Rajam100 – 29 of 365

Here is an illustration of the Tyagaraja Kriti – Muchata Brahmadulaku – A rare song in praise of Lord Shiva.

Inspired by the painting posted earlier, I’m posting a recording of the song depicted in the painting. This is from a concert in Montreal in early eighties. Recording Courtesy: Yessel Narasimhan.

 

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Rajam100 – 26 to 28 of 365

My apologies for not posting it everyday, although I have been posting it in FB everyday.

Rajam100 – 26 of 365

Here is another cover from Vanoli, depicting the Sangita Pitamaha Purandaradasa.

Rajam100 – Song 26 of 365

Rajam’s greatest passion was to learn kritis from various sources. He had the opportunity of learning songs from very authentic sources (Ambi Dikshitar, Gowri Ammal, Madras Lalithangi) and in some cases from the composer himself (Muthiah Bhagavathar, Papanasam Sivan). He stayed true to his patantharam in his renditions but never disrespected other sources and variations. He was critical if a rendition was totally against the idea of the composer (e.g. Nagumomu in Abheri) but in general was not critical of improvising or embellishment with new sangatis.

He was meticulous in knowing the meaning and the intent of the composer. Compositions that often suffer from butchering can be found rendered with appropriate splitting of the words (Example Manasuloni Marmamulu). His repertoire of the compositions of the trinity was enormous. But what was amazing was his penchant to learn compositions of his contemporaries and his juniors. Once, when I visited him, he was winding up a class for his student Akshay Padmanabhan. After the student left, he spoke with pride for over ten minutes about the tillana Akshay had composed. he would often remark, “AIR might not have given me a lot of money. But it gave me immense satisfaction to learn and propogate rare songs. The famous Purandara Dasa song “Srikanta Enakishtu” is usually sung in raga Kanada. However, a young girl from Mysore had come for a recital and had sung it in raga Kannada. I learnt from her and rendered in my concerts as well. It was only AIR that gave me such opportunities.”

For a long time, I couldn’t find this recording. I found it recently on Facebook through Mr. Subramanian Krishnan. I thank him for sharing this rendition. 

 

 

Rajam100 – 27 of 365

Another work from 40’s inspired by Bharathi’s verses.

Rajam100 – Song 27 of 365

Today we present a full fledged RTP in Gowrimanohari from an AIR concert.

 

Rajam100 – 28 of 365

Here is another rare painting from 1939, when he was still a student.

For a long time, I couldn’t locate where this painting was published. A Few days back, Thank to Mr. Aravind Swaminathan, I came to know that this was published in the “Hanuman”.

Rajam100 – Song 28 of 365 – AtukaradhA – Manoranjani

Another recording illustrating why Rajam was considered a genius when it come to handling Vivadhi Ragas.

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Rajam100 – 17 of 365

Rajam’s depiction of the carnatic music trinity is extremely popular. Here is a different take on them!

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Rajam100 – Song 17 of 365

Another underappreciated facet of Rajam were his tuning for compositions. Raam had been a part of several programs at the AIR and that provided him an opportunity to tune several songs. He had meticulously maintained two notebooks archiving the programs that were conducted by him. They contained over 600 songs. Most of them were tunes by him and in rare ragas. The most popular song tuned by him is in raga madhuvanti – Sarvam Brahma Mayam.

Here is a composition from the same series in raga Yagapriya

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Rajam100 – 15 of 365

Although the print quality and the scan resolution are not great, I post this as this is one of my favorites.

I love the blank canvas and the multiple images running through the mind of the painter during conceptualization in the background.

Published in late fifties in Kalaimagal.

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This was part of a lecture concert on Dikshitar kritis. An effortless rendition interspersed with crisp insights makes it a valuable recording especially for students. Even in his last days, Rajam sir would talk about Naina Pillai’s rendition of this raga.

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Rajam100 – 14 of 365

In his formative years, Rajam visited the frescoes in temples such as Kailasanatha Temple, Panaimalai, Sigiriya etc. In some places, he even tried to copy and recreate a portion of it.

Today we present one such attempt of Rajam from 1944. This is part of the Sundarar Panel in Thajavur Brahadeeshwara Temple.

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Rajam100 – Song 14 of 365

Another Kotiswara Iyer classic that was brought into the concert circle by S.Rajam. His raga development through short yet beatifully connected phrases, clean sangatis and crisp neraval/swaram makes it a delightful listen despite recording glitches.

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Rajam100 – 13 of 365

Although Rajam was known for his works based on literature, mythology and classical music, one can find several works based on contemporary themes as well.

Even in such themes, he is true to his style. Here is one such from 1955.

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Rajam100 – Song 13 of 365

S.Rajam’s most known contribution is his efforts in popularizing the 72 melakartha kritis of Kotiswara Iyer. However, he has sung several other kritis of the composer. Here is a rare one rendered in a AIR concert in Raga Khamboji.

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Rajam100 – 12 of 365

As promised yesterday, I’m posting the remaining portion of the similie sketches published in the early 1940s.

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The song Manasuloni is often mishandled. Especially the word “marmamulu” is split wrongly as “mar” and “mamulu” to incorporate sangatis. This is a private recording of a teaching session to Smt. Gomathi where Rajam shows the right way to render the song despite the cascading sangatis.

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Rajam100 – 11 of 365

This picture needs no explanation. This was one of the early publications of Rajam i the early 1940s (I think in Kalaimagal). There are few more in this series. I’ll publish them tomorrow.

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A Fairly detailed exposition of this rare ragam with an alapana and some lilting swaras. This was part of an AIR concert during the later days of Rajam. He was accompanied by Vidwan VL Kumar on the violin and Vidwan K.V.Prasad on the mridangam.

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Rajam100 – 10 of 365

It is usually easy to identify Rajam’s works by just looking at them. The fingers, the lines, the eyes etc. are unmistakable. However, some rare works of his demand a relook to confirm that it was indeed done Rajam. Here is one such line drawing from Kalaimagal in the 1950s, illustrating writer Akilan’s story.

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Rajam100 – Song 10 of 365

Today I present a rare Anai Ayya Kriti in Dhanyasi. This again is a private recording. Each and every phrase drips with Dhanyasi. This recording without accompaniments should be useful particularly for students who would like to learn the song.

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Rajam100 – 9 of 365

Today I present a wrapper from Vanoli depicting Tyagaraja. Apart from water colours, Rajam sir’s was known for his portrayal through line drawings. This a good example for his steady yet graceful lines.

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Rajam sir was always looking to learn new compositions. It didn’t matter if it was a composition of old masters or his contemporaries or even his juniors. Here we present a composition of his slightly senior contemporary artist, G.N.Balasubramaniam in raga Sarangatarangini. A fairly detailed presentation with a short introduction.

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