Nen Je Nandini - NJ Nandini

Nen Je Nandini

Gone are the days, when we were able to identify the singer, lyricist, music director when we heard a song. I would easily recognise if the voice was Lata Mangeshkar or Asha Bhonsle, Mukesh or Kishore Kumar, Mann Dey or Mohammed Rafi. Same was the case, when we could recognise Ilayaraja’s music or M.S.Vishwanathan and likewise being able to distinguish between Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar from Dr.M.Balamuralikrishna from Maharajapuram Santhanam or M.S.Subbalakshmi from everyone else ! 

What I am trying to imply is that everyone sounds similar especially in the field of playback singing for films. Probably it’s because there is too much happening with very hardworking, focussed young artistes, who are MORE hardworking and MORE focussed and have MORE ambitious parents and most important definitely MORE opportunities ! 

There are so many immensely talented artistes that it is difficult to distinguish one from the other and maybe it’s even unfair to rank them.

Being in the pursuit of good music myself, I have found only two voices among female Carnatic musicians, which stand apart and are recognisable for their individuality and those in my opinion are the voices of Bombay Jayashri and Gayathri Girish. I am referring only to their distinguishable voice and not pitting them against anyone’s singing prowess. Jayashri has got a semi husky and unique voice quality & Gayathri has a mature & original voice which gives a vintage effect ! 

Now before anyone gets confused as to who this post is about .... Jayashri or Gayathri .... it’s about N.J. Nandini from Trivandrum. An artiste I was listening to for the first time on Facebook during the Mani Krishnaswami Academy ongoing series. 

Normally I listen, while I am trying to do a jugglery act between cooking, pooja and some unlisted classified odd jobs... with my phone in the background. It is not to be concluded that I am casual or indifferent about music or the musician of the day ! It’s just that the timing is not so ideal for a karma yogi like me ! 

This is the normal scenario but one day I heard this voice which made me abandon my unrecognised multitasking and I was propelled to watch the kutchery with rapt attention. Towards the end, I was left with one question ..... where was this girl hidden all these years or how come I have never heard her before ?

A ‘stand alone’ beautiful voice, flawless diction, competent & confident singing ..... well she practically had me captive for the entire concert. Watching this young woman with ‘Sharmila Tagore’ dimples, I became curious and gathered more information about her. 

There was so much that it was mind boggling and she has got nothing less than 30 awards, such as : M.S.Subbalakshmi Fellowship, Chembai Puraskaram and Madurai Mani Iyer award.

Okay... guess that is enough of gushing about her and let me share the songs she sang on that day. 

She started the concert with Puliyur Doraiswamy Iyer’s composition in Ragam Nattai ‘Saraseeruhasanapriye’ set to Adi thalam. 

Puliyoor Duraiswami Iyer was a renowned musician who lived in Vaiyacheri, a small village in Tanjore district. Once while he was singing Thyagaraja Swamy’s ‘Chakkani Raja’ in Ragam Kharaharapriya, it so happened that Sri Thyagaraja was passing by and was so happy to listen to the wonderful rendering that he blessed Duraiswami by saying that his two sons would become very famous in music. Duraiwami had four sons and true to Thyagaraja Swamy’s words, Duraiswami found that Ramaswami and Vaidyanathan (who was later known as Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer, because he composed a Ragamalika with all the 72 Melakarta Ragams) evinced keen interest in music and trained them in singing. Among his well-known compositions are ‘ Saraseeruhanasanapriye’ and the Dasaragamalika Varnam ‘Intha Gopa’.

Her next song was Mysore Vasudevachar‘s ‘Sri Chamundesweri’ in Ragam Bilahari, set to Adi thalam. It was very pleasant to see Nandini choosing a not so often sung krithi of one other great musician. 

Mysore Vasudevachar( 28 May 1865 – 17 May 1961) belonged to the direct line of Thyagaraja Swamy’s disciples. I am sure Vasudevachar considered himself very lucky to receive direct ‘Deeksha’ from Thyagaraja Swamy school of learning,....not sure Kamalahasan will agree with him ! 

Among his 200 + compositions, the most popular kritis include BrochevaravaruRa in Ragam Khamas, Mamavatu Sri Saraswati in Ragam Hindolam and Bhaja Re Manasa in Ragam Abheri and was a recipient of the civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan. On the insistence of Rukmini Arundale, he became the chief musician in Kalakshetra and helped in setting the Ramayana to music. I give these details because generally people don’t know much about many wonderful composers barring the Trinity ! 

After this, another not so often heard composition by Dharmapuri Subbaraya Iyer ‘Smara Sundaranguni’ in Ragam Paras, set to Adi thalam. This is a Javali usually used for Bharatanatyam performances. 

Dharmapuri Subbaraaya Iyer was a 19th century composer and as the name suggests, he was from Dharmapuri and is the most notable composer of the Jaavali form, of which he is the universally acclaimed master. Most of his music dealt with sringaara rasa, or romantic and erotic love, and all were of the jaavali form. Many of his compositions were composed in the home of Veena Dhanammal, whose music he admired, and who learnt around 60 javalis from him. It is said, that he may have composed the poignant javali ‘Sakhiprana' at her home, grief-stricken at his inability to save her from bankruptcy. ‘SmaraSundaranguni’ was also written out of his feelings for her. It is said that he kept a notebook at his bedside near the pillow to write down the javalis that came to mind, but his wife is said to have fervently prayed to the diety at Tiruchengodu that her children should not take after their father ! 

Nandini went on to sing Dikshitar‘s ‘Ranganayakam’ in Ragam Nayaki set to Adi thalam, in a flawless manner. Her years of learning music from highly respected & knowledgable teachers such as Prof. Parassala Ponnammal, Prof.Kumarakerala Varma, Dr.S. Bhagyalakshmi and Dr. M.N.Moorthy has given her invaluable insights into the nuances of music. The purity of her music should be largely attributed to her teachers, once again ascertaining the importance of getting the right Guru !! 

Her next song was what I refer to as ‘our’ family song...the kind of song, which everyone in our family knows and incase we are separated or get lost, this can be the song which will unite all of us, like in the film ‘ Yaadon ki Baraat’. It is Thyagaraja Swamy’s ‘Marugelara O Raghava’ in Ragam Jayanthasri set to Adi thalam. Nandini had a good blend of familiar & not so familiar songs lined up.

Her main piece for the concert was again a Thyagaraja krithi in Ragam Poorvikalyani ‘Gnana Mosagarada’ set to Rupaka thalam. I enjoyed it very much and it was evident that she also enjoyed singing it and that makes a lot of difference.

One cannot be from Trivandrum and not sing a Swathi Tirunal composition... actually today wherever the artiste is from, they include a Swathi Tirunal, such is the outreach of his compositions....transcending any sort of barriers. It was ‘Kanakamayam’ in Ragam Huesini set to Rupakam thalam.

Swati Tirunal, the 19th-century king of Travancore, was a prolific Carnatic and Hindustani composer whose compositions I personally admire. One of his most interesting works is the Utsavaprabandha, which is made up of twelve compositions: an introduction, ten main songs and a conclusion, each one describing a specific day of the Padmanabha Swamy Temple festivals. They are set in a variety of ragas, some popular and some rare, and their lyrics are in highly Sanskritized Malayalam.

This delightful song ‘Kanakamayam Ayidum’ was composed for the third day of the festival, when Lord Padmanabha’s idol is taken out on a procession atop the kamala vahana (lotus vehicle). It describes a conversation between two young boys who are watching the procession go by, but aren’t sure who the deity is. It’s kind of funny that Hindu kids are often teased about the seemingly endless number of Hindu deities, but as this song reveals, plenty of Hindus also find them hard to keep track of !

It is like a conversation between the lads as to ....Who could this be, approaching in such grandeur in the resplendent kamala vahanam ? If it is Indra, king of the gods, who killed the demon,then where are the thousand sparkling eyes all over his body?

The boys ask each other ...Could it be Chandra, the Moon, who moves so gracefully roaming with compassion ? But if it is indeed the Moon, where is his trademark dark spot, since this person is absolutely flawless. 

Literally, kalabha-gati means ‘one with an elephant-like gait’, kalabha meaning a young elephant, gati meaning gait. It’s a common epithet found in Sanskrit poetry, and it’s meant to be a compliment ! It sounds odd to us today, but I guess yesteryear poets thought elephants moved around very elegantly and elephants were a symbol of majestic grandeur. 

If it is Shiva, the beloved of Gauri and Lord of Kailasa, then where is his third eye ?

What an elaborate & unique way to describe the beauty of Lord Padmanabha and the procession he takes on the lotus vehicle !

Listening to the song, only made me want to witness all this sometime in my life! 

Nandini ended the concert with a Thillana in Ragam Behag by the inimitable Lalgudi Jayaraman. Much after she finished, I was left wanting more of her wholesome music along with the Sharmila Tagore dimples..........

About the Author:

Sandhya Shankar belongs to a well respected business family in Chennai. She is a Life Skills & Corporate Trainer by profession. She is an avid reader and a natural writer, who has written several poems and articles. She even presented her poems as a reading at the British council. She has keen interest in all art forms  and has explored many different forms of painting like stained glass and Tanjore being among them. 

Music being her first passion, she had her formal training under Terakotti Chandrasekharaiah at Bangalore and later briefly under Mrs Champa Kumar. She is a regular visitor of concerts, theatre and other live performances. Her witty reviews have gained a loyal and interactive readership for their sound technical commentary and relevance for every kind of melophile, from the casual-goer to the ragam expert, frequenting Chennai’s rich music scene.

(*The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and not necessarily those of Music of Madras.)