KOCHI: A torrent of crystal-clear jatis flowing freely and filling the air. There is a lingering appeal to his music, a blend of subtle contours and swelling momentum. Somashekar Jois easily casts a spell with konnakkol, an ancient Indian classical art form that captures the essence of rhythm. “Konnakkol is a musical form of orally articulating Carnatic percussion syllables. It’s an intense language of aesthetics and phonetics that demands a lot of voice modulation, tonal control and pitch bending that are integral to the proper rendition of konnakkol,” says the vocal percussionist who was in the capital city for a lecture demonstration at Sri Swathi Thirunal College of Music.
For the uninitiated, konnakkol is the drum language of music, a classical form that easily strikes a chord with the common man. “It’s also used in popular music and a lot of composers including A R Rahman have interspersed konnakkol in their tracks. You will find the creative use of konnakkol in films like Sagarasangamam and Padyappa,” says the Bangalore-based musician.
The 5000-year-old art form has its origins steeped in Indian mythology.
“Earlier only certain classes were allowed to recite vedas. The lower castes, who were denied the privilege, were blessed by sages with ‘thathaahkaaram’, a set of shlokas mentioned in Bramhanas using monosyllables. These shlokas had the same benefits and strengths of vedas and the precursor of konnakkol was born. The purest form of ‘thathaahkaaram’ is still being practiced in Kerala in the form of Vanji Pattu,” he says. Going by the epics, sage Narada, the celestial singer, took on the konnakol prototype for his ‘nadopasana’.
“He used it for attaining salvation through music. It was Bharata Muni who gave the first technical definition to konnakkol in his ‘Natya Shastra’. Later, Arunagirinathar of 14th Century, who wrote ‘Thiruppugazh’ took konnakkol to the highest pedestal ever. While composing he used konnakkol jathis in such a way no human could attempt it,” he says.
Konnakkol is not just a minor component of the vast Carnatic tradition, but an art with a purpose. “It was used by yoga practitioners of Gorakhnath tradition. Reciting these jatis in a proper manner can boost physical and mental well-being. It cures your respiratory ailments and is the best corrective method for stammering problems.” He adds that references of konnakkol can also be found in Ayurveda, the ancient science of holistic healing. “It’s hard to believe, but Sushrutha used vocal percussion to treat deadly snake bites. Even in modern medicine a lot of research is going on as this rendition can have quite an impact on your total well-being. It’s an astonishing fact, but there was a tradition around 4,000 years back where they cured maladies with music,” he says.
Somashekar, a disciple of K V Prasad and B C Manjunath, adds that it’s high time we started treasuring and preserving this rare art form. “Konnakol is the mother of all percussion instruments, but now the oral tradition is on a downturn. Now you don’t find it in the Carnatic music circuit. It’s seen in talavadya kacheris or fusion concerts only.” He adds that if we don’t realize the significance of this amazing art form, we will be losing a 5000-year-old tradition. “We really need to take care of all art forms that have started slowly disappearing. Konnakkol is a divine art form and should be preserved for the future,” he says.