Dharmavathi: is the 59th melakartha ragam. Sa Ri2 Ga2 Ma2 Pa Da2 Ni3 Sa as arohanam and the converse as avarohanam. It is the prathimadhyamam of Gowrimanohari (23rd melam). About couple of years ago Rahman tuned a superb Dharmavathi song in vandicholai chinnarasu. The song is sugam sugam vendum. I think the singer of the song is Vani Jayaram. It is one of the best songs that Rahman has tuned in his short career so far. It is a very sexy song. He starts the tune in the madhyama sthayi 

like Sa Ga Sa Ga, with a very very prominent chord sequences in the background. While another song from the same movie became a good hit (senthamizh naatu thamizhacheeyae sung by the late Shahul Ameed), this lovely song based on a pure classical ragam did not become a hit. Earlier, Rahman has tuned one more Dharmavathi in the movie gentleman. The song is ottagathai kattikko, which came as an unbelievable melody in that movie with a fantastic rhythm played in the pukka south indian instrument "thavil".

Of course, Rahman had exhibited the usual (predictable) "cinema musician's tendency" of deviating from the ragam by using some foreign swaras in both the above songs. Even though...             [ More ]