mEcakalyANi
KALYANI mELam is the flagship of the prati madhyama segment of the mELakartA scheme (mELams 37 to 72), just like the position enjoyed by sha”nkarAbharaNam among the shuddha madhyama group (mELams 1 to 36). These two form a set of complementary mELams like Shakti and Shiva. If sha”nkarAbharaNam is shiva’s favourite, then, Goddess is very much pleased with kalyANi, which also bears her name! In the mELakartA chart, kalyANI occupies No. 65, and is called mEcakalyANi, to conform to the kaTapAyAdi saMkhyA counting, to yield the number 65 (ma = 5, ca = 6, reversing 56 yields 65). This is the 5th rAgam in the 11th rudra cakram. Hence the mnemonic name is “rudra mA (ri gu mi pa dhi nu)”. The dIkSitar school uses the nomenclature shAnta kalyANi, in their asampUrNa mELa paddhati (which also yields 65 in the kaTapayAdi notation (sha = 5, ta = 6).
ArOhaNam: S Ri Gu Mi Pa dhi Nu S (S R2 G3 M2 P D2 N3 S’)
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avarOhaNam: S Nu Dhi Pa Mi Gu Ri S (S’ N3 D2 P M2 G3 R2 S)
The notes taken by kalyANI are: shaDjam, catushruti rSabham (R2), antara gAndhAram (G3), prati madhyamam (M2), catushruti dhaivatam (D2), and kAkali niSAdam (N3). As the prati madhyama counterpart of mELam 29 (sha”nkarAbharaNam), it differs from sha”nkarAbharaANam in just one note, namely the madhyamam.
It is a sarva svara gamaka vArikA rakti rAgam --- all the notes of kalyANi are rendered as tIvra svarams, and with rich gamakams, and all are rAga chAyAsvarams. The notes “ga” and “pa” are amsha svarams; also, ri, ga, dha, ni are nyAsa svarams. Gamakams like kampitam, sphuritam, tripuccham, when added to the svara sa~ncArams add an extra dimension of beauty to kalyANi. jhaNTa prayOgams like RR GG MM DD, GG MM DD NN, MM DD NN RR, as well as dATu prayOgams like NGRN, DNRNDN, GND NGR are pleasant and suit well for this rAgam. Also, prayogams that omit the notes “sa” and “pa” (like DNRGM DNRND MGRN) lend elegance to kalyANi. Subtle srutis like tIvra antara gAndhAram (81/64) and tIvra kAkali niSAdam (243/128) show up in some places.
KalyANi is a mUrcana kAraka mELa rAgam, and by the process of modal shift of tonic, we can derive harikAmbhOji, naTabhairavi, sha”nkarAbharaNam, kharaharapriya and tODi by taking as AdhAra SaDjam: ri, ga, pa, dha, and ni, respectively. There is a vinyl LP album of the 1970s where Balamuralikrishna sings a pallavi in rAgam naTabhairavi, “sa ri ga ma pa dha ni pADeDA” where he performs grahabhEdam during the rAgamAlika svaram rendition, and sequentially derives all the above mELams.
A mELa rAgam with immense scope for detailed AlApana, kalyANI is a parent scale for a huge number of janya rAgams. Even though it can be sung at all times, kalyANi is basically an evening rAgam. It is usually sung at the beginning segment of a concert (perhaps as a varNam), since its tIvra svarams create the proper musical atmosphere. For the same reason, it is preferred for a pallavi exposition, or shows up as a rAgam in rAgamalikAs, shlOkams, viruttams, and even in tillAnAs. It is a very auspicious rAgam. Rare is any concert that goes without a rendition of a detailed k.rti, or a pallavi exposition in kalyANi, or at least as a segmental rAgam in a rAgamAlika, or a viruttam.
All sorts of compositions exist in kalyANi, and all composers have composed in kalyANi. Beginning students learn the purandaradAsa gItam, “kamalajA daLa” in tripuTa tALam, and the two famous varNams, both beginning with the phrase “vanajAkSi”, one in Adi tALam (rAmanaD shrInivAsayyangAr), and the other in aTa tALAm (pallavi gOpAla iyer).
The musical trinity has its fair share of compositions in kalyANi. muttusvAmi dIkSitar has composed 11, tyAgarAja 19, and shyAma shAstri 9. Among the dIkSitar k.rtis are candidates from the kamalAmbA navAvaraNam, and the abhayAmbA, madhurAmbA vibhakti series. He incorporates the rAga mudra “kalyANI” explicitly in six of them, and in “shivakAmEshvarIm cintayE” , he goes further and uses the complete mudra “shAntakalyAni”. The k.rti “gaNapatE mahAmatE” in kalyANi is attributed to dIkSitar, but is not found in many standard books.
Among the 19 k.rtis of tyAgarAja, we find k.rtis from the lAlguDi pa~ncaratnam (Isha pAhimAm), kOvUr pa~ncaratnam (nammi vaccina), and tiruvoTTiyUr pa~ncaratnam (sundari Ni divya), the dharmasamvarddhani group (shivE pAhi mam), divyanAma sa”nkirttanam (rAma rAma rAma), and prahlAda bhakti vijayam opera (kamala bhavuDu). Undoubtedly, the sparkling gem “nidhi cAla sukhamA”, stands out as a masterpiece. It is believed that the tanjAvUr ruler, hearing the fame of tyAgarAja, invited him to his court, and wanted him to sing in his praise. tyAgarAja who was against 'nara stuti', poured out this historic song to his representatives. The song asserts that 'rAmuni sannidhi sEva' is far superior to any material 'nidhi'.
A rare Tamil composition (parAmukham En ammA) is included in the nine compositions of shyAma shAstri in kalyANi, besides the Sanskrit k.rti “himAdri sutE pAhi mAm”.
Among the numerous compositions of svAti tirunAL, we have a rAgamAlikA shlOkam “kalyANIkhalu yad kathA trijagadAm' that incorporates the rAga mudra for each line, namely, kalyANi, mOhanam, sAra”nga, and sha”nkarAbharaNam. A rare Tamil k.rti attributed to svati tirunAL is “sAmI unnayE nAn” in Adi tALam. Some musicologists believe that the k.rti “sEvEsyAnandUrEsha' is not a composition of svAti tirunAL but of Irayimman Tampi, who also used the same rAga mudra 'padmanAbha'.
UttukkADu ve”nkaTa kavi has quite a number of Tamil songs in kalyANi. The k.rti “mAdhava h.rdu khElini” is third among the saptaratna compositions that has gained popularity very recently, and the k.rt “vA~nchasi yadi kushalam” is the “dhyAna kIrtanam” of his kAmAkSi navAvaraNam series.
Many musicians have chiseled out exquisite compositions in kalyANi in the last hundred years or so. Some of the stalwarts who have adorned kalyANi with their music are:
- ariyakkuDi rAmAnuja ayyangAr (nidhi cAla sukhamA)
- G. N. bAlasubramaNyan (vAsudEvayani)
- shemmanguDi shRInivAsayyar (EtAvunarA)
- mahArAjapuram vishvanAthayyar (sundari nI divya rUpamu)
- madurai maNi ayyar (kamalAmbAm bhaja rE).
The rAgam tAnam pallavi line “un darishanam kiDaikkumO naTarAjA dayanidhE'' has been immortalized by musicians like GNB and Madurai Mani Iyer. AriyakkuDi popularized the “catur rAgamAlikA pallavi” in four majestic rAgams, with lyrics 'sha”nkarAbharaNanai azhait-tODi vADi kalyANi darbArukku'.
shAnta kalyANi (asampUrNa scheme)
According to the asaMpUrNa mEla paddhati, rAgA”nga rAgam 65 is called shAnta kalyANi.
In the 19 “pUrvaprasiddha” mELams, kalyANi is the last one. In the “mElaprakaraNam” chapter of the work “caturdaNDi prakAshika”, the author ve”nkaTamakhi states the following about this kalyANi mELam:
SaDjasvarasca riSabaH pa~ncashruti samanvitaH ||
gAndhArOntarasamj~nasca varAlImadhyamastathA |
shuddashca pa~ncamaH pa~ncashrutikO dhaivatastathA ||
kAkalyAkhya niSAdasca kalyANI mELakE svarAH |
shAntakalyANI ragashca sarvakAlE pragIyatE |
subbarAma dIkSitar asserts that shAntakalyANI is a rAgA”nga rAgam, SaDja graham and suitable for singing at all times. He further adds that the gAndhAram and .rSabha svarams act as both jIva and nyAsa svarams and add much beauty. Further, the dATu prayOgams like GN; GD; RG; DR, DG , NG, NRS, as well as orikai prayOgams like gm/dmgR, NdmgR, d/grndmgR, dRS all add to the ra~njakatvam. Sap 2000 student version.
In his book “sa”ngIta sampradAya pradarshini”, he gives a lakSya gItam by ve”nkaTamakhi, four kIrtanams ( bhajarE rE citta, kamalAmbAM bhajarE, shrI ma”ngaLAmbikE by muttusvAmi dIkSitar, and kAntimatI by subbarAma dIkSitar), a tAna varNam (vanajAkSi) by pallavi gOpAla iyer, a svarasthAna padam (tani prAyamu) by sAra”ngapANi, another svarasthAna padam (pArikkani) whose mAtu is by nArAyanasvAmi ayya, and dAtu by subbarAma dIkSitar, and concludes with a sa~ncAri by himself.
kalyAN thAT (Hindustani system)
Hindustani rAgam yaman (kalyAn thAT) is the same as karnATIk mELam kalyANi. It is also known as jaimini kalyAN, Iman, or Eman. It is sung during the first parhara of night. Vadi is Ga and samvadi is Sa. Yaman kalyAN, and candrakAnt are allied HindustAni rAgams. The rAgam yamuna kalyANi (janyam of kalyaNi) is not to be confused with yaman kalyAN. There are numerous Jugalbandhis featuring the fusion of the pair kalyANi - yaman by karnATik - hindustAni musicians. (Balamurali - Bhimsen Joshi; Seshagopalan - Ajoy Chakrabarti; Ramani - Rajam; Ramani - Pandit Jog; Balamurali - Hariprasad Chaurasia, and so on).
Miscellaneous
kalyANi is supposed to be the earliest prati madhyama rAgam that was known in musical history.
The Tamil paNN equivalent of kalyANi is arumpAlai.
kalyANi is featured in operas, bharata nATyam, and various forms of dance-dramas. The “rAma nATakam” of aruNAcala kavi employs kalyANi for the song “enakkunnirupadam” which narrates the story of rAmAyaNam.
Traces of kalyANi are also found in Hungarian Music.
Film music has taken advantage of the beautiful melody of kalyANi. From the early talkie days with pApanAsham shivan, till as recently as the modern movie Sindhubhairavi, there are numerous film songs in kalyANi.
janyams
There are more than 120 janya rAgams for kalyANi, but the most popular ones are:
sAra”nga, mOhana kalyANi, yamunA kalyANi, hamIr kalyANi, sunadavinOdini, sAra”nga tara”ngiNi, am.rta bEhAg, and bhUp kalyANi. Some of the not so popular janya rAgams are: candrakAntam, maitrabhavAni, kuntaLakusumAvali, kaumOdam, shuddharatnabhAnu, kuntala shrIkanthi, andari, shila”ngi, shuddha kOsalam, and pramOdini. D. Pattammal and M. Dandapani mention 122 janya rAgams of kalyANi in their book: rAgapravAham. Walter Kaufmann’s 'Ragas of South India” discusses 45 of these rare janyams. mOhana kalyANi is a pleasing rAgam obtained by fusing together mOhanam and kalyANi, and is often heard in concerts these days.
Some unusual Compositions in kalyANi
A classical, but difficult example of a pallavi in kalyANi, set to the unusual simhanandana tALam (128 akSara kAlams) is the one composed by mahA vaidyanAtha Iyer, and the sAhityam reads:
“gaurInAyaka kanakasabhA nAyaka
