The Ragam Tanam Pallavi (RTP) is probably the piece de resistance in any Carnatic Music concert. Among the more regular concert goers there is generally a feeling that the pallavi portion of the RTP is too technical and mathematical. This article tries to shatter such myths and make the RTP more familiar to music lovers.
The Ragam of the RTP is similar to a normal raga alapana. But there are a few subtle enhancements. There was a tradition whereby a raga alapana would generally follow the structure of the song to be rendered. Today it is not so. Musicians generally tend to have standard methods of raga elaboration and they usually put them to practice. So you would find a musician rendering a Todi in the same manner, whether he sings kaddanu variki or a pallavi. The only thing that is still in vogue, though very rarely, is rendering the alapana in two or three stages. This practice is normally reserved for the ragam portion of the RTP only. Musicians like GNB patented a style of raga alapana for RTPs. He would first sing a brief outline of the raga. Make the violinist play the same. Then launch into an in depth analysis of the raga stage by stage. These stages would usually be in an ascending order of scale, which is from the lower octave to the upper octave. Further he would alternate between himself and the violinist at different points of the alapana. These days this is very rare and musicians normally finish the alapana at one stretch and then the violinist does his bit.
Tanam is the next stage in the RTP. Tanam is more or less a medium tempo of raga singing, which follows a rhythmic pattern. In some cases it has been known for tanam to be rendered with Mrudangam accompaniment also, usually set to Adi Tala. There is also more alternation between the vocalist and the violinist during tanam. Music theory defines different types of tanam like chakra tanam etc. Few musicians though follow such traditions or paddhatis. Tanam singing itself is a dying art today and there are very few musicians who are competent in this.
The pallavi is the last part of the RTP. As already mentioned in the Concert FAQ, the pallavi is a single line that is elaborated using neraval and kalpana swara. Here the pallavi is usually also set to a variety of talas. Normally there is a set of 4 or 5 talas that are in vogue in the concert compositions. Therefore the pallavi offers the musician and the audience an experience of the rhythmic beauties of other rare talas. This is one unique feature of the
pallavi.
Secondly the mathematical innovations are aplenty during the pallavi stage. What happens here is that, first the musician performs an elaborate neraval on the pallavi line. Then he launches into the mathematical innovations. Here the pallavi line is rendered in different speeds keeping the tala constant. Then on some occasions and when suitable to some talas, the pallavi is kept constant and the tala is changed to different speeds. These constitute the anuloma and paratiloma portions. So if a pallavi is set to Adi Tala 4 kalai, then the anuloma is rendered in the following way: The tala is kept constant and the pallavi is rendered in succeeding degrees of speed. So the next speed will entail singing the pallavi twice in a single tala cycle or avarta. Then tisra will be performed. Here the artiste sings the pallavi line three times in a single avarta. Finally the next speed where the pallavi line is rendered 4 times in a single avarta. In the case of pratiloma, the pallavi is constant and the tala is changed from 4 kalai to two kalai and then on to 1 kalai. After this comes the kalpana swara portion. This is usually followed by a ragamalika of swaras and sometimes another tani avartanam to the percussionists.
The above is an attempt to describe the RTP in detail. Of course these things are best understood only when performed and demonstrated in person. So this is only to give a brief idea of what happens. Concepts of anuloma and pratiloma are fast disappearing or being simplified these days with easier talas. Though there are still some pallavi specialists around, even a 4 kalai pallavi is a rarity. The most common tala these days is the Khanda Jati Triputa tala. But progress is being made more on the lines of ragamalika pallavis where pallavis are rendered in a combination of two or more ragas.
Finally if we were to look at the pallavi singing practices of some of the great masters, we can find that they did not indulge in too many mathematical exercises. For instance GNB's forte was the raga alapana. He normally breezed through the tanam and pallavi segments, without even rendering the anuloma and pratiloma. As for people like Ariyakudi and Semmangudi, the focus was on Tanam as well as neraval. They also did not elaborate on anuloma and pratiloma. In fact most of the greats did not get into mathematical innovations in a pallavi. They concentrated on the raga, tanam and neraval as well as kalpana swara and gave a complete picture of the RTP. The beauty of the RTP is that it affords the scope to a musician to use it in whatever way he wants. We can find a TVS singing a cameo RTP in Desh or Brindavana Saranga or a TNS singing an elaborate 1 ½ hour pallavi in Kamala Manohari and both would give satisfaction to their fans. Among the earlier generation the Alathur Brothers did get into mathematical innovations, and also made the pallavi interesting and enjoyable to even lay music lovers.
The Ragam Tanam Pallavi (RTP) is probably the piece de resistance in any Carnatic Music concert. Among the more regular concert goers there is generally a feeling that the pallavi portion of the RTP is too technical and mathematical. This article tries to shatter such myths and make the RTP more familiar to music lovers.
