Bindumaalini, Sucharitra, Nasika Bhushani

Bindumaalini

Listened to this first time when my mom played a cassette sung by Bombay Jayashree. The very first time I listened, it sounded very much like Chakravaham (Melakartha 16)…. So dug a little deeper and found that Bindumaalini is a Chakaravaham janya. Structurally it is very simple and that’s probably one of the reasons, purely in my opinion (edhukkum safe game aadalam nu dhan ), it might not be real easy to decipher for amateurs… On the contrary, the only song which is popularly sung is Enta Muddo, composed by Saint Thyagaraja.

Aarohanam : S G3 R1 G3 M1 P N2 S
Avarohanam : S N2 S D2 P G3 R1 S

I then chanced upon a live recording on DVD of Aruna Sayeeram’s December 2004 performance at Vani Mahal. And then, there was no turning back, and I am hooked for life to this raga ! With all due respect for Bombay Jayashree, the cassette which I listened to was like a studio recording, where in number of songs mattered more than the actual quality and free flowing improvisations. Since Aruna Sayeeram’s performance was an actual kutcheri, she was probably able to bring out the beauty of this raga better than Jayashree.

I think all Bombay Jayashree fans will be ready to beat the living daylights out of me, but that’s ok…everybody is entitled to his/her own opinion and I respect that. And, I am not saying this to be politically correct or anything…

Song – Enta Muddo (click to listen)

Sucharitra – Melakartha 67

Aarohanam : S R3 G3 M2 P D1 N1 S
Avarohanam : S N1 D1 P M2 G3 R3 S

Wow !! Listening to this was a real good experience. Along with the Aruna Sayeeram DVD, bought another one… Sanjay Subramaniam’s December 2004 performance at Narada Gana Sabha. Sanjay sung Velum Mayilume, composed by Koteeshwara Iyer. Tried to find this online somewhere so I could link it here but only found another song.

Song – Chintayaami Santhatam (click to listen)
Composer – BMK

Nasika Bhushani – Melakartha 70

Aarohanam : S R3 G3 M2 P D2 N2 S
Avarohanam : S N2 D2 P M2 G3 R3 S

Kadri Gopalnath’s version of Maaravairi Ramani, by Saint Thyagaraja is my personal favourite. Could not find that online anywhere though. So here’s the same song rendered by Ramani.

Song – Maaravairi Ramani (click to listen)