Sopanam
Encyclopedia
Sopana Sangeetham is a form of Indian classical music
Indian classical music
The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...

 that developed in the temples of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

 in south India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 in the wake of the increasing popularity of Jayadeva
Jayadeva
Jayadeva was a Sanskrit poet circa 1200 AD. He is most known for his composition, the epic poem Gita Govinda, which depicts the divine love of Krishna-an avatar of Vishnu and his consort, Radha, and it is mentioned that Radha is greater than Hari, and is considered an important text in the...

's Gita Govinda
Gita Govinda
The Gita Govinda is a work composed by the 12th-century poet, Jayadeva, who was born in Kenduli Sasan near Puri in Orissa. It describes the relationship between Krishna and the gopis of Vrindavana, and in particular one gopi named Radha...

 or Ashtapadis
Ashtapadis
Ashtapadis or Ashtapadi are Indian hymns where the music has eight lines within each composition. Each ashtapadi song is set in a special raga and tala. It is a rhyme of eternal love and supreme devotion...

.

Etymology

The name derives from two Malayalam or Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 words : Sopanam and Sangeetham. The word Sopanam refers to the sacred steps of main shrine of a temple and Sangeetham refers to music.

Performance

Sopana sangeetham (music), as the very name suggests, is sung by the side of the holy steps (sopanam) leading to the sanctum sanctorum of a shrine. It is sung, typically employing plain notes, to the accompaniment of the small, glasshour-shaped ethnic drum called 'edakka' or idakka
Idakka
The idakka , also spelt edaykka, is an hourglass-shaped drum from Kerala in south India. This handy percussion instrument is very similar to the pan-Indian damaru. While the damaru is played by rattling knotted cords against the resonators, the idakka is played with a stick...

, besides the chengila
Chengila
The chengila or cennala is a percussion instrument of India. It is a type of gong that helps the singer keep time in many traditional art forms of Kerala. A ringing sound is produced when it is struck with a stout wand when hung freely, while a flat tone is produced when it is in contact with the...

 or the handy metallic gong to sound the beats. Sopanam is traditionally sung by men of the Marar and Pothuval
Pothuval
Pothuval is a caste of Ambalavasis in Kerala. Ambalavasis are broadly grouped into the sacred thread wearing castes and the non-threaded castes, and Pothuvals belong to the latter group. The males were usually employed as managers, accountants or store-keepers in temples. Pothuval women are...

 castes of Ambalavasi
Ambalavasi
Ambalavasi is a generic name for a collection of castes among Hindus in Kerala who render temple services.-Etymology:The term Ambalavasi is derived from two Malayalam words, being Ambalam and Vasi...

 (semi-Brahmin) community, engaged to do it as their hereditary profession.

Sopana sangeetham has its essential features born out of a happy blending of the Vedic, folk and tribal music of the region that's now called Kerala. It has it set of distinct ragas like Puraneera, Indalam, Kanakurinhi, Sreekanti, Ghantaram and Samantamalahari, but has also a lot of ragas that are commonly used in the south Indian classical Carnatic music
Carnatic music
Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...

. However, unlike in Carnatic music, Sopanam follows a more uncomplicated plain-note profile (a technique called Aantolika gamakam), and is canonically devoid of microtones. All the same, like in Carnatic, it has an introductory segment called alapanam (alapana
Alapana
Alapana is a form of melodic improvisation that introduces and develops a raga in Indian classical music. As a term that is Sanskrit in language, alapana means "to speak, address, discourse, communicate". The flavor of the raga is outlined in the alapana by rendering the raga's permitted notes in...

), though it's based on 'akaaram' or the sole use of the sound Aaa (unlike 'ta', 'ra', 'na', 'ha' or 'ri' that are employed in Carnatic music). This is followed by the song (paattu), quite like the concept of Kriti
Kriti
-Structure:Kritis typically contain three parts#Pallavi. This is the equivalent of a refrain in Western music.#Anupallavi. The second verse, which is sometimes optional....

 in Carnatic music, though, again there are no flourishes like niraval
Niraval
Niraval also known as Neraval or Sahitya Vinyasa is considered to be one of the important features in the extempore improvisation aspect of Carnatic music....

 or Kalpanaswaram
Kalpanaswaram
In classical music of south India Kalpanaswaram , is raga improvisation within a specific tala in which the musician improvises in the Indian music solfege after completing a composition.The kalpanaswaram start may start at any place in the tala, but the artist must end their...

.

Sopana sangeetham shares at least one similarity with the north Indian classical Hindustani music in the sense that both have ragas prescribed for rendition during particular time of the day.

The structure of the Sopanam music is believed to reflect the experience of the devotee in scaling the heights of devotion. It has its beginnings through the practice of singing invocatory songs in front of the 'Kalam' (a stylised five-colour carpet drawing on the floor using natural powders) of Goddess Kali. That is later believed to have adopted for rendition near the temple sanctum. Like most traditional music forms, Sopanam too has its set of schools, each varying in subtleties. They include ones being sung at south Kerala temples like Pazhoor and Ramamangalam
Ramamangalam
Ramamangalam is a village in Ernakulam district in the Indian state of Kerala.-Demographics: India census, Ramamangalam had a population of 9999 with 5070 males and 4929 females....

 (on the banks of the river Moovattupuzha) and the northern ones like Thirumandhamkunnu and Guruvayoor (to name a few). These temples have their own set of musicians hereditarily practising the art in their precincts.

The late Njeralattu Rama Poduval of Thirumandhamkunnu bani
Bani
Gurbani is the term used by Sikhs to refer to any compositions of the Sikh Gurus. Gurbani is composed of two words: 'Gur' meaning 'the Guru's' and 'bani' meaning 'word'....

, Janardhanan Nedungadi of Guruvayoor and Damodara Marar, a practitioner of the temple art called Mudiyettu, from Pazhoor have been some of the most authentic experts of Sopana sangeetham. Late masters like Pallavoor Kunhukutta Marar used to present Sopana sangeetham to the accompaniment of instruments like harmonium
Harmonium
A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...

. Experts like Thrikkambaram Krishnankutty Marar and Ooramana Rajendra Marar have strived and succeeded in presenting it in the form of a solo concert (also using the instrument called Kudukka Veena).

Sopana sangeetham is traditionally taught by the family members to the next generation. It is still the case, largely. However, these days there is a certified institute called Kshetra Kala Peetham in the temple town of Vaikom
Vaikom
Vaikom is a taluk and also its capital town, situated in the North-West of Kottayam in Kerala, India. Its western border is the Lake Vembanad, and is crossed by various estuaries of the River Muvattupuzha. It lies between Ernakulam and Kottayam...

 that is training students in Sopanam, besides other Kerala temple arts.

The rendition style of Sopanam, though basically a temple art, also extends to providing audio accompaniment to traditional Kerala dance-dramas like Kathakali
Kathakali
Kathakali is a highly stylized classical Indian dance-drama noted for the attractive make-up of characters, elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body movements presented in tune with the anchor playback music and complementary percussion...

, Krishnanattam
Krishnanattam
Krishnanattam or Krishnattam is a temple art in Kerala, India. It is a dance drama and presents the story of Krishna in a series of eight plays and was created by Manaveda , the then Zamorin Raja of Calicut in northern Kerala .The eight plays are : Avataram, Kaliyamardanam, Rasakrida, Kamsavadham,...

 and Ashtapadiyattam besides as devotional music in Kalam pattu and dramatic music in Mudiyettu.
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