Music is divine ~ in our culture, Temples & divinity have always been associated with music. On Sunday 12.5.2019, Srinivas YOungmens Association (SYMA) alongwith Brahmins Welfare Assocaition (Triplicane) organized a music-fete praying for rains.Had occasion to be near to the artistes who performed and took some photos of too.I could not but wonder how a small iron instrument held on teeth could produce sweet music .. .. wonder-struck, took some photos of that odd looking instrument ~ now I realize the greatness of the person who played it and produced stirring music ! ~ the post is on ‘morsing’ played by Chennai K Raguraman.
The ability to
express thoughts through sounds has evolved into an art which we call
music.Carnatic music emphasizes the voice
and singing, accompanied by the tambura, violin, mridangam, gadam, Veena and
more.The raga style is commonly used,
and improvisation is common.Three forms
are hailed : Iyal, Isai, Nattiyam [Prose, Poetry and Drama] .. There are 2 sets
of people ~ connoisseurs of music, especially the Carnatic one, who know the
nuances; others who know nothing !! ~ … ~I belong to the latter variety and hence this
post may not be anything to the first category people.
The mysticism of
ragas often finds avenues of expression when rendered by sensitive musicians.
Vedic hymns to propitiate the rain God are set to reverberate in major temples
across Tamil Nadu soon with a desperate government turning to the divine power
for overcoming acute water scarcity faced in several parts of the state. The
Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department (HR and CE), which
administers temples in the state, has asked officials of important shrines to
conduct special 'yagams' among other rituals for pleasing Lord Varuna, the God
of rains. Besides, the temples have also been asked to organize musicians to
play 'ragas' such as "Amrithavarshini", divine ragas in Carnatic
music that are said to bring showers when played.
The State of
Tamilnadu and specifically Chennai city is experiencing heat waves.Water crisis is felt everywhere. In the last
two years, northeast monsoon rainfall had been lower than the normal quantum
and several parts of the state, including this metropolis, are facing severe
water scarcity. Major lakes in the suburbs that cater to the drinking water
needs of the city are having poor storage. Cyclone 'Fani', which was initially
expected to hit the state, moved away
and did not bring in rains too.
At Gangaikondan
mandapam – the ‘nadha sangamam for rains’ – started with 108 times rendering of
Sri Gothapiratti Thiruppavai pasuram ‘aazhimazhaikkanna onnu nee kai karavel’
by Soundarya Rathnamala, Munithraya Bajana Mandali and others assembled
there’.Around 6 pm, everyone around the
mantap were attracted by the blistering divine music ensemble of ‘Siva vadhyam’
by those rendering music service at Thiruvatteeswarar thirukovil.Then came the main programme – divine music
rendered by :Injikudi EM Mariyappan
(Nathaswaram) Ennapuram KS Kamaraj (Thavil); B Venkatramana (Flute);
Amainthapuram Boovaraghan (Mridangam); Madurai D Kishore (Violin) and Chennai K Raguraman (Morsing)
Have never had
occasion to be so close to the performers ~a morsing (Telugu: మోర్సింగ్, , Tamil: நாமுழவு
அல்லது முகச்சங்கு) , [jaw harp] is an instrument
similar to the Jew's harp, mainly used in Rajasthan, in the Carnatic music of
South India, and in Sindh, Pakistan. It can be categorized under lamellophones,
which is in the category of plucked idiophones. It consists of a metal ring in
the shape of a horseshoe with two parallel forks which form the frame, and a
metal tongue in the middle, between the forks, fixed to the ring at one end and
free to vibrate at the other. The metal tongue is bent at the free end in a
plane perpendicular to the circular ring so that it can be struck and is made
to vibrate. This bent part is called the trigger.
By some accounts
morsing is an instrument with a history of 1500 years, its exact origin in
India is not well documented. In the tradition of the Indian gurukul system of
teaching, thus folk tales are a secondary source of its history. In South
India, it features in Carnatic concerts and percussion ensembles. It is said to
be the percursor to subsequent instruments such as the harmonica and the
harmonium.
The morsing is
placed on the front teeth, with slightly pouted lips and held firmly in the
hand. It is struck using the index finger of the other hand to produce sound.
Movement of the player's tongue while making nasal sounds is used to change the
pitch. While this is sounded through the
nose, air is pushed out or pulled in
through the mouth. This aids the meditation process and thus some players use
it as a form of practicing pranayama. Movement of the player's tongue with constant
plucking can produce very fast patterns of sound. It certainly looked and is a
tough one to perform, though Sri Raghuraman played it with ease, matching
nadaswaram and violin.Together they
made a great team and treated us all to divine music for nearly 2 hours.
While traditionally
morsing is made of iron, variants can be made from brass, wood, bone, and even
plastic and credit cards.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
13th May
2019.
PS :
handful of recipients of this mail are acclaimed critics of Carnatic
music.To some of you this could be no
news at all ..request you to
pleaseignore this post…
