mahesh_narayan wrote:Dikshitar's Budham Ashryami and ST's Mamava Sada Varade in Rupaka Tala didn't satiate my hunger for a more expansive treatment of this raga:) (though both are pretty majestic compositions). Budham Ashrayami, mamava Sada, and Nachai Vidavakura, all seem to have the same or nearly same mettu. Seems a bit hackneyed to me.
Quite a substantial difference b/w budham AshrayAmi and the other krithis you have mentioned, no, Mahesh? Perhaps you meant pArvati kumAram of dIkshitar which is also in the 'standard' rUpaka tALA setup.
nAtAkurinji is such a classic phrase-oriented rAgA, and in that light, I was thinking about your apt statement on all the above krithis having the same meTTu. Maybe it's an occupational hazard with these types of rAgAs? I was thinking about husEni, for one example - many of the krithis in vogue - rAmA ninnE, emani vEgintunE, sri rAmachandra [ST], eppaDi manam, kanakamaya etc stick to a similar, but charming formula - they are all great lessons in a concise and crisp delivery of the rAgA but to get to the 'next level' you have to go to shrI kAlahastISa or shrI raghukula nidhim or pAhimAm brhannAyikE which are krithis on a bigger scale. husEni is just one example I came up with - I am sure there are several others beyond my ken.
Random thoughs, I know, but perhaps that's the case with nATakurinji also? Fewer bigger krithis which go one [or many] step(s) deeper into esoteric and deeper prayOgAs and phrasings?