Kalpa Media House | Special Article By Rasikapriya |
In a Carnatic music concert, RTP — Ragam, Thanam and Pallavi — is often regarded as the pinnacle of musical improvisation, where the virtuosity of an artiste blossoms to a climax.
It is in the RTP that an artiste brings out his or her strengths in embellishing the melodic beauty of a raga through the alapana, exploring pulsating rhythmic patterns in the thanam, and demonstrating profound creativity and mastery of tala and laya while presenting the pallavi in trikala, different kalais, nadais and other improvisational approaches.
The pallavi reiterates lyrical beauty, raga bhava and the specialities of the tala structure through neraval and an engaging swaraprasthara, often followed by an equally challenging thani avartanam.
The many dimensions of a Pallavi
The pallavi lines, which generally occupy one tala cycle or avartana, may either be composed beforehand or created specifically to signify an occasion. The lyrics can be in praise of a deity, a raga, or a contextual idea, and can be set to intriguing tala cycles.
A pallavi may take several forms — a rattai pallavi, where the two halves of a tala cycle are set to different talas; a nadai pallavi; a ragamalika pallavi; and many other innovative structures.
The pallavi can be set to any of the Suladi Talas, Ashtottarashata Talas, Mela Talas, Mukhi Talas, Chanda Talas and several other tala frameworks.
A pallavi generally has one or more arudhis. An arudhi is a structural division or landing point between two distinct sections of the lyrics. It forms the division between the purvangam and uttarangam, providing a sense of completion to the first section while setting the stage for the second.
Padagarbha at the arudhi refers to the lyrical pause or silence. The break needs to be grammatically correct as well as aesthetically graceful. The pause at the arudhi is generally longer in terms of akshara kalams than the eduppu, or initial take-off.
The subject of pallavis is indeed a vast ocean — the deeper one dives, the more sparkling gems emerge. Though the concept is ancient, it has continued to kindle the imagination of musicians across generations and foster newer perspectives.
Carnatic Music : Rasika Ranjini Sabha: Nurturing the RTP Tradition
Rasika Ranjini Sabha, Mylapore, Chennai, has been an inspiring organisation that has consistently focused on bringing out the best in artistes — both senior, experienced performers and talented younger musicians.
Since its inception, the sabha has also organised RTP concerts alongside performances by eminent artistes.
The RTP Concert Series 2026, held in June, featured several senior musicians as well as promising younger talents, presenting them with novel ideas and challenging concepts to explore. The artistes responded with confidence and brought to life rare lyrics set to fascinating pallavi structures.
Many of these gems were drawn from ancient Tamil literature and set to interesting tala cycles. Their dedicated efforts offered rasikas an opportunity to appreciate the depth and diversity of the Carnatic tradition. The concerts were also made available through the media.
The series, described as an ode to the pinnacle of Carnatic improvisation, successfully brought together traditional frameworks and creative innovations.
What is particularly heartening in contemporary Carnatic music is the ease with which artistes handle complex tala structures without compromising melody and raga bhava.
Padmasree Srinivasan — A Powerful Beginning
Padmasree Srinivasan gave the opening concert, accompanied by Krithik Koushik on violin and Akshay Ram on mridangam.
Following Shyama Shastri’s varnam Namanavini Ninnu in raga Sourashtram, set to Chaturasra Ata tala, she presented a pallavi with lyrics from Periyalvar’s Periya Tirumoli:
Vannamalvaraye thunayaga maraikathavane madusudha kannane
The pallavi was set in Kapi, in a dwinadai pallavi format in Trisra Triputa tala, with the purvangam in Khanda nadai and the uttarangam in Mishra nadai.
She concluded the concert with a Thillana in Sindhubhairavi.
Bharath Kumar — Nammalvar’s Verses in Charukeshi
Bharath Kumar, accompanied by Krithik Koushik on violin and Akshay Ram on mridangam, presented Sri Thyagaraja’s Nadasudharasam in Arabhi before moving into the pallavi.
The pallavi was set in Charukeshi, Chaturasra Ata tala and Chaturasra nadai.
He selected a verse of Nammalvar praising the three consorts of Vishnu — Sridevi, Bhudevi and Neeladevi:
Thirumagal sher marbane Nilamagal kelvane Thaymagal anbane en.
The artiste concluded the concert with Sri Jayachamaraja Wadiyar’s Shiva Shiva Shiva Bho in Nadanamakriya.
Amrit Narayan — Exploring Dhanyasi
Amrit Narayan, accompanied by Harishankar Narayan on violin and A. Rohith on mridangam, began with Sri Muthuswami Dikshitar’s Sri Ramam Ravi Kulabdhi Somam in Narayanagaula.
He subsequently presented a pallavi in Dhanyasi, set to Mishra Triputa tala:
Enai arindilai aiyettanaikalamum enai arindha pin ethum arindhile
He concluded with Swati Tirunal’s Visweswara Darshana in Sindhubhairavi.
Preethi Sethuram — A 94-Akshara Challenge
Preethi Sethuram, accompanied by C.S. Chinmayi on violin and Hariprasath on mridangam, began with the Navaragamalika Varnam.
Her pallavi featured lines from a composition of Muthuthandavar, originally set in Nalinakanthi but adapted to Saveri:
Ishanekoti prakashane Anandanatarajane Siriyillai Nee Alai
The pallavi was set in Mishra Triputa and Panchamukhi tala.
One of the highlights was a complex 94-akshara korappu, for which the artiste acknowledged the inputs of Guru Bhardwaj. The mathematical complexity of the structure was particularly notable as it breaks into 47, a prime number.
Preethi presented the demanding korappu with confidence and concluded with Sri Purandaradasa’s popular devaranama Jagadoddharana in Kapi.
Anirudh Subramania — Kamavardhini and Muthuthandavar
Anirudh Subramania, accompanied by Siva Teja on violin and Gomathishankar on mridangam, began with the varnam Chalamela in Darbar.
He then presented a Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi in Kamavardhini, with lyrics from the works of Muthuthandavar.
The pallavi was set to Khanda Jathi Khanda Nadai Ata Tala:
Ishane koti surya prakashane Kanakasabai vasane Sivagathiyai thandenaia
He concluded with Saint Arunagirinathar’s Thiruppugazh, Kaadi Modi Vadhadi… Deva Deva Devadideva Perumale, in Shankarabharanam.
Nisha Rajagopal — A Rare Pallavi in Vakulabharana
Known for presenting rarely heard and complex pallavi compositions, Nisha Rajagopal presented an especially interesting pallavi in Vakulabharana, Mishra nadai and Khanda Jathi Triputa tala.
Nammalvar was born in Alwarthirunagari, where the presiding deity is Adhinathaperumal. Tradition associates Nammalvar with the mahilam poo malai, known in Sanskrit as vakula. This connection inspired the choice of Vakulabharana for the presentation.
The lyrics were drawn from Tamil literature in praise of Nammalvar. The Thiruvasiriyam, composed by Nammalvar, is associated with the meaning of the Yajurveda.
The thaniyan written for the work by Arulala Perumal Emberumanar, a disciple of Sri Ramanuja, was also chosen.
The pallavi was composed by eminent senior guru and musician Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri R.K. Sriramkumar:
Masadaya manathu vaithu maravamal valpudume Deshikai Parankushanai thigal Vakula Tharanai.
Dhanya Dinesh Rudrapatnam — Madhyamavathi in Trikalam
Dhanya Dinesh Rudrapatnam was accompanied by P. Naveen on violin and T. Karthik on mridangam.
She presented a pallavi in Madhyamavathi, set to Khanda Triputa tala, two kalai.
The lyrics were taken from Perumal Tirumoli:
Chadiyaya valivinaigal thirkum Thirumale Nediyane Venkatava.
Her presentation featured an interesting exploration of trikalam.
Palghat Ramaprasad — Mathematics Meets Music
The concert by Palghat Ramaprasad brought out intricate rhythmic structures in pallavi presentation.
He was accompanied by S. Varadarajan on violin, Neyveli Narayanan on mridangam and Suresh Vaidyanathan on ghatam.
After a Devi kriti in Madhyamavathi, he presented alapana and thanam in Ramapriya, the 52nd Melakarta raga.
Corresponding to this, he chose the 52nd Adichudi of Avvaiyar, an important pre-Trinity Tamil poet.
The pallavi was set to a 10-akshara tala — Trisra Ata, with two padagarbhams, following a 3 + 3 + 4 cycle:
Thirumalakku adimaisai de arum seiyya virumbum seyyan aateriya.
He beautifully demonstrated the mathematical relationship between the chosen raga, the 52nd Adichudi and the tala.
In Khanda nadai, the structure gives 100 aksharas. Applying Euler’s theorem and splitting the structure in different ways results in multiple possibilities. Thus, the pallavi could be constructed in several ways.
It was a particularly scholarly and mathematically engaging presentation, demonstrating how Carnatic music can bring together melody, rhythm, literature and mathematics.
Amritha Murali — A Grand Finale
Amritha Murali presented the grand finale of the series, accompanied by VSP Gayathri Shivani on violin and N.C. Bharadwaj on mridangam.
Her pallavi featured verses from Sakalakala Valli Malai by Kumaragurupara, the 17th-century Tamil poet:
Karunai kadale Sakalakalavalliye Kalviyum vakkum peruga panitharuvai Thondar chinnavil ninnru kakkum.
The pallavi was set in Vagadheeswari, Khanda Jathi Ata tala and Khanda nadai.
The choice of a literary work invoking Sakalakala Valli, the goddess of learning, added a fitting spiritual and cultural dimension to the finale.
A Celebration of Music, Literature and Mathematics
The entire festival was marked by a rare combination of intellectual depth, aesthetic beauty and spiritual richness.
The RTP presentations demonstrated that the tradition is not merely about technical virtuosity. It is also a meeting point of music, Tamil literature, spirituality, mathematics, rhythm and creativity.
The use of rare verses from ancient Tamil literature, innovative tala structures and challenging rhythmic calculations showcased the extraordinary possibilities within the pallavi tradition.
At the same time, the artistes ensured that technical complexity never overshadowed the fundamental essence of Carnatic music — melody, raga bhava and musical expression.
The 2026 RTP series therefore emerged as a commendable initiative that celebrated both the heritage and continuing evolution of Carnatic improvisation.
Kudos to Rasika Ranjini Sabha for presenting such a novel and intellectually stimulating series, and for providing rasikas an opportunity to experience the many sparkling gems hidden within the vast ocean of the pallavi tradition.
Contact For News & Advertising: Whatsapp: 9008761663, 9481252093 – info@kalpa.news 
