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அமைதியின் நாதமும், கருணையின் நிழலும் — இரண்டு அரிய ராகங்கள் பேசும் பொழுது
(The Resonance of Serenity and the Shadow of Compassion — When Two Rare Rāgas Speak)
When Rare Rāgas Whisper — Kuntalavarali and Āhiri in Cinema
There are rāgas that stride the concert dais with imperial confidence — Kalyani, Kharaharapriya, Shankarabharanam — ever-present, ever-adored. And then there are those that wander in like a forgotten breeze, tender and ephemeral, brushing against our hearts before disappearing into memory.
Among such delicate travellers are Kuntalavarali and Āhiri — two rāgas seldom encountered even in classical circuits, yet brought to radiant life in cinema by composers who understood that melody could be philosophy and silence, its echo. They are not rāgas of exhibition, but of introspection — made not to dazzle, but to move.
Cinema, when touched by these scales, ceases to be mere entertainment. It becomes a mirror — one reflecting the twin energies of existence: stillness and surrender.
I. Kuntalavarali — The Spark of Serenity
Parent Melakarta: Harikambhoji (28th)
Ārohaṇam: S M₁ P D₂ N₂ D₂ S
Avarohaṇam: S N₂ D₂ P M₁ S
Kuntalavarali is sunlight on still water — transparent, balanced, yet luminous. A janyam of Harikambhoji, it inherits that rāga’s warmth but strips it of weight, leaving only purity. Its signature D₂–N₂–D₂ oscillation glimmers like a silver thread woven through serenity.
It is deceptively simple to the ear, but treacherously subtle in execution. A careless phrase, and it slips into Kambhoji; a misplaced gamaka, and it dissolves into Harikambhoji. It requires, therefore, the humility of a master — one who can handle beauty without embellishing it to death.
🎵 “Raja Vaada” – Thisai Maariya Paravaigal (1980)
Composer: M. S. Viswanathan | Singers: S. Janaki, P. Jayachandran | Lyricist: Kannadasan
MSV, the monarch of melodic moderation, caresses Kuntalavarali like a fragile petal. The flute opens the vista, the violins breathe between lines, and Janaki’s crystalline timbre carries the rāga’s poise with unerring gentleness. Kannadasan’s poetry, invoking dignity and devotion, finds its echo in this scale that speaks without noise — a prayer sung as poetry.
🎵 “Azhagi Nee Perazhagi” – Enga Ooru Pattukaran (1987)
Composer: Ilaiyaraaja | Singer: Mano | Lyricist: Gangai Amaran
Ilaiyaraaja’s sole known venture into Kuntalavarali fuses precision with pastoral joy. Beneath the folk rhythm lies deep classical architecture. Each note respects the rāga’s grammar, even as the percussion dances with rustic abandon. The interludes, with Raaja’s hallmark polyphony, sound like a tānam disguised as cinema — the concert hall hidden inside the paddy field.
🎵 “Maname Nee Eesan” – Ashok Kumar (1941)
Composer: Papanasam Sivan
Before the orchestral era dawned, Papanasam Sivan had already found in Kuntalavarali a path to inner light. His composition from Ashok Kumar proves that even in 1941, Tamil cinema could be spiritually profound. The rāga becomes a quiet confession — a conversation between the human and the divine.
🎵 “Oru Murai Vandhu Paarthaya” – Manichitrathazhu (1993)
Composer: M. G. Radhakrishnan | Singers: K. J. Yesudas, K. S. Chithra | Lyrics: Bichu Thirumala & Vaali
Though often mistaken for Āhiri, this duet rests securely in Kuntalavarali. Yet beneath its serenity beats the pulse of a Thillana — the rhythmic heart of Carnatic and Bharatanatyam finales. A Thillana is a joyous coda, filled with jatis (rhythmic syllables), swaras, and exuberant tempo, derived from the Hindustani Tarana. Radhakrishnan weaves that exuberance here — the violin runs, the crisp percussion, the gentle acceleration — all echo that classical vitality.
Yesudas and Chithra lend it sanctity. Their duet turns rhythmic sparkle into spiritual prayer. It is a Thillana in pulse, a Kuntalavarali in soul — rhythm and reverence dancing together beneath melody’s veil.
II. Āhiri — The Rāga of Compassion and Inner Tremor
Parent Melakarta: Vakulabharanam (14th)
Nature: Bhaṣāṅga, Vakra, Sampūrṇa
Ārohaṇam: S R₁ M₁ G₃ M₁ P D₁ N₂ Ṡ
Avarohaṇam: Ṡ N₂ D₁ P M₁ G₃ R₁ S
Āhiri is the sound of a heart remembering. Its vakra (zig-zag) phrasing, subtle microtonal inflections (śruti), and tender note progressions make it intimate and profoundly emotional — a rāga suffused with karuṇa rasa, compassion sanctified by melody. Traditionally sung at dawn, it evokes reflection, acceptance, and quiet grace.
🎵 “Oru Murai Vanthu Paarayo” – Manichitrathazhu (1993)
Composer: M. G. Radhakrishnan | Singer: Sujatha Mohan | Rāgam: Āhiri
This solo distils the emotional essence of Āhiri. Sujatha Mohan’s voice trembles with empathy; the sparse orchestration — muted veena, sighing violin — allows the rāga’s contours to breathe. Every phrase bends and resolves with microscopic care. Here, Āhiri becomes sorrow made graceful, longing made audible.
🎵 “Inbame Undhan Per” – Idhayakkani (1975)
Composer: M. S. Viswanathan | Singers: T. M. Soundararajan, P. Susheela | Lyricist: Pulamaipithan | Rāgam: Āhiri
MSV renders Āhiri with delicate tenderness. TMS and Susheela’s voices intertwine in devotional intimacy, each note shaped with luminous restraint. The rāga glows with affection — sorrow sublimated into warmth and prayerful joy.
🎵 “Kattu Kuyil Paatu” – Chinna Mappillai (1993)
Composer: Ilaiyaraaja | Singers: Mano, Swarnalatha | Lyricist: Vaali | Rāgam: Āhiri
Ilaiyaraaja transplants Āhiri into rustic soil. The melody retains its introspective curves yet breathes with folk vitality. Mano and Swarnalatha deliver it with raw sincerity, while the orchestration — flute, strings, nadaswaram — shades multiple emotional registers. Āhiri here is humble, heartfelt, and human.
Across these songs — from MSV’s tender approach to Radhakrishnan’s ethereal solo and Raaja’s rustic poignancy — Āhiri reveals its full spectrum: introspection, longing, devotion, and earthy immediacy. It teaches a single truth — that sorrow and beauty are reflections of the same compassionate light.
III. Between Stillness and Surrender
If Kuntalavarali is the smile of dawn, Āhiri is its tear of dusk. One embodies equilibrium; the other empathy. Together they map the geography of emotion — serenity and compassion, two halves of one heart.
In the hands of masters like MSV, Ilaiyaraaja, M. G. Radhakrishnan, and Papanasam Sivan, these rare rāgas transcended notation to become experiences. They proved that film music could be both popular and profound — a meeting of intellect and intuition, grammar and grace.
When these rāgas whisper, even silence listens.
Coda & Glossary
- Janyam: A derived rāga originating from a parent scale (Melakarta).
- Thillana: A lively, rhythmic finale piece in Carnatic music, descended from the Hindustani Tarana.
- Bhaṣāṅga: A rāga employing notes outside its parent scale.
- Vakra: A zig-zag sequence of notes creating emotional tension and release.
- Karuṇa Rasa: The aesthetic mood of compassion and tenderness.
- Ārohaṇam / Avarohaṇam: The ascending and descending scales of a rāga.
- Tānam: A rhythmically elaborated improvisation in Carnatic music.
Closing Notes
This essay is part of the Bibliotheque Series — Music, Memory, and the Indian Gaze, chronicling how classical aesthetics flow through the veins of Indian cinema. It celebrates the composers who turned rāgas into living emotions, and the listeners who continue to find their reflections within them.
© Dhinakar Rajaram, 2025
All text and commentary are original. Quotation, reproduction, or distribution in whole or part requires prior written permission from the author.
Musical excerpts and video embeds are included solely for educational and illustrative purposes under fair use.
Bibliotheque Series — Music, Memory, and the Indian Gaze
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