ghaNTA and the Bell Exhibit in the Museum of Carnatic Ragas
Yes, after gauri, gaurimanOhari would have been the next, but I have been itching to write about ghanTA all these days, so I won't wait anymore. One post will deal with ghaNTA in all its forms by a study of the phrases and a nice set of metaphors, another will deal with the compositions and available recordings. And bonus, we have two stories, one for the nature of raga ghaNTA and yes, we have another thrilling scripted story for ghaNTA which ties into the lives of several ragas including bhairavi, mAnji and AbhEri, supported by a few more characters - one of the greatest deceptions ever carried out in the history of Carnatic Music.
But to appreciate any of that, one must first know what raga ghaNTA itself is about. Because of the complex nature and history of this raga, this will be a multi part article.
ghaNTA is also known by the name ghaNTAravam, which sounds more formal, and I will use this name where a reference to the raga has been given as ghaNTAravam. Otherwise I will just be calling it ghaNTA.
Very generally, an Arohanam avarohanam for ghaNTA as it is sung today would be
Aro : S G2 R2 G2 M1 P N2 S
Avaro : S N2 D1 P M1 G2 R1 S - Which doesn't tell you the story about all the phrases that are actually used in it.
I know that ghaNTA as we sing it today is considered to be a composite raga, placed under the 20th mElakarta naTabhairavi using 10/12 notes except the antara gandhAram (G3) and kakali nishAdam (N3), and often found struggling for a distinct identity, sometimes sounding like punnAgavarALi (in GRGMPD where it uses R2), sometimes sounding like dhanyAsi (PNS-NDP or PS-NDP and PGMP and if followed by MGRS with R1), sometimes like asAvEri (in MGRS where it uses R1 and SRGRS and P-D1 N D1,P with that slide and orikkai on D1), at times like bhairavi (MMM(P)-GRGMP) where it uses R2, and there are some versions that use D2 in NDNS like bhairavi. Sometimes if you linger long on the N2, you can even find Ahiri appearing in it (Dear Lord...)
It is not necessary for a composition in ghanTa to use all those phrases either. For example there are compositions where NDNS does not come. In fact all that's left is to use PNDN frequently with D2 and and you will then have some husEni also making it's way into the picture.
. That one thing I haven't heard yet. Overall the end result is that ghanTa seems like a raga poorly welded together from several other ragas without a distinct identity of its own - which is very strange considering how unique all other ragas are in Carnatic Music. What could have resulted in such confusion over its lakshanas?
So before you hear my take on the ghaNTA story, first let me redirect you to a very comprehensive article written by Ravi Rajagopalan on ghaNTA at guruguha.org :
http://guruguha.org/blog/2016/10/07/ghanta-raga-era/
This is a very in-depth article and it has made my life way easier. In this article he has given textual references to the history of ghaNTA and as it turns out, the Sangeetha Sampradaya Pradarshini (all bow to Subbarama Dikshitar) is the most comprehensive reference today for the phrases of ghanTa. Except, what SSP says is not so straightforward.
And if you want to see ghanTa's position in other texts before SSP and even before Venkatamakhi, you can refer to arunk's post at the beginning of this thread which I am linking here :
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=631#p21229
Ravi Rajagopalan based on the textual evidence and recordings, points out that ghaNTA is a designer raga with many possible versions based on the usage (or avoidance) of D2, D1, R2 and R1 in key phrases and he has considered 4 versions (actually more like groups) of ghaNTA based on the relative usages of these notes and the key phrases. I will elaborate on those and then quite a few more types of ghaNTA, once we get to analyzing what the SSP has to say about it.
Now here is where I (and also Dr. T R Aravindhan) come in and add our bit. I say that one can go one step further with this, and find -- yes, a fifth group, a very pure form, distinct from the other 4, based again on exactly what is given in the SSP and suggested by texts before it, that stands alone in a class of its own. In fact Ravi Rajagopal has mentioned the possibility himself, but he has left it out at the end.
In fact, I could go further and say that due to competing traditions, there is potential for a Ravi Rajagopalan's 4th version of ghaNTA to become an entire group of hybrid ragas with differing use of R1 and R2. And even going beyond this, I'd say that the ghanTa we're singing that can't seem to make up it's mind on which rAgA could be considered a special version that is extended from the R1 dominant ghaNTA with many more prayogas from other ragas added in the same way some people put all kinds of aerodynamic appendages on their original versions of supercars and turn them into track or kit versions.
And then there are a few other variations depending on which notes and phrases are used and which aren't, bringing the total to a grand 9 versions of ghaNTA.
What am I talking about? 4 and then 5 (slash), 6 (no) 7, (nope), 8(NO!), 9 versions of ghanTa? What am I doing, selling bells of different kinds in a shop? Well, the bell shop closed down a very long time ago, so instead I'm opening an exhibit in my museum of Carnatic Ragas, and if there's enough demand, the museum and this exhibit could become very popular.
So let's open the SSP and see what Subbarama Dikshitar has to say. As it turns out, given what he has said we are going to need to call in some lawyers...
1) First thing you notice is that Subbarama Dikshitar has surprisingly classified ghaNTA as an
upAnga raga under the 20th mEla. Not only that, Venkatamakhin in the chaturdanDi prakAshika has also classified ghaNTA as an upAnga rAga under the bhairavi mEla. The murchana shown is
Aro : S G2 R2 G2 M1 P D1 P N2 D1 N2 S
Avaro : S N2 D1 P M1 G2 R2 S (Note : He uses symbols for flat, natural and sharp to denote the 3 varieties of R,G,D and N. A symbol once used, indicates that note is either sharp or flat or natural for the rest, unless explicitly specified)
upAnga rAga? Of 20th mEla? But ghaNTA with all those extra notes (R1, D2) with the popular version heavy on R1 using R2 only in GRG should clearly be a bhAshAnga raga at any cost, by any logic. And by now we have it in mEla 8 (tODi). upAngA rAga means no foreign notes would be present, all the notes are only the notes of the 20th mEla. No one sings it this way (or do they?)
Well go back and read arunk's post again. All the old texts seem to suggest ghaNTA was using R2 and one of the later texts, by mentioning a ghaNTArava in tODi mEla suggests that R1 had begun to enter into ghaNTA sometime between Venkatamakhin's time and the Trinity era.
So this could be the original form of ghaNTA, a pure version, unadulterated by other traditions and extra notes. Indeed such a version should have existed at one point, otherwise there is no logic in classifying ghaNTA as an upAnga raga. At first glance, with no R2, it appears that this ghaNTA in theory would sound remarkably similar to what bhairavi is today (although depending on the gamakas used, one may argue that it could sound different - we will look at this down the road), but no D2 means it will also be unique in the handling of certain prayogas. This form of ghaNT does not exist anywhere on the stage right now, but no one can argue against it's existence.
Subbarama Dikshitar goes on to highlight the key phrases of this version of ghaNTA. Specifically there is kampita on G2, M2, N2 and D1. There is a unique slide from P->G (and we will encounter this) that is a bit different from how it is typically handled in dhanyasi in phrases like P (M)->GMP these days - it's a simpler, more distinguishing jhAru. Nokku (N as NSN or G as RGR in gamaka) features heavily on N2, a plain N is very rare. The same is true on G2 as well, a plain G is rare. Nokku also features on M1, as does a huge arching glissando (vali gamaka) from G to P and back to M on the GMP phrase (this is exactly like bhairavi on G,MPDP).
There are plenty of phrases that are similar to modern CM raga phrases - on N2 you have gamakas lightly glancing the upper S for e.g. SGR is a very important pharse and the handling of SGR is just like bhairavi. There are odukkal gamakas on SNDP (an odukkal on NDP will be played as (SN-S) (N)->D(N) P and on G2 it will be played virtually (MGM) and so on. Plenty of vali gamakas (played by pulling the string to change the pitch) and so on... -- anyway so much for words. Words can only convey so much about gamakas. One has to see the text of the SSP for themselves and a demonstration of the gamakas on the veena Or voice to see the phrases.
Other phrases given by SD in the lakshana are NDNS, NSD, ND, the big gamaka on GMP, MGR, GGR, MNDPMGRS and also PNS. I will discuss more of these phrases when I come to the renditions of the compositions in ghaNTA.
In fact I'd say upAnga ghaNTA is pretty much a heavy modern raga with all the gamaka heavy notes being handled pretty much the same way as we do today. One unique, very beautiful prayoga in this ghanTa is the special handling of SNDP with the odukkal gamaka - ghaNTA has the most moving SNDP I have ever heard, better than even bhairavi or mukhAri. It has to be heard to be properly understood. The popular version of ghanta today also has it.
This much focus on upAnga ghaNTA is necessary because now is where things start getting a little complicated. To be continued...