Ghanam
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Ghanam is a special variety of raga exposition. It falls in the same category as ordinary raga singing and tanam singing.
Its origins are unknown, but it is learnt that Ghanam Krishna Iyer, who lived in the 19th century, was adept in this. In present times, I have heard this being sung only by K.V.Narayanaswamy and Chembai. It will not be off the mark to say that this has almost died out, what with tanam singing itself becoming very rare and restricted only to RTPs.
Calcutta Sri K.S.Krishnamurthy, who was a disciple of Chembai, mentions that it is the nasal articulation of the humpita gamaka, with the mouth closed.
Today musicians and rasikas alike can only wonder what it is.
To revive interest in this topic, I propose to put forth some renditions of Ghanam by KVN and Chembai and we also will try to convince a popular vocal artist to start including ghanams in their concerts. Readers views and suggestions are appreciated.
First I am presenting a Kalyani alapana featuring Ghanam, as rendered by Chembai. In this 5 minute recording, Chembai first sings a normal alapana in Kalyani and then introduces ghanam after 2 minutes. Please listen to it and reply to this thread
http://www.freepgs.com/carnatic/audio/ghanam1.mp3
Next will be Bhairavi by KVN
Its origins are unknown, but it is learnt that Ghanam Krishna Iyer, who lived in the 19th century, was adept in this. In present times, I have heard this being sung only by K.V.Narayanaswamy and Chembai. It will not be off the mark to say that this has almost died out, what with tanam singing itself becoming very rare and restricted only to RTPs.
Calcutta Sri K.S.Krishnamurthy, who was a disciple of Chembai, mentions that it is the nasal articulation of the humpita gamaka, with the mouth closed.
Today musicians and rasikas alike can only wonder what it is.
To revive interest in this topic, I propose to put forth some renditions of Ghanam by KVN and Chembai and we also will try to convince a popular vocal artist to start including ghanams in their concerts. Readers views and suggestions are appreciated.
First I am presenting a Kalyani alapana featuring Ghanam, as rendered by Chembai. In this 5 minute recording, Chembai first sings a normal alapana in Kalyani and then introduces ghanam after 2 minutes. Please listen to it and reply to this thread
http://www.freepgs.com/carnatic/audio/ghanam1.mp3
Next will be Bhairavi by KVN
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This is fascinating and should certainly be revived and popularised. I guess it requires lot of voice control in comparison with plain swara aalaapana. The ringing voice of Chembai makes it sound like an instrument. Who is the violinist (MSA?). You should post more samples. I look forward to youngsters attempting it. Ghanam in vedic recitation is well known. This apparently has no connection. What is the word origin?
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The above is from an article I found on the internet on Ghana Ragas, although I am not sure whether it relates to our "Ghanam" singing as we know it.Another point that needs to be explained is the reason why the prefix â??ghana ragaâ?? is attached to the Pancharatna-s. The characteristics commonly associated with the ghana raga-s are majesty and fulsomeness, with the sound emanating from the navel (nabhi) and commencing with â??hoomkaraâ??. These raga-s provide considerable scope for sangati-s both in arohana and avarohana passages. For fulsome singing, they require rigorous â??akaraâ?? sadhakam. â??Ghanamâ?? in musical parlance is interpreted to denote a weighty, substantial style; a branch of manodharma sangeeta or creative music wherein a raga is expounded in the style of tanam but the speed of singing is very fast (Ref. Dictionary of South Indian Music and Musicians by Prof. P. Sambamoorthy, Vol II). However, the grouping of the kritis does not seem to be only because they are all in Ghana ragas.
Except for Gaula in which Thyagaraja composed only one kriti, there are more than one in the other four ragas. Though the five raga-s traditionally referred to as ghana raga-s are the same in which Tyagaraja composed his Pancharatna-s, these are not the only raga-s termed as â??ghanaâ??. Another set of raga-s so described consists of Kedaram, Narayanagaula, Reetigaula, Saranganata and Bauli. Punnagavarali also has been cited as a ghana raga. Thus, the grouping of the kritis as the Ghana Raga Pancharathna seems to be the result of a consensus of opinions that these compositions in the 5 ragas Nattai, Gaulai, Arabhi, Sri, and Varali, are the most scholarly contribution of Thyagaraja to South Indian Music. The composer has condensed in these five immortal gems, all his musical genius, his boundless devotion to God and the profound wisdom of the Vedanta teaching.
(source: http://www.sruti.org/library/Thyagaraja ... S_2002.pdf)
Here is another clip (the only one by KVN) where he sings Ghanam, although I'm not sure this qualifies to be called "Ghanam".
http://www.freepgs.com/carnatic/audio/KVNghanam.mp3
I guess then, that Chembai was the last exponent of Ghanam. Have any of you heard any other musician presenting it in their concerts? As far as I know Chembai sang it in almost all of his concerts.
CML, the violinist is not MSA, he's MSG
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The KVN Ghanam seems to be lost. I will try to find that and upload it again if I can find. Meanwhile, here is Chembai singing Kalyani Raga and following it up with Ghanam in the same raga.
Thanks to Coolkarni for uploading this piece again on rapidshare:
http://rapidshare.de/files/2674662/ghanam1.wma.html
Thanks to Coolkarni for uploading this piece again on rapidshare:
http://rapidshare.de/files/2674662/ghanam1.wma.html
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If that is the case, what was the speciality of Ghanam Krishna Iyer (disciple of Pachimiriam Adiappaiah)?thanjavooran wrote:It was a surprise to me when OST mentioned that ghanam pertains only to veda chanting and nothing to do with CM, to a rasika's question during an interaction session in podhigai. I was totally disappointed when I expected from him a piece in ghanam style.
Of course ghana patha is one of the modes of vedic chanting.
One more thing is that many of the concepts in Carnatic Music have Vedic leanings. The concept of svara itself comes from the Vedic accents. The saptasvaras find their source in the udgita (sAma veda) and their names are the same (shadja, rishaba.... etc), while the other vedas have just 3 or 4 svaras (depending on whether pracaya is counted separately or not)
There is therefore no meaning in putting forth these concepts of classical music and vedic recitation as mutually exclusive from each other. One is definitely derived from the other.
OST is a learned man, and he shouldnt be making statements like this which could tend to mislead the public.
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vEda ghanam -
ghanam kRSNa aiyar -
http://www.kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/chap10.htmGhanapatha is more difficult than these. There are four types in this method. Here also the words of a mantra are chanted back and forth and there is a system of permutation and combination in the chanting. To explain all of it would be like conducting a class of arithmetic.
ghanam kRSNa aiyar -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghanam_Krishna_IyerThe title Ghanam, which which associated with music means 'deep' or 'grand', relates to his style of singing.
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The word Ghanam apparently seems to have become famous
after Krishna Iyer (1790-1854). He appears to have learnt
this style from Bobbili Kesavayya at the instance of
Sarabhoji Maharaja. Obviously there must have been
something very special about it and Krishna Iyer himself
must have attained a very high level of proficiency in it
for the word ghanam to get prefixed to his name. From what I understand from the discussions here, Shri CVB seems to have revived it. What I want to know is:
1. Why was it that this method of singing was not practised by
any of his contemporaries (other than Shri KVN),some of whom
have been top class artists?
2. Why did Chembai himself not teach it to his disciples ?
3. When I listened to the clippings, I noticed that the closed mouth raga alapana visthAram is referred to as Ghanam. What is significant about it and why is it very difficult to practise ?
-bhaktha
after Krishna Iyer (1790-1854). He appears to have learnt
this style from Bobbili Kesavayya at the instance of
Sarabhoji Maharaja. Obviously there must have been
something very special about it and Krishna Iyer himself
must have attained a very high level of proficiency in it
for the word ghanam to get prefixed to his name. From what I understand from the discussions here, Shri CVB seems to have revived it. What I want to know is:
1. Why was it that this method of singing was not practised by
any of his contemporaries (other than Shri KVN),some of whom
have been top class artists?
2. Why did Chembai himself not teach it to his disciples ?
3. When I listened to the clippings, I noticed that the closed mouth raga alapana visthAram is referred to as Ghanam. What is significant about it and why is it very difficult to practise ?
-bhaktha
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Srkris sir,
sorry for digressing from the Ghanam topic, but here a few points to consider on Vedas and classical music --
we should be very careful about connecting and correlating Vedic terms/concepts like svara, ghana, etc to Carnatic (or Hindustani) classical music.
You have been guarded in pointing out that one could be derived from the other... another reasonable approach would be to consider these two traditions as different in origin, but interacting in some ways and sharing similar terminology across millenia, and other loosely allied conceptions.
Of course, there is the overwhelming weight of scholastic tradition and folklore to contend with, that reiterates over and over that Indian music began with the Vedas, and hence, on this topic, it indeed is very difficult to find
"... the clear stream of reason (that) has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit"
Still, scholars like Prof.N.Ramanathan seem to breaking away from the shackles of traditional wisdom and have made bold to point out the diverse origins of modern day music and suggest approaches to study it (in a not too old issue of Sruti). Maybe now that he isn't burdened with a bolted-down Sambamurthian syllabus, it has become easier for him !!!
Looking at specifics, first off, the word svara itself is problematic... as used in the Veda, it can denote mere sound, noise, accent etc. The connection with tone is somewhat facile and largely seems to be a product of free association, since the exact nature of the Vedic accent is itself a matter of some debate and has led some scholars to conclude that it is merely a stress accent.
From extensive fieldwork conducted by scholars around the country, it is clear that there is a lot of divergence --
one of the foremost and authentic guardians of the Vedic traditions, the Nambudiris practising both the Kausitaki RgVeda and the archaic Jaiminiya Samaveda, have pointedly mentioned to researchers that the word svara as used in the Vedic tradition is not the same as the svara of the sapta-svaras. They use the Malayalam word "izhakkam" meaning shaking, fluctuation, movement synonymously with svara. (ref: Wayne Howard's "Samavedic Chant" pg 38).
While this could seem to us musically-minded as nothing but splitting hairs, it most decidedly is not -- one has to just hear them to see why they make this point setting themselves apart from the classical music tradition.
So also, while their RgVedic recitation has accents, it is nowhere close to musical as one would have it. Similarly the RgVedic traditions of the Maharashtrians, the Yajur and non-Kauthuma SamaVedic traditions in Benares etc are what one could term "less or non-musical", however as authentic as any other Vedic tradition.
Definitely, it is the non-Nambudiri S.Indian traditions of Rg/Yajur Vedic recitation and the very-close-to-musical traditions of Kauthuma Samaveda obtaining in the South that leads people to facilely assume a connection between Vedic recitation/chant and classical music. Even among these "more musical" traditions, the traditional scholars have not felt compelled to make the connection to classical music.
After agonizing over this topic for several years, and going around in circles several times arguing it to myself, I have come to the conclusion that the more musical a Rg/Yajur Vedic recitation or a SamaVedic chant tends towards, the less authentic it is... not to mention the recitations accompanied by tamburas, veenas, and who-knows even pianos
[Only exception is listening to Ilayaraja's recording of Vedic recitation from the early 80s -- purely due to the intensity with which he approaches the subject]
On the whole, it is clear that it is the musically-minded folks who have persistently sought out the Veda in a search for origins !!!
The fieldwork in this since the late 1800s is indeed very fascinating and varied and is rewarding in its own way.
Also, a correction -- the Samavedic svaras are kruShTa, prathama, dvitiya, tritiya or madhyama, caturtha, mandra, atisvArya. Texts like the nAradIya s'ikSA have mentioned the equation of these to the svaras of classical music, but again there are problems.
Best regards,
-Srini.
ps: On "ghanam" singing itself, the most detailed information on Ghanam Krishna Iyer comes to us from U.V.Swaminatha Iyer. Most of the articles written on Ghanam Krishna Iyer -- by Prof.T.Viswanathan, Prof.S.Seetha, and others draw on UVS' writings.
I will try to post UVS's writings on Ghanam Krishna Iyer at a later time -- but there isn't much detail to write specifically about the Ghanam singing aspect itself. There is an intriguing parallel he draws to a tradition called "uLLALa pATTu" from Tamil literary sources, however.
sorry for digressing from the Ghanam topic, but here a few points to consider on Vedas and classical music --
we should be very careful about connecting and correlating Vedic terms/concepts like svara, ghana, etc to Carnatic (or Hindustani) classical music.
You have been guarded in pointing out that one could be derived from the other... another reasonable approach would be to consider these two traditions as different in origin, but interacting in some ways and sharing similar terminology across millenia, and other loosely allied conceptions.
Of course, there is the overwhelming weight of scholastic tradition and folklore to contend with, that reiterates over and over that Indian music began with the Vedas, and hence, on this topic, it indeed is very difficult to find
"... the clear stream of reason (that) has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit"
Still, scholars like Prof.N.Ramanathan seem to breaking away from the shackles of traditional wisdom and have made bold to point out the diverse origins of modern day music and suggest approaches to study it (in a not too old issue of Sruti). Maybe now that he isn't burdened with a bolted-down Sambamurthian syllabus, it has become easier for him !!!
Looking at specifics, first off, the word svara itself is problematic... as used in the Veda, it can denote mere sound, noise, accent etc. The connection with tone is somewhat facile and largely seems to be a product of free association, since the exact nature of the Vedic accent is itself a matter of some debate and has led some scholars to conclude that it is merely a stress accent.
From extensive fieldwork conducted by scholars around the country, it is clear that there is a lot of divergence --
one of the foremost and authentic guardians of the Vedic traditions, the Nambudiris practising both the Kausitaki RgVeda and the archaic Jaiminiya Samaveda, have pointedly mentioned to researchers that the word svara as used in the Vedic tradition is not the same as the svara of the sapta-svaras. They use the Malayalam word "izhakkam" meaning shaking, fluctuation, movement synonymously with svara. (ref: Wayne Howard's "Samavedic Chant" pg 38).
While this could seem to us musically-minded as nothing but splitting hairs, it most decidedly is not -- one has to just hear them to see why they make this point setting themselves apart from the classical music tradition.
So also, while their RgVedic recitation has accents, it is nowhere close to musical as one would have it. Similarly the RgVedic traditions of the Maharashtrians, the Yajur and non-Kauthuma SamaVedic traditions in Benares etc are what one could term "less or non-musical", however as authentic as any other Vedic tradition.
Definitely, it is the non-Nambudiri S.Indian traditions of Rg/Yajur Vedic recitation and the very-close-to-musical traditions of Kauthuma Samaveda obtaining in the South that leads people to facilely assume a connection between Vedic recitation/chant and classical music. Even among these "more musical" traditions, the traditional scholars have not felt compelled to make the connection to classical music.
After agonizing over this topic for several years, and going around in circles several times arguing it to myself, I have come to the conclusion that the more musical a Rg/Yajur Vedic recitation or a SamaVedic chant tends towards, the less authentic it is... not to mention the recitations accompanied by tamburas, veenas, and who-knows even pianos

[Only exception is listening to Ilayaraja's recording of Vedic recitation from the early 80s -- purely due to the intensity with which he approaches the subject]
On the whole, it is clear that it is the musically-minded folks who have persistently sought out the Veda in a search for origins !!!
The fieldwork in this since the late 1800s is indeed very fascinating and varied and is rewarding in its own way.
Also, a correction -- the Samavedic svaras are kruShTa, prathama, dvitiya, tritiya or madhyama, caturtha, mandra, atisvArya. Texts like the nAradIya s'ikSA have mentioned the equation of these to the svaras of classical music, but again there are problems.
Best regards,
-Srini.
ps: On "ghanam" singing itself, the most detailed information on Ghanam Krishna Iyer comes to us from U.V.Swaminatha Iyer. Most of the articles written on Ghanam Krishna Iyer -- by Prof.T.Viswanathan, Prof.S.Seetha, and others draw on UVS' writings.
I will try to post UVS's writings on Ghanam Krishna Iyer at a later time -- but there isn't much detail to write specifically about the Ghanam singing aspect itself. There is an intriguing parallel he draws to a tradition called "uLLALa pATTu" from Tamil literary sources, however.
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Srini, thanks for the explanation.
The Sama Veda is supposed to be "sung" (something of that sort anyway) right?
That way we cant say sama veda has nothing to do with music. And I believe concept of talas developed out of the vedic chandas.
The entry for svara in the MW Dictionary gives the following:
svara m. (ifc. f. %{A}) sound , noise RV. &c. &c. ; voice Mn. MBh. &c. ; tone in recitation &c. (either high or low) , accent (of which there are three kinds , %{udAtta} , %{anudAtta} qq. vv. , and %{svarita} , col. 3) , a note of the musical scale (of which seven [rarely six or eight] are enumerated , 1. %{niSAda} ; 2. %{RSabha} ; 3. %{gAndhAra} ; 4. %{SaDja} ; 5. %{madhyama} ; 6. %{dhaivata} ; 7. %{paJcama} [described as resembling respectively the notes of an elephant , bull , goat , peacock , curlew or heron , horse , and Koil [1285,2] ; and designated by their initial letters or syllables thus , %{ni} ; %{R} ; %{ga} ; %{Sa} ; %{ma} ; %{dha} ; %{pa}] , but the order is sometimes changed , %{Sadja} being placed first , and %{niSAda} last) Pra1t. S3rS. Sam2gi1t. MBh. &c. ; a symbolical expression for the number `" seven "' VarBr2S. ; a vowel (either %{dIrgha} , `" long "' ; or %{hrasva} , `" short "' ; or %{pluta} , `" prolated "') Pra1t. S3rS. MBh. &c. ; air breathed through the nostrils ChUp. ; N. of Vishn2u Vishn2. ; (%{A}) f. N. of the chief wife of Brahma1 L. ; (%{am}) n. a musical note Sa1y. on RV. x , 146 , 2 ; N. of various Sa1mans A1rshBr.
The Sama Veda is supposed to be "sung" (something of that sort anyway) right?
That way we cant say sama veda has nothing to do with music. And I believe concept of talas developed out of the vedic chandas.
The entry for svara in the MW Dictionary gives the following:
svara m. (ifc. f. %{A}) sound , noise RV. &c. &c. ; voice Mn. MBh. &c. ; tone in recitation &c. (either high or low) , accent (of which there are three kinds , %{udAtta} , %{anudAtta} qq. vv. , and %{svarita} , col. 3) , a note of the musical scale (of which seven [rarely six or eight] are enumerated , 1. %{niSAda} ; 2. %{RSabha} ; 3. %{gAndhAra} ; 4. %{SaDja} ; 5. %{madhyama} ; 6. %{dhaivata} ; 7. %{paJcama} [described as resembling respectively the notes of an elephant , bull , goat , peacock , curlew or heron , horse , and Koil [1285,2] ; and designated by their initial letters or syllables thus , %{ni} ; %{R} ; %{ga} ; %{Sa} ; %{ma} ; %{dha} ; %{pa}] , but the order is sometimes changed , %{Sadja} being placed first , and %{niSAda} last) Pra1t. S3rS. Sam2gi1t. MBh. &c. ; a symbolical expression for the number `" seven "' VarBr2S. ; a vowel (either %{dIrgha} , `" long "' ; or %{hrasva} , `" short "' ; or %{pluta} , `" prolated "') Pra1t. S3rS. MBh. &c. ; air breathed through the nostrils ChUp. ; N. of Vishn2u Vishn2. ; (%{A}) f. N. of the chief wife of Brahma1 L. ; (%{am}) n. a musical note Sa1y. on RV. x , 146 , 2 ; N. of various Sa1mans A1rshBr.
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srkris sir,
Evolution and "retrofitting" may be two different things.
Today, in the musical world, svara has a specific connotation - i.e., sA, rI, etc... and they bear some relation to the AdhAra sruti and so on.
That same connotation cannot be retrofitted to the context of the vedic chants, which are frozen in time (or at least should be, if they are authentic).
In practical terms, this means that we should not try to chant vedas to the accompaniment of the tampura, etc..
In my limited understanding of this, based purely on listening to seemingly "good" vedic chanting, I am also of the same opinion as srini pichumani. To take just one obvious example, if we try to "musicalize" the chanting of vedas, the third "svara" in the chanting of the chandas (for example the phrase "nA" in sahanAbhavatu) falls a little lower (say towards G2) than true vedic chanters would use. So perhaps the musical svara has "adjusted" or "evolved" to a lower pitch. Using that lower svara takes away something vital from the vedic chant.
Evolution and "retrofitting" may be two different things.
Today, in the musical world, svara has a specific connotation - i.e., sA, rI, etc... and they bear some relation to the AdhAra sruti and so on.
That same connotation cannot be retrofitted to the context of the vedic chants, which are frozen in time (or at least should be, if they are authentic).
In practical terms, this means that we should not try to chant vedas to the accompaniment of the tampura, etc..
In my limited understanding of this, based purely on listening to seemingly "good" vedic chanting, I am also of the same opinion as srini pichumani. To take just one obvious example, if we try to "musicalize" the chanting of vedas, the third "svara" in the chanting of the chandas (for example the phrase "nA" in sahanAbhavatu) falls a little lower (say towards G2) than true vedic chanters would use. So perhaps the musical svara has "adjusted" or "evolved" to a lower pitch. Using that lower svara takes away something vital from the vedic chant.
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Actually what I referred to as "G2" may also be taken as "R1" depending on where the AdhAra sruti is placed.
To take the opposite case, I've tried to retrofit the "ideal" vedic chanting to the raga rEvati and speculated that maybe the R1 should be played a little higher for that raga alone
.
Taking the concrete example of "sahanAbhavatu" again, it may be played as N2 S R1, S S S
(with the R1 at a higher pitch than we would play for any normal Carnatic raga).
To take the opposite case, I've tried to retrofit the "ideal" vedic chanting to the raga rEvati and speculated that maybe the R1 should be played a little higher for that raga alone

Taking the concrete example of "sahanAbhavatu" again, it may be played as N2 S R1, S S S
(with the R1 at a higher pitch than we would play for any normal Carnatic raga).
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I also agree with Uday_Shankar in his point that Raga Revathi is there in the Rig Veda and Yajur Veda.
I have discussed with some vedic pundits,some are Sama Vedins who had demonstrated during the course of their chanting not only Karahara priya(Chitha ranjani)scale but also some other shades or suggestions of HindoLam and so on.
And,also the ease with which the Sama vedic pundits do the modal shifting might have been an inspiration for our graha bedha.
The commonly occuring NI(kais'ika),Sa,Ri-(chathushruthi),G(Sadharana) group in Sama veda chants,if shifted to Panchamam as the second note of the new group sounds like Ma-1,Pa,Dha(chathushruthi),Ni(kais'ika).
This gives way to a scale-Ni Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni which has been named aptly as Chitha ranjani(that which pleases the mind) and has been effectively incorparated by Tyagaraja Swamy to explain that Sangeetham is Sama veda Saaram(though he uses on a broader sense the term Nada in the Pallavi of the krithi "Nada Thanum Anis'am" what he intends actually is the Sapthaswara Sangeetha vidya which is our system of music-"Sapthaswara Vidya Lolam")
I don't know if somebody has pointed out this already in this forum. Are there any other threads regarding Veda and Music in these discussions,if so I would like to read all the pages?Thanks.
I have discussed with some vedic pundits,some are Sama Vedins who had demonstrated during the course of their chanting not only Karahara priya(Chitha ranjani)scale but also some other shades or suggestions of HindoLam and so on.
And,also the ease with which the Sama vedic pundits do the modal shifting might have been an inspiration for our graha bedha.
The commonly occuring NI(kais'ika),Sa,Ri-(chathushruthi),G(Sadharana) group in Sama veda chants,if shifted to Panchamam as the second note of the new group sounds like Ma-1,Pa,Dha(chathushruthi),Ni(kais'ika).
This gives way to a scale-Ni Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni which has been named aptly as Chitha ranjani(that which pleases the mind) and has been effectively incorparated by Tyagaraja Swamy to explain that Sangeetham is Sama veda Saaram(though he uses on a broader sense the term Nada in the Pallavi of the krithi "Nada Thanum Anis'am" what he intends actually is the Sapthaswara Sangeetha vidya which is our system of music-"Sapthaswara Vidya Lolam")
I don't know if somebody has pointed out this already in this forum. Are there any other threads regarding Veda and Music in these discussions,if so I would like to read all the pages?Thanks.
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See the document http://www.sanskritweb.net/sansdocs/svaras.pdf
It has information which says that vedas do use the sapta swaraas as we understand them in carnatic music. Indeed there are other names too
for them.
================
The Vedic svara system has seven ‘equally-spaced’ tones or svara-s per octave. They
are called the 0a1ja, 40abha, gandhara, madhyama, pañcama, dhaivata and ni0adha. Of
these, only the second through the fifth are used in the g Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva
Veda while all seven are used only in the Sama Veda.
=================
The only playing of vedam I have heard are on Veena by the great vainikas from andhra Sri Emani Shankara Shastri and
his disciple Sri Chittibabu.
http://www.sangeethapriya.org/Downloads ... 2Vedam.mp3 (Sri Chittibabu)
http://surasa.net/music/karnatak/contri ... ani1_songs (mantrapushpam by Sri Emani)
It has information which says that vedas do use the sapta swaraas as we understand them in carnatic music. Indeed there are other names too
for them.
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The Vedic svara system has seven ‘equally-spaced’ tones or svara-s per octave. They
are called the 0a1ja, 40abha, gandhara, madhyama, pañcama, dhaivata and ni0adha. Of
these, only the second through the fifth are used in the g Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva
Veda while all seven are used only in the Sama Veda.
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The only playing of vedam I have heard are on Veena by the great vainikas from andhra Sri Emani Shankara Shastri and
his disciple Sri Chittibabu.
http://www.sangeethapriya.org/Downloads ... 2Vedam.mp3 (Sri Chittibabu)
http://surasa.net/music/karnatak/contri ... ani1_songs (mantrapushpam by Sri Emani)
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Thanks Uday and Vidyaarthi.
The vedic svaras may not of course exactly correspond to or relate with the musical svaras.
By the way, could Sri Santhanagopalan confirm whether there is something called "ghanam singing", which is the topic of this thread?
Yes, I was talking about evolution. More precisely its about the inspiration that one takes from the other but evolves into something else.Uday Shankar wrote:Evolution and "retrofitting" may be two different things.
The vedic svaras may not of course exactly correspond to or relate with the musical svaras.
By the way, could Sri Santhanagopalan confirm whether there is something called "ghanam singing", which is the topic of this thread?
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In lalitA sahasranAmam, the mother is called 'parA', paSyanti', 'madhyamA' and 'vaikhari' - In the discourse on saundarya lahari, kAnci mAhAsvAmigaL have given the meaning of these words - para - paSyanti - madhyamA and vaikhari.
http://www.geocities.com/profvk/gohitvip/DPDS26-30.html (Page 30)
http://www.geocities.com/profvk/gohitvip/DPDS26-30.html (Page 30)
Last edited by vgvindan on 19 Jul 2007, 16:17, edited 1 time in total.
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This is the entry for "ghana" from karNATaka sangItada pAribhAShika SabdakOSa, the encyclopaedia of karNATaka sangIta from Mysore University.
ಘನ-
ಇದು ಮನೋಧರ್ಮ ಸಂಗೀತದ ಒಂದು ಭಾಗ. ದ್ರುತ ಗತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ರಾಗವನ್ನು ತಾನದ ಶೈಲಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹಾಡುವುದು ಘನಂ ಶೈಲಿ.
ಘನಂ ಕೃಷ್ಣಯ್ಯರ್ ಘನಂ ಶೀನಯ್ಯ, ಘನಂ ತಿರುಮಲಯ್ಯರ್, ಪೈದಾಳ ಗುರುಮೂರ್ತಿ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರಿ, ವಿಜಯನಗರದ ಹಿರಿಯ ಗುರುರಾಜಾಚಾರ್ಯಲು ಘನಂ ಶೈಲಿಯ ಹಾಡುಗಾರಿಕೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರವೀಣರಾಗಿದ್ದರು.
Translated
"ghana-
This is a part of manOdharma sangIta (Improvised music). Singing a rAga in fast pace (druta gati) in the style of tAna is ghanam style. ghanam kRShNayyar, ghanam SInyya, ghanam tirumalayyar, paidALa gurumUrti SAstri, vijayanagar's hiriya(elder) gururAjAcAryulu were adept in the ghanam style of singing."
ಘನ-
ಇದು ಮನೋಧರ್ಮ ಸಂಗೀತದ ಒಂದು ಭಾಗ. ದ್ರುತ ಗತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ರಾಗವನ್ನು ತಾನದ ಶೈಲಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹಾಡುವುದು ಘನಂ ಶೈಲಿ.
ಘನಂ ಕೃಷ್ಣಯ್ಯರ್ ಘನಂ ಶೀನಯ್ಯ, ಘನಂ ತಿರುಮಲಯ್ಯರ್, ಪೈದಾಳ ಗುರುಮೂರ್ತಿ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರಿ, ವಿಜಯನಗರದ ಹಿರಿಯ ಗುರುರಾಜಾಚಾರ್ಯಲು ಘನಂ ಶೈಲಿಯ ಹಾಡುಗಾರಿಕೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರವೀಣರಾಗಿದ್ದರು.
Translated
"ghana-
This is a part of manOdharma sangIta (Improvised music). Singing a rAga in fast pace (druta gati) in the style of tAna is ghanam style. ghanam kRShNayyar, ghanam SInyya, ghanam tirumalayyar, paidALa gurumUrti SAstri, vijayanagar's hiriya(elder) gururAjAcAryulu were adept in the ghanam style of singing."
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The title Ghanam is given to a musician who sings without moving his body or head. In fact it it is one of the lakshanas prescribed for a musician , difficult to achieve and seldom observed.
Sri. B. M. Sundaram, the musicologist informs me that other than Ghanam Krishna Iyer whose name is well known, there have been others like Ghanam Chinnayya and Ghanam Tirumalai Iyer( grandfather of Mangudi Chidambara Bhagavathar) . Before the title is conferred ,the musician will have to sing with swords fixed just above his head ,his temples and the chin so that the slightest movement would pierce his body. A rare feat.
Sri. B. M. Sundaram, the musicologist informs me that other than Ghanam Krishna Iyer whose name is well known, there have been others like Ghanam Chinnayya and Ghanam Tirumalai Iyer( grandfather of Mangudi Chidambara Bhagavathar) . Before the title is conferred ,the musician will have to sing with swords fixed just above his head ,his temples and the chin so that the slightest movement would pierce his body. A rare feat.
Last edited by jagan on 02 Aug 2007, 08:26, edited 1 time in total.
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Is ghanam related to "ghanApaTha" (not sure if this is the correct name)? I recently came across this recording and I know I have heard similar renditions before by pundits and it really sounds very good. Could someone please explain the background of this type of rendition and also if there are any links to other renditions like these on the internet?
http://www.telugufm.com/modules/music/M ... ?mid=10252
Please listen to the "Gayatri Ganapatha" on this page
Thanks
http://www.telugufm.com/modules/music/M ... ?mid=10252
Please listen to the "Gayatri Ganapatha" on this page
Thanks