September 30, 2007 at 6:49 am
Top post! Detailed picture of the Ragam. But, Ravichandrika and Nattaikurinji – I would say they are different. They evoke quite different feelings me in me. Like Bhairavi and Mukhari – though similar are distinct in characteristics.Btw, Vazhi Maraithirukkude is sung in Thodi by TMK and Nattaikurinji by Sanjay.Thodi version is also quite good.
Sathej
Arun: Thanks Sathej! I agree that there are indeed enough differences. I find nATakurinji to be more emotive. It is of course a “bigger raga”.
September 30, 2007 at 11:36 am
hey arun,
“pallaviye saranam” song from the movie “oruvar vaazhum aalayam” is based on the raaga nattaikurinchi.Recently heard that song !
you hear it once.its amazing
Arun: Thanks Sowmya! I will try to hunt this one down.
September 30, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Sir. Hats off. Brilliant stuff. Just one small thing. I think Budham refers to Mercury.
Arun: Thanks Ashok (Saarelllam vendam please!) and indeed it is Mercury – thanks for catching that. I will make the change
October 3, 2007 at 12:19 am
Awesome post buddy- found myself humming out all the swaras as I read them. While I must admit it is not my favourite ragam, mainly because of hearing too many maamis sing it at Dasara Kolu, this post gives it a wonderful dimension that will definitely make me view it in a new light.
PS I think the video recording of that MD Ramanathan Cutchery is available. I watched it once at a friend’s house. It was indeed performed on a verandah/pandal in the garden of a house. Beautiful concert, and the first time I was actually seeing the man, which was, err.. interesting 😛
Looking forward to more such brilliant posts!
BD
October 3, 2007 at 8:35 am
Offtopic question Arunk, asking you after I have scanned virtually every place (and person) I know. Do you have Vatapi Ganapati Bhajeham redention by MS? There is a crude one on Youtube, but do you have better?
October 3, 2007 at 11:26 am
thanks bikerdude and welcome to my blog! I did know a video recording of a MDR concert is available – I did not know this was the one! And yes I hear his stage mannerisms are err.. interesting as you put it 🙂
October 3, 2007 at 11:27 am
priyank – I found one online at http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/KUf2mNSWIS.As1NMvHdW/.
You can listen it in streaming mode (and depending on your technical capabilities – more)
November 10, 2007 at 7:26 pm
Arun,
A rather unrelated question…Are you aware of a name for the pentatonic scale “S R2 M2 P N2 S”?
Are there any compositions in this?
February 24, 2008 at 6:44 am
Hi Arun,
I was searching for the lyrics of the varnam ‘Swami Nan Undan Adimai’ and came across your wonderful post. I need them for a Bharatha Natya arangetram that my wife is planning for her student. Would you, in any way, be able to help us with it? Would appreciate if you could write to me directly.
Regards,
Srinivasan
Muscat, Oman
Arun: Thanks and thanks for visiting! I sent some information regarding this to your email address
May 5, 2008 at 10:38 am
[…] nATakurinji earlier and kAnaDa before that, I tried to come with a title that incorporates a poor pun on the […]
May 6, 2008 at 2:10 am
Dear Arun,
Good description of the raga.You know what Music is something that can overcome anything and if you are taking of specifics then yes NataiKurinji is just fantastic.
Have you heard that RTP of TNS in Nattai, NataiKurinji and Kurinji what a gem…
Thanks for this post.
Regards
June 22, 2008 at 7:16 am
Srinivasan. Muscat. Oman: I don’t know if you are still looking for the lyrics for this but here they are. If you want the notations please send me a message at luzchurch@ hotmail.com
svAmi nAn unran (varNam). rAgA: nATakuranji. Adi tALA.
P: svAmi nAn unran aDimai enru ulagamellAm ariyumE
tAmadam sheyyAdhu vandaruL mAdOr pangA bhUtEshA
A: nAmAmrta pAnamE en jIvanamE enru nambinEnE
naTanamADum sEvaDi darishanam enru kiDaikkum enavE EnginEnE
(muktAyi svara sAhityam)
senjaDADaviyil iLam pirai deiva gangaiyum Oraravum Ada
iLa naghai tavazhum shevvidazhudan tadhIm ena ciTrambalam tanil ADum
C: naTarAjA dEvA sacchidAnandA
(caraNa svara sAhityas)
1: ADum nin azhagil kAdal koNDa ivaLaip-pAr
2: nandi bhrngi shiva gaNam munivargaLum indiran mudal amara kOTigaL paNiyum
3: punnagai tavazh idazhin azhagaiyum kaDaikkaN azhagaiyum kaNDAL mazhup- paDaiyai shen shaDaiyai tOluDaiyai madagaja naDaiyai ninainndurugum ivaLai ANDaruL
4: nI varam tara uDan viraindu vA meyyanbu koNDu ninaindu nAL muzhudum tan ninaivilAL kaN urangilaL uNavaruNDilaL tirup-peyarai sholli sholli pulambuvaL tanimai tanilE kala kalavena naghaitthiDum ivaLin viraham taNiya aruL nI puriyAviDilE mOsham varum pAshamuDan vanNdaruL
October 11, 2008 at 6:52 am
hi your insights was wonderful
can i download the md ramanathan chamber concert
anywhere ,can u please send me that
January 1, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Hi,
I was searching for some details about this nattakurinji varnam-swami nan undan adimai..since few days,and today surprisingly came across your website..Its simply a great work,,that i see here!
Can you pls send me some theory regarding this dance,as i wanted to use it for a dance programme.I mean the meaning and story behind the composition.
(its a long time since i stopped perfoming and the truth is that i forgot half o it,would like to compose it again:)
Would be of great help as i needed this badly in one week time!
thanks in advance,
ria
Arun: Thanks Ria and thanks for visiting! Please check out http://rasikas.org/forum/topic2073-sami-naan-undan-adimai-nattakurunji.html for the information you want (btw, it is an excellent cm related forum)
January 3, 2010 at 9:48 am
Arun, found your piece to be very informative and presented in a gripping manner. Thanks for taking the pains and patience to put this together.
December 26, 2010 at 11:23 pm
I stumbled in here searching for “Swami naan undan adimai”. Liked it. Good material!Many thanks.
August 10, 2011 at 10:06 am
Hi. I am dance teacher in Bangalore and would like to choreograph for the varnam ‘Swami Nan Unndan Adimai’. Can you please help me with the meanings for the lyrics and any more useful information.I am unable to access some of the links mentioned above to get the same information.Thanks.
September 1, 2011 at 8:25 pm
See http://rasikas.org/forum_flux/topic2073-sami-naan-undan-adimai-nattakurunji.html
November 3, 2011 at 6:08 pm
Theres a beautiful song in Malayalam.. sundg by Dr KJ Yesudas.. Thiranurayum.. This is in Nattakurinji..
December 4, 2011 at 4:30 am
Check out Prananatha By Sangeetha Swaminathan on musicindiaonline.com…..Lovely manodharmams. Absolutely love this raga.
January 5, 2012 at 5:49 am
congo…
[…]nATakurinji – What a kuLirchi! « Just thinking out aloud …[…]…
January 6, 2012 at 8:54 am
I request u to to give the exact tamil translation of the padhavarnam in the raga nattakuruinji. Incidentally My daughter is a stage performer in Bharathanatyam and it could be better performed if she understands the language. If u can recollect, I am an international cricket Umpire and it was through Mr Arving that I got introduced to u. I would be much obliged if u can give me the literal translation in tamil.
Thank u
With best regards
Radha
January 19, 2012 at 6:03 am
Hey Arun!
As someone who’s been learning Carnatic music for quite a while and is just as passionate about it as you, I would like to say that you’ve done a wonderful job explaining this raagam and analyzing it (almost threadbare)! Really nice!
I love the song ‘Maayamma’ too. Have you listened to Maharajapuram Santhanam’s rendition of it? I almost didn’t recognize that it was Naattakurinji until I listened more closely! I’ve always thought of Naattakurinji as a more mellow, cheerful raagam, but it sounds SO majestic and enchanting in Maayamma!
January 25, 2012 at 4:26 am
cocalari…
[…]nATakurinji – What a kuLirchi! « Just thinking out aloud …[…]…
May 25, 2012 at 6:37 am
Can you please send notation for the song Paalvadiyum mukam – Natakurinji Composer Oothukkadu Venkata subbaiyar.
December 23, 2014 at 9:24 pm
If you still want the notation for pAl va|Diyum mukham please send me a message to luzchurch1@hotmail.com
September 8, 2012 at 10:05 pm
What a lovely post!
@ Sumitra, i suspect Santhanam’s Mayamma that you mentioned is the Ahiri Mayamma.
June 11, 2015 at 2:21 am
Dear Arun,
Glad I could subscribe to your blog post…your summary of nattakurinchi ( one of my fav ) is very informative and the various audio excerpts you have painstakingly posted is simply great…I stumbled on to your site while searching for Rudrapriya / Poornashadjam songs…and am glad I found this site…looking forward for more info on ragas and songs …keep it up !!
thx
Radha Madhav
March 13, 2016 at 2:10 am
pet epitaphs
nATakurinji – What a kuLirchi! | Just thinking out aloud …