Yesterday I was at my daughter Raaga’s piano recital. Incidentally, my Carantic music guru Smt.Aparna Balaji was scheduled to perform as a guest artist towards the end of the recitals. Aparna took me by surprise when just minutes before she went on stage she asked me to accompany her in singing Gita Dhuniku Thillana in raaga Dhanasri.
I had sung this Thillana last year as part of Aparna’s benefit concert for the Hindu Temple of New Hampshire. So it was not entirely a new song to me but I had to dig deep into my memory to get back the variations in each line (sangathis) and the tricky Solkattu (i.e. Thaka Thiku Thani….). Adding to this, we are singing standing (not the usual sitting posture), hence it was harder to keep the beat.
I was totally not prepared for this but when life gives you pleasant surprises what do you do? You grab them and so I did, here is a clip from that performance. Aparna mentioned (not in the video) that this is a gift to me, her long time (8 years) student, as we move back to India. Thank you Aparna for the gift and for being patient with me as I continue to take baby steps in the journey of Carnatic music.
Raaga Dhanasri is a Janya of naTabhairavi Raaga, its Scale is –
Aa: N2 S G2 M1 P N2 S
Av: S N2 D1 P M1 G2 R1 S
One of the most popular compositions in this raaga is the Thillana by Maharaja Swathi Thirunal, Gita Dhuniku Thaka Dhim….Enjoy!
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