Chitra Srikrishna Carnatic Musician, Writer, Mom

Poetry and Classical Music

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Poetry of the vernacular poets being set to music has been attempted by several composers. Whether it is the vachanas of the Kannada composers such as Basavanna,  the Divya Prabandhangal of the Alwar saints in Tamil, Kabir's dohas, Sangam literature such as verses from Silappadikaram (MS singing Vadavaraya mathaki at her UN concert in 1966), musicians have tried to bring life to several exquisite forms of poetry with their creativity and acumen. My recent album Saranagathi was one such attempt - original music score by a friend/musician in the US who composed the music for 30 verses from Kulasekhara Alwar's Perumal Tirumozhi.

When poetry is being transliterated to musical form, it adds a new dimension to it. The same verses now reach a wider audience. It's like adding that zing to your favourite dish. Many of us have listened to MS rendering Bhaja Govindam - can you now imagine reciting the same verses in staccato fashion? It doesn't matter if you sing off-key, but you're in your comfort zone singing the tune of your childhood. If you try reciting the same verses, you know there's something missing.

I believe the composer has a huge responsibility here. He needs to understand the poetry, the mood of the poet before selecting the raga. One cannot choose a raga like Shuba Pantuvarali when the poet talks about a rainy day, neither can we listen to Sama when Rama goes to war with the lord of Lanka!

Years back, a dancer in the SF Bay Area had asked me to set the music for a few verses penned by a Sanskrit professor in DC. The whole piece was about an immigrant's dilemma in the US. The poem began with the the immigrant pondering as to why he was drawn to the land of opportunity. The questions haunt his mind day and night. I chose raga Mohanam for the introductory verse. The next verse talked about why he continued to live in a land where he was treated as a secondary citizen (Bhagesri as there was an element of despair). As this was a dance program there was a visual element in the mix and was a big hit at the Asian Performing arts festival.

Poetry is all about emotion as is music. When the two meet, there’s magic in the air.