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tODi
Even  the mere mention of its name would bring forth to any musical mind, the meandering, majestic, mellifluous phrases that belong to the one and only tODi, the beauty of which could be compared to the eternal splendour of the Ganges, or perhaps even to the mysterious, boundless space.
The grandeur and profundity of this perennially delightful rAga, epitomises ideal classical music, ever remaining as one of the prime representatives of the melodies of the Carnatic stream. It is certainly not possible to verbalise the splendour and magnitude of tODi. It is generally conceived of as a gamaka pradhAna rAga, wherein every kind of embellishment within the structural framework is possible, and hence offers tremendous scope for elaborate rendition.
Melodic Structure: The gamakas of tODi are highly rich and varied, yet refined, its contours wide and colourful, yet subtle, thus endowing the rAga with a wholesome, fluid melodic structure. The gamaka patterns that figure in tODi would themselves offer a vast scope for study, but then like many other rakti rAgas, it is only with practical knowledge and experience that one would be able to appreciate the nuances of the
gamakas.
There are umpteen number of classical compositions in tODi, which serve as ideal lessons for any music student to understand the rAga better. Shyama Shastri's Svarajati, a gem of a composition, is bhAva-laden tODi in a nutshell. rUpamu jUci, the cauka varNam of Muttuswami Dikshitar has the beauty of viLamba kAla tODi written all over it. The time tested ninnE namminAnu, kOluvamarEgadA, kamalAmbikE, kaddanu vAriki etc., are some fine samples that generously offer the essence of
tODi.
 It should be observed that hanumatODi is yet another mELa which possesses a pair of symmetrical tetrachords wherein we come across important Sruti intervals like dvishruti (between S-R1 and P-D1), trishruti (between G2-M1 and N2-S) and catushruti (between R1-G2 and D1-N2), thus enjoying consonant pairs such as S-M1, S-P, R1-D1 & G2-N2, that enrich the melodic structure on the whole.
Even though tODi’s structure admit kAlapramANa, its melodic identity is truly marked by its majestic viLamba kAla and the meandering gamakas soaked in bhAva. All the svaras excepting madhyama, admit of oscillation, not to mention the wide, relaxed kampita of gAndhAra and dhaivata. These two svaras constitute the nuclei of the melodic network of tODi, but all the svaras can be safely labelled as jIva
svaras.
The un-oscillated madhyama acts as a balancing link between the pUrvAnga and the uttarAnga. sAdhAraNa gAndhAra is comfortably placed between a rather wide interval of R1 and M1, and it freely sways along the territories of its neighbouring svaras too. The joy of gAndhAra and dhaivata gamaka could be savoured fully in the pada varNam “mOhalAhiri kONDEn” of Ghanam Krishnayyar. gAndhAra can afford to shine even as a kampavihIna svara, so also can niShAda, which otherwise is oscillated between D1 and S or between D1 and N2.
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