Disciples of Delhi P. Sunder Rajan revisited and reimagined pallavis, crafted by past masters

The Hindu

15-07-2025

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has invaded even the Carnatic concert stage — truly 'All-Invasive' — , one might say. Just days after ChatGPT made its debut as a pallavi composer at Pallavi Darbar 2025, though the spotlight swung back to tradition.
Under the auspices of Carnatica and Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, , disciples of vocalist-violinist Delhi P. Sunder Rajan revisited and reimagined pallavis, crafted by past masters and their guru. The event took place at Srinivasa Sastri Hall.
Shruthi Shankar Kumar, R.P. Shravan, Padmashree Srinivasan and Dhanya Rudrapatnam not only rendered a curated array of pallavis with flair, but also articulated their structural and aesthetic insights with endearing clarity. A reminder, perhaps, that in Carnatic music, timelessness and evolution are but two sides of the same coin.
Nine compositions
The programme titled 'Pallavi Memoirs' saw the quartet present nine selections, with Chidambaram G. Badrinath on the violin and R. Akshay Ram on the mridangam providing enthusiastic support. Of these, four were composed by T.R. Subramaniam, a pioneering one by M. Balamuralikrishna and four by Sunder Rajan. Given the focus was on the pallavi structure, the traditional trikalam and tisram demonstrated were relevant and manodharma was kept minimal.
Known for his inventive, populist approaches to pallavi, TRS brought a fresh energy to the form. BMK, on the other hand, enriched the rhythmic canvas with his Mukhi pallavis, opening up new exploratory possibilities within the Carnatic idiom. The main pallavi, composed by Sunder Rajan, was in fact a creative expansion of BMK's Mukhi concept.
Derivatives of talas
Though it came later in the recital, the conceptual high point merits early attention here. As a tribute to the maestro on his 95th birthday, the team offered a brief presentation of BMK's well-known Panchamukhi Adi tala pallavi in Kalyani 'Sangeetha laya jnaanamu, sakala sowbhagyamu'. BMK devised the Mukhi talas — Trimukhi, Panchamukhi, Saptamukhi, and Navamukhi — by applying different gatis (rhythmic subdivisions) to the two components of a Suladi tala: sa-shabda (with sound) and ni-shabda (without sound). In these talas, only the sa-shabda kriyas (e.g., beats 1, 5, and 7 in Adi tala) adopt a nadai other than chatusram, while the rest of the cycle retains its base structure. The tala derives its name from the nadai applied to these audible beats: tisram (Trimukhi), khandam (Panchamukhi), misram (Saptamukhi), and sankeernam (Navamukhi).
Inspired by the concept, Sunder Rajan composed a Gati-traya Bahumukhi pallavi (featuring three gatis and multiple rhythmic dimensions) in Charukesi, set to Misra Triputa tala. Following a succinct raga alapana by Dhanya, mirrored on the violin by Badrinath, Shravan rendered the tanam. The intricate pallavi 'Eesanai mahesanai ninai, trinethranai pavithranai jaga(deesanai)' was executed with poise by the disciples. Its vibrant rhythmic fabric incorporated tisra (first beat), khanda (eighth) and misra (10th) gatis in the sa-shabda sections, representing the confluence of the three gatis . A short burst of kalpanaswaras followed, with Akshay Ram capping the piece with a crisp, energetic tani avartanam.
Earlier, the recital opened with three consecutive pallavis by TRS. The first in Pantuvarali 'Sambho mahadeva vibho paahi prabho, santatam swayambho' was set to Misra Triputa. The uttarangam featured a Gopuccha yati — a tapering sequence of syllables resembling the shape of a cow's tail — beginning with 'santatam' (seven counts), followed by 'swayambho' (6), and continuing into the purvangam with 'sambho' (5) and 'maha' (4).
Interesting addition
A Bilahari sketch by Shruthi preceded the next pallavi 'Raghukula tilakudai velasina ramachandrude' set to Khanda Triputa. The embedded trikalam in each of the first three words — in a 4:2:1 ratio — was aesthetically executed, as was the tisram. The inverse ratio singing (1:2:4) was an interesting addition.
The Kiravani pallavi, 'Vallee deva senapathe namo namasthe' had a tanam prelude by Padmashree. Set to Khanda Triputa, this pallavi featured a receding mathematical pattern in the purvangam: 'vallee' - 4,4 counts; 'deva' - 3,3; and 'senapathe' - 2,2. In the uttarangam, namo - 1,4; namasthe - 1,4; and 1,4 (the final 4 transitioning into the purvangam). After trikalam in chatusra and tisra nadai-s, pratilomam was performed from the arudhi — an uncommon but intriguing choice. The swara garland, besides Kiravani, included Valaji (Dhanya), Abheri (Shruthi), Shanmukhapriya (Shravan), Mohanakalyani (Padmashree) and Vasanthi (Badrinath).
The next three presented were those of Sunder Rajan. The Saveri pallavi in 2-kalai Adi tala 'Kumara (3 syllables) gurupara (4) karthike(ya) (5) ninadhupadhamalar (7) panivome (5)' showcased elegant ascending and descending patterns. The purvangam built up as 1 matra X 3 syllables, 2X4, and 3X5, while the uttarangam traced a descending sequence — 3X7, 2X5, and finally 1X3 (returning to 'Kumara').
'Venkataramana sankataharana tirupati' in Lathangi and set to Khanda Jhampa, had the purvangam in Tisra nadai (3X5) and uttarangam in Khanda nadai (5X3), and was well-executed along with trikalam in Chatusra tisram and pratilomam. The swarakshara pallavi in Khamas 'Saamagaana lola nin paadhame gathi mahadeva sadasiva nidham panindhen', set to Adi tala in Khanda nadai, was presented in four speeds — keezh, chatusra-tisram, samam and mel.
The concluding number — a Surutti pallavi in Sankeerna Jhampa tala (Tisra nadai) 'Velan sivabalan varagunaseelan vallee lolan', composed by TRS, was structured in Srotovaha yati, the ascending counterpart to Gopuccha yati, evoking the image of a river that begins as a trickle and gradually widens. The quartet performed Chatusram to this Tisra nadai pallavi with assurance.