Incredible feat in Carnatic rhythm

``SARABHANANDANI'' WAS how an erudite musicologist introduced Suguna Purushottaman at a city function recently, and not without justification.

This soft-spoken musician endowed with a dulcet voice is probably the only artiste in recent times who handles the formidable Sarabhanandana tala with seeming ease.

This tala of 79 aksharas has rarely been handled since the days of Syama Sastri and even falls outside the purview of the 108 tala compilations.

In December 1996, it was a confident Suguna who mesmerised the audiences at the Music Academy with her neat delineation of a pallavi in this tala and walked away with the `Award for best pallavi singing'.

An awestruck audience responded with a standing ovation. Probably in this whole exercise they were more tense than the artiste herself was. A smiling Suguna later said, ``But I am not new to the handling of such rare talas.''

A chance remark by Guru Tinniyam Venkatrama Iyer set Suguna on this adventurous journey of experimenting with exciting rhythmic patterns.

One day, noticing that his pupil was trying to perform a dvi-tala exercise (two tala exercise) he nonchalantly remarked, ``Don't try all this; it is not that easy.''

Touched to the quick, the young girl resolved to prove herself to her teacher. She doggedly pursued her aim and at the end of two months, was successful.

Excited, she demonstrated to her grandmother, who candidly remarked, ``All I can understand is that you are singing the `Viriboni' varnam using both your hands for talam. But I don't know if it is right or wrong.''

Later in the day, Suguna ventured to attempt it before her teacher. The guru looked at the slick rendition with disbelief.

Realising the enormous potential of his student, he then charted out a course of rhythmic exercises for her that were at the same time interesting and challenging.

The Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram in the 1960s was known as the Madras State Sangita Nataka Sangam and E. Krishna Iyer was its secretary.

On October 28, 1961, at the behest of Tinniyam Venkatrama Iyer, a ``Dvi-tala avadhanam'' (a rare feat of maintaining two different talas with both hands simultaneously), by C. Suguna was arranged. The hall was overflowing with curious rasikas. Suguna recalls, ``I was not at all scared because I was fully prepared.'' Right from the varnam up to the tillana in Lakshmisa tala it was a dvi- tala rendering.

On December 29, she gave a demonstration of the Sarabhanandana tala in front of an august audience at the experts committee of the Music Academy.

This young girl had certainly caught the attention of the stalwarts of the time. Mudicondan Venkatrama Iyer, himself a formidable vocal and laya vidwan appreciated both her musical knowledge and dexterity in handling a complicated tala. Subsequently, an appreciative Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer would often greet her with, ``Enna Pallavi, Eppadi iruke?'' (Referring to Suguna as Pallavi). Certainly this young girl had stormed what was hitherto thought of as a male bastion.

A generic feature of Suguna's music is her ability to convey the finest nuances of melodic music, even while attempting complex rhythmic patterns. This aspect, she owes to her other guru, Musiri Subramania Iyer, acclaimed exponent of `Bhava Sangeetam'. This also probably explains why her execution of the talas does not end up sounding like artillery exercises, drowning the melody of music.

The edifice of Carnatic music rests on a solid two-fold base of raga and tala. Very often it is raga that gets preferential treatment in the hands of the musicians. Suguna suggests, ``Like we explore new ragas is it not a good idea to explore new talas too? I cannot accept the argument that it is difficult because it is only lack of familiarity which makes things seem difficult.''

She has even composed krithis in unfamiliar talas incorporating the tala mudra for identification. She composed a Mohana raga krithi in Lakshmisa tala when she was 22 years old and later on a kriti in Chaturmukha tala in the raga Saraswati.

This composition, she describes, is a combination of Brahma and Saraswathi. She also assisted Tinniyam Venkatrama Iyer in bringing out his book, `Pallavi Ratnamala', which contains Pallavis in 35 talas.

In December 2000, the `Department of Culture' of the Government of India, awarded her a two-year scholarship to complete a project, `Pallavi singing and advanced laya-based singing'.

Responding positively to a suggestion, that she compose in all the 108 talas, to crystallise the rhythmic structure Suguna says, ``Maybe sometime in the future, but for now, I am ready to teach any willing aspirant all the aspects of rhythm that I know. Steadfast concentration and assiduous practice are the prime qualifications needed.'' Any takers for this magnanimous offer?

LAKSHMI DEVNATH

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