Abstract

Dāsarapada-s are compositions of Haridāsa-s of Karnataka.  The Haridāsa-s were mainly followers of Shri Madhwacharya, who considered themselves as servants of their Supreme Lord – Hari. They composed various compositions on subjects like devotion. Their teachings covered a wide spectrum of philosophy, religion, ritual, theology, social reformation, ethical conduct etc. The purpose of these songs was to teach the common man about devotion and philosophy. They are mainly composed in simple Kannada language and few in Sanskrit. Music was used as the medium to make these ideas reach people. These were set to music and people learnt it as songs. This paper attempts to study the adaptation of a Dāsarapada in Karnataka classical music and Sugama Saṅgīta version, and to examine the musical elements of the song in both these versions.

This is a case study of the Dāsarapada “Nānēke baḍavanu, nānēke paradēśi”, which has two popular versions – the Karnataka classical music, sung by M. S. Subbulakshmi and Sugama Saṅgīta version, tuned by Mysore Anantaswamy and sung by Pushpa Jagadish which was released as part of MSIL geethegalu by Lahari Bhavageethegalu & Folk – T-Series. The scope of this paper is restricted to the study of the above-mentioned two versions and the other musical adaptations of this song are not considered for this study.

Data for this study comprises of recordings of the two versions of this song. Analysis has been carried out based on the following parameters – structure, melodic features, rhythmic features, instruments, synchronization of music and meaning in Karnataka classical music and Sugama Saṅgīta.

Keywords: Sugama Saṅgīta, Bhāvagīte, Dāsarapada, Karnataka classical music, Kannada songs

Introduction

‘Nānēke baḍavanu, nānēke paradēśī’ is a well-known Dāsarapada or De̅varanāma which is a composition of Sri Purandaradasa. It is devotional and Sri Purandaradasa begins by asking the questions – 

which means “The most beautiful Purandara viṭhala I have fallen at your feet, so what fears can bother me”. This poem has two popular versions – the Karnataka classical music version sung by Smt. M.S. Subbulakshmi and Sugama Saṅgīta version tuned by Mysore Anantaswamy and sung by Pushpa Jagadish. 

When both the versions of this song are examined, it is seen that an existing composition has been set to music. Therefore, the main emotion or the bhāva of the sāhitya (lyrics) was the fundamental criterion for setting the lyrics to music so that the music aided in conveying the meaning of the song. The aim of this paper is to study the adaptation of the Dāsarapada and to examine the musical elements of the song in both the versions. The scope of this paper is restricted to the study of the above-mentioned two versions and other versions of this song are not considered for this study.

The Musical genre – Sugama Saṅgīta

Sugama Saṅgīta is unique to Kannada and music of Karnataka. This was earlier called Kannada gīte and Kannada Bhāvagīte. This Bhāvagīte got the name Sugama saṅgīta from Delhi Akashavani (Leelavathi, 44). This has its own unique identity in terms of its varied themes of poems, structure, musical style, rendition, and other factors which has made it a distinct genre of music. Bhāvagīte or Sugama Saṅgīta is an Indian musical genre in which poetry in the Kannada language is set to suitable music where the emotion or the bhāva is given importance and sung in a way that the meaning behind the words of the poet are conveyed to the listeners through the music (Leelavati, 45).

The Musical genre – Karnataka classical music

Karnataka classical music, as is well known, is the art music of South India. In Karnataka classical music, the grammar of the rāga following the rāga lakṣaṇa needs to be followed strictly. The embellishments of the rāga also need to be kept in mind while performing. There are numerous compositions by various composers which illustrate the phrases and the usage of the notes of the rāga.

Theme of the song and adaptation

The lyrics of the song are:

This song is devotional and showcases the tanmayābhāva (Complete submission to the Almighty). He befins by asking 

The Sugama saṅgi̅ta version tuned by Mysore Anantaswamy, was presented as part of ‘MSIL Geethegalu’ (Mysore Sales International Limited), sung by Pushpa Jagadish. This was later again sung by Mysore Anantaswamy and became a part of the music album ‘Tārakka Bindige’.

Musical analysis

Sugama Saṅgīta version

Sugama Saṅgīta is a musical form where the music is molded to the sāhitya in such a way that the bhāva of the lyrics is emphasized. The music for the song ‘Nāne̅ke baḍavanu’ was composed by Mysore Anantaswamy and sung by Pushpa Jagadish. It was presented as a female solo song. This is rendered in the pitch C#. The lyrics of the song, however, do not limit the song to be presented by a female voice only. 

This song is based on ra̅ga Tilaṅg and shades of ra̅ga Jo̅g can be seen due to the usage of Ko̅mal Ga. The last line of the stanza goes to Khama̅j with the usage of Śuddh Da.

| , D n     ṡ Ġ ṙṘ Ṡ ṡ      | nṡnṠ nP  mP m g2G1|

| Śreṣṭha mu̅ruti Kṛṣṇa | ni̅      niruva tanaka |

Interestingly, the Śuddh Ga becomes very prominent in the section. Instead of the note C# being the tonic note Sa, if E# is taken as the tonic note Sa, the melody has the features of Tōḍi of Hindustani Music. The pallavi or the initial two lines are set to rāga Tilaṅg and Jōg. While rendering, the lyrics are given importance and the complete line is rendered making it sound musically complete as well. The Sugama saṅgīta version has used one extra section starting with ‘huṭṭisida tāyi tande…’. This section is not there in the classical music version. The instruments that seem to have been mainly used are flute, sitar, violin and tabla.  The orchestration of the interlude music is the same between the two caraṇa-s and that it follows the melodic contour of the sections rendered vocally. The orchestration is simple and aids the flow of the main melody. The song begins with an ālāp which gives the melodic contour of the song. 

The pallavi is mostly in the middle octave/ sthāyi and traverses to the tāra ṣaḍja or the higher octave, gradually landing at madhyasthāyi ṣaḍja. The first stanza starts in the upper half of the madhyasthāyi and traverses to mandrastha̅yi or the lower octave in the second line showing Tōḍi of Hindustani Music in the phrase ‘R r   G   g    g    M m  | , p p p   mpmP G’ taking G as the tonic note and ‘Ḍ d Ṇ n n  S s | , g g g rgrG S’  and comes back gracefully to the a̅dha̅ra ṣaḍja. There is a prominent usage of Kōmal Ga, which gives a sad or emotional tinge. The third line shows Jo̅g ‘g M p N N N N N’ and the last line shows Khamāj.

The rhythm followed in the song is an eight-beat cycle, which resembles Āditāḷa tala in Karnaṭaka classical music or Laggi of Keherva in Hindustani music. The pace is medium, with the song neither being too fast nor too slow, the BPM is 200 BPM. The pallavi starts on the beat (sama graha) whereas the caraṇa-s start after the beat (anāgata graha).

Structurally, the song can be divided into pallavi and two caraṇa-s. Both the caraṇa-s follow the same melody and the refrain, which is the pallavi itself, and is sung after each of the sections. In the pallavi as well as the caraṇa-s, the second half traverses’ higher notes as compared to the first half. In the caraṇa, the first half consisting of two lines is repeated, then the first line of the second half (traversing higher notes) is sung twice and the last line of the caraṇa (which is a descent from the higher octave to the middle octave) is sung only once. This creates a dramatic effect and gives a climactic finish to the section.

In this version, the first two lines of the song are considered to be the Pallavi. The word ‘nānēke’ is repeated after the pallavi is sung and also at the end of the caraṇa-s. Though the word by itself does not give a complete meaning, its repetition emphasizes the main aspect of the song theme – that ‘I’ am not poor or destitute. 

It is noteworthy that the vowel extensions of the sāhitya syllables and the svara extensions match exactly. There are no deep gamaka-s. The light gamaka-s (such as those in the phrase ‘nīne’) are seen in places where there are vowel extensions in the sāhitya. 

Karnataka classical music version

This song is set to rāga Bēhāg in Karnataka classical music, commonly called Bihāg in Hindustani classical music. It uses both the Ma – Śuddh Ma and Tīvra Ma (Prati madhyama in Karnataka classical music). This is a rāga that has been adapted to the Karnataka classical music from Hindustani classical music. This composition almost follows the rāga Bihāg except that in the pallavi for the word ‘baḍavanu’ the phrase ‘SGM2P’ is used in the second saṅgati. Bihāg uses Śuddh Ma in the ascent and not Tīvra Ma. So, this shows a tinge of rāga Māru Bihāg which uses the Tīvra Ma in the ārohaṇa as well (Sontakke,2024). However, this can be considered as ‘Bēhāg’ itself since this has been adapted from Hindustani music and this phrase can be used in Bēhāg (Thyagarajan, 2024). Ti̅vra Ma is used in the svara phrase ‘pm2gm1g’ (Subbarao 110). This usage can be seen in the landing phrase of the pallavi or the stha̅yi ‘Baḍavanu’.  There is a brief ālāpana in akāra just before the song giving the melodic contour of the rāga. 

The below notation is a basic skeletal structure of the song

In this version of the song, only one raga is used. However, different emotions are conveyed using different phrases in different octaves. The melodic flow of the song is such that the pallavi is in the madhyasthāyī. There is the usage of different variations in rendering the pallavi to highlight the meaning of the lines. The anupallavi goes to higher notes, traversing in the tārasthāyī before coming back to the madhyasthāyi. The first part of the anupallavi line ‘Śrīnidhe̅ hari enage’ has been sung three times and appears to highlight and lay emphasis on the belief and confidence in the Lord. In the caraṇa, the first half is in the madhyasthāyi, whereas the second half traverses to higher notes, reaching the tārasthāyī before coming back to the madhyasthāyī. Thus, it is seen that the structure of a kṛṭi is followed where the anupallavi is usually in the tārasthāyī and in the caraṇa, the first half is in the madhyasthāyi, whereas the second half traverses to higher notes, reaching the tārasthāyī.

The rhythm followed here is the five-beat cycle Khaṇḍa Chāpu tāḷa in Karnaṭaka classical music. The structure of the song is pallavi, comprising of the first line ‘Nānēke baḍavanu nānēke paradēśi’ which is also the refrain. The vocalist concludes the pallavi by landing at ‘Nānēke baḍavanu’ at the note Sa. The second line is used as the anupallavi here which is “Śrīnidhē hari enage nīniruva tanaka”. Here there are 2 variations to the phrase “Śrīnidhē hari enage” which is sung three times and “nīniruva tanaka” is rendered. Though this phrase is not complete in its meaning, it is musically complete since it lands in the tārasthāyi ṣaḍja. This also highlights the relationship and of the composer with the Lord and helps build the climax for the next half of the statement – nīniruva tanaka. Post this, the refrain is sung.

The song then proceeds to the aṅkita caraṇa or the final stanza

The first two lines are in the madhyasthāyi or the middle octave. The third line which also contains the aṅkita – ‘Purandara viṭhala’ of the composer Sri Purandaradasa goes to the ta̅ra ṣaḍja, where the vocalist elongates the note at Sa and goes to the tārasthāyi and does a brief akāra or elongation showing phrases typical of that rāga. She shows the phrase PM2GM1G and lands back to the higher Sa. 

Interestingly, in the fourth or the last line of the stanza the word ‘Enage’ is elongated (n D N,). There is usage of gamaka-s like jāru, sphurita and also birakas can be observed in the rendition. These gamaka-s are those typically seen in Karṇāṭaka Music. Also, it is interesting to note that there is one more stanza which starts as ‘oḍahuṭṭidava nīne oḍalighākuva nīne’ and is not used by either of the 2 versions.

Summary/ Results

• The Sugama Saṅgīta version has the 2 lines of pallavi and two caraṇa-s, whereas the Karnataka classical music version has the pallavi, anupallavi and one caraṇa or stanza.
• Structurally, both the versions seem to be almost the same, except that the Karnataka classical music version treats the second line of the song as the anupallavi section in addition to the pallavi and the caraṇa sections.
• The format of singing is that the refrain is sung after each stanza and there is interlude music before each of the sections in the Sugama Saṅgīta versions and there is no interlude but a brief muktāya, in the classical music version.
• The Sugama Saṅgīta version does not strictly adhere to the framework of one rāga where the notes of only that rāga are used. Even in parts of the song where the melodic phrases appear to be close to one ra̅ga, foreign notes which are not part of the rāga appear. This approach of not being restricted by the rules of a single rāga may have been taken since the focus is on bringing out the bhāva and expressing the emotion to match the expressions. Thus, it shows shades of rāgas – Tilaṅg, Jōg, Tōḍi and Khamāj.
• The Karnataka classical music version is composed in rāga Bēhāg and follows the rāga almost as it is in Hindustani classical music except for subtle changes in styling and pauses Both versions have their own way of conveying the bhāva of the song with their melody and musical arrangement.
• In both the versions, the flow of the melody for the section ‘vidya hēḷuva nīne’, it is observed that the 3rd and 4th line starting with ‘muddu siri…’ traverse higher notes. Though the melodies of the Sugama Saṅgīta version and the classical version are different, the flow of melody from the middle to the higher octave and back to the middle octave in both the versions are similar. 
• The rhythm of the song in both the versions are different. The Sugama Saṅgīta version follows the eight-beat cycle, commonly called as Ādi tāḷa in Karnataka classical music and Laggi of Keherva in Hindustani music. However, the Karnataka Classical music version uses Khaṇḍa chāpu or the 5-beat cycle (5/8).
• In Sugama Saṅgīta version, flute, sitar and tabla instruments are used in this song orchestration. Whereas the Karnataka classical music version uses Violin and mridangam which are the typical accompaniments used in this genre.
• The Sugama Saṅgīta version has been rendered as a female solo song but this was presented as a male solo song when it was released as part of the music album ‘Tārakka bindige’. This shows that the song provides scope to be rendered in multiple ways without affecting the meaning of the song. The Karnataka Classical music is also a female solo song sung by M.S. Subbulakshmi.
• One striking aspect is that in the classical version, the singer breaks off and sings akāra in mid of the line, for example, after ‘Purandara’ in the 3rd line. Such handling of the lyrics is not expected in the Sugama Saṅgīta version. However, the singer breaks off after ‘nānēke’, then repeats ‘nānēke’ and sings ‘baḍavanu, nanēke paradēśī…’. Here, breaking off after nānēke does not lyrically become meaningful but can be said to create a dramatic effect. Similarly, the singer repeats ‘muddu siri purandara viṭhala ninnaḍi mēle’ which is not a complete statement, before going to the next line. Here also, the lyrics do not give complete meaning. In the repetitions and breaking of sentences, the Sugama Saṅgīta version is not much different from the classical version in its handling. However, in the Sugama Saṅgīta version, there are no akāra-s for short syllables and the adherence of the svara phrases to the sāhitya is seen.  

Conclusion

The composition ‘Nānēke baḍavanu nānēke paradēśi’ is a Dāsarapada which is a composition of Sri Purandaradasa. This has different versions. The Karnataka classical music version set to rāga Bēhāg and sung by M.S. Subbulakshmi and the Sugama Saṅgīta version tuned by Mysore Anantaswamy and sung by Pushpa Jagadish are popular and are the versions considered for this study. 

The Karnataka classical music version follows the rāga Bēhāg which is a rāga adopted from the Hindustani classical music to Karnataka classical music system. It adheres to the grammar of the rāga except for a phrase where tīvra madhyama is used in the ascent showing a phrase of Māru Bihāg. The Sugama Saṅgīta version shows colors of different rāgas like Tilaṅg, Tōḍi of Hindustani, Jōg and a bit of Khama̅j. It shows different moods by making use of different combinations of notes.

Though the song is the same, both use different tāla-s or rhythmic cycles. The Karnataka classical music version uses Khaṇḍa chāpu or five beat cycle. The Sugama Saṅgīta version uses an eight-beat cycle, which resembles Āditala tāla in Karnaṭaka classical music and Laggi of Keherva in Hindustani music. Thus, the meter of this song is adaptable to both these rhythmic cycles. Through the analysis it can be observed that both the versions convey the same idea of the composer but giving a different perspective by usage of different combination of notes and rhythmic cycles. The melodic flow of the Sugama Saṅgīta version (from middle to higher octave and back) could possibly have been created based on that of the classical version since both are similar and the classical version was created earlier. 

Acknowledgements

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Rudrapatnam Thyagarajan for helping with the rāga nuances of Carnatic rāgas, Chaitra Sontakke for helping with the ra̅ga nuances of Hindustani ra̅gas. I would like to thank my guide Arati N Rao for useful discussions, inputs and suggestions.