why is there always a pause between alapanam and kruthi song

rameshviyer · Post by **rameshviyer** » 25 Jun 2007, 22:29

hi,

as alapanam is kind of foundation for making the kruthi more stronger but in many kutcheris i have seen there is always a pause of more than 15-20 minutes after alapanam how does the base of the raagam is maintained in such cases.

Rgds
Ramesh

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 25 Jun 2007, 22:34

I have never seen such a break, except when filled by the tanum.

I have never known the break to be longer than the time required to tune, swallow some fluid...

vinayo · Post by **vinayo** » 26 Jun 2007, 00:18

I get the point made by Rameshviyer. Though the 15-20 minutes that he mentions is a highly exaggerated period, the gap between the end of alapana and the krithis is long. If you listen to the concerts by AB, ARI, GNB and a few others of that generation you will notice that they gave very little gap indeed; AB probably the least. Later days MBK used to give unusually long gaps. That seems to have stuck with the modern day musicians. Among accompanists TNK picks up where the vocalist stopped the ragam with alacrity. There is zero gap!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 26 Jun 2007, 01:25

TNK: old school alacrity!

Coming to think of it, there IS more of a pause these days--though not for more than a minute or two. The only reasons for the the pauses I can think of are--either the violin or mrudangam player is tuning his instrument. And yes, the other burden of modern day preoccupation with the sound system (here, the vocalist also can cause the delay).
Yes, Nick. The longest pause comes after the thAnam when the thani is played. But then, it is just the two pallavi lines to wind up the piece with whereas a whole song, when rendered after a long pause, might take the momentum away. Thank goodness! Speech makers, while they can contribute to dampening the mood between kritis, haven't yet interrupted the flow of a concert with a speech between an AlApanA and a song!

vinayo · Post by **vinayo** » 26 Jun 2007, 01:40

"either the violin or mrudangam player is tuning his instrument"

I always wonder why the violinist should retune the instrument every time before playing his part of the ragam after the main artistes finishes his version of the raga? Was it off when he/she was accompanying? Or is it just in case!

Talking of pause the most musical pause ever, IMHO, was in MMI's music, specially when he sang the swaras in sarvalagu.

arunk · Post by **arunk** » 26 Jun 2007, 01:57

sruthis of all instruments tend to drift affected by playing, temperature, humidity etc. Some are more susceptible than others.

Arun

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 26 Jun 2007, 05:42

I wonder why Ramesh said 10-15 minutes? I think you are all taking it as if he really meant 1 minute or so and trying to provide an answer. Is that what he meant?

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 26 Jun 2007, 06:34

Maybe he heard a very old recording and the violinist was actually playing and it wasn't picked up by the mic!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 26 Jun 2007, 07:32

Or, one could have dozed off...

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 26 Jun 2007, 09:47

Why is there a pause !!
Well, there are not running a relay race , are they ?

There are so many things happening
- the main artist moved by the violnists rendering- some touching shades that he himseld could have missed .

- a new train of thoughts , leading to a deliberation ,
whether he should pick up a krithi , other than the one he had originally planned.

- a smiling reconnecting with the other artists on the dias , after getting back from his own reverie , in the alapana ...

making a mental effort to get down from the clouds and continue with his agreed program of delivering a song to the audience , on this earth.

You will understand it all if you have had the experience of channelling water to various parts of your farm , when the canal water is let in -as it used to happen to me on our farm late in the night !!- hectic efforts to stop the gush towards one direction and rechannel it another direction , and taking that all important pause to catch our breath, while enjoying the experience of seeing one thirsty part of the farm soaking in the divine gift and the other parts crying for their share.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/4firff

Here is a track which has that great pause and much more....
I remember the First Day I received this concert from Raju.We came to this song by midnight and the violinist Sp Ananthapadmanabhan who was having dinner with us, was so moved by this song , that he went speechless for 5 minutes.At 11.30 pm he made a strange request .
He wanted to practise then and there and get all his feelings out of his system-otherwise he would choke.
We concluded the music session that night at 2 AM and he rode his moped back at that unGodly hour , with all the street dogs giving him a run for his money - or shall we say a run for his Sivranjini !

PS I refer to Sivranjini because that extmpore session finally drifted to that raga , on that night.

kaumaaram · Post by **kaumaaram** » 26 Jun 2007, 14:42

arasi wrote:TNK: old school alacrity!

You did not use the words: "Old school of thought". I know that it was deliberately done.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 26 Jun 2007, 20:14

Cool,
Your post wakes us up to the precious moments in a concert. You sketch those moments of fine feelings of performers and audience deftly. You take us to the fields too, to point out the finer points of concert experience figuratively.
A true rasikA should zero in more on such moments than be irked by unnecessary delays, I realize...

arunk · Post by **arunk** » 26 Jun 2007, 20:18

i was thinking that the original question would have read better if one were to substitute "seconds" for minutes" i.e. always a pause of more than 10-15 seconds ....

Arun

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 26 Jun 2007, 20:31

Arun
that is what he probably meant-- seconds not minutes.
just cannot think of a concert with 15 minute pauses.Who would like to rub Rajeshnat on the wrong side.
He is dissatisfied-as it is- with short duration concerts !!

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 26 Jun 2007, 20:45

a delightful pause between two ragas-

absolutely mesmerising switch of the Swar Mandal from Yaman to Hamsadhwani

http://www.sendspace.com/file/zmwfoh

And just a couple of days ago GB Rajasekhar was telling me that he remembers this Swar Mandal in their Home (gifted by BGAK to GNB ) but cannot trace it now.Just one pass of Bade's fingers is enough to give me the goosebumps.