Vaak Recommends MD Ramanathan

Shreyas Kuchibhotla & Ananthakrishna Panuganti

Link to the listening Session:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A--gg2kfVQk

Vaak hosted its listening session on the music of Vid. M D Ramanathan, on 31st October 2021. In collaboration with Ananthakrishna Panuganti and ShreyasKuchibhotla, we have put together a discography of the session, accompanied by introductory and explanatory notes for each track.

Before we begin, we would like to for you to remember that MD Ramanathan (MDR) was a musician far beyond our common perception of the term. He understood music as it should be. Although music to him was an abstract, ethereal entity unfettered by labels and constraints, he did not flout tradition for the sake of it. He instead reconstructed his music and loved it for its own sake. He empathised with the composers whose work he presented. He often placing himself in their position while enthralling himself and his audience with the inherent bhava of the composition. We can presume that he did not recognise the boundaries between raga, tala and sahitya. He only looked at music as sound, and each musical piece as a means to convey the essence of that sound.

MDR, as he is fondly known, is certainly an acquired taste. Many found (and find) it hard to come to terms with his patala sruti, unconventional choice of pace, characteristic slurred accent and what one might call idiosyncratic interaction with lyrics. MDR, over his 30 odd year-long career, simply did not care. He sang as he pleased, and stayed true to his musical beliefs till his last breath. This established him as a niche performer even during his lifetime.

By giving you a glimpse of MDR’s music, we aim to introduce him and his definition of music to new listeners, provide delectably familiar strains of music for seasoned aficionados of MDR’s aesthetic, and all-in-all ensure that all of you come out of this session with a deeper understanding and appreciation for his unique brand of Carnatic music.

Note: This is not a session purely for connoisseurs of MDR’s music and therefore does not necessarily contain all of his evergreen renditions. This is simply intended to be a nonexhaustive starting point from which to journey into MDR’s music. Most importantly, we request you not to derive your enjoyment of this session from a preset expectation of diversity of ragas, talas, composers and manodharma but rather, as we did, from a more complete picture of MDR’s sangeetham.

Natai – Sarasijanabha (Varnam) – Adi – Palghat Sri Parameshwara Bhagavathar

MDR was particularly fond of the raga Natai, and his many elaborate renditions of weighty gems like Jagadanandakaraka and Ninne Bhajana stand testimony to his thorough understanding of the phraseology and nature of this raga. He was also enamoured with the varnam, and time and time again refused to present it as a perfunctory throat-warmer. Where his two loves meet, there is bound to be magic!

In this relatively rare rendition of the Natai raga varnam, MDR takes his time (as is his wont) to explore and demonstrate the specialties of each of the ettugada/chittaswaras of the uttarangam. This he does by leveraging his unique style of enunciation to create a musical effect akin to that of syncopation. In our opinion, this recording is a sterling example of how MDR approached the idea of sound and voice. His trademark sonority and slurring (alongside his affinity for plain notes) are used as an effective tool to explore pre-existing patterns, and also to create novel ones.

Gowlipantu – Teratiyagarada – Adi – Tyagaraja

‘O Lord of Tirupati, won’t you destroy this shroud of envy?’ Tyagaraja implores Lord Venkateswara in this famous kriti. The custom thus far has been to sing it at a breakneck pace and append countless rounds of whirlwind kalpanaswaras to it. MDR, however, envisions how the great vaggeyakara himself must have sung it - a plaintive prayer.

He begins almost ponderously in the mandhra sthayi, adopting a leisurely pace throughout, enhancing the sahityabhava and bringing about wider possibilities to improvise. Replete with little gamaka frills and swaraksharams, the rendition takes a solid 7-8 minutes. It is important to note here that the pace is chosen so as to enhance the sahityabhava, the sahitya is not only respected but used as an effective conduit through which to showcase the different facets of the raga, and the melodic structure of the raga is altered so as to more effectually fit the laya. Any MDR rendition is simply brimming with manodharma, whether or not he chooses to execute alapanams, neraval or swaraprastaram.

Also, through this elaboration of Gaulipantu we may experience what Keats famously stated - that ‘Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter’, for MDR infuses even silence with the bhava of the composition. In the massive soundscape of the raga and sahitya that MDR constructs, every pause assumes an integral and meaningful role. It is this enveloping and syncretic approach to music that defines MDR. When he begins to sing, every fibre of his being, every thought of his mind and every action of his body is pure music.

Keeravani – Alapana

A raga in Carnatic music might be considered as the addition of a specific layer of aesthetics to a specific set of rules. Keeravani (the 21st melakartha raga in Govinda Dikshita’s scheme) is a scalar creation, one that has very little musical precedent in terms of non-linearity when contrasted with established ragas of comparable provenance like Shanmukhapriya or Harikambhoji. And so, the conventional method of developing a new identity has been to Carnaticise it with respect to gamakams. Listeners who are fond of engaging with the art in an inquisitive manner may well ask, what might happen if an artist chose to refrain from this typical exercise in Carnaticising, rather try to bring out a Carnatic flavour through the use of straight notes and phrases?

This excerpt from an alapana gives us the answer. MDR does not concern himself with grammatical questions such as whether his exploration of the raga sounds ‘heavy’ enough, nor does he adamantly defy rules. He is only aware of the fact that he is singing Keeravani, and shows his audience what it means to him. It is rigorous, sombre, elegant and ebullient all at once. He makes generous use of plain notes, particularly in his exhaustive musical rumination in the lower reaches of the octave, all while leveraging silences to enhance the effect of his short, powerful phrases.

Kedaragowla – Jalajanabha Mamava – Misra Chapu – Swati Tirunal

The music of MDR is most often associated with his classic ponderous gait. There were, however, many instances where he rendered pieces at a faster pace yet never compromising on the bhava of the compositions or manodharma presented. One such rendition is this kuraippu swaraprastaram for Swati Tirunal’s Jalajanabha Mamava in Kedaragaula, which starts off gently with classic Kedaragaula phrases and culminates in a climax that is simultaneously foot-tapping, novel and dainty. Kedaragaula’s structure and characteristics allow for this sort of elaboration, an allowance that MDR makes full use of. The distinctness of the swaras makes its phraseology flexible, accommodating straight, ullaasita and kampita gamakams, and its pliability, particularly in the higher and lower octaves, shines forth through this kalpanaswara snippet. While this kind of swaraprastharam in and of itself is not unique to MDR, his telltale octave jumps, rhythmic syncopations and subtle gamakam alterations aid in constructing a truly impressive edifice of the soundscape of Kedaragaula.

Manji – Varugalamo – Misra Chapu – Gopalakrishna Bharathi

The composition Varugalamo is most often associated with Vid. Palghat K V Narayanaswamy, who has no doubt provided us with numerous memorably poignant renditions of the kriti. However, MDR’s interpretation of the composition, albeit less popular, is sui generis. From the gentle oscillations around the antara gandharam to the melancholy ‘Ayya’, the listener can easily perceive the saint standing in front of the temple and beseeching the lord to let him enter. This is one of the defining features of MDR’s music - when he renders a composition, he emotes as if he were in the shoes of the vaggeyakara. He was seldom faithful to a rigid patanthara, for he saw so much more in a composition. To him, the feelings and emotions evoked in the composition and its music were of greater importance than a preset order of sangathis or predefined conventions of rendition. In looking beyond those constraints, he was able to present truly soulful music.

Kalyani – Bhajana Seyave – Rupakam – Thyagaraja

MDR is most known for his powerful, deep and slow renditions. However, one side of him which is not often observed is evinced very well in this rendition of Tyagaraja’s kriti in Kalyani - Bhajana Seyave Manasa. As pointed out previously, MDR was a musician who aimed to emulate the musical experience he believed was created by the composers themselves. This case is no exception, as MDR gives out an energetic and festive call to our minds, imploring us to partake in the bliss that Ramabhajana offers to its practitioners. The tempo he chooses is reflective of the jubilation one feels when they have surrendered themselves and their music to the supreme being - it does not represent discrete sections of composition, neraval and swara, but one musical being that reflects the ragabhava and sahityabhava with sparkle and style.

On a less philosophical note, this rendition has been chosen not only to demonstrate MDR’s unexpected dexterity in handling faster paces, but also as the immense fecundity of his musical mind. He churned out so many fresh and unconventional yet perfectly suited phrases in the neraval and swaraprastaram sections despite the unwieldy pace he chose for the composition. The entire rendition exudes mirth and cheer, and instead of adhering to the routine itinerary for a Kalyani exploration, he frolics with the swaras as he deems fit to enhance the experience.

Kanada – Srikanta Enage – Misra Chapu – Purandara Dasa

It is often said that true musical genius lies not just in invention, but also in reinvention. And one of the finest examples for genius in musical reinvention must be the sketch in raga Kanada that MDR performs here. The phrases he incorporates are quite conventional, but the way he structures, treats and delineates them infuses a freshness into these oft-heard phrases that makes even the familiar sound pleasantly new and unencountered.

MDR had his own method of dealing with Kanada. This is a significantly more abstract raga, and he leverages this potential by including some of his own freshly minted phrases throughout the rendition of the sketch and the composition. His handling of the composition itself is typical of his style, with a meandering approach to melody, excellent grammatical fidelity in both melodic and lyrical respects, and the seamless coequal integration of raga, sahitya and laya. There is a hallmark of his aesthetic.

Begada – Navarasa Sloka

The Navarasa slokam was a Semmangudi favourite, and he has rendered it on countless occasions. MDR of course brings an offbeat take on the slokam to the fore, this time imagining himself to be describing the multi-faceted Rama extolled in the verse and adorning each of the lines with a novel flavour of the raga. In this case, he presents the entire slokam in Begada, choosing to begin with some patently unorthodox phrases.

It is interesting to observe how he develops Begada slowly and surely while almost assertively inserting references to the rasas wherever possible. An MDR slokam rendition is always special due to the respect he affords to the sahitya and the lengths to which he goes to ensure that the bhava is not only understood but showcased to the fullest. Most importantly, the raktitvam that he infuses into a raga is not through a conscious effort to eschew linearity but an unconscious yet deliberate progression of seemingly unrelated ideas until they reach an all too familiar denouement.

Madhyamavathi – Nagumomu Gala Vani –Adi – Thyagaraja

The penultimate piece in this session is a recording of MDR performing the famous Divya Nama Sankeertanam, Nagumomu Gala Vani, in the raga Madhyamavathi.

MDR, in his trademark fashion, throws himself into the composition and all its elements. This is a passionate, deep and reflective rendition that perfectly encapsulates the soul and emotions that Tyagaraja poured into the composition. We see MDR performing his familiar tightrope act, balancing his slow laya on one side, the deep raga and emotive sahitya on the other. This particular recording also gives us a small peek into the workings of his musical intellect.

Here MDR actually starts the kriti at a faster tempo, but promptly slows down at ‘Gala Vani’, perhaps because even as he began the rendition, he felt that a slower pace would do it more justice. This sense of thoughtful introspection, of sound judgement and of a constant state of creation, is what makes MDR’s music memorable, and perennially relevant.

Madhyamavathi - Rupakam - Tyagaraja and Swathi Thirunal

Any session about MDR and his musical oeuvre is incomplete without a discussion on his patented Mangalams. His rendition of these compositions is a lesson in how one should assess a composition solely based on its musical merit, rather than on superficial categorisations and conventions. For him, the Mangalam wasn’t an obligatory ballistic coda to a concert; it is a weighty piece in its own right and therefore deserving of respect. MDR seldom concluded his recitals with the customary Ni Nama Rupamulaku; he developed his own format for the Mangalam. Beginning with the Sourashtram, he would gently transition into a section of Tyagaraja’s composition in Madhyamavathi, Alakalellaladaga, followed by the last verse from Swati Tirunal’s behemoth creation Bhavayami Raghuramam. In this recording, we can see how he saw off his audience, his co-artists and his recital itself through this characteristically grand finale.

From a purely technical standpoint, his rendition of Alakalellaladaga is slow and measured, in contrast with the madhyamakala interpretation in vogue today. His beloved prefixes and suffixes lead to many moments of musical elation for himself and the listener, and the beautifully timed segues must be experienced firsthand to be appreciated.

The MDR kutcheri is a thing of beauty, the MDR Mangalam a joy forever.

About the authros

Ananthakrishna Panuganti is a passionate rasika and student of music, currently learning from Vid.Malini Ramasubrahmanya. He is pursuing a BS-MS course at IISER Thiruvananthapuram.

Shreyas Kuchibhotla is an upcoming Carnatic vocalist from Hyderabad. He has learnt from Vid. VasaviDhulipala, Vid. Seshulatha Kosuru and is currently studying music under Vid. Malladi Sreeramaprasad.He is pursuing a course in biomedical engineering at Imperial College, London.