M S Subbulakshmi and her music - Part 11: Neraval - Various

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In this part, I will point you to some of MS's iconic neravals, which I am sure you will all enjoy. All the attributes I had mentioned in the earlier parts of this series about MS's neraval are present in each of these. The breath control, vocal consistency across the range, vocal dynamics, creating tension and resolving it, clear enunciation of words, gripping phrasing and above all, the bhathi bava that she injects into each one of these neravals.

1. We start with the most famous of MS's neravals. 'sama gana vinodhini', the charanam of 'Sarojadala Netri,' the Syama Sastry krithi in Shankarabaranam raga. The kriti rendition, featuring neraval and tani, took the roof down during her UN Concert.  (This link starts from the neraval. To hear the whole ragam and krithi, search for Part 1.) Her voice is in great form, and she effortlessly traverses the higher reaches.  The neraval has left such an indelible mark on the psyche of listeners that few artists take on this krithi, lest the audience feel they are not up to the mark. 


2.  'o jagat janani omkara rupini kalyani' The charanam lines from 'Needu Charana Pankaja' of Pallavi Gopala Iyer in the ragam Kalyani. This recording is of a younger MS. The other recording available, which is more elaborate, is not of a great quality. 


3. The next one is the Keeravani krithi, 'Chandrashekaram Ashraye,' with the neraval at 'kara abhaya mudram vihita janam badram' a tricky place for neraval. A short but effective neraval. The krithi is composed by V. Raghavan.


4. The brilliant 'raka sasivadane' from 'Kanjadalayadakshi,' the Kamalamanohari krithi of Dikshitar. This is a gripping exhibition of neraval: the pace, energy, and phrasing are top-class. You wish the neraval had gone on for a bit longer. 


I will stop here. Do let me know what are your favorite MS neravals in the comments. 


Comments

Anand said…
Akalanka neeve aadhara mani in IkanainanA , PushpaLatika
April 28, 2025 at 8:41 PM
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