Yaman Fever

The raga Yamankalyani, over the recent times, has become the standard raga for bhajans. Be it hindustani vocal, carnatic vocal or instrumental, the artists, invariably many of them, have caught the Yaman fever. To the not-so-khayal-liking minds, Yaman brings the cheer of listening after an hour long rtp!! Though initially, the raga used to soothe me , repeated rendition of bhajans by many artists in Yaman left me thinking. Its not that I have developed a dislike for the raga. But there is definitely a concern. Aren't there other ragas suited for bhajans? Can only Yaman convey the romance of krishna?? Cannot the artists impress the audience with other ragas? Why Yamankalyani?


The old timers like M.S, Balamurali, etc have tried bhajans and concluding pieces in a plethora of ragas. They have not restricted to Yamankalyani, Behag, Desh, Mandu, Darbarikanada and the like. Bhajans are so synonymous with meera bhai and tulsidas that a hindustani raag seems befitting. At the same time, carnatic concerts ending with a must-hindustani piece these days gives a hollow feeling about the age old kucheri-tradition. Sure, the artists need to address the taste of the audience. But, they are the ones who train the ears of the audience inturn!! Aren't they?? Wont we listen to a bhajan in sankarabaranam, kapi or sahana??Why not explore these and other hard core ragas that make carnatic music what it is?

I am hoping for a next wave of trends in carnatic concerts where we hit the good old chords. Lets see who starts the trend.