KĪRTANA

KĪRTANA The Sanskrit word kīrtana (recital, glory) refers to the praise of God. The South Indian kīrtana is a simple song with a main theme or refrain (pallavi) and several stanzas (charana). Here, as in many other parts of the country, the kīrtana or kīrtan forms the basis for responsorial singing (bhajana). Under the guidance of an experienced singer (kīrtanakār), the practice of nāma sankīrtana (singing His praises) is conducive to ecstatic experiences, as described by Tyāgarāja in his piece "Intakannānandamēmi" (rāga Bilahari): "Is there any bliss greater than this—to deem it sufficient to dance, to sing divine music, to pray for His presence and to be in communion with him in mind ..to become one with Him." (Raghavan).

With reference to a tripartite concert item in a South Indian concert, the term kīrtana is also used as a synonym for kriti. Wherever the anupallavi (middle section) is dispensed with, for instance in Tyāgarāja's invocations of the "divine names" of Vishnu (divyanāma kīrtana), the term kīrtana is used more appropriately. During a Karnatak concert, several kīrtanas and kritis by famous as well as less-known composers are usually heard.

When Tanjāvūr came under Marāthā rule (late seventeenth to early nineteenth centuries), harikathā, the narration of stories (kathā) about Vishnu (hari), developed into a popular form of art and entertainment. The Gītā Govinda, Jayadēva's celebrated Sanskrit work (twelfth century), facilitated the spread of the cult of Krishna and Rādhā and inspired South Indian poet-musicians (vāggēyakāra) to explore its erotic symbolism through Telugu lyrics. While the concept of "classical" Karnatak music began to evolve, there was widespread appreciation for the vernacular lyrics of many devotional bhakti poets. For Tyāgarāja, as for his father before him, the Rāmāyaṇa epic provided ideal role models in terms of righteousness and self-control. He and other learned musicians (bhāgavatar) refined their presentations of songs and stories for the purpose of expounding ideas derived from advaita (nondualist) philosophy, emphasizing the divine origin and destination of all human existence. Several poet-singers called for reforms and condemned social evils such as the caste system and ritualism. The time-honored literary motifs and musical techniques employed by these "saint-singers" of South India were consolidated and refined in the course of the eighteenth century, when artists from many parts of India were brought into contact with one another either through involuntary migration or in search of patronage.

As the court and temple establishments of Tamil Nadu promoted scholarship and the arts throughout history, the kīrtana evolved as a flexible musical form that could capture and convey the ideas and feelings of all sections of society in many different ways. In this sense, the kīrtana not only absorbed some of the elements from tradition (sampradāya) but effectively superseded older musical forms such as the medieval prabandha. Other genres—most notably the kriti, with its emphasis on musical refinement, and the jāvali, which is based on erotic lyrics—can therefore be traced back to the new type of kīrtana of South India.

Kīrtanas (Tamil kīrtanai) have enriched other branches of South India's performing arts. A case in point is the art of narrating and expounding religious stories in a musical context, known as harikathākālakshēpam. This genre is traditionally presented by learned male performers (bhāgavatar), although at a later stage, several women became famous exponents in their own right. A close relationship among the various genres, including the dance music for bharata nātyam, kuchipudi, and mōhiniyāttam, and also for drama (Mēlattūr bhāgavata mēlam), has characterized all devotional poetry and music of South India since time immemorial. As a result, numerous poetic references to other artistic and literary genres are found in the lyrics of the kīrtana repertoire heard today, for instance the fast rhythmic passages (sholkattu), reminiscent of dance movements, contained in the songs of Ūttukādu Venkata Subba Ayyar (c. 1700–1765).

By way of endowing the patriotic sentiments of South India's educated classes with a religious dimension, the customary kīrtana has also contributed to the freedom struggle that led to India's independence in 1947. Through the lyrics of patriotic poets and social reformers like Bhāratiyar, elements from Karnatak music found their way into popular music, and other famous musicians and composers of the twentieth century introduced elements based on the kīrtana into radio, film, and television productions. The same applies to cross-cultural ventures variously described as jugalbandi (joint performances by Indian musicians) and fusion music outside India's borders.

The lyrics of several contemporary poets whose names are listed as "composers" are commonly presented during concerts without mentioning the names of the musicians who have composed the music. This is indicative of the prestige associated, even today, with the lyrics (sāhitya) rather than the melodic and rhythmical framework (varnamettu) of a song. The prevalence of such notions, not to mention the vast creative scope within Karnatak music, leaves many questions about the authenticity and integrity of the songs by most early composers unanswered. In the case of most "rediscoveries" of songs by composers who lived before the late nineteenth century, experienced musicians are widely believed to have demonstrated their compositional skills by providing suitable tunes and rhythms to existing lyrics. Ascribing one's art or knowledge to a revered personality of the distant past has long been a common practice in different fields of learning in India.

Ludwig Pesch

See alsoKriti ; Music: South India

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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