Re: 'mA bhUmi' version of 'naijAmu sarkarODa'
Ramakrishna S. Pillalamarri (pkrishna@ARL.MIL)
Wed, 5 Mar 97 14:04:55 EST
A cursory examination of the verse "naijAmu sarkarODa" seems to follow
the pattern "A B C" in each line where,
A - 5-mAtra gaNam, one of UUI/IIUI/IIIII/UIII - (IUII not permitted)
B - 3-mAtra gaNam, one of UI/III/IU
C - 4-mAtra gaNam, one of UU/IIU (no IIII or UII)
The restriction for C is that all the lines have to end in a guruvu, for
for singability. This is the LSG (Last-Syllable-Guruvu) rule.
While all possible combinations for B are permitted, the restricted
gaNa for A is the infamous 'ja'-gaNam, occurring in the beginning
of the impermissible IUII group.
I did not write down the U/I sequence for all the lines listed by
Jampala or Nasy to come up with this structure. I just took the
inherent 'laya' in the verse, which is loosely "lA-lA-la lA-la lA-lA",
and tried which variations (substituting two laghuvus for a guruvu)
preserve the tempo, and which don't. If you try to hum the line
with A=IUII, you would clearly see its impropriety.
Probably there is a name for this in the family of ragaDas, or some
other family.
Finally, for this reason (LSG), all the last syllables have to be read as
guruvus, stretching them. While the poet tried to preserve this tempo
in the poem by choosing the words carefully, there are places where
he didn't, and if anyone has access to this song on an audio tape, I
would be willing to bet that the singer would have changed U/I's
to accommodate/preserve the rhythm. As in
jA-gee-ru dA-ru lan-ta jA-gee-ru dA-ru lan-tA
jA-mee-nu dA-ru lan-ta jA-mee-nu dA-ru lan-tA
nee-yan-Da jE-ri-ri ko-Du-kO nee-yan-Da je-ri-ri ko-Du-kO
nai-jA-mu sar-ka rO-DA nai-jA-mu sar-ka rO-DA
Note that while the last syllable has to be stretched in lines
1 and 2, the word "jEriri" in the third line actually has to be
squished to "je-ri-ri" to preserve the rhythm. To preserve the
rhythm, not the chandas. Because, it is the rhythm that rules.
Chandas merely follows it.
Otherwise one cannot explain why of all U/I combinations in a
20-syllable vRttam (the possibilities are more than a million)
only a handful have been given names, and of which only the
utpalamAla is most commonly used.
Ramakrishna