In this article, the focus is on a very essential feature conceived in Indian classical music traditions, namely, gamaka, which is capable of oscillating and/or massaging the mind which gets hardened or sick due to environmental pressures and life- situations.
We all know that an Indian raga is often viewed by music therapists as a highly complex sequence of notes (swaras) which are cyclic, emotional, inward-looking and meditative. It is also used in practical sessions aimed at emotional healing for those who are traumatized or mentally unstable.
Nada Centre for Music Therapy (www.nada.in), a Chennai-based pioneering voluntary organization devoted to spreading the cause of music therapy in India has been occupied with research on ragas. Wondering what makes a raga to be rich in its emotional contents and reaches, this researcher has undertaken certain studies in the past, which has resulted in a wealth of information, which have been published through books and CDs published by the Centre.
In this article, we will be focusing our attention on a very essential feature conceived in Indian classical music traditions, namely, gamaka, which is capable of oscillating and/or massaging the mind which gets hardened or sick due to environmental pressures-and life- situations.
What is Gamaka?
Gamaka is a special feature in the Indian music system, which has been in existence since Vedic times, when Vedas were recited with music. It was known as `alankara’ earlier. The sage Matanga had used the word `gamalca’ for the first time in his Brihaddeshi. Indian musicological parlance defines gamaka as a musical element, which is used to “grace or embellish” the tonal sound through oscillations or fluctuations of its expected sound frequencies. According to Vekatamakhin, a great scholar in Carnatic music, a gamaka can be defined as a ‘note, assuming other frequencies along with its own frequency’. The word ‘gam’ in gamaka can however, be translated to mean certain ‘movement’ as it refers to ‘acquiring a pace’. Thus it conveys a movement or dynamism to an otherwise (fixed) tonal frequency. `Gamaka’ also means ‘to warm up’, thanks to its nature of excitement.
Importance of Gamaka in Raga Music
Bharata muni, the ancient sage in his treatise, Natya Shastra expresses his views on gamaka so eloquently.
‘Without gamaka, raga music will be like a night without a moon; a river without water, herbs without flowers and a woman without her ornaments.’
In ancient times, ‘alankara’ was the word which was used to describe gamakas. They are in the form of soft, delicate vibrations, which can bring out the personality of a raga. The vibrations from a note touch the adjacent note on either side of it to produce the emotional effect, called `raga bhava’.
Gamaka, no doubt, forms the very soul of the Indian music system, as it is cleverly conceived to reach a heightened state of emotional experience through its excitation process both in singers as well as in listeners. It is interesting that the emotional excitations one gets through ragas end up giving a pleasant and peaceful feeling, unlike other sensory stimulants or drugs. Even negative feelings (such as anger, fear, loneliness, sadness or aggression) expressed in music do not threaten the listeners with any dire consequence to them, unless the decibels are high!
Gamaka in music emphasizes the emotional reaches in a tone (or note). It lends new meanings to the naturally occurring tones, due to their subtle fluctuations in their sound frequency norms. Gamaka lends surprise elements in rendering and listening to a raga. In fact it is gamaka that distinguishes Indian classical music with its Western counterpart. We all know that the Western classical music is known for its majesty and splendor arising from discipline and orderliness, involved in its musical ethos and also from the team discipline in its orchestrated forms.
Indian gamakas express a sense of accommodation and broad-mindedness, which can be seen in Indian roads. Mercedes and cycle rickshaws struggle to run along with the jay-walkers, and against traffic signals, as a ‘broad-minded and accommodative’ cop looks through like a Buddha statue!
Like Indian roads, gamaka with its continuous indulgence in fluctuations of norms offers solace to one and all without a distinction —what is called ‘ Indianness’!
Gamaka comprises not only shakes and graces but also offers tremendous avenues for manipulating the passage of feelings conveyed through a note (swara). It is like avoiding the potholes in Indian roads as you drive fast in your Mercedes!
Gamaka is placed in raga music in such a way that it can produce a sense of freedom in one’s mindscape! While a note rendered plain may shine of its own character, gamaka variations can flash a new understanding and scope for the sound. In the Carnatic system of music, this susvara gayana finds emphasis in the beautiful kritis, composed by Muthuswami Dikshitar. E.g. “Sri Subrahmanyoham” in Todi by Dikshitar.
Number of Gamaka Varieties
There are differences of opinion with regard to gamaka varieties that exist in Indian music among ancient authors. While some hold that there are 7 gamakas (Sangita Sudhakara and Sangita Samayasara), the number varies to 15 (Shargyadeva) and also 19 (Sangita Makaranda). Here we will have a brief idea of the following 10 important gamaka varieties to have a fair idea about gamaka perception in Indian music:
- Tiripa: Just one note among a group of notes is pronounced prominently.
- Spurita; The second note given stress in the combination as in: SS, RR, GG etc.
- Kampita: A note vibrating to touch another note.
- Leena: A note merging with the adjacent one.
- Andholika: A note merging in an adjacent note after it is played (in veena) for a long time.
- Vali: In place of one note, 2-3 notes are played (in veena)
- Tribhinna: Pressing all the four strings of the veena simultaneously with fingers to bring a sound in place of a note.
- Kurula: Producing a note in place of another note, by tugging at the veena string.
- Ahata: producing a note by plucking a string and playing another note without plucking in veena
- Ullasita; Sliding from one note to another obscuring the intermediary notes.
Ragas as `Sarvaswara Gamaka Varikas’
All notes in Carnatic ragas depend on gamakas for their melody. Though two different notes may have one and the same note in their bodies, they can sound differently due to their vibratory gamaka characteristics. This can be experienced by taking the G note (sadharana gandhara) which is common to both Thodi and Kharaharapriya. In Thodi, the G starts at R with less frequency. which itself starts in S and vibrates as M, G-M and G to bring out the ‘raga bhava’. On the other hand, in Kharaharapriya, the same G starts with a higher frequency R (called R2), which is easier to attain. Thus when a note vibrates in a frequency, which is not natural to it, that frequency is the gamaka of that note.
In many ragas, the pronounced note never touches its allotted space; for instance in Darbar, N oscillates as D,SD_D, SD, never touching N at all! It is also interesting to note here that the constant notes S and P do not have any gamakas of their own.
Gamakas in Therapeutic Music
A judicious and graduated grace in rendering the notes is what makes the raga experience as most charming. While it is suggested by the musicologists in India that the right proportionate use of gamakas can enhance the beauty of music for its aesthetic role, the experience of the author with therapeutic settings shows the contrary. Sometimes, excess use of gamakas has been found to have a consoling impact on the grieving hearts. Even in ancient Tamil Nadu, oppari, a version of music and songs sung on. The occasion of the demise of a person used gamakas in excess so as to bring out the suppressed emotion from the traumatized relatives of the dead persons. In brief, the grammar imposed for aesthetic purposes of a musical school may or may not be beneficial in a therapeutic session.
References
- Sairam, T. V. 2004 Raga Therapy Nada Centre for Music Therapy
- Sairam, T. V. 2007. ‘Advantage Indian Music’ Music for the Love of It. http:// www.musicfortheloveofit.com/ Archive/2007/Sep07.pdf.
- Vasanthamadhavi, V. 2005. Theory of Music. Prism Books.
This article was published in Ayurveda and All – July 2012 – Pages 27 to 29
Edited by Geeta Shreedar, August 28, 2021