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Dr. L Subramaniam’s special session at A.R. Rahman’s K.M. Music Conservatory focused on the importance of the nadha or sound, which is the process of creation and the medium to a state of consciousness. He attributed the development of Indian music to Vedic chants taken in monotone, with emphasis on the words, making it a free note chant.
Dr. Subramaniam explained that the concept of seven notes can be derived from the Sama Veda. It was around the 12th century that the two strong classical systems, Hindustani and Carnatic, developed. These seven basic notes are also present in Western classical music. During the 18th century, Venkatamaki determined the 72 parent scales, each containing seven notes.
Vajra Ragas
The ragas created by omitting notes are called Vajra ragas. An example is Muthuswami Dikshitar’s “Vathapi Ganapatim” in Hamsadhwani, which uses a pentatonic scale. The second category, Vakra ragas, indicates a break of continuity or regularity in the accepted order of notes.
There is another category, a combination of Vakra and Vajra, called the Bhashanga ragas. These ragas include foreign notes (accidentals); Bhashanga are ‘derived scale ragas,’ which evolve from a major scale through the inclusion of a minor komal swara. Anand Bhairavi, Piloo, Bhairavi, and Hindolam are some examples that showcase the Vajra Bhashanga combinations. Innumerable opportunities exist in Vakra Bhashanga; starting from one parent scale, many explorations are possible.
Dr. Subramaniam highlighted the importance of the primary and secondary notes, Vadi and Samvadi, in a raga. The key phrase of the raga would express the primary note. Similarly, when improvising, the ornamentation of the primary and secondary notes clarifies the raga’s character. He emphasized that a raga does not simply emerge from going up and down the scale; it is the specific ornamentation relevant to a raga that conveys the right emotion, flavor, and comes close to being a true expression of color, emotion, and feeling.
Dr. Subramaniam also spoke about the seven basic talas, 108 variable talas, and the Chapu Talas.
Dr. Subramaniam’s interactive, exhaustive talk on the basics of the raga-tala system was a fitting introduction for the first batch of the Foundation Programme and the faculty from different parts of the world at the KM Music Conservatory.
