Raagpicker

                                            The name Andolika translates to 'swing'. Though it may not always be accurate as it depends upon the context. This raaga has been haunting me for quite a while now so thought I'd make a blog post and share it with you guys.

 It is an asymmetric auduva raaga whose parent scale is 22nd Kharaharapriya. I will just link this Wiki page which you can use if you want more technical details. I realized how tricky singing this raaga can get when I learnt it. Say you are singing in the upper octave and you reach "Pa". You have no choice but to reach "Ni" and only then descend. Hence this raaga has to be carefully handled is what I think. 

Moving on, here is a relevant anecdote that I'm quoting as it is from @hamsanandi's blog.

"

When a young G N Balasubramaniam started with a rAga AlApane at a concert in Tanjavoor, some of the vidwans in the concert hall walked out appalled at the vocalist who ‘did not even sing Madyamavati phrases correctly’.

But still captivated by his voice, they could not help themselves hanging around outside the hall to hear the vocalist start off a hitherto unknown (for them) composition starting with the words – rAgasudhArasa .

If you were thinking about the composition of Tyagaraja, in rAga Andolika ( sometimes called Mayura Dhwani), you are right on the dot. At that time, it was still not very well known even among musicians. It is one of what is generally termed as a “apUrva rAga kriti” of Tyagaraja.

Tyagaraja was the first to compose in this rAga – as he did in several scores of other melodies unheard of till his time.

"

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1. Raagasudharasa:

Undoubtedly the most popular kruthi in this raaga. Composed by St Tyagaraja, this kruthi was familiarized by GNB. Listen to a recording from 1965 Kallidaikkurichi concert here.

2. Sevikka Vendum Ayya:

Another popular kruthi in this raaga is by Sri Muthu Tandavar (tuned by someone else perhaps). You can listen to Madurai Mani Iyer's rendition of it here.

3. Nee daya rada (Varnam):

The third item on the list is a varna in raaga Andolika composed by GNB. You can listen to D K Jayaraman's rendition here.

4. Karanamemi:

One more beautiful composition by GNB in Andolika. Listen to S Kalyanaraman's rendition of this kruthi here.

5. RTP - TVS:

A crisp rendition of a raaga, taana, pallavi in Andolika by T V Shankaranarayanan. Pallavi is set to Trishra-Triputa in ateeta graha (Starts before the beat). Listen to it here.

6. RTP - MLV:

Saving the best for the last, this is a splendid rendition of a raaga, taana, pallavi by Dr M L Vasantakumari. Pallavi is set to Mishra Chapu and starts 8 aksharas after (or 6 aksharas before) the beat, which I think makes it a tricky once. She also concludes the pallavi with raga malike of some of the uncommon raagas. Truly one of the best pallavi renditions I've listened to. You can listen to it here.

                     Niroshta:

Have been tripping over this raaga for over a week now after listening to it on the radio. I've shared a concert recording of T N Sheshagopalan from a 2002 concert held in Cleveland. He explains the raaga in the clipping so I will spare you of it here.

Raja Rajaaradhite is a composition of Muttaiah Bhagavatar who probably is the only one to have explored this raaga. I also found a thillana in this raaga composed by Bhagavatar again. Apart from this I didn't find any other kruthis. Please do link me to other compositions in this raaga if you come across any. Though catchy, the raaga remains largely unexplored. 

ಹರಿ ಹರ ನಿನ್ನನು ಮೆಚ್ಚಿಸಬಹುದು, ನರರ ಒಲಿಸುವುದು ಬಹು ಕಠಿಣ..

Disclaimer: Do not proceed if you are not in a mood for something deeply classical and awesome.

            Watch on YouTube

This is a rendition of a Raaga, Taana, Pallvi in Todi raaga, Simhanandana taala by the veteran vocalist Suguna Purusothaman. She is supported on the violin by R. Hemalatha and on the mridangam by Neyveli R. Narayanan.

She sings the pallavi in 3 speeds in chaturashra and and 2 speeds in trishra and ends it with a brilliant swara-prasthara.

About the talam:

Simhanandana is the longest talam in world music. It has 18 angas, 128 kriyas(or beats) and 512 aksharas. The talam, apart from commonly used angas Laghu and Drutha, also contains the rarely used angas Guru, Plutha and Kaakapaada.

On comaprision, 1 avartha of Simhanandana Tala is equivalent to 16 avarthas of Adi Tala. A lot has been discussed about this talam by musicians of yester years, who refer to it as a "Simha Swapnam". The angas of this talam are Guru-Guru-Laghu-Plutha-Laghu-Guru-Dhruta-Dhruta-Guru-Guru-Laghu-Plutha-Laghu-Plutha-Guru-Laghu-Laghu-Kakapada. This talam is the 37th of the Ashtottarashatha(108) talas. It can also be seen as a sequence of 6 talas of the 108 tala scheme. They are Chanchatputa, Rati, Darpana, Kokilapriya, Abhanga and Mudrika talas, taken in the same order.