Kalyani..!!!!

Today, something drove me to listen to Shri. K.J. Yesudas's songs. Everytime I listen to him singing, tears roll down my eyes. I dont know why. I am reminded of how unfornuate I am for not utilising the umpteen number of opportunities that I was given to improve my singing skills.

That said, I was listening to Kalyani Ragam which is one of my favourite raagas. Whenever I listen to this raaga, I am reminded of the events in childhood. The scoldings that we used to get for not getting the "Madhyamam" correctly, making it sound more like Sankarabaranam. At some point of time, we were told that the "Madhayamam" should sound as close as "Pa" in order to get it right. The uniqueness of the raaga lies in the "Madhyamam". It is similar to the raga Sankarabaranam. The raagas are so similar that we have to keep stressing the difference in the Madhyamam in order not to give the perception that the song being sung is based on some other raaga. I realised the importance only when I started to try to play it in Veena. I could actually find the difference when I heard the sounds of the two Madhyamas... :)

The Aarohanam: Sa Re(2) Ga(3) Ma(2) Pa Da(2) Ne(3) Sa

The Avarohanam: Sa Ne(3) Da(2) Pa Ma(2) Ga(3) Re(2) Sa
There are a lot of popular songs in this raaga.
Some famous carnatic songs based on Kalyani raaga are:
1. Nidhichaala sukhama...
2. Unnai allal vere kathi illai amma...





One of popular film based songs is "Kalaivaniye" from Sindhu Bairavi.. Man.. amazing song and again only Yesudasji's rendition. This songs was composed sans Avarohana.. It inspires me in someway. Not by the lyrics, but by the way it ascends. It tells me that, there is nothing that is going to stop me from climbing up in my life. Everything around us(the Universe) conspires to take us to a higher position if we work towards it.

Another song that comes to my mind is "Kannaley kadhal kavithai".. from the movie athma... Not to miss the song from Thalabathi.. "Sundhari Kannal oru sethi".

I am truely, madly, deeply in love!!!!!!!!... (with the music I love) :)

Sahana-The Vakra Sampoorna Ragam

Music has an eternal reach. It helps one in all situations. There are so many emotions involved in each form of music. One form is the Carnatic music which is a system of music commonly practised in the southern parts of India. There are many ragas in Carnatic music.

 I love many for the moods they are associated with and the emotions they create. One such raga, that has touched many hearts is "Sahana". It gives me a complete feeling whenever I listen to this raga. 

Sahana Ragam, as the wiki says is a vakra sampoorna ragam. It has a crooked nature as far as the swaras are concerned, as there is no proper structure followed in the aarokanam and the avarokanam. It is called a sampoorna rag since it has got all the 7 swaras. 

There are many songs that are close to my heart. But the ones in sahana ragam are closer. The songs I like in sahana ragam are:

1. Parthen rasithen... pakkam vara thudithen.. 

2. Intha veenaiku theriyathu

3. Anbe sugama..

And in Carnatic songs, I love these songs..

Vandhanamu Raghunandhana

The mesmerizing effect of this sweet raaga was even more effective when I heard these songs when I closed my eyes and sat on a couch having so many thoughts in my mind on a rainy day. The raaga touched me so much that I stopped thinking about any other matter and started to look for others songs that were based on this raaga.