GHANTA - MARDALA
THE FRAGRANCE AND THE RESONANCE - by Harisankar Chaini
The rich tradition of odissi dance, odissi music & especially odissi percussion has been interwoven from time immemorial with temple rituals. It has been a wonderful symbiosis between the devotion felt by the Oriya race and the artistic expression of the people of the blessed land; out of this relationship has emerged an aesthetic that has carried the musical tradition almost intact through centuries. And its votaries have always given a very special place to the rhythm aspect of odissi music. The mardala, khanjani, khola, jhanja, ganjeera, dhumusa, tikira, singha, turi, kahali etc. have been an intrinsic part of prayer service in the orissa temples for at least thousands years. It is logical to assume that music (The Nadabrahma) came before organized temple worship was born. The soul of a variant race has from the dawn of time, found solace and enlightenment in thew musical rendering of prayer. And it is no longer a significant question whether the temple worship and its musical accompaniment was consanguineous with the organized placement of the religion of the day. From the days of yore, the temple and its environs have witnessed the birth of various rituals, procedures, and artifacts. During the course of the day the prayer service to the myriad gods and goddess shows distinctive features that demonstrate a specific identity of the deity. Contemporary forms of temple worship significantly provide ample scope for percussion accompaniment to diverse temple rituals that form the bedrock of human spiritual needs. In fact is difficult to conceive of a majority of “upacharas” which do not employ the Anaddha instruments of odissi music. And it stands to reason that while conch, Khola, Ghanta are like wise used in temple worship, the pride of place has been given since antiquity, to the leather bound instruments: the statuesque figures of temple dancers of “Konark Temple” provide ample evidence of the social as well as spiritual importance of the Anaddha family of instruments, what we must consider carefully is the fact that there is a tremendous variety and subtlety in the use of musical instruments for temple functions when the deities are taken out of the “Asthan” (the gods primary location),specific percussion instrument with high frequency capacity and pitch are used to carry the devotional expression across large distances. And this has been happening since the time when neither the city nor the town had come into existence. The ambience of the orissa village was beautifully augmented during the four phases of the day by the Brahmin�s Sanskrit incantation: the singing of hymns, in praise of the lord and much of this was accompanied by the Mardal and attendant musical instruments of which the Anaddha variety was the jewel of the crown.
There was a variety in the arrangement and hierarchy of playing these instruments and the mode of playing also followed traditionally set practices: for example, one mardal could be accompanied by two Ghantas which would have to follow the rhythms patterns initiated by the leather instruments, similarly two mardals would play in tandem with twenty Ghantas if the situation, thus ordained. This created synchromesh of tremendous energy and finesse. This also created a level of competence in the playing of very simple but very difficult instruments. Because the odissi classical style has emerged from environs of the temple and since the devotional aspects of worship dependent wholeheartedly upon the musical backdrop, Odissi Mardala playing has acquired an intricacy of presentation and unbelievably complex rhythm structure, completely alien to any kind of music any where in the world, be it music sourced from tribal, classical, or orchestral origins. The discipline imposed by the temple environment on the musicians, the rigour of the daily performance, and in absence of external disturbances or pressures, these honed the players into dedicated percussionists.
The architectonics of the Mardala rhythm style employ distinctive delay mechanisms in the playing of certain ornamental pieces for e.g. “The Mana”. This age old technique serves to enhance the element of suspense built up gradually throughout the particular song and in my experience such rhythmic ornamentation has never taken away from the aesthetics or the emotive content of the traditional lyric. And this is the magic of the traditional Odissi rhythm system beautiful, one of its type, and full of synchronous energy. There are elements of sprung rhythm built into Odissi music, which has an identity completely separate from the other traditional systems of Indian music.
For instance, an interesting feature or Odissi rhythm is the distinctive use of palm & fingers � distinctive in the sense that way the digits are used, is rather different from the “Pakhawaj or the Dholak”. The coaxing of baani from the Mardala employs techniques purposely developed for a very different kind of leather Nakhi, Kirana, Beni and a very atypical sound on both the left and right surfaces. The Karnatic Mridangam comes some where close to the tonal range of the Mardala and his, more than anything else establishes the antiquity of these instruments. Conversely the Ghanta employs a wooden stick struck in center of this metal instrument and obviously is more limited in the range of strokes than the more evolved Mardala. Never the less the Ghanta faithfully follows the lead of the Anaddha instruments and very interesting sound configurations emerge when they are played in unison with the attendant drums in temple music. The Ghanta is always heard in Melana Yatra, Gundicha, Bahuda, Snana purnima and in the immersion of specific deities from time to time. Ghanta is of special significance in the Sitala Shashthi observed during the month of jyestha in every Brahmin Sasan or Habitation.
The talas (codified rhythm cycles) used in the mardals are khemta, Jhola, Ektaali, Tripata, Jhampa, rupaka and Jati. But the style of rendering the teasing delay built into certain sections of the tala, the unpredictable interplay of the taali and khaali (Som & Phank)- all this and more create an ambience that is typically Odissi, the sounds are different , trenchant and at the same time full-bodied and very pleasing. And it is this pleasing quality, this technical virtuosity of the Ghanta, Mardala combination which has anchored the Tala system of Odissi music. These instruments have been used to great effect by Vidwans like Gurus Deba Prasad Das, Pankaj Charan Das, Kelu Charan Mohapatra, Gangadhar Pradhan and innovative choreographers like Sanjukta Panigrahi, Kumkum Mohanty, Aruna Mohanty and others. Within the confines of the Odissi tala system, the evolution of Ghanta Mardal has also succeeded in keeping pace with the demands made by the stage performances in the classical dance system, locally, nationally & internationally. Without departing from the sanctity of the abaddha., (the structural edifice of the matras and baanis), a very exciting feature of today�s Mardal performance exhibits very spectacular and innovative jugglery in khandi, Gadi, Mana, Arasa, Bhaunri Arasa & Bhaunri Mana and Chhaka Mana, etc. yet another exiting development has been in recent times, the evolution of the mardal as a solo instrument.
Taking a cue from the traditional Ghanta-Mardala repertoire, the solo performances of the mardala utilizes classical features such as Arasa, Bhaunri arasa & Mana, to produce captivating rhythm interplay. The stage is now set for the mardala to emerge as a major and independent solo instrument capable of full scale exposition of the Odissi style as remarkable as evolution of the Tabla solo presentations. There exists a wealth of material in the traditional art of Mardala Badana, a veritable “Akshayapatra” of ornamentation, much of which is not being used today. It would revolutionise Odissi dance if those age-old pieces could be revived and used effectively in dance accompaniment.
This article can be downloaded here: Ghanta Mardala - The Fragrance and the Resonance
