Monday, October 23, 2017

The graceful and refined raga ReethiGowla


----published in The Hindu dated October 19th 2017   All images are from the internet
http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/with-grace-and-elan/article19881970.ece


When we listen to the Carnatic raga ReethiGowla, what are the first impressions that we get? 
It is absolutely soothing on the ears, possessing infinite grace.  It takes one on a journey - with gentle turns, gradual ups and downs;  never does it feel like a rough and raucous roller-coaster ride.  In fact, it reminds one of the river’s journey – like a young maiden, playful yet charming and sweet, gently traipsing down the hills.  And then, the river maiden slows down and takes a meandering path with soft curves and turns,  cruising over small rapids that remind her of happy moments that she enjoyed while finding her way down the slopes, and smiling merrily at the memory.  As she approaches the plains, her movement is calm and sedate, lightly punctuated with dips and ascents before she finally joins the sea in ecstasy!

There are several kritis composed in this divine raga. Swathi Thirunal’s composition “Paripalayamam” is a popular kriti in the raga ReethiGowla.  The essence of bhakthi is beautifully captured in the endless grace of the raga.
Similarly, the kriti “Janani Ninnuvina” written by Subbaraya Shastry is set to this same raga and has a divinity associated with it, with its graceful movements and gentle ghamakams that render it soulful.  While the song pleads with the Goddess to have compassion on the devotee and bless him, ReethiGowla  does complete justice to the composition by steeping it in the ‘karuna rasa’.  It leaves us drenched in a beautiful shower of empathy, benevolence and compassion.   
A sense of contentment and peace flashes through our mind when we listen to kritis composed in this raga.  Thyagaraja’s composition ‘Dvaitamu Sukhama’ is another classic example of a kriti set to ReethiGowla.  Here Sri Thyagaraja asks Lord Rama to clarify as to which is better – Dvaita or Advaita – Duality or non-duality.   ReethiGowla enhances the beauty of the composition – with its slow but fluid movement, it is smooth and elegant, very soothing on the ears and extremely comforting.  While Thyagaraja  questions if duality is more comforting (sukhama) than non-duality, it is easy to see that raga ReethiGowla  is definitely the most comforting!

The legendary singer BMK with the music maestro Ilaiyaraja

With such alluring charm about it, it is no wonder then that this raga has been used in quite a few romantic duet songs in movies.  One fine example is the song “Chinna Kannan Azhaikiraan” from the movie Kavikkuyil  which was released in the year 1977.  This was picturised on actors Sivakumar and Sridevi and the music director was none other than the music maestro Ilaiyaraja. The song was sung by renowned classical music singer Dr. M. Balamurali Krishna.  It has an evergreen feel to it and even after four decades of its rendering, it retains its charm.  The song’s lyrics were penned by Panchu Arunachalam who was mentored by his illustrious Uncle and famous poet Kannadasan.  
Still from the movie Kavikkuyil
At the start of the song, Sridevi is shown drawing water from the well while humming a tune to herself.  She suddenly hears the same tune being played on the flute by Sivakumar and rushes out of the house to the open ground to hear him.  She is drawn and magically attracted by Sivakumar’s tune in the same way as Radha is drawn to Lord Krishna when he plays her favourite and secret tune in his flute.   Raga Reethi Gowla does wonders to this song – it lends divinity and an ethereal grace.  The gentle zig-zags in the ‘pallavi’ make it extremely melodious while the smooth ascent and rise to the peak in the ‘charanams’ followed by a gradual descent and a meandering flow adds a lovely rhythm to the song. 

From Subramanyapuram - the song Kangal Irandal
Another film song in Raga Reethi Gowla that is at once impressive, captures the heart and pleases the senses is the song “Kangal Irandalfrom the Tamil  movie Subramnayapuram.  The tune is supremely  melodious and delicate in its twists and turns.   Reethi Gowla captures the tenderness of love depicted in the song and heightens the moments of light-hearted passion.  The raga  brings alive the simplistic beauty of the mutual  affection and love felt by the hero and heroine – playful at times, sharp and poignant at some moments;  and heart-achingly defined in some others.   The song composed by newbie music director James Vasanthan became a super hit and catapulted him to instant success.  In the movie, the song talks about how the heroine, played by newcomer actress Swathi, has captivated the hero Jai, with the simple beauty of her expressive eyes and her bewitching smile.  The protagonists’  eagerness to meet, to talk, to be together, their bitter-sweet longing  and their desire to be united in love is wonderfully captured in the song – the lyrics, the picturisation and the captivating raga have blended together into one mesmerising melody.  

Prem Adda's Kalli Ivalu song
The same movie was remade in Kannada as Prem Adda.  The song “Kalli Ivalu”, also set to raga Reethi Gowla  is beautifully rendered by singers  Sonu Nigam and Shreya Goshal and it gracefully captures the same expression of love and ardour felt by the hero and the heroine, their playful tenderness and their moments of passion and bliss. 


 Raga Reethi Gowla is an absolute treat to the senses and transports the listener to a world of nostalgia and happiness.   

Where does beauty lie - in the Raga or Sahitya? Explored through Sahana Ragam

-------published in the The Hindu dated May 25th 2017  All pictures have been taken from the net.  
http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/where-does-beauty-lie/article18576230.ece


What defines a Kriti  - Sahitya or Raga

There is a lot of debate on whether a kriti or song is considered great because of the lyrics (sahitya) or because of the ‘raga’ to which it is set to.   The sahitya conveys an immense amount of bhakti and emotion, transporting both the singer and the listener to a different world.   Definitely, the bhava and the raga adds to the allure and enriches the entire experience.  While purists argue that certain compositions have attained greatness thanks to the purity of thought in the lyrics, modernists and rasikas allege that the greatness of the composition is also affected by the raga in which it is composed.   The same song may possibly not be as impactful when sung with a different tune. 
It certainly is a continuing debate and there can be no clear answers.  After all music, like beauty, lies in the eyes /ears of the beholder / listener.

Take for example the raga Sahana.  It is a very melodious and beautiful raga.  It is very gentle on the ears, has a smooth, well-rounded flow without any sudden or jerky movements.  Just listening to the tune being played on an instrument evokes a certain sense of beauty tinged with a little sadness.  If one were to personify Sahana raga, it would be a very sweet, shy and beautiful damsel, one whose eyes shine forth with tenderness and innocence; one who is the embodiment of feminine grace, motherly affection and compassion.   

There are quite a few kritis  like Thyagaraja’s ‘Vandanamu Raghunandana’ set to Sahana.   This is a simple composition – Thyagaraja first pays salutation to Lord Rama and entreats Him to have mercy and to not mock his followers.  He pleads for being one with Rama, requests the Lord to come to him and promises never to fail or leave His altar.  The sahitya in the charanam is beautifully written and follows a rhythmic pattern – the verses end with the same note.   While the lyrics themselves are poetic, Sahana raga lends an ethereal beauty to the song.  It wonderfully captures the beauty of the song and Thyagaraja’s pleas for salvation are evocatively highlighted. His anguish and devotion are palpable - one can almost feel the sadness when Thyagaraja  entreats “Please stop playing games with me; with a glance, please save me.”    This marriage between the saahitya and the raga clearly brings a greatness to the song – making it unique and memorable.

K.Balachander's epic serial Rail Sneham


K.Balachander
In the film world, K.Balachander’s epic TV serial Rail Sneham has a popular song set to this raga which is sung beautifully by Dr.K.J.Yesudas.  The song ‘Indha Veenai ka Theriyaadhu’ has some wonderful lyrics that highlights the poignancy of the characters’ situation – played by Nizhalgal Ravi as the Father and Baby Indra as his teenage daughter.  She is aptly named Sahana.  She does not know that she is a child born of wedlock.    She reads about the story of her father’s past through his diary and thus gets to know the truth about her dead mother and her own birth.  The song, penned by V.S Narasimhan, likens the baby who does not know its real father with the veena instrument whose maker also remains unknown.    While the song has a melancholic note to it, the lyrics manage to bring in a positive note – portraying images of a life filled with hope. Sahana raga, soft and mellifluous, enhances the sadness of the situation and makes the lyrics more meaningful.  

From the movie Veera Abhimanyu

Poet Kannadasan
Sahana raga is also used beautifully in the song “Paarthen Sirithen” from the black and white Tamil movie Veera Abhimanyu, released in the year 1965.  The love, the passion and the aching eagerness felt by the hero and heroine to be united together is breathtakingly captured by Kannadasan’s lyrics and needless to say Sahana raga brings alive the tenderness felt by the romantic couple.  The song itself has amazing lyrics, and the poet Kannadasan (a much-sought after lyricist and a poet par excellence) has penned lines with unique word-play, amazing puns and punctuated the verses with beautiful rhyming.  He uses the word ‘then’ in the song nearly 30 times to convey the love shared by Abhimanu and Uthara.  The song, set to Sahana raga by composer K.V.Mahadevan has been sung by P.B Srinivas and P.Susheela.  This amalgam of simple yet profound lyrics with the soul-stirring sweetness of Sahana raga makes the song a memorable composition, an ever-green melody, despite it being first rendered nearly half a century ago.


From the movie Avvai Shanmugi

Sahana is again used wonderfully in the song “Rukku Ruku Ruku” from the movie Avvai Shanmugi.  Here, the raga continues to be soft and melodious but at the same time is a little playful.  The lyrics, the situation, and the picturisation of the song also lend a fun element to the song to make it a breezy and catchy number. 




So the importance of the raga and the part played by it in enhancing the meaning of a song cannot be discounted.  If anything, the raga and the sahitya merge together to create a musical masterpiece – one that survives the passage of time and continues to shine like a beacon, giving pleasure in equal measure both to the singer and the listener. 


Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Ode of the Leech

---published in Nature in Focus in Oct 2017  https://www.natureinfocus.in/story/a-leech-s-ode/

A leech after it had its fill of blood


I am a common leech, quite thin and small, just about an inch tall, 
I lie under the leaves on the forest floor, trying to escape the heat, 
When suddenly, the skies open up and there is rainfall.
I come out of hibernation, ravenously hungry and ready to eat. 

Then along comes a naïve fellow, wanting to spot an elephant, 
Eager to see the pachyderm, he misses me waiting on the ground, 
I silently jump on to his shoe and crawl up his pants
I move stealthily, making not a single sound. 

I clamber up his socks, and take a deep dive in
He does not feel me; he does not sense the prick 
As I enjoy the warmth and the smell of blood on his skin, 
The chemical that I release stops the clotting and does the trick. 

I drink in his blood, swelling up and enjoying the trip, 
He feels the wet blood, and is shocked to finally see me 
He starts to pull at me but alas, I have a tenacious grip
All his forceful pulling and yanking will not set him free. 

Finally, I slide off his leg, bloated and red; 
I am sated and decide I have had enough of the pitch 
But this man – he needs to be taught a lesson, he is haughty in his head 
I have the last laugh, for now I have given him the 3-month itch! 

Friday, October 13, 2017

Elephant Estimation Exercise - a detailed day-by-day account!

------- Published in The Hindu's travel segment  on Sep 7th 2017http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/travel/an-elephantine-task/article19636441.ece 


-------Published in the Field Notes section of online portal NatureinFocus in Oct 2017https://www.natureinfocus.in/field-notes/come-to-your-census-a-jumbo-exercise



Elephants spotted near NR Pura Range by Sumanth


The data collection for the 2017 Synchronised Asian Elephant Population Estimation for South India concluded in the month of May. I was fortunate to participate as a volunteer in this mammoth task.  This exercise is conducted by the Forest Department once in five years. It is done in a synchronized manner at a pan-India level such that the elephants in connected forests spanning across states can be counted in a single go, thus avoiding duplication.   

As a run-up to the actual estimation, the Forest Department spent considerable time in calling forth volunteers and providing them with the necessary training.  This was done on multiple days across several locations – Bangalore, Mysore, Chikmagalur, and Dandeli.  A record number of 550 volunteers and around 150 Resource people offered their services – students, IT professionals, doctors, lawyers, home makers; all belonging to different walks of life but untied in the common cause of forest conservation and protection of wild life.

In addition, the Department communicated the uniform methodology to be followed by all its cadres, especially to the Forest Officers, Guards and Watchers, to have them in a battle-ready mode for undertaking this huge exercise.   A good amount of training was given to them and the Forest Department ensured that all necessary documents and equipment were kept ready.  

The Forest Department’s raison-d’etre for inviting public participation in this exercise is to provide transparency into the process of estimating the elephant population.  Common people get an opportunity to understand and appreciate the time and efforts involved in coordinating and executing a task of this kind.  Also, after watching and witnessing the large-scale efforts, all volunteers become the extended voice of the Forest Department – volunteers willingly appreciate and support the Forest Department’s wildlife conservation projects and activities and act as their ambassadors and spokespersons.

After imparting training, all the volunteers and Resource people were assigned to different forest divisions in the state (like Bannerghatta, Kabini, Nagarhole, Bhadra Sanctuary, Dandeli).  Again, this was a huge task – taking the requirements of each Forest Range based on its size, matching them with the personal preference of the volunteers and finally allotting each individual to a Division.
Volunteers to Koppa - Sudhir, Sumanth, Prashanth and I
I was asked to report to Koppa Division near Chikmagalur. 

Day 1 – Planning and selecting Forest Beats
Our team of 5 landed in Koppa on the morning of May 16th 2017.  The place was beautiful, filled with plenty of greenery and lush vegetation.  As we drove down from Bangalore, the rain-washed roads welcomed us.  A gentle mist enveloped the trees and bushes which gave a surreal beauty to the place.    
We freshened up in the Forest Guest House in Koppa.  After a hearty breakfast, we met up with the Deputy Conservator of Forests - Koppa Division, and his officials to plan the exercise in his division. 
The entire forest range in the division was first clearly mapped out into an Elephant Distribution map.  All 5 volunteers were then assigned to each of the forest ranges in Koppa.  One went to Chikka Agrahara, two more were assigned to N.R. Pura, while two of us were asked to take up Balehonnur.  Again here, while assigning the ranges, the DCF ensured that all volunteers were housed in comfortable guest houses. Lady volunteers were given priority to the best of the lot, keeping safety and comfort factors in mind.

Each range, for easy manageability, was further divided into Compartments or Beats.  We spent some time in selecting the Beats (those where the Forest staff had prior knowledge of the presence of elephants) and also in selecting areas that fulfilled the requisite sample size of 5 Sq.Km.   So finally after the planning exercise, I was assigned to Antavalli Beat while Prashanth was assigned to Devadana Beat in the Balehonnur Range.

After the crucial planning exercise, we met with all the field staff and had a quick training session to get everyone on the same page.  This was very important especially since data was being collected by different people from across all the Forest ranges.  All of us had to understand and ensure that our data was uniform and could be collated correctly as per the common requirement.   

River Bhadra flowing next to the Forest Bungalow
The 120-year old Forest Bungalow in Magundi
After a relaxed lunch exchanging interesting anecdotes with the CCF and other Forest officials, we then moved to our respective Beat areas. Prashanth and I set out to the Forest Bungalow situated in a quaint little village called Magundi.  This is an absolutely picturesque place.  Our guest house was situated within a sprawling Nursery and had the River Bhadra flowing next to it.  The building itself was built during the British times and had a simple, elegant old-world charm about it.  This is paradise to a bird-watcher – Prashanth identified several birds and indicated them - the pied wagtail, the noisy warblers, sunbirds, robins, flycatchers, the drongo, and the beautiful “Bharadwaj’, cousin of the common crow.  In addition, there were quite a number of peacocks that flew from one side of the river bank to the other, while loudly letting out their plaintive cries.  In fact, every morning we awoke to the vastly different chirping sounds of our feathered friends!


Inside Antavalli Beat

Day -2 Direct Block Count – Spotting and taking count of elephants in the sample block area to determine elephant population density
Early the next morning, I set out to the Antavalli Beat along with Forest Officer Arif Pasha, Bhimappa Naik, Forest Guards and watchers – Abhilash and Ajay.  A local tribesman who lived in the fringes of the forest and who knew every inch of it – Yellanna, accompanied us. 
Our plan was to traverse the entire 5 sq km stretch of our Beat in an undulating mode.  We ascended the slopes, zigzagged our way through the hilly terrain, cut through thorny bushes, weeds and lantana.  We passed through patches of blackened areas – where the forest fire had eaten into the trees and bushes and charred the region.  We found several piles of elephant dung, in different stages of de-composition indicating that the pachyderms were indeed criss-crossing their way through the forest.  We found several incidences of their activity – broken branches, trees in a semi-uprooted condition,  their huge foot prints on fresh mud and ofcourse their dung piles.  Some of the dung piles were quite a few days old with mushrooms sprouted on them.  
Elephant dung
The plan for the day was to walk the entire Beat area and spot elephants.  We covered more than 10 Kms but despite seeing so much activity, we did not spot an elephant.   Arif explained that our Beat was the elephant corridor area – quite a few elephants passed through this forest area to reach their final destination.  Hence, we could witness their presence and movement but could not actually see them.  
We had breakfast in the forest – packed and carried thoughtfully by the Forest guards.  We found tiger pug marks, saw tiger scat (tiger’s droppings), some wild hens, found a beautiful quill of a porcupine, and ofcourse got bitten by the leeches.  The small, slimy worms got onto our shoes, made their way up the socks and sucked blood from all possible places. 
We got back to the Guest House, tired and bloodied but exhilarated by the day’s action. 

With the team - Ajay, Jinjanna, Yellanna, Abhilash, Arif Pasha and I 
Day – 3 Line Transect Method to assess the density of elephant dung in the selected area within the Sample Block
The next morning, accompanied by the same forest staff, I headed back to Antavalli Forest Beat.  The plan for the day was to do a Line Transect to assess the density of elephant dung piles over a selected 2 km range.  We had to do this across a straight path and inspect the surrounding area to determine if we could spot dung piles.  The perpendicular distance of the dung pile from the straight line on which we were moving had to be measured and recorded.  We took 50 metre measurements, capturing the GPS locations and used a compass to ensure that we were indeed going in a straight line. 
The task was quite arduous; we had to cut through thick, thorny bushes; make our way around fallen and broken branches. Several times, we tripped on wild creepers when our shoe got caught in it. Added to it, we covered an entire 2-km uphill, steep stretch.  Abhilash, the young Forest Guard was bitten by a couple of wasps and his lips and cheeks swelled up immediately.  But despite the hard labour involved, the sights and sounds of the forest made it interesting.  A lone sambar deer rushed past us when it heard us approach.   We saw some brightly-hued beetles; we stopped to pluck and eat some fresh oranges. 

Day -4 Spotting elephants and capturing their demographic profile

On Day 4, our job was to visit the places in our Beat area where the elephant was most likely to be present.  Based on their experience, the Forest staff knew all the possible places that elephants generally visited - like water-holes, salt-licks and river banks, elephant road-crossing points.  We were directed to take pictures, profile the pachyderms and classify them based on their sex - female, male; on their relative size – adult, sub-adult, juvenile and calf.  This exercise would help the Forest Department in estimating the ratio of male and female elephants in the herd and give precious foresight into determining if the elephant numbers would grow healthily in the coming years.  
Searching for elephants alongside the banks of the Bhadra river
As the Antavalli Beat did not have any elephant sightings, I joined Prashanth to visit the Devadana Beat.  It had rained quite heavily the previous night, and we were skeptical about spotting elephants.  But the Forest Officer of Devadana Beat, Manjunath was positive and took us through the forest.  He carried a machete with him and cut through bushes and weeds as we made our way through the adjoining coffee estate into the forest. 

We walked alongside the Bhadra River to check on water-hole presence but the elephants were not there.  We got news that the locals had seen an elephant in the wee hours of the morning; Forest Officer Manjunath was immediately on its trail.  We followed him through the estate where the elephant had cut down jackfruits; it had also broken a few areca-nut trees to eat the pulp in the middle of the tree.  We followed its foot prints into the thick jungle.   It had very smartly crossed over the solar-powered electric fence by dropping a wooden branch on the wire and ‘short circuiting’ the current.  Manjunath asked us to stay close and remain quiet.  It was quite an adventure; we were adrenaline-charged, hoping to see the elephant but also a little apprehensive about following it into its lair.  After all, we were in the wild and a lone elephant can be quite dangerous.  We slowly made our way, following all the signs that the elephant had left of its progress into the forest.  But sadly, even after several hours of being on its trail, we could not spot the elephant.
Forest Officer Manjunath was the most disappointed of us all – he was convinced that it was still there but somehow had eluded us.  And he was quite right.  Later in the evening, he and a few other Forest guards saw not just one but two elephants coming out of the same place that we had visited  earlier in the morning!  Manjunath was jubilant; he quickly profiled them and recorded the findings.

Thus, our 4-day highly eventful trek in the forests came to an end.  It may have been tiring – we had cuts and bruises and plenty of leech bites; but all that added to the overall allure to make it memorable. 

We also gained great insights into the workings of the Forest Department and have now a new-found respect and admiration for the ground staff; their jobs are not easy but the passion and interest they exhibit for wildlife protection and forest conservation is admirable.  

After ascending 1150 metres - view from the top