One of the debated topics in Carnatic music is the deviation by musicians from the so-called ‘original’ pathantaram of kriti-s. This article is not an attempt to provide a conclusive answer to end the debate but a constructive provocation and an invitation for opening up the topic for a wider debate.

Though ‘pathantaram’ normally means the musical phrasing of a kriti, I use it here in a broader sense covering not only the musical phrasing but also the raga in which the kriti is sung, its arohanam-avarohanam and its parent melakarta. I am ignoring sahitya for the present though there could be serious deviations in it. For example, in Endaro mahanubhavulu, even senior musicians sing the second line as “chanduru varnuni” meaning one whose complexion is like that of the moon, i.e. fair. But this is contrary to the common belief that Rama’s complexion is dark blue like that of a cloud.