#kamboji

This padam has been on my mind for sometime now. I learned it as part of my training and saw the video of a senior performing the same as part of my learning. I never got to perform it. It is composed by Pattanam Subburama Iyer/Subbaraama Aiyyar/Subbarama Iyer in Kambodhi/Kamboji ragam. There are some who have used Aadi talam and some have used Rupaka talam. Perhaps it is an artistic liberty or…

Gamaka is an embellishment done between two musical notes and there are at least 10+ gamakas in carnatic music.  Kamboji raga is a gamaka rich ragam and has quite a few attractive prayogams. One such prayogam is called jaaru-gamaka which means a downward glide gamaka. All vidwans use jaaru gamaka in Kamboji but very few accentuate like the vidwans in the enclosed audio.

Karakurichi Arunachalam plays kamboji swaras and hits the swooping downward glide in 0:20 seconds.  Follows that at 1m:21s; 1m:31s, 2m:22s; 2m:32s and ends with a glide.  Madurai Somu is the only one that I have listened to who delivers a similar downward glide.  In this raga alapana you can hear the first glide from Somu at 4m:33s, follows that at 7m:03s, 11m:17s and then moves on to wrap the alapana.

Like any professional if you are wrapping up something you want to provide the best closure possible - be it an argument, a business presentation, a lecture, a surgery or garnishing (thalikardhu) in cooking. Madurai Somu wraps up the alapana with some excellent and intensive brigas. (Brigas are basically delivering the raga bhava at an accelerated pace)  The end brigas starting at 12m:06s are classic Somu style. Before closing the alapana at 13m:16s he sings the swara phrases of Sri Subramanyaya namaste' setting the stage for the song he's most likely going to sing following the alapana. This is another carnatic music tradition, where the musician can chose to subtly express the notes of the song he's going to sing.  

Sri Subramanyaya namaste is probably one of the greatest assets of carnatic music.  We'll cover this song in greater detail later.

You don't necessarily have to read my notes and look for the downward glide; you can enjoy the music as is.  This is Madurai Somu at his best, this raga alapana is from a 1970 concert in Jamshedpur.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1B4P4x_umio0s6hcbSqU9BAnaGY0zH0Ci