![Rama_Varma_performing_at_Swathi_Sangeethotsavam](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Rama_Varma_performing_at_Swathi_Sangeethotsavam.jpg)
A kacheri is an assembly of musicians and audience in the context of
Carnatic music
Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an ...
or Karnatak music. It is presented in the concert format. The music fraternity of connoisseurs and common people assemble at the katcheri venues to listen to classical music concerts of
vidwan
In Hindu philosophy ''vidvān'' alludes to an expert in discrimination, to the one who is an expert in the Vedanta
''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu ...
s. Etymologically the word "katcheri" is derived from
Urdu language
Urdu (;["Urdu"](_blank)
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ur, , link=no, ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, In ...
and in
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
to mean a court of law.
Vocalist
Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar
Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar (19 May 1890 – 23 January 1967), popularly known as ''Ariyakudi'', was a Carnatic music vocalist, born in Ariyakudi, a town in the present-day Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu. Ariyakudi developed a unique style of ...
(1890–1967) established the modern ''kacheri'' (concert) traditions in Carnatic music. Among the women artists,
M.L. Vasanthakumari
Madras Lalitangi Vasanthakumari (popularly referred to as MLV) (3 July 1928 – 31 October 1990) was a Carnatic musician and playback singer for film songs in many Indian languages. MLV and her contemporaries D. K. Pattammal and M. S. Subbulaks ...
and
D.K. Pattammal pioneered the promotion of kutcheri culture.
Among the most notable vocalists the first woman artist to receive the highest civilian award of
Bharat Ratna
The Bharat Ratna (; ''Jewel of India'') is the highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest orde ...
in 1998 was
M. S. Subbulakshmi
Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (16 September 1916 – 11 December 2004) was an Indian Carnatic singer from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. She is ...
(1916–2004); who had started her career with her very first katcheri given when she was just 15 years old. It was a big hit among audience and music critics.
History
![DKPattammal-DKJayaraman-young](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/DKPattammal-DKJayaraman-young.jpg)
The word ''katcheri'' used in the context of Karnatik music concert has its origin also as the Hindi language word "kachehri". Its adoption to connote the Karnatik music is traced to its initial meaning as a court, a government office where people gather. During the
Maratha rule (1670–1800) in
Tanjavur
Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...
of present-day Tamil Nadu, it was probably adopted in the lexicon of Karnatik music, as, during this period, it was the
durbar
Durbar can refer to:
* Conference of Rulers, a council of Malay monarchs
* Durbar festival, a yearly festival in several towns of Nigeria
* Durbar floor plate, a hot-rolled structural steel that has been designed to give excellent slip resistance o ...
of the king. It was not a separate or remote place, but a hall, a venue where people were given an audience by the king to dispense with matters of the state. It also happened to be the place where people from all walks of life presented their "aspirations and concerns" before the king. It was at this place that musicians presented their musical achievements before the kings. It is this commonality of events at the same venue as the court or durbar that the Karnatik musical soirees presented by musicians of repute came to be termed as the Kutcheri. This, over the last more than a century, has not only literally known to represent a venue but also signifies a select gathering connoting the cultural significance of Karnatik music. This is the origin of concept of musical concerts which has dominated the music scenario of southern India.
Format
The modern format for the katcheri conceived by Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar in the 1930s with a rich blend of traditional Carnatic music rendered by the past masters, particularly the
Trinity of Carnatic music
The Trinity of Carnatic music, also known as The Three Jewels of Carnatic music, refer to the outstanding trio of composer-musicians of Carnatic music in the 18th century, being Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri. Prolific in composit ...
of
Tyagaraja
Thyagaraja (Telugu: త్యాగరాజ) (4 May 1767 – 6 January 1847), also known as Thyāgayya and in full as Kakarla Thyagabrahmam, was a composer and vocalist of Carnatic music, a form of Indian classical music. Tyagaraja and his ...
,
Muthuswami Dikshitar
Muthuswami Dikshitar (Mudduswamy Dikshitar)(, 24 March 1776 – 21 October 1835), mononymously Dikshitar, was a South Indian poet, singer and veena player, and a legendary composer of Indian classical music, who is considered one of the musical ...
and
Syama Sastri
Shyama Shastri (; 26 April 1762 – 1827) or Syama Sastri was a musician and composer of Carnatic music.
He was the oldest among the Trinity of Carnatic music, Tyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshitar being the other two.
Early life and career
Shy ...
, was best suited to the wide and varied gamut of audience tastes; the aim was to make it just long enough to sustain the interest of the public in Carnatic Music. The repertoire was conceived taking into view the musical adaptations in theater and drama. The choice of the vocalist with a pliant voice and repertoire of songs that would attract the attention of the audience for long hours of the concert was considered essential. The katcheri also catered to the need of commercial entertainment and aesthetics. The duration of katcheri was prescribed by the Musical Academy of Madras to 3 hours. The concert starts with a
varnam
Varṇam is a type of composition in the Carnatic music system consisting of short metric pieces which encapsulate the main features (patterns of notes) of a ''raga''. Varnams capture the ''raga bhavam'', ''ranjaka prayogas'' ''visesha sancha ...
, a form perfected by musicians of yore as it created a relaxed atmosphere to the vocalist leading to a wide spectrum of musical compositions. This is followed by many
kritis
''Kriti'' (Sanskrit: कृति, ''kṛti'') is a format of musical composition typical to Carnatic music. ''Kritis'' form the mental backbone of any typical Carnatic music concert and is the longer format of Carnatic song. "Kriti" also means C ...
(musical compositions) and
ragas
A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradition, and as a ...
(melodies). This sequence riveted the mood of the audience and enabled the performer to go through the performance with elan. The classical songs are preambled by an extended elaboration of melody called the
alapana
In Carnatic classical music, alapana is a form of manodharmam, or improvisation, that introduces and develops a raga (musical scale). It communicates the permitted notes and phrases of the raga, setting the mood for the composition that follow ...
with balanced rhythm topped by
pallavi
A pallavi has multiple connotations in carnatic music. It is the first part of any formal composition (Krithi) which has three segments - Pallavi, Anupallavi and Charanam (which can be one or more). Pallavi is usually also an abbreviation of R ...
(thematic lines of the song). The concert is concluded with rendering of padam (a musical composition),
javali
Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It is ...
, and songs with national themes which would hold the attention and appreciation of the audience.
![Abhishek_Raghuram_et_al_22A](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Abhishek_Raghuram_et_al_22A.jpg)
A katcheri of Carnatic music is generally of vocal music. The ambiance at a katcheri is "restrained and dignified" whereas in the case of the "
mehfil
Mehfil (also spelled ''mahfil'') is a formal venue where indoor recreational activities such as poetry (mushaira), singing, music, and dance are entertained in parts of the Indian subcontinent. It is part of Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb culture.
Histo ...
" which represents concert format of the
Hindustani music
Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sit ...
there is "characteristic abandon". In this format the katcheris have attracted highly talented musicians in recent times and involved hundreds of musicians in the genre of vocal music, vainikas, instrumentalists playing violin, flute and so forth. In the katcheri music format, songs are rendered in a medium and fast tempo. This compared to the
Hindustani Concert, which is in a slow and very slow tempo, takes about half the time in rendering.
However, the 'katcheri' performance held a part of wedding receptions held in the presence of connoisseurs of music gives musicians opportunity present their
musical repertoire
Musical repertoire is a collection of music pieces played by an individual musician or ensemble, composed for a particular instrument or group of instruments, voice, or choir, or from a particular period or area.
See also
*Brass quintet reperto ...
and adaptation skills of compositions and erudite knowledge of music. The songs rendered in such katcheris highlight a particular raga duly informing the audience the nature of the melody which has a set of lines sung in a fixed rhythmic cycle. In such rendering each line of the song the refrain is rendered in different rhythmic styles with due adherence to the "metric structure of the set cycle". The theme of the songs covers many subjects.
Also, during the katcheris, a game known as "kanakari" is played in which challenges are posed to the audience with a clue to decipher an item concealed within a song. Another challenge posed is by rendering ten ragas or melodies symbolizing the ten directions which the audience are asked to identify and state which raga represents which direction. This highlights the musical skill of the musician and for this he is rewarded.
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
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{{Authority control
Carnatic music terminology
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Indian styles of music
South India
Classical and art music traditions
Culture of Karnataka
Culture of Andhra Pradesh
Kerala music