“Kalinga narthana” literally means “Kalinga dance” in Sanskrit, and it refers to a popular mythological story in which the god Krishna, as a young boy, danced on the serpent Kaliya (aka Kalinga) to stop him from poisoning the Yamuna river. 

A thillana contains many rhythmic sounds, words, and intricate sequences fused with repetitive musical notes. 

In Kalinga Nartana Tillana various rhythmic sounds are beautifully interwoven and harmoniously interlaced with Sanskrit lyrics by the poet.

Oothukadu Venkata Kavi had even set the singing style so that, in one place, a particular word is enunciated to resemble the hissing sound made by the great serpent. He has liberally used gati-bhedam, a change of rhythm that very few major Carnatic composers have done before or since. Jatis [rhythmic syllables] and lyrics intermingle, thereby giving a dramatic and striking effect of the rapid and cadenced foot movements and adroit swings of the dancing Lord.

This song was first brought to life during the last century by the famous Harikatha exponent, the late Brahmasri Needamangalam Krishnamurthy Bhagavathar. Though essentially suitable for classical dance performances and Harikatha, of late many singers of Carnatic music have started singing this composition in their concerts, captivated by the charm of the rhythm and style of this thillana.”

Oothukkadu Venkata Kavi or Oottukadu Venkata Subbaiah Iyer was one of the pioneering composers in Indian classical Carnatic music. He lived in South India in the present-day state of Tamil Nadu. Also known by the name Oothukkadu Venkatasubba Iyer, he composed hundreds of compositions in Sanskrit, Tamil, and Marathi of which over 500 are available. These were handed down from generation to generation by the descendants of the composer's brother's family.   As per available information (from the Family Tree), Oottukkadu Venkat Kavi was born to Subbu Kutti Iyer and Venkamma in Mannargudi, a temple town near Tanjavur in South India, sometime in the early 1700s.  Later on, they are said to have migrated to Oottukkadu, which was a small neighboring village. Currently, around 500 compositions of this great composer have been discovered through various sources. Over 300 of these have been published by noted harikatha exponent, Needamangalam Krishnamurthy Bhagavatar (who was a descendant of the poet's brother's family), who was instrumental in popularizing Venkata Kavi's works.   Venkata Kavi's compositions reveal that he was a complete master of the science and art of music in all senses of the term – melody, rhythm, or lyrics and was eloquent in Sanskrit and Tamil. Renowned for his rare depth, scholarship, and sublime appeal, he was proficient in a variety of musical forms such as the kriti, tillana, and kavadichindu. He used talas and themes that not many other Carnatic composers have preferred to handle. His compositions are a blend of a high degree of scholarship on a variety of subjects and inspired expression. During a lecture demonstration on the composer by Needamangalam Krishnamurthy Bhagavatar in December 1955, The Music Academy Madras Experts' Committee noted that "Venkata Kavi's compositions filled a gap between Purandara Dasa (1484-1564) and the Carnatic Music Trinity of Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri, who lived around 1760s-1840s.   While he has rightfully been acknowledged as one of the greatest composers of Krishna, Venkata Kavi composed hundreds of pieces on other deities too. Several pieces also reveal his humility, reverence for the great personalities before his times, and the high state of bliss that he probably experienced almost ceaselessly. His works scarcely contain autobiographical notes and show that he had reached great spiritual and philosophical heights. Deeper studies have dispelled myths about some of his compositions like "Alaippayude kanna" (Kanada) being autobiographical, and shown that this and numerous other pieces on Krishna in lilting Tamil were parts of his opera based on Bhagavatam. His works also reveal the proximity he felt toward God and show his deep devotion.   The greatest evidence of his musical pedigree is his compositions. There are several references to good musical approaches, practices, and even technical terms of ornamentation like saahatam and pratyaahatam.^[13] Venkata Kavi believed that music had to be blended with spirituality (bhakti) in order to shine. His philosophy, bhakti yoga sangeeta margame paramapavanam aagume ("Devotion though music is the sole path to salvation") is also resonated by Tyagaraja (1767-1847) sangeeta gnanamu bhakti vinaa sanmaargamu galade.

Raagas vision

Venkata Kavi had a vast knowledge of music and musical nuances. He used a wide variety of raagas ranging from the well known such as Todi, Kalyani, Kharaharapriya, Sahana, through minor ones like Kannadagowla, Jayantashri, Maalavi, Umaabharanam and a few that are seldom used today such as Balahamsa and Rasamanjari. In some instances, his works are the first or only ones to be available in a given raaga such as Sri Shivanayike in Lalitagandharvam and Paadasevanam in Deeparam. His approach to even common raagas like Sahaana, Pharas, Naadanaamakriya, and Aarabhi is distinctive and refreshing.

His vision of the raaga and melody as a whole is considerable and can be seen in the number of different styles in which he composed various krtis in the same raaga. For instance, his krtis in Madhyamavathi – Shankari Sri Raajaraajeshwari, Sundara nandakumaaraa and Aadaadu ashangaadu vaa Kannaa - bring out different facets of this beautiful raga. He also employed attractive swaraaksharas – a technique where the lyrics match the solfa notes of the tunes. He has also incorporated raaga mudra (mentioning the names of raagas of the compositions) in several krtis. Examples: Shuddha Saveri, Navarasakannada.

Sophisticated rhythm

Venkata Kavi ventured into scarcely attempted talas like Khanda Dhruvam (17 units per cycle), Sankeerna Madhyamam (20 units per cycle), and Mishra Atam (18 units per cycle). He effortlessly employed complex eduppus (take-off or landing points of various sections of a composition) without affecting the flow of the music or the lyrics. He could change the gati (gait) with ease. He was probably the only composer to have not only handled chaturashra (4/4) time-signatures but also tishram (3/4 or 6/4) as well as khandam (5/4 or 5/8) etc. in his compositions; for example: Neerada-sama (Jayantashree), Natavara-taruni (Kannadagowla), Vitasama-vara (Vasantaa), and Urugaada manam (Todi).

Lyrical variations

Sangatis are pre-composed variations in composition and rendered in a disciplined manner (as opposed to variations born from free improvisation). Usually, variations are melodic in nature while the lyrics remain constant. Several of Venkata Kavi’s pieces have such sangatis but he also demonstrated a rarely seen concept of lyrical variations. For instance, in the pallavi of his Aabhogi kriti, Mahashaya hrdaya, he has composed three variations in the madhyamakaala passage as given below:^[16]

1. madhukara champaka vana vihaara manamohana Madhusoodana navabhooshana
2. madhukara champaka vana vihaara nava pallava padakara madana gambheera
3. madhukara champaka vana vihaara govardhana dhara bhujaga nartana charana

Similar examples can be seen in pieces like Aganita mahima (Gowla). In this composition, he has also used innovative structuring by inserting medium-fast passages between two slower cycles, investing the section with.

Emphatic finales

Venkata Kavi was a master of finishes. In several songs, his endings are in interesting rhythmic patterns. For example, Bhuvanamoha in Dhanyasi, where he has capped off the charanam with a pattern of 6 repeated 11 times, which is a wonderful way to get to half a beat landing (which is the commencing point of the pallavi) from the beat after 2 cycles of Adi tala. The words are superbly woven in lilting Sanskrit:

atinootana kusumaakara vrjamohana saraseeruha dalalochana mamamanasa patuchorasu- swarageetasu- muraleedhara suramodita bhavamochana

There are many other instances of similar endings in krtis such as Alavadennalo in Pharas (5th charanam) and Mummada vezhamugattu Vinayakan in Nattai.

Multi-lingual felicity

Venkata Kavi had deep scholarships in Sanskrit and Tamil. His fluency in Sanskrit rivaled that of his command of Tamil, a commentary not only on his erudition but also a pointer to his immense vocabulary- words such as kalamba (arrow), charatha (wandering), shileemukha (bee) are just a few examples out of hundreds seen in his works, which are especially unique in Carnatic literature.^[18] He had the ability to use common words in uncommon contexts.

Imagination

His poetic ability to create unique scenarios or give singular twists to even common stories is seen in hundreds of songs such as Taye yashoda in raga Todi, where the gopikas are complaining to Yashoda about her son Lord Krishna. This song has eight charanams (stanzas) and each one describes the pranks of Krishna very humorously. Not so well known is the reply by Krishna to every one of these charges in another piece, Illai illai in Mohanam, also with eight charanams. This quality sets him apart even in his general compositions such as Chindittavar nenjil iruppadu (Nattai).

Operas

As of 2007, no other composer in India has created as many musical operas as Venkata Kavi has.

The most well known is "Krishna Ganam" based on Bhagavatam, which narrates Krishna’s birth and colourful childhood, beginning from Devaki-Vasudeva’s wedding and Kamsa’s curse and ending with Krishna’s wedding with Rukmini. It is now well known that many popular songs on Krishna like Taye yashoda, Alaippayude kanna, Pal vadiyum mukham, Parvai onre podume and Pullai piravi tara venum are part of this opera.

Venkata Kavi also composed an entire group of pieces covering Krishna's wedding with Radha. His other operas include:

• Ramayanam
• Mahabharatam
• Daksha Yagam
• Prahlada Charitram
• Dhruva Charitram
• Pranavopadesham (which is a single folk-style piece with 83 stanzas narrating Lord Subramanya's famous story of teaching his father, Shiva)
• Life sketch of Manickavachakar
• Life sketch of Kungili Nayanar
• Life sketch of Tirumangai Alvar

Several songs from Ramayanam and Mahabharatam are missing but even the few songs which have been found showcase "his skills in giving original treatment of known episodes" as dancer Dr Vyjayantimala Bali states.^[27]

The composer also penned abridged versions of Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Bhagavatam

ARUNA SAIRAM   Sangeetha Kalanidhi Aruna Sairam (Born: 30 October 1952, Thiruvarur) is an Indian classical vocalist. She is a recipient of the Padma Shri award from the Government of India. She has been elected as Vice Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi from the Government of India.    Here’s Aruna Sairam’s rendition of the Kalinga Narthana thillana.