Introduction

Tamiẕ icaik karu̱vūlam is a primer of Carnatic music in the Tamiẕ language, authored by the Vāggēyakāra Saṅgīta Kalānidhi Tañjāvūr Śrī K Ponniah Pillai, and published in 1949. The Tamiẕicai Saṅgam was established in Chennai in 1943. The compositions in the book were composed by the author, at the request of his patron, the King of Chettinad Raja Annamalai Chettiar, and completed in 1943, within the span of a year. This book was written at a time when the Tamiẕ Icai movement was gathering strength. The author’s sons, and musicians K. P. Krishnamurthy Pillai (better known as K.P. Kittappa Pillai) and K. P. Ssivanandam Pillai, explain in the foreword that the book was born out of the need for propagating Carnatic music in the Tamiẕ language, as the bulk of practitioners of the art form were from the Tamiẕ heartland. Starting with Alaṅkāra-s, the book progresses through Gīta-s, Svarajati-s and Jatisvara-s, Varṇa-s, Kṛti-s etc. There are also some compositional forms that we do not hear today, such as Sūḷādi-s and Prabandham-s, which we will discuss later in the article.

Compositional forms

1. Gīta

Among the thirty Gīta-s that he has composed, there are Sañcāri Gīta-s, Lakṣaṇa Gīta-s and also Gīta-s on topics such as learning, unity, farming and nature. Gīta-s are generally taught to young children beginning their musical journey, and hence are the perfect medium for conveying such essential values. Moreover, the Gīta-s are set in the Sūḷādi Tāḷams, as well as Cāpu Tāḷams, and hence practising them would improve the learners’ command over Laya.  On a lighter note, the Gīta on unity is composed in the Rāga Varāḷi, although there is a superstition that teaching Varāḷi creates a rift between student and teacher! Maybe this superstition arose later?

The author belonged to the lineage of Śrī Muttusvāmi Dīkṣitar, and has shown his adherence to the tradition by composing Vāra Gīta-s, one for each day of the week. It is interesting to note that the Gīta-s are set to the same Rāgams and Tāḷams as the Vāra Krtis of Śrī Muttusvāmi Dīkṣitar.

The Sañcāri Gīta-s are set to a wide variety of Rāga-s such as Mālavagauḷa, Harikāmbhōji, Tōḍi, Śuddha Sāvēri, Dhanyāsi etc. The absence of Malahari is conspicuous. The Rāga-s dealt with in the Lakṣaṇa Gīta-s are Mālavagauḷa, Sāvēri, Śrī, Mukhāri, Ārabhi, Śuddha Sāvēri, Mōhanam and Bilahari. In each one, he specifies the svara-sthāna-s and mentions the associated Mēlakartā scale, and the notes contained in the ascent and descent. The author says that although Sāvēri takes the notes of Mālavagauḷa, it is a Bhāṣāṅga Rāga. He also mentions the Bhāva associated with the Rāga in some cases. For example, Mōhanam evokes love in the listener, while Mukhāri is suited for ‘Iraṇgal’, in this case to be taken as sadness/despair. He mentions that morning is the suitable time of day to sing Bilahari.

Interestingly, he mentions that Śrī and Ārabhi are suitable for Uḷḷāḷa ceyal. According to the Tamil lexicon, there are two suitable meanings for the word Uḷḷāḷa, as given below:

• உள்ளாளம்¹ uḷ-ḷāḷam , n. prob. id. + ஆள்-. Mode of singing, without any motion of the features or limbs, in imitation of the Gandharvas; கானவகை. கந்தருவ ருள்ளாளப் பாடலுணர் (சீவக. 658, உரை).

• உள்ளாளம்² uḷḷāḷam , n. cf. ullāla. Kind of dance; கூத்தின் விகற்பம். (பிங்.)

As Uḷḷāḷam is mentioned as a deed (ceyal), the second meaning might be more appropriate. But it is still unclear as to the kind of dance that this could refer to. We are eager to understand this term, and invite your thoughts in this respect.

2. Svara and Jati

Next, there are five Jatisvara-s and four Svarajati-s. Three of the Svarajati-s have a Pallavi followed by a few Caraṇa-s. The Kāmbhōji Svarajati has a Pallavi and Anupallavi, followed by Madhyamakāla Caraṇa-s. It would indeed be a rewarding exercise to practise these compositions, and try to understand the author’s perspective of these time-tested Rāga-s.

3. Sūḷādi

The author has composed Sūḷādis of various types such as Pañcatāḷa Sūḷādi in Bauḷi and Bilahari, and Trikāla Tritāḷa Sūḷādi in Yadukula Kāmbhōji. Each Sūḷādi contains multiple verses in different Tāla-s, providing an excellent practice tool for improving Laya and the students’ cognition of Tala syntax. The Sūḷādi in Bauḷi Rāga is in praise of Lord Kēśava, but  conjures up a vision of a happy, but hectic morning in a typical village, with the verses describing the rising Sun, chirping birds, mooing cows and the busy farmers. 

4. Kaivāra Prabandham

A Kaivāra Prabandham, a compositional form which was not in vogue even at the time it was composed, is given in the book. It consists of a few lines of Jati followed by Sāhitya in praise of Rājā Annamalai Chettiar. The composer also mentions his own name in this Prabandham. There are Tāna Varṇa-s and Pada Varṇa-s in various Rāga-s and Tāḷa-s, whose Sāhitya-s drip with Śṛṅgāra rasa. 

5. Padam

The next section consists of Padams. Interestingly, they are themed on the Aindiṇai, or five landscapes in Tamiẕ literature (Maru̱dam, Kuriñci, Mullai, Pālai, Neidal). For every landscape, there is a Padam which describes its beauty and salient features, and a Padam which describes a particular stage of romance between Kandan and Vaḷḷi. For example, Maru̱dam refers to villages and farmlands. The associated Padam is an ode to rivers, which originate in the mountains, flow through farmland, increasing fertility, before finally joining the sea. The metaphor used to describe the journey of a river is that of a young woman, whose home is the mountain. She goes to the sea, her husband, collecting whatever she can find along the way as Cīr (offering), and providing happiness and prosperity to farmers who depend on her for their livelihood.

The next Padam, associated again with Marudam, describes how Kandan promised Vaḷḷi on their wedding day that he would never leave her. But alas, encouraged by minstrels (Pāṇargaḷ), he gallivants with many beautiful women, forgetting Vaḷḷi and his son. However, one fine day, he returns to Vaḷḷi. The broken-hearted woman questions him as to why he returned: Did the minstrels leave him? Or did the girls leave him? Or did he really have a change of heart…? The most poignant question is, “Were you the one who put the garland around my neck?”

In this way, there are two Padam-s for each landscape, all of them pregnant with emotion. 

6. Mālikā

Śrī Ponniah Pillai has composed a Rāgamālikā and a Saptatāḷa Rāgamālikā. The Rāgamalika contains eight Rāga-s. Incorporating Rāga mudra-s into songs is a trademark feature of Śrī Muttusvāmi Dīkṣitar’s tradition, and the composer has shown his deep understanding of the same by cleverly incorporating the Rāga names into the corresponding lines. It is no mean feat to embed non-Tamiẕ names such as Aṭhāṇa, Bihāg and Hamīrkalyāṇi into a Tamiẕ composition, but the great Vāggēyakāra has accomplished this in perhaps the most beautiful way possible!

The Saptatāḷa Rāgamālikā outshines even the Rāgamālikā. The Tāla-s used are the Sūḷādi Tāḷa-s (Dhruva, Maṭhya, Rūpaka etc). Each line is set in a different Rāga and Tāḷa, with both the Rāga and Tāḷa names incorporated! The Rāga-s used are Tōḍi, Pūrvikalyāṇi, Bhairavi, Kalyāṇi, Kāmbhōji, Mukhāri and Varāḷi. 

7. Tillānā-s and more

The final part of the book consists of Tillāṉā-s, Viru̱ttams and a Kaṇṇi in praise of Rājā Annamalai Chettiar. Some Tillāṉā-s such as Bihāg (link below) are quite well-known. It is interesting that the Sāhitya of the Bihāg Tillāṉā, which is usually sung in Telugu (Nīdu pada paṅkaja), is given in Tamiẕ in this book. This is true of the other Tillāṉā-s too, and a quick glance through another book, Peru̱vuḍaiyān Pēricai, also written by Tanjāvūr Ponniah Pillai, shows that these Tillāṉā-s were originally composed in Telugu by Ponniah Pillai of the Tanjāvūr quartette, who was Śrī Ponniah Pillai’s ancestor. The Tamiẕ lyrics given in Tamiẕicaik karu̱vūlam are a loose translation of the original Telugu lyrics. These two books also showcase the change through the years in the idea that only Telugu or Sanskrit are suitable for South Indian classical music. Authored at a time when there was a divide within the Carnatic music fraternity on the basis of language, Tamiẕicaik karu̱vūlam was in a way, a revolutionary step in establishing the compatibility of the Tamiẕ language with the Carnatic sound at the basic as well as the advanced levels.  

That said, it is unfortunate that very few of the compositions given in this book are performed on the concert platform today. Here are a few of them:

• Kār Viriyum Cōlai - Rāgamalika - Vid. Tiruvarur Girish

• Nī aruḷāyō tāyē (Svarajati)- Bhairavi Vid. Suguna Varadachari 

• Tillāṉā- Behag

Conclusion

This book serves multiple functions in today’s Carnatic music world. It is a treasure trove of various compositional forms, both well-known and obsolete, in the Tamiẕ language, as well as a clear lens into the music of the early 20th century. There have been several composers in the past, as early as Śrī Purandara Dāsa and Śrī Annamayya, and as late as Śrī Vēdanāyagam Piḷḷai, who have used music as a medium to convey Bhakti, as well as social messages. The myriad themes discussed in the compositions of this book serve as a reminder that Carnatic music has the power to touch hearts and propagate many ideas - religious, social and much more. The book teaches us that boundaries exist so that we can push them farther and farther away.