nIlAmbari

 Definition (ve.nkaTamakhin)

nIlambaryAkhya rAgastu

saMpURNO vakradhaivataH |

avarOhE ri vakRashca

gIyatE lakSya vEdhibhiH ||

(ve.nkaTamakhin – caturdaNDi prakAshika  - anubandham 29- 16)

ArOhaNam: sa ri ga ma pa dha pa ni Sa       (S R2 G3 M1 P D2 P N3 S)

AvarOhaNam: Sa ni pa ma ga ri ga sa         (S N3 P M1 G3 R2 G3 S)

 nIlambari is an ubhaya vakra saMpUrNa shADava rAgam generated from the mELam 29 dhIrasha.nkarAbharaNam. Hence, the svarams featured are SaDjam, catushruti riSabham, antara gAndhAram, shuddha madhyamam, pa~ncamam, catushruti dhaivatam, and kakaLi niSAdham.  Since kaishiki niSAdham also appears as an anya svaram (extraneous note) in the phrases “pa ni dha ni” and “pa dha ni dha ni pa”, nIlAmbari qualifies to be called a bhASA.nga rAgam.  The arOhaNam is sampURNAm, but avarOhaNam omits dhaivatam. It is an Eka svara vakra rAgam, with a vakra svara usage in both ArOhaNam and avarOhaNam.

A sarva svara kampita rAgam.  The shaking of the madhyamam in different shades (such as in the usage “ Ga ma pa ni Pa ma ga ma pa Ma~”, “Pa Ma~” etc) is a speaciiality of nIlAmbari.

It is a gamaka vArikA rakti rAgam.

The rAga chAyA svarams are ri, ga, and ni, and are rendered with gamakam.

The nyAsa svarams are Ma and Pa;

The resting note is Pa;

The svarams Ri, and Ma are kampita svarams.

The vishESa svara prayOgams are “sa ni dha ni sa”, “ sa ni pa ma ga sa”, “pA dha ni dhA ni sa”  (in the last one, the second ni is kAkaLi niSAdham..

There is no sa~ncAram below the mandara stAyI nisAdham. 

Compositions commence either in SaDjam (amba nIlAyatAkSi), or gAndharam (ennaga manasu) 

NilAmbari is an ancient rAgam mentioned in sa.ngIta makarandam, and many other treatises.

 The megha rAga kura~nji of the tEvAram paNN is just nIlAmbari.

In the asampUrNa paddhati, subbarAma dIkSitar places nIlAmbari as bhASA.nga janyam number 7, under (29) dhIrasha.nkarAbharaNam. 

mUrccana ArOhanam – sa ri ga ma ma padha pa ni niSa ni dha ni sA

avarOhaNam  -  Sa ni pa mA ga ri ga sA.

The book does not provide a lakSya gItam by ve.nkaTamakhin (normally available for all rAgams discussed in the book), but features three k.rtis of dIkSitar, one by kumara eDDappa rAja, and a sa~ncAri by subbarAma dIkSitar.

NilAmbari evokes a soothing effect, and so is a natural candidate for lullabies, U~njal songs, marriage songs, lAlis etc. It portrayes bhakti, karuNa and vAtsalya rasams, and shines when rendered in vilambita AlApana and svara prasthAram.  Cuddalore Subramanyam’s rAgamAlika in numerous rAgams (recently popularized by Nityashree) describes nIlAmbari as  “ paDuttuRa.nga ceyyum nIlAmbariya?”. NilAmbari is suitable for singing at dusk/night time. In bhajans, and in temples, we can hear nIlAmbari melodies to put the deity to sleep

sa~ncArams:

gmpM~ - pnS – SnpmgrgM~ -mgrgmpmgrgmgS – S,Nnsrggm~m~  gmpNpM~-

Ppnnp-pnS-nsmggrsRs – snp,m-g,mp,dnpmgrd,PmgrgS

 Among the four k.rtis of muttusvAmi dIkSitar in nIlAmbari, three bear the rAga mudra. The dIkSitar k.rti “amba nIlAyatAkSi” contains the lilting prAsa phrases “ambari, kAdambari, nIlAmbari” (typical of dIkSitar style),  which also provided the rAga mudra. In “nIlA.ngam harim”, viSNu is described as the brother of balarAma (“nIlAmbarAnujam”). In “siddhIshvarAya namaste”, shiva is described as “nIlAmbarAkAra”, adorned in blue dress. The samaSTi caraNam k.rti on tyagaraja has no rAga mudra. Ponnaiah Pillai’s composition “amba nIlAmbari” is patterned after his guru dIkSitar’s “amba nIlAyartAksi”, and has fine ciTTa svarams built into it. Rendered in vilambita kAlam, it portrays out the rAga svarUpam very nicely.

TyAgarAja brings out the soothing vAtsalya effects in nIlAmbari through his utsava saMparAya k.rtis and lAlis –“ uyyAla UgavayyA”, “lAli yUgavE ma”, “shrIrAma shrIrAma”.  The prahLAda bhakti vijayam song “ennaga manasuku rANi” is an example of an opera song in nIlAmabari.

The contributions of mahArajA svAti tirunAL in nIlAmbari include many beautiful padams, some in malayALam, and some in maNipravALam,

HindustAni rAgam nIlAmbari is entirely different.  It is placed under kAfi ThATh (kraharaharapriya) and takes tIvra ri, kOmal ga, shuddh ma, tIvra dha and both kOmal and tIvra ni.  Pandit Omkarnath Thakur popularized this type of nIlAmbari.

In the monograph  “The Ragas of Indian Music” (Indiana University Press 1976), the author, Walter Kaufmann places nIlAmbari under mELam 28, harikAmbhOji (pages 373-374). And provides two versions of avarOhaNam  - (I) the note dha is absent, and one vakra passage is employed, (ii) saMpUrnam, but two extended vakra passages employed. Yet another change that can occur is the rendition of the ascending note ni (originally Bb) which can be raised to B (natural).  He points out that this is the reason why nIlAmbari is placed under mELam 29, sha.nkarAbharaNam, where the pitch of Bb does not occur.  The note pa is often stressed in the descending progression pa-ma; the lower note is performed with a vibrato and at times may be raised slightly in pitch.

While there are numerous popular k.rtis and padams in nIlAmbari, it is still rare to get a detailed rendition of nIlAmbari in a concert.  Many rAgamAlikA segments feature nIlAmbari.  The third stanza in svAti tirunAaL’s rAgamAlika, “pannagEndra shayana” is set in nIlAmbari.  The aSTaragamAlika, popularized by S. Kalyanaraman commences with the nIlAmbari rAga line “nI tAn tuNai nIlambari”.  I have not come across any pallavi exercise, or tillAnA in this rAgam.  Is it because an elaborate pallaviin nIlAmbari will put the audience to sleep? (and, perhaps a lengthy bhUpAlam is needed to wake them up?)

Popular compositions in nIlAmbari

Pada vaRNam

 sarasa shara sundara, Adi (svAti tirunAL)

sendil mEvum dEva dEvA (lAlguDi G. jayarAman)).

 k.rtis

 amba nIlAyatAkSi, Adi (muttusvAmi dIkSitar)

siddhIshvarAya namste, mishra cApu, (muttusvAmi dIkSitar)

tyAgarAjam bhajeham, rUpakam (muttusvAmi dIkSitar)

nIlA.ngam harim, khaNDa Ekam (muttusvAmi dIkSitar)

uyyAla lUgavayya, khaNda cApu (tyAgarAja)

ennaga manasuku rANi, Adi (prahLAda bhakti vijayam opera) (tyAgarAja

nIkE dayarAka nE jEyu, mishra cApu(tyAgarAja)

maTADavEmi nAtO, Adi (tyAgarAja)

lAli yUgavE mA, rUpakam, (tyAgarAja)

shrIrama rAmarAma, khaNDa cApu (tyAgarAja)

brOvavamma  ba.ngaru bommA, mishra cApu (shyama shAstri)

Anandavalli kuru mudam, adi (svAti tirunAL)

Hanta jIva nayakan maRannO, khaNda capu (svAti tirunAL)

kalakaNThI kathaMkaram sakhi, mishra cApu (svATi tirunAAL)

vimala kamaladaLa, Adi (svAti tirunaL)

satatam samsmarAmi, cApu (svATi tirunAL)

smba nIlAmbari, Adi (Ponnayya Pillai)

karuNAnanda caturE, Adi  (maharAja of eTTayApuram)

mAdhava mAmava dEvA (nArAyana tIrtha)

eppaDittAN en uLLam pugundu, Adi (UttukkaDu ve.kaTa kavI)

maNinUpuradhAri rAjagOpAla, Adi (UttukkADu ve.nkaTa kavi)

ramaNIya yamunA tATAkam, mishra cApu (UttukkaDu ve.nkaTa kavi)

varu.ngaL vAru.ngaL, jhaMpa (gOpAlak.rSNa bhArati)

ajam haram ambikAvanam, Adi (muttayyA bhAgavatar)

kanavilum maRappadillai, jhampa (muttuttAANDavar)

pirindAlum, jhampa (muttitANDAvar)

pillai ninaindu , rUpakam (periyasAmi tUran)

ninniTal veTa, Ekam (pallavi shESa iyer)

kAna kaNNAyirm, Adi (AnayyA)

s.r.ngAra lahari, Adi (li.ngarAj urs)

padams

hanta santApam ~nAnArOTu paravu, mishra cApu)  (maNipravALa padam) (svATi tirunAL)

kAminIha ~nAnentu ceyvu, mishra cApu (maNipravAla padam) (svAti tirunAL)

kantanOTu cennu melle, rUpakam (maNipravAla padam) (svAti tirunAL)

etuvanti, tripuTa (kSEtraj~na)

sAmI nI dayayu`ncu, tripuTa (kSEtraj~na)

varanO smaranO (iriyamman thampi)

utsava prabhandham

pa~ncasAyaka janakan shrIpadmanAbhan, adi (svati tirunAL)

navaratnamAlika

 satatam saMsmarANIha,  mishra cApu (svAti tirunaL)

 tEvAram

 madarmada, tripuTa (tiruj~nAna sambandhar)

 tiruppugazh

 padarppuviyin, mishra Ekam (aruNagirinAthar)

taraiyin manuda, triputa (aruNagirinathar)

Ahiri

Definition (ve.nkaTamakhin)

AhirI sA tu saMpUrNA

Sa grahA shrOtra ra~njanI |

gitOkta mELa maRgENa

bANa yAmE pragIyatE ||

                                                           (ve.nkaTamakhin – caturdaNDi prakAshika – anubandham 20-10)

 Ahiri is usualy considered a janyam of mElam 8, hanumatODi  (but opinions differ, and it can be placed under 14, vakuLAbharaNam, 17 sUryakAntam, or 20 naTabhairavi – see remarks below).

 ArOhanam: sa ri sa ga ma pa dha ni Sa (S R1 S G3 M1 P D1 N2 S)

AvarOhaNam: Sa ni dha pa ma ga ri sa  (S N2 D1 P M1 G3 R1 S))

 The svarams featured are (mELam 8): SaDjam, shuddha riSabham, sAdhArana gAndhAram, shuddha madhyamam, pa~ncamam, shuddha dhaivatam, and kaishiki niSAdham.  Since antara gAndhAram, and kakaLi niSAdham appears in several places, Ahiri becomes a bhASA.nga rAgam. It is an Arohana vakra sampUrNa rAgam.

The jIva svarams are ga, dha, and ni.

The chAya svarams are ri, ma, and ni.

The svarams shudda ri and ga are kampita svarams.

Ahiri is a gamaka vArikA rakti rAgam.

A tristAyI rAgam exhibiting a number of subtle shrutis in kaRNATik music.

It is therefore featured in k.rtis, operas, dramas and various dance forms.

 The ga in Ahiri is very delicate.  The well pronounced antara ga occurs very rarely.  In most places it slips own to the sAdharaNa ga level.  Even the catushruti dha occurs strikingly in phrases like “p{d}nSnddnDp.

A scholarly ragam that can be properly rendered only with suitable lakSya j~nAnam

Ahiri is a very early morning rAgam (ve.nkaTamakhin says bANa kAlam, which is second yAmam after evening/night).  It portrays shOka and karuNa rasam (pathos, and compassion).

 In Tamil paNN music, Ahiri is known by the name pa~ncamam.

Ahiri belongs to the 19 pUrva prasiddha mElams declared by “pUrva AcAryas”, and is the eight mELam described by ve.nkaTamakhin. It has been mentioned in many treatises including Sa.ngIta samayasAra.

Sa.ngIta sampradAya pradarshini of subbarAma dIkSitar places Ahiri as a bhASA.nga janyam number 2, under the (asaMpURNa mELam) ragA.ga rAgam 20, rItigauLa.  The mUrccana given there are:

ArOhaNam:  sa ri sa ga ma pa dha ni sa

AvarOhaNam: sa ni dhA pa ma gA ri sa

SubbarAma dIkSitar adds that the elongated ni, dha and ga are the jIva svarams; trishruti and pa~ncashruti riSabham, sAdhArana and antara gAndhAram, trishruti and pa~ncashruti dhaivatam, and finally kaishiKi as well as kAkaLi nishAdams occur.

The boiok gives a lakSya gItam in tripuTa tALam by ve.nkaTamakhin as usual, followed by muttusvAmi dIkStar’s AvaraNa k.ri “shrI kamalAmbA jayati”, a padam, “ mOsamAyegadvE” in mishra Eka tALam by pollavaramuvAru“, concluding with a sa~ncAri by subbarAma dIkSitar himself.

Some musiclogists prefer to place Ahiri as a janyam of mELam 14, vakuLAbharaNam, or even mElam 20, naTabhairavi. The presence of antara ga, kAkaLi ni, catushruti dha even make one feel that it can be placed under mELam 17, sUryakAntam.  The difficulty of fixing a proper mElam for Ahiri is due to the fact that in certain sa~ncarams, touches of ri, ga, dha and ni, other than those defined in the scale are found to occur.

The rules concerning the use of foreign notes are rather vague, and performers allow themselves with various liberties.  A general guideline is as follows:

Shuddha ri – usually employed in descent

Catushruti ri – used in skips

sadharaNa ga – mainly in descent

antara ga – usually in ascent, particularly before ma

shuddha dha – used in descent

catushruti dha – appears in ascent, usualy before ni

kaishiki ni – can appear in ascent or descent

kAkaLi ni – used in ascent before sa.