Varnam: Vanajakshi Notes and Notations

Introduction

A raagam that is very young, full of life, spreading joy among the hearts when sung soulfully – it is none other than the Raagam Kalyani. One may ask if a bunch of few notes strung together can create a magical effort that is so sparkly. The Raagam Kalyani can do such a thing, and the compositions in Kalyani, in the world of Carnatic Music are a standing example, or rather a singing example of the above statement. In this blog we are going to see about Raagam Kalyani and Vanajakshi Notes and Notations.

Kalyani is a Melakartha Raagam, which has a powerful combination of all sharp and high notes. The higher variant of each and every note is used to sing Kalyani. The Aarohana and Avarohana are made of the 7 notes, linearly in both the directions, as in accordance with the definition of a Melakartha Raagam. Evidently the Aarohana and Avarohana are mirror images of each other.

Aarohanam : Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Da Ni Sa
Avarohanam : Sa Ni Da Pa Ma Ga Ri Sa

Ramanadhapuram Srinivasa Iyengar

The varnam Vanajakshi was composed by Ramanadhapuram Srinivasa Iyengar, who was known as Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar fondly by his students and Rasikas. He was a disciple of Patnam Subramania Iyer and belongs to the Shishya Parampara of Saint Thyagaraja. Srinivasa Iyengar has composed over 100 compositions and the unique mudra or the style he leaves behind in his compositions is “Srinivasa”. He got his name Poochi, from the style of his compositions. They all resemble a humming of a beetle, i.e his way of elaborating a raagam in his compositions reminded the rasikas the humming of a beetle. The other reason behind his name is that he works tirelessly on music like a bee on the flower.

Vanajakshi Notes and Notations

This song is about Lord Krishna. Krishna’s eyes are like the Vanajakshiro flower. The pallavi, which describes Krishna’s eyes in the beginning, ends with a call for Krishna and a request for him to be brought here, to the singer. The anupallavi sings about how Krishna is residing in Nagapuram and calls for the singer to note that and be patient, as eventually he will come. The charanam peaks with the utmost desire to see Lord Krishna. Although the composition is set in kannada, this is a song sung all throughout the Carnatic fraternity.

Here is Vanajakshi Notes and Notations.

Ragam: Kalyani

Talam: Aadhi

Composer: Ramnad Shrinivasa Iyengar

Aro: S R2 G3 M2 P D2 N3 Ṡ

Ava: Ṡ N3 D2 P M2 G3 R2 S

Pallavi

Ṡ

Ṡ

,-

Ṡ

N

D

Ṙ

Ṡ

N

N

D

D

P

M

G

M

|

Va

na

–

ja

–

–

kshi

–

–

ro

–

–

–

–

ee

–

|

P

D

N

D

–

Ṙ

Ṡ

N

|

D

P

M

G

M

P

D

N

||

vi

–

–

ra

–

ha

–

–

|

mo

–

–

rva

–

–

–

ne

||

Ṡ

Ṙ

Ġ

Ṙ

Ṡ

N

Ṡ

Ṙ

Ṡ

N

Ṙ

Ṡ

N

D

N

D

|

Va

–

–

–

–

su

–

–

–

–

de

–

–

vu

–

–

|

N

,

,

,

,

,-

Ṡ

N

|

D

P

M

G

M

P

D

N

||

ni

–

–

–

–

–

to

–

|

di

–

–

te

–

–

–

ve

||

P

,

M

G

N

D

.-

G

D

P

,

M

G

R

S

Ṇ

|

Vi

–

–

–

–

na

–

–

–

ve

–

–

Na

–

ga

–

|

S

R

G

M

,

,-

G

M

|

P

G

,-

M

N

D

N

P

||

pu

–

–

ra

–

–

mu

–

|

–

na

–

–

–

–

–

–

||

D

N

Ṡ

Ṙ

,-

Ṡ

Ṙ

Ġ

Ṡ

Ṙ

Ġ

Ṙ

Ṡ

N

D

P

|

ve

–

–

la

–

yu

–

–

Sou

–

–

n

da

–

–

–

|

D

Ġ

Ṙ

Ṡ

N

D

P

N

|

D

P

M

G

M

P

D

N

||

ra

–

–

–

–

–

ra

–

|

–

–

–

ju

–

–

–

ni

||

Ṡ

Ṙ

,-

N

Ṡ

N

D

N

,-

Ṡ

N

D

P

M

G

R

|

S

Ṙ

S

P

,

M

D

,

|

P

N

D

Ṙ

Ṡ

N

D

N

||

D

Ġ

Ṙ

N

,-

Ṙ

N

,

|

Ṡ

D

,

N

P

D

N

Ṡ

|

Ġ

Ṙ

Ṡ

,

N

D

P

,

|

M

G

R

G

M

P

D

N

||

Charanam

N

,

,

,

,

,-

Ṡ

D

Ṡ

N

D

P

M

G

M

,

|

Ni

–

–

–

–

–

lu

–

–

–

pa

–

–

ra

–

–

||

P

,

,

,

,

,-

M

P

|

D

N

P

D

N

D

Ṙ

Ṡ

|

ni

–

–

–

–

–

mo

–

|

ha

–

–

ma

–

–

–

ye

||

1	P	,	,	,		M	,	G	,		R	,-	D	,		M	,	G	,	|
	R	,-	Ṇ	,		S	,	R	,	|	G	,	M	,		P	,	D	,	||

2

P

,

D

P

,-

M

G

M

P

,

M

G

,-

R

S

Ṇ

|

S

,

R

Ṇ

,-

S

Ḍ

Ṇ

|

S

,

R

G

,-

M

P

D

||

3

N

,

,

,

,

,-

Ṡ

Ṙ

N

Ṡ

N

D

N

D

P

M

|

P

,

,-

D

N

D

P

D

|

P

M

P

M

G

M

P

D

|

N

Ṡ

N

Ġ

Ṙ

Ġ

Ṡ

Ṙ

N

Ṡ

,

Ṙ

Ṡ

Ṙ

N

Ṡ

|

D

N

,-

Ṡ

N

D

P

M

|

G

M

P

D

,-

N

Ġ

Ṙ

|

4

Ṙ

,

,

,

,

,-

D

Ġ

Ṙ

Ṡ

N

P

D

N

Ṡ

Ṙ

|

Ṡ

,

,

,

,

,-

Ṡ

N

|

D

P

M

G

,

M

P

D

||

M

,

P

D

N

P

,

D

N

Ṡ

Ṙ

,

Ṡ

N

D

N

|

Ṡ

N

,

D

P

M

G

M

|

P

D

P

N

D

,

,

,

||

D

N

Ṡ

Ṙ

Ṙ

Ġ

Ġ

Ṁ

Ġ

Ṙ

Ṡ

N

Ṡ

Ṙ

Ṡ

N

|

D

Ṡ

N

D

P

N

D

P

|

M

G

,

M

,

P

,

D

||

End of Vanajakshi Notes and Notations