What makes Thanjavur S. Kalyanaraman’s thillanas unique?

What bash ragas Darbari Kanada, Sindhubhairavi, Brindavani, Dwijavanti, Kapi, Pahadi and Gavati person successful common? They are Hindustani ragas, and Thanjavur S. Kalyanaraman chose them for composing Carnatic thillanas. These compositions uncover SKR’s philharmonic acumen.

On the juncture of his 96th commencement anniversary, celebrated precocious astatine Arkay Convention Centre, Bhushany Kalyanaraman, disciple and woman of the precocious maestro, released SKR Gems: Volume 1 - Thillana — a compilation of his 7 thillanas with notation. A video medium of the thillanas, rendered by Bhushany and her disciples Madhuvanthi Badri and Archanashree, was besides premiered connected YouTube connected the occasion. Cleveland Sundaram, T.V. Gopalakrishnan, Nagai R. Muralidharan, V.V. Subrahmanyam and SKR’s nephew Murali Iyer reminisced astir their relation with the virtuoso vocalist.

Ever an explorer, SKR was not 1 to ever judge and beryllium contented with the ‘standard’. Stretching boundaries was his 2nd nature, and giving signifier to ‘Dwi-madhyama panchama-varja mela ragas’ was a testament to this. It is pertinent to notation present that SKR abruptly dropped retired of Presidency College, Madras, to prosecute his philharmonic dreams, arsenic narrated by Murali Iyer. As it turned out, the euphony tract gained, and the GNB bequest flourished. All done his life, helium remained a seeker, a tinkerer and an innovator who defied the prototype.

SKR’s euphony touched the bosom contempt its structural complexity, said Sundaram. TVG recalled that the maestro was a hard idiosyncratic , for whom thing seemed impossible. His Kapi thillana calls for apical laya control, noted Muralidharan.

SKR’s varnams, kritis and thillanas bespeak a uncommon blend of rhythmic sophistication, melodic quality and aesthetic refinement, notes Sundaram successful his foreword for the book. Six of the thillanas are successful Tamil, with 5 of them connected his favourite deity Muruga. The lyrics are archetypal fixed some successful English and Tamil, and past with notation successful some languages. With its neat layout and logical presentation, the publication is surely a utile instrumentality for euphony students aspiring to larn these thillanas. The archetypal thillana successful Darbari Kanada, fixed arsenic a janya of the 21st mela Natabhairavi, should beryllium work arsenic a derivative of the 20th mela.

The rhythmic operation is arsenic intricate arsenic the thillanas warrant, and is aesthetically pleasing arsenic well. The earthy beingness of ‘edhugai’ (second-letter alliteration) oregon ‘monai’ (first-letter alliteration) successful the lyrics of each the compositions is simply a chiseled worth addition.

The notation ‘thaniyan’ (loner) to himself and the recollection of however Muruga redeemed him supply a poignant interaction successful the opening Darbari Kanada thillana acceptable to Misra Chapu. The wordplay connected ‘vel’ successful the operation ‘Endha velaiyum kandha velaiye’ is enjoyable successful the Sindhubhairavi song. . Multiple edhukai people the Brindavani thillana extolling Muruga. A pronounced ‘monai’ is the item of the Dwijavanti composition. The 5th one, successful Kapi, is connected Nataraja, acceptable to Chatusra Jhampa, offering a analyzable rhythmic landscape. The Pahadi thillana brims with melodic appeal, portion the last one, successful Gavati, is composed successful Sanskrit.

Bhushany aboriginal shared that a thillana successful Bindumalini was a enactment successful advancement astatine the clip of his demise, with lone the charanam conception needing last touches.

The relation was followed by a rendition of a fewer thillanas by Bhushany’s disciples and SKR’s grandnieces Aditi Iyer and Akshaya Iyer. Anuradha Sriram’s abbreviated performance of her guru SKR’s compositions — successful which the past of the 36 dwi-madhyama ragas, ‘Chalasri’, was the main feature, drew the lawsuit to a close.