M S Subbulakshmi and her music - Part 3 : Tyagaraja - Koluvamaragadha

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In this article, we will again look at a grand krithi replete with challenging sangathis and an innumerable number of them. 

Just like 'O Rangasayee' that we heard in the last part, this song too is built brick by brick, sangathi by sangathi, and slowly revealing the grandeur of one of Carnatic music's majestic ragas: the mighty Todi.

We must observe that the sangatis, especially in the anupallavi, can enthuse the musicians to such an extent that they would go over the top, and sometimes the music tends towards cacophony, with the violinist, mridangist and if present, the upa paaka vadhiyam like ghatam or kanjeera joining the din. Given the structure of the sangatis, which demand a lot from your voice and are crowd-pleasing in their construction, it is no wonder we get to hear some excess in this krithi. 

In this rendition of MS, we hear more than just the voice control and precision we seek from her; we also hear her aesthetic decisions. There is a sense of quietude even in those vigorous sangati sections throughout the song. And it would take enormous self-control not to overdo the voice or the speed. Additionally, it must have taken a lot of practice to ensure that the pakkavadiyam artists don't get too excited and play consistently with her aesthetics. The pakkavadiyam artists do a great job of ensuring controlled virtuosity in this rendering. 

Once again, I ask you to focus on the krithi rendition in this video. Observe her majestic pace, the brilliant voice control that enables her to sing lengthy sangatis in one breath, and the precision of the many-minute sangatis in the song, the tiny pauses, the 'odukkals', the effortless way she reaches the higher ranges. Above all, as I stated earlier, not creating a din, a bane of Carnatic music. The lingering and the sway at 'tambura chekoni' adds so much to the beauty of the krithi. I am sure that if Tyagaraja were to hear MS sing this krithi, he would have applauded her rendition without any reservations.

Here is the krithi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR1j_O0OBJE 

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