Guru Padmabhushan
Lalgudi Sri Jayaraman

Lalgudi mama never takes anything for granted. The musicologist in him always looks at every minute aspect with a magnifying glass to understand and appreciate nuances. Sangatis would be systematically laid down keeping in mind aspects such as the spirit of the composition, mood of the composer, raga lakshana and lyrical beauty.

As a Guru, Lalgudi mama communicates musical nuances to his students in a lucid and clear manner. When he teaches a song, he communicates to the student various details about the song, as well as its melodic and rhythmic aspects. I have attempted, in my own small way, to incorporate this in my live classes as well as recorded lessons. Here are a couple of illustrations with respect to gamakams.

a. Lathangi and Kalyani both have the same swarams in the scales except for the Dhaivatam (Lathangi has the lower Suddha Dhaivatham-D1 and Kalyani has the higher Chatusruti Dhaivatam-D2). But a raga alapana (exposition) of Lathangi differs from a Kalyani alapana substantially. If we hear a good alapana of Lathangi, the Chatusruti Rishabham (R2) is, more often than not, rendered flat i.e. devoid of gamakams. The same Chatusruti Rishabham (R2) in Kalyani has much more scope for gamakams. Lalgudi mama, in his inimitable style, drew my attention to such aspects. This is something a student may possibly discover on her own, but only after several years of self study. To hand this over to a young student in a platter is a boon in today’s fast paced world where time is at a premium.

b. Kambhoji does not have the Kaisiki Nishadham (N2) in its arohanam. This is one of the key differentiators between Harikambhoji and Kambhoji. The absence of N2 in Kambhoji’s arohanam makes the Chatusruti Dhaivatam (D2) a powerful note, with ample scope for exploration (eg., M G P D ….S – here the gamakam to D2 is an essential factor in bringing out Kambhoji’s beauty). In Harikambhoji, on the other hand, the presence of N2 caps or limits the potential of D2. N2 being an adjacent swaram and close to D2 in frequency makes D2 in Harikambhoji a plainer and straighter note compared to D2 in Kambhoji. On the other hand, N2 in the arohanam of Harikambhoji, takes on the role of the dominant note with ample scope for gamakams in the arohanam (eg., G M P D N….S – here the gamakam to N2 is crucial to bringing out Harikamhoji’s innate beauty).

 It is not easy for a student of vocal music to develop her swara gnana. In fact, this is a much neglected aspect. Arming a student with the ability to decompose a phrase into the underlying notes is similar to breaking down a word problem into a mathematical equation. Once I was able to grasp the underlying swarams, I could test to see if the swarams fit into the context. A student with swara gnana is well equipped to self learn and improvise. This skill can be developed in ways such as encouraging students to write and follow notations, giving akaram exercises and by quizzing students on underlying swarams when they hear a raga or kriti exposition. The other side of the same coin is the emphasis on tala or rhythmic exercises. Here again, Lalgudi mama would stress on “sugar coating rhythm with melody”.