Ornamentation in indian classical music [ The Embellishments – their Applications and Techniques ]

Ornamentation in Indian classical music [ The Embellishments – their Applications and Techniques: We have seen that a mere scale does not become a Raga. Assigning the Arohana and Avarohana is the first step in transforming a scale into a Raga. The second step is to add Gamakas and other embellishments to the Arohana and Avarohana. To put it in Bharata’s words:

शशिना रहितेव निशा विजलेव नदी लता विपुष्पेव । अविभूषितेव कान्ता गीतिरलङ्कारहीना स्यात् ।।

“Music without embellishments is like a night without the moon, a river without water, a creeper without flowers, and a bride without jewels.”

We shall study here the various Gamakas and embel lishments of a Raga.

Gamakam [ Gamak ] :

Gamakam means ‘causing to understand’ or ‘making clear’. If the Swara is a frequency, Gamakam is a frequency modulation. It is the manipulation of notes. Gamakam is an ornamentation of the Swara which plays a vitally important role in Raga identity in Carnatic music. Colloquially Gamakam represents an oscillation. In a technical sense, it is an umbrella term covering several types of embellishments.

Traditionally Gamakas were classified into 10 and 15 varieties. Let us see the Gamakas which have practical relevance in contemporary music.

Kampita Gamakam :

Kampanam means a ‘shake’. Kampita Gamaka can be classi fied into three categories, Sthana Kampita, Varika Kampita and Vali Gamaka.

Sthana Kampita :

Sthana Kampita is to stand on a note and shake it subtly at its own place. But it should not suggest, even faintly, the adjacent note, nor should it sound like the tremour in an unsteady voice.

The Ri, Ma and Ni of Sankarabharanam are Sthana Kampita

Listen to : Swaras. Jayanthi R. Krishnan – Veena – Raga Sankarabharanam

Varika Kampita :

Varika is a slightly larger shake. Varika Gamaka is to shake a note to the extent of its adjacent note, lower or higher.

The Ri and Dha of Sankarabharanam are Varika Swaras.

Listen to :  Jayanthi R. Krishnan – Veena – Raga Sankarabharanam

Vali :

Vali means a ‘fold’. This is a Gamaka wherein the shake takes a folding movement enveloping the adjoining one or two notes. It rises up like a sea wave and folds down at the peak.

Jayanthi R. Krishnan – Veena – Raga Ananda Bhairavi

Andolita :

Andolanam means ‘swinging’. This is the same as the Andolan of Hindustani music. Andolita Gamaka is the oscillation involving three notes or a little more. Invariably it precedes the

Ullasita Gamaka. Usually, the Andolanam or the swinging motion is followed by a pull-up known as Ullasita.

Listen to : Jayanthi R. Krishnan – Veena – Andolita

Kampita, Varika, Vali and Andolita Gamakas can all be grouped under one category of Gamakas involving shake.

Ullasita or Jaru:

Ullasita means ‘drawn’. It is also called a Jaru. Ullasita is the same as the Meend of Hindustani music. As a Gamaka, Ullasita means to pull up a note smoothly from a lower frequency or to slide down from a higher frequency. The former is the Arohana Ullasita called Ekku Jaru and the latter is the Avarohana Ullasita called Digu Jaru. Ullasita can also be a swaying glide. Ullasita can encompass as much as a complete octave or even more.

The Nilambari Raga gives excellent scope for all types of Ullasita Gamakas.

Listen to : K. Vageesh – Vocal – Raga Nilambari

Lina:

Lina means to ‘dissolve’. Lina is a miniature version of Ekku Jaru or Ullasita. It is very difficult to execute this Gamaka as the range is very short. Lina is to start on a note, sustain it a little and then slowly and deftly merge it into the immediate adjacent note, which can be either higher or lower.

Listen to : P. Unnikrishnan – Vocal – Ragas Kalyani and Varali

Dhalu :

This Gamaka belongs more to vocal music. Dhalu is to utter a Swara at a lower frequency and pull it up to its own position vigorously. It is a powerful and a faster version of Ekku Jaru.

Ullasita, Lina and Dhalu can be grouped as one family of slides.

Ghumpita or Humpita :

Ghumpita is the Dirgha Swara or a sustained note, which is soft in the beginning, but gradually gets stronger and louder at the end.

Listen to : P. Unnikrishnan – Vocal – Ghumpita Gamaka

Anuswaram :

Anu means ‘auxiliary’. This is the same as Alankarik Swara of Hindustani music. The Anuswaras are the auxiliary or secondary notes which give a decorative effect. They lend color and enrich the main note. While sounding a note, the faint or subtle suggestion of another note close by is called an Anuswaram.

Listen to : P. Unnikrishnan – Vocal – Anuswaram

Sphurita :

Sphurita means ‘throbbing’. In the Sphurita Gamaka, the effect is executed in two ways. One is a Janta. This can be related to the Kan of Hindustani Music. Sphurita Gamaka as Janta is uttering the same note twice wherein the second note is stressed and embellished with an Anuswaram. Touching the Anuswaram before reaching the second note and the stress on the second note gives a soft throbbing effect.

The second way of executing Sphurita is to start on a note and descend to the immediate lower note which is performed as a Janta. There is a vigorous or a pronounced throb in this execution. This can be related to the Murki of Hindustani Music.

Listen to : P. Unnikrishnan – Vocal – Sphurita Gamaka

All these Gamakas can be mutually mixed to create many more Gamakas of which the Andolita Jaru and Ghumpita Dhalu combinations are very popular.

It is interesting to note that if a note is embellished with a Gamaka, its Samvadi is also embellished with the same Gamaka. A Komala Swara following Tivra and a Tivra following a Komala Swara arrest the Gamaka on the preceding notes. But in a Varja Raga exceptions to this rule are observed.

Briga :

In the last 40 to 50 years, the Briga has come to occupy a prominent place in Carnatic music. Though this is not found in the traditional texts as a specific term, it can be classified under ornamental elements. It is the reeling of Varnalankaras in an electrifying speed, without the notes losing their clarity.

Adoption of this feature into music has come to mark a particular style known as the ‘Briga style’. A rich and a supple voice is essential for this.

Listen to : P. Unnikrishnan – Vocal – Briga

Shruti :

The concept of Shruti plays a vitally important role in all Indian classical music. If Swara is a tone, Shruti is a microtone. If Swaras are the definite divisions of an octave, Shrutis are the subtler and finer divisions. A Shruti is a tangible interval capable of being individually perceived, recognized, and reproduced. The traditional texts divide an octave into 22 divisions or Shrutis.

The variation in Shruti determines the nature of a note – Komala or Tivra or even Atikomala or Atitivra. The application of Shrutis to a Swara provides color, mood, and peculiarity. It is an indispensable element in a Gamaka manipulation. The Vadi Samvadi Bhavas are decided by these Shruti variations.

The Gandhara in Todi is an excellent example of the Shruti variations affecting a note.

Listen to : Jayanthi R. Krishnan – Veena – Raga Todi

In the Gamaka manipulations also the ruling factor is the Shruti variation. Similarly, in the case of Jiva or Rakti Swaras it gives peculiarity to a note.

Kaku :

Kaku is an Alankara. It is a variation characterized by tonal modulations, peculiarities of intonation etc. which also generate emotional response. Kaku is of different types: Swarakaku, Ragakaku, Desakaku, Bhasakaku, Ksetrakaku etc.

Alankara :

Alankaras, in general, indicate all the embellishments and in particular, they mean the colorful weaving of notes and patterns either in the Raga or in the Swara Prastara, which normally is formed of sequences.

Varnalankara :

These are artistic phrases and progressions which form a part of the Alapana or Swaraprastara.

Niyasalankara :

We have already seen what a Niyasa Swara is. Niyasalankara is to take a Niyasa note and to sing it as a Dirgha Swara in the beginning. Then various Varnalankaras are woven around this note and each section ends on the Niyasa Swara. This is done in all three tempos, the slow, the medium and the fast.

Sthayee Alankara:

We have already seen Sthayee as a Saptaka, and Sthayee as a Bhava. Now we’ll see what a Sthayee Alankara means. Sthayee Alankara is also the weaving of Varnalankaras, but the process starts and ends on the same note without exceeding an octave. The characteristic feature of this Alankara is its fas tempo.

Karvai and Vishranti :

Karvai is a long or sustained note. Vishranti means ‘rest’ or ‘cessation’. If Karvai forms the prelude to the Sthayee and Niyasalankara, Vishranti forms the resting note.

Vishranti often consists of a pause between sections of Varnalankaras, sections of Ragalapana or different sections of compositions. It can also mark the conclusion of a Ragalapana or composition.

A Karvai can be a sustained commencing note. It can also be presented as a Pinnal Karvai which means braided sustenance.

Listen to : Jayanthi R. Krishnan – Veena – Raga Shanmukhapriya

Ornamental elements of a composition:

The art music forms, as distinguished from the devotional forms use certain ornamental elements which enrich the text or the music or both. They are either part of the composition or form a supplement.

Sangati :

Sangatis are the musical variations of any single line of a composition. They are not only artistic and ornamental, they also enrich the meaning of the text. They present the text from various angles and suggest different hidden meanings. The Pallavi and Anupallavi, which are the first and second sections of compositions allow elaborate scope for Sangatis. Sangatis are part and parcel of the compositions. Without Sangatis, the composition sounds barren. They also provide scope for a musician’s creativity within a pre-composed musical item.

Sangatis can be of three types:

a) Sangatis which are musically ornamental and pleasing.

Listen to : D.K. Pattamal – Vocal Raga Hamsadhvani

b) Sangatis which creates an emotional response. In this case, they are called Bhava Sangatis.

Listen to : Veena Venu – Violin – Raga Ganamorthy

c) Sangatis which exhibit rhythmic manipulation. They need intellectual understanding. In this case even Padachheda or breaking a word to the extent of distortion of meaning is permissible.

Listen to : Chambai Vaidyanath Bhagvathar – Vocal – Raga Nalinakanthi

Chittaswaram:

Chitta means ‘summary’. Chittaswaram is an ornamental supplement, attached to the Anupallavi, the second section, and Charanam, the third section of a composition or to both. It consists of preset Swara passages set to Tala without text.

The Chittaswar create a jingling effect making the composition very impressive. This effect is created by the use of Jiva Swaras as often sounding notes.

Listen to : P. Unnikrishnan – Vocal – Raga Malavi Jayanthi R. Krishnan Veena – Raga Urmika

Swarasahityam :

Swarasahityam is also a present item, used as a supplement. It is similar to Chittaswaram but has a text. In a composition, the practice is to sing it as Chittaswaram after Anupallavi and to sing it as Swarasahityam (the text portion alone), after the Charanam.

Listen to : Semmangudi Srinivas lyer – Vocal – Raga Ananda Bhairavi

Solkattuswaram :

When a Chittaswaram is interlaced with Solkattu or rhythmic phrases like Takita, Tarikita etc., it is called Solkattuswaram.

Listen to : Lokanath Sharma – Vocal – Raga Gowla

Madhyamakala Sahityam :

This also is an ornamental appendage to the Anupallavi or Charanam. The characteristic feature of the Madhyamakala Sahityam is the medium tempo. It forms an integral part of a composition in the case of compositions, which omit Anupallavi and have a Samasti Charanam.

Listen to : P. Unnikrishnan – Vocal – Raga Hamsadhvani

Yati :

Yati is a prosody. Yati is basically an element of rhythm. It indicates certain mathematical patterns. Its application in music occurs in the text of a composition or in the Swaraprastara. This aspect is discussed more in detail in the chapter on Talas.

Read More:

• Listeners guide to Indian Classical Music
• Analysis and Classification of Ornaments in North Indian (Hindustani) Classical Music