The only thing I could ever enjoy in kathakaLi was the music. And that too, thanks to hyderali and co. who brought actual music into kathakaLi music. That was something very appropriately done, since the songs are rendered in a slow pace that allows the exquisite beauty of various kinds of intricate gamakams to unfold. Another thing that strikes me is that while many usual kathakaLi singers seem to sing "too full-throated" ( atleast to the small extent to which I have heard I felt so ), i.e., almost shouting at the top of their voice in a manner that wouldn't exactly please modern audience Mr. Hyderali sang in a much more gentle ( with "otukkam" ) manner, taking care more than usual to modulate the amplitude/loudness according to sentiments ( correct me if i am wrong ).
nandakumAr, could you elaborate? i.e., which trend-setting was "not allowed" by the "enlightened kEraLa society" and how? Thanks.
i was only referring to the social divisions in kerala; the the higher-lower hierarchical divisions between social groups might have reduced a lot but the 'lateral' (us and them) distinctions run deeper in kerala than almost any other place in india.
Hi, Enjoyed reading the remarks of Froginthewell, whoever the person is. He is right in noting that Kalamandalam Hyderali sang with a gentle, subdued throat, but he isn't entirely correct in that Hyderali was among the few who did so. Many of his celebrity contemporaries like Sankaran Embranthiri and Venmani Haridas did it equally admirably. As for gamakam, Froginthewell is almost wrong to claim that Hyderali excelled in it. Hyderali's was (self-admittedly) a music free of microtones, it had more of a ghazal touch to it with his throat surfing of notes and not ploughing through them in the Carnatic style. Hyderali's was more of butterfly music (with all its beauty) compared to the majestic flap that you would hear while listening to masters like Kalamandalam Gangadharan and Madambi Subramanian Namboodiri.
Hi, Enjoyed reading the remarks of Froginthewell, whoever the person is. He is right in noting that Kalamandalam Hyderali sang with a gentle, subdued throat, but he isn't entirely correct in that Hyderali was among the few who did so. Many of his celebrity contemporaries like Sankaran Embranthiri and Venmani Haridas did it equally admirably. As for gamakam, Froginthewell is almost wrong to claim that Hyderali excelled in it. Hyderali's was (self-admittedly) a music free of microtones, it had more of a ghazal touch to it with his throat surfing over notes and not ploughing through them as in the Carnatic style. Hyderali's was more of butterfly music (with all its beauty) compared to the majestic flap that you would hear while listening to masters like Kalamandalam Gangadharan and Madambi Subramanian Namboodiri.
5 Comments:
very sad to hear this news.
hyderali's 'uniqueness' was as sad as it was remarkable - the enlightened kerala society did not allow him to be a trend-setter!
The only thing I could ever enjoy in kathakaLi was the music. And that too, thanks to hyderali and co. who brought actual music into kathakaLi music. That was something very appropriately done, since the songs are rendered in a slow pace that allows the exquisite beauty of various kinds of intricate gamakams to unfold. Another thing that strikes me is that while many usual kathakaLi singers seem to sing "too full-throated" ( atleast to the small extent to which I have heard I felt so ), i.e., almost shouting at the top of their voice in a manner that wouldn't exactly please modern audience Mr. Hyderali sang in a much more gentle ( with "otukkam" ) manner, taking care more than usual to modulate the amplitude/loudness according to sentiments ( correct me if i am wrong ).
nandakumAr, could you elaborate? i.e., which trend-setting was "not allowed" by the "enlightened kEraLa society" and how? Thanks.
froginthewell,
i was only referring to the social divisions in kerala; the
the higher-lower hierarchical divisions between social groups might have reduced a lot but the 'lateral' (us and them) distinctions run deeper in kerala than almost any other place in india.
Hi, Enjoyed reading the remarks of Froginthewell, whoever the person is. He is right in noting that Kalamandalam Hyderali sang with a gentle, subdued throat, but he isn't entirely correct in that Hyderali was among the few who did so. Many of his celebrity contemporaries like Sankaran Embranthiri and Venmani Haridas did it equally admirably. As for gamakam, Froginthewell is almost wrong to claim that Hyderali excelled in it. Hyderali's was (self-admittedly) a music free of microtones, it had more of a ghazal touch to it with his throat surfing of notes and not ploughing through them in the Carnatic style. Hyderali's was more of butterfly music (with all its beauty) compared to the majestic flap that you would hear while listening to masters like Kalamandalam Gangadharan and Madambi Subramanian Namboodiri.
Hi, Enjoyed reading the remarks of Froginthewell, whoever the person is. He is right in noting that Kalamandalam Hyderali sang with a gentle, subdued throat, but he isn't entirely correct in that Hyderali was among the few who did so. Many of his celebrity contemporaries like Sankaran Embranthiri and Venmani Haridas did it equally admirably. As for gamakam, Froginthewell is almost wrong to claim that Hyderali excelled in it. Hyderali's was (self-admittedly) a music free of microtones, it had more of a ghazal touch to it with his throat surfing over notes and not ploughing through them as in the Carnatic style. Hyderali's was more of butterfly music (with all its beauty) compared to the majestic flap that you would hear while listening to masters like Kalamandalam Gangadharan and Madambi Subramanian Namboodiri.
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