Flavors of Carnatic music

You are deep and mysterious like ToDi. You have an array of colours and depths. You are strongly rooted in your tradition but never hold yourself back from innovation. You are a complete package of dignity, grace, power and strength.

It’s intriguing how the “Which Raaga Are You? Facebook quiz result summarizes most of my character in just a few sentences. On the flip side, the result made me chuckle, because Thodi is perhaps the most challenging raagam that I’ve been exposed to so far! Although there is a lot more about Thodi that I have yet to explore, I realize that not only Thodi, but every other raagam which exists has a distinctive flavor or personality of its own. Different combinations of the sapta swaras can illicit emotions ranging from happiness to disgust, and at times the difference between a komal (lower) or theevra (higher) note can delineate one raagam from another. At the same time, it would be unreasonable for one to match raagams with moods, for the sahityam (lyrics) also play a pivotal role in eliciting a certain mood in the listener.

Nonetheless, although the mood of a raagam is evoked and shaped only by the performer, most raagams tend to be associated with certain emotions. For example, while Subhapantuvarali and Neelamani tend to elicit sadness, while Kalyani and Mohana are known to bring about happiness in the listener’s mind. Perhaps there is some psychological reasoning behind why certain raagams elicit specific emotions when they are fully unraveled by performers. Indeed, it would be interesting to study the effects of different musical scales on the mind, for even Hindustani raagams and maqams (the Arabic term equivalent to the raagam) have been known to bring about different moods.

In addition, the time of the day is said to factor into the ambience of a raagam, which is why raagams have been characterized as morning raagams or night raagams. Likewise, raagams have also been associated with seasons, for it is said that when a raagam is at the pinnacle of its beauty, the mood of the raagam parallels the mood of the listener. But beyond all the intricacies of Carnatic music, the fact remains that raagams have personalities of their own. In the same way that humans have distinctive qualities which stand out more prominently than others, raagams arouse certain sentiments in human beings. I haven’t studied the technicalities behind Carnatic music, but I find it interesting that there is actually a psychological perspective to the art. After all, such is the all-encompassing nature of Carnatic music!