----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!
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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 Irandal” from 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.
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| 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.
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