Superb ! Ka Va Va Ragam Varali Adi Talam Papanasam Sivan Krithi Invocation. As a child you will remember listening with fascination to mother’s explanation of how God can be invoked into a Kalasha filled with water, topped with mango leaves and a coconut. Once the invocation is done, the Kalasha is worshipped as the Goddess. ‘God is everywhere’ my mother said ‘but when we invoke His or Her presence, divine energy becomes concentrated in an idol or a symbolic representation like a Kalasha’. Likewise an idol carved by the hands of men comes to sit in an altar somewhere and transforms from stone to God. What causes the transformation? Invocation. Just invocation. Human beings have invoked the presence of God from time immemorial using ceremonies of all kinds. But finally it is just a simple call ‘Come’. My song choice of today is the essence of invocation. Addressed to Lord Muruga, the poet-composer Papanasam Sivan says ‘Come and protect me’. He identifies the divinity he invokes by different descriptions but the repeated ‘vA vA’ are the words we hear the most in this song, ‘Come, Come’. Set to the beautiful raga Varali , this melodious supplication touches the hearts of all those who hear it. So how can Lord Muruga remain unmoved? Special Thanks to Madurai Mani Iyer for making this song Famous pallavI kA vA vA kanda vA vA Yennai kA vA vElavA (murugA vAkandA vA) pazhanimalaiyuraiyum murugA (vA vA) anupallavI devAdi dEvan maganE vA para dEvi maDiyil amarum guhanE vA vaLLi deivayAnai manavaLA (vA) sharavana bhava parama dayalA (shanmugA) charaNam aapath- iruLara aruloLi tarum appane annaLe ayya vA vA pApa tiraL tarum tApam agala varum pazhani valar karunai mazhayE vA vA tApatraya veyilara nizhal tarum vAntharuve yen kula guruvEe vaa sri padmanAban marugA rAma dAsan vanangum mutaiyA Oh Muruga, who lives in Pazhani malai, come to protect me. Come, O son of Shiva. Come, O Guha (the hidden one), who sits on Parvati’s lap. Come, O husband of Valli and Deivayanai. Come O Sharavana, the supremly kind being. Come, you who bestow light to remove the darkness of danger. Come, you who remove longing and sin, you the shower of kindness, who grew up in Pazhani. Come, you who give shade to protect me from the hot rays of intense longing, you who are the Guru of our community. Come, you who are the nephew of lord Vishnu, the one worshipped by Ramadasa, a gem like being. Raga Jhalavarali is the 39th Mela belonging to the 7th Music Chakra. The prefix ‘Jhala’ is added to the raga name in order to suit the katapayadi formula. It is the 4th in the list of 5 Ghana ragams Nata, Gaula, Arabhi and Sree being the other ghana ragas.Noticeably this is the only Ghana raga with Prati Madhyama. In Mind, Body and Soul Chakra - Chakra 7 is the Divine Chakra lined up with the heart and the throat chakras, enabling the higher spirit energies to work through ones voice and body. Therapeutically Varali is said to be good for Heart and Skin ailments and gastric problems. This raga is mentioned in many of the earlier texts in the names Varadi, Varati,Varali and Varatika and is said to be more than 1300 years old. It is with this name that it is referred in ancient lakshana grandhas like Sangeeta Makarandha and Sangeeta Ratnakara. It is also said that there was a place called as “Varata Desa” and this melody was prevalent there and hence the name Varati / Varali. According to Bharatha’s Natyasastra Varati is recommended in portraying rain, agitation, surprise etc. When it is adorned by dhaivata, it serves contentment, recollecting, concealing one’s feeling. The raga is also used to protray the rasa of Pranaya Viyoga or pangs of separation of lovers. Varali portrays both Karuna and Sringara Rasas. Now coming to the meaning of the term Varali. “Var” in Sanskrit means “to sound” and the term “ali” refers to Bee. So may be the meaning of Varali refers to “Sound/Hum of a Bee “. Varali is also known as Moon. After listening to Varali recordings quite a few times, I think the meaning “Sounds like a Bee” is very apt for the raga. Varali is an asymmetric raga due to the vakra prayoga and a vivadi ragam and the vivadi dosha is avoided by singing the arohana as SGRG which makes it a raga with vakra sampoorna (contains all 7 notes) in arohanam. “pUrNA varALI satatam ghIyatE sagrahAnvitA” The Sloka says that Varali has Purna Arohana-avarohana and can be sung at all times. The Graha Swaram is Shadjam. Its Arohana Avarohana structure is as follows: arohana : S G1 R1 G1 M2 P D1 N3 S avarohana : S N3 D1 P M2 G1 R1 S The notes taken are Shadjam, Suddha Rishabham, Suddha Gandharam, Prati Madhyamam, Panchamam, Suddha Dhaivatam and Kakali Nishadham. The raga has only one vivadi note and that is Suddha Gandharam. Gandharam in the raga is Suddha Gandharam which takes the place of Chathusruti Rishabham with a soft pull while played in veena. Suddha Gandhara which is slightly higher than Chathusruti Rishabham. Gandharam is a pleasant jeeva swaram in the raga. It can also be sounded as a pleading tone . As per Raga Nidhi of T.V.Subbu Rao, the Suddha Gandharam is higher in Arohanam and lower in Avarohanam. The Madhyamam used has a slightly higher frequency than the Prati Madhyamam, and is also called as Chyuta Panchama Madhyamam or Varali Madhyamam as it is popularly known. Varali’s Nishadam is termed as “Chyuta Shadja Nishadam” which is slightly higher than the regular Kakali Nishada. Though all 7 swaras are present in the raga, the notes G, M and N are the most important notes that brings out the raga swarupa. All the three come with their characteristic gamakas.
Superb ! Ka Va Va Ragam Varali Adi Talam Papanasam Sivan Krithi
Invocation. As a child you will remember listening with fascination to mother’s explanation of how God can be invoked into a Kalasha filled with water, topped with mango leaves and a coconut. Once the invocation is done, the Kalasha is worshipped as the Goddess. ‘God is everywhere’ my mother said ‘but when we invoke His or Her presence, divine energy becomes concentrated in an idol or a symbolic representation like a Kalasha’. Likewise an idol carved by the hands of men comes to sit in an altar somewhere and transforms from stone to God.
What causes the transformation? Invocation. Just invocation. Human beings have invoked the presence of God from time immemorial using ceremonies of all kinds. But finally it is just a simple call ‘Come’. My song choice of today is the essence of invocation. Addressed to Lord Muruga, the poet-composer Papanasam Sivan says ‘Come and protect me’. He identifies the divinity he invokes by different descriptions but the repeated ‘vA vA’ are the words we hear the most in this song, ‘Come, Come’. Set to the beautiful raga Varali , this melodious supplication touches the hearts of all those who hear it. So how can Lord Muruga remain unmoved?
Special Thanks to Madurai Mani Iyer for making this song Famous
pallavI
kA vA vA kanda vA vA Yennai kA vA vElavA
(murugA vAkandA vA)
pazhanimalaiyuraiyum murugA (vA vA)
anupallavI
devAdi dEvan maganE vA
para dEvi maDiyil amarum guhanE vA
vaLLi deivayAnai manavaLA (vA)
sharavana bhava parama dayalA (shanmugA)
charaNam
aapath- iruLara aruloLi tarum appane annaLe ayya vA vA
pApa tiraL tarum tApam agala varum
pazhani valar karunai mazhayE vA vA
tApatraya veyilara nizhal tarum vAntharuve yen
kula guruvEe vaa
sri padmanAban marugA rAma dAsan vanangum mutaiyA
Oh Muruga, who lives in Pazhani malai, come to protect me.
Come, O son of Shiva. Come, O Guha (the hidden one), who sits on Parvati’s lap.
Come, O husband of Valli and Deivayanai.
Come O Sharavana, the supremly kind being.
Come, you who bestow light to remove the darkness of danger.
Come, you who remove longing and sin, you the shower of kindness, who grew up in Pazhani.
Come, you who give shade to protect me from the hot rays of intense longing, you who are the Guru of our community.
Come, you who are the nephew of lord Vishnu, the one worshipped by Ramadasa, a gem like being.
Raga Jhalavarali is the 39th Mela belonging to the 7th Music Chakra. The prefix ‘Jhala’ is added to the raga name in order to suit the katapayadi formula. It is the 4th in the list of 5 Ghana ragams Nata, Gaula, Arabhi and Sree being the other ghana ragas.Noticeably this is the only Ghana raga with Prati Madhyama.
In Mind, Body and Soul Chakra - Chakra 7 is the Divine Chakra lined up with the heart and the throat chakras, enabling the higher spirit energies to work through ones voice and body. Therapeutically Varali is said to be good for Heart and Skin ailments and gastric problems.
This raga is mentioned in many of the earlier texts in the names Varadi, Varati,Varali and Varatika and is said to be more than 1300 years old. It is with this name that it is referred in ancient lakshana grandhas like Sangeeta Makarandha and Sangeeta Ratnakara. It is also said that there was a place called as “Varata Desa” and this melody was prevalent there and hence the name Varati / Varali.
According to Bharatha’s Natyasastra Varati is recommended in portraying rain, agitation, surprise etc. When it is adorned by dhaivata, it serves contentment, recollecting, concealing one’s feeling. The raga is also used to protray the rasa of Pranaya Viyoga or pangs of separation of lovers. Varali portrays both Karuna and Sringara Rasas.
Now coming to the meaning of the term Varali. “Var” in Sanskrit means “to sound” and the term “ali” refers to Bee. So may be the meaning of Varali refers to “Sound/Hum of a Bee “. Varali is also known as Moon. After listening to Varali recordings quite a few times, I think the meaning “Sounds like a Bee” is very apt for the raga. Varali is an asymmetric raga due to the vakra prayoga and a vivadi ragam and the vivadi dosha is avoided by singing the arohana as SGRG which makes it a raga with vakra sampoorna (contains all 7 notes) in arohanam.
“pUrNA varALI satatam ghIyatE sagrahAnvitA”
The Sloka says that Varali has Purna Arohana-avarohana and can be sung at all times. The Graha Swaram is Shadjam.
Its Arohana Avarohana structure is as follows:
arohana : S G1 R1 G1 M2 P D1 N3 S
avarohana : S N3 D1 P M2 G1 R1 S
The notes taken are Shadjam, Suddha Rishabham, Suddha Gandharam, Prati Madhyamam, Panchamam, Suddha Dhaivatam and Kakali Nishadham.
The raga has only one vivadi note and that is Suddha Gandharam. Gandharam in the raga is Suddha Gandharam which takes the place of Chathusruti Rishabham with a soft pull while played in veena. Suddha Gandhara which is slightly higher than Chathusruti Rishabham. Gandharam is a pleasant jeeva swaram in the raga. It can also be sounded as a pleading tone . As per Raga Nidhi of T.V.Subbu Rao, the Suddha Gandharam is higher in Arohanam and lower in Avarohanam. The Madhyamam used has a slightly higher frequency than the Prati Madhyamam, and is also called as Chyuta Panchama Madhyamam or Varali Madhyamam as it is popularly known. Varali’s Nishadam is termed as “Chyuta Shadja Nishadam” which is slightly higher than the regular Kakali Nishada. Though all 7 swaras are present in the raga, the notes G, M and N are the most important notes that brings out the raga swarupa. All the three come with their characteristic gamakas.
thanks a lot sir
My Pleasure 🙏
awesome extremely high quality Varaali.... RM at his usual best!
Wonderful. I do not have words to describe his talent. I always follow him. God bless him abundantly.
Simply Superb....RK Murthy has done an amazing job!
👍 Superlative rendition
@ the age of 25 RK showing the extra ordinary talent
Top singing as always
Excellent ablahs
As usual,rendered best performance.gdd bless you dear
Awwwwesome
Awesome singing Murthy sir
Awesome
highly professional
Super
The next great icon
Can you please upload the full concert
SUPER SUPER SUPER
Excellent alapana. Nailed it well .