Full justice to Sankarabharanam

DOING PROPER justice to great compositions in itself demands considerable skill and dedication. The Chinmaya sisters (Uma and Radhika) at their concert for Karthik Fine Arts last week rendered Thyagaraja's `Kotinadulu dhanushkodilo'' (Todi, Adi) in six minutes, without missing any of the flavour of the raga or the kriti. There was considerable `sadhakam' behind the Dharmavati alapana and `Parandamavati jayati.' Sankarabharanam was carved in a balanced 3-S thayi sanchara, packing good power with sharp and tasteful brigas.

Master M. Balamuralikrishna continued it with matching seriousness, driving into it all notes of two octaves without a discordance, 6-kattai sruti notwithstanding. `Svara-raga-sudha- rasa' shone in all its splendour, with the reverent treatment the young artiste gave it and the total fusion of the `nada' of the violin, the `dhvani' of Madipakkam Suresh's mridangam and the `reenkara' of Ramanujam's morsing, to ``recapture the first fine careless rapture'' of Thyagaraja. If one wondered why the `tani' was one of the briefest, the answer lay possibly in the fullness that the concerted effort of five talented young musicians had already endowed to that single Sankarabharanam effort, lasting a full three-quarter hour- half the total concert.

V. N. Padmini established a good presence through proper selection of kritis and competent rendition. ``Nattai varnam,' followed by `Dharini,' helped towards a kutcheri ambience within 20 minutes, sustained through `Dhanyasi' (Purandaradas, ``Ambegali,'' khanda chapu) The short `Keeravani' (Syama Sastry, `Brovu brovu' in misra-chapu), sung in vilamba, lent gravity. Padmini followed up at a faster pace in `Nee dayarada' (Thyagaraja, Vasanta-Bhairavi), racy but sublime. Neela Jayakumar was quite comfortable with her violin stretched taut to a 5-1/2 sruti, and yet flawless in bowing and fingering; her manobhava was commendable. Jayakumar's mridangam stood out in the string of `sangatis' in `Dharini' and niraval and svara in `O Rangasayee.' With her cultured high-pitched voice, Padmini shows promise. Briga appears to be her forte. One avoidable inadequacy was the absence of any prati-madhyama kriti.

Melody, sruti, raga, laya and sahitya suddha were all in place in the concert of the Priya Sisters. Usha Rajagopalan (violin), with a quiet and unassuming bearing, measured up fully to all that was expected of her in raga and laya vinyasa. J. Vaidyanathan (mridangam) and Madipakkam Murali (ghatam) blended admirably into not only the rhythmic mood but also the deeper emotional backdrop of kritis like `Apparama bhakti' and the solemn and lighter songs at the end. The sisters commanded instant rapport with the audience with `Eranapai' (varnam, Todi, adi) sung in two kalams, `Karunai seivai' (hamsadhvani); the mridangist's occasional sprees of tisragati during niraval in kapivaridhi were a treat. In the Sankarabharanam RTP, the singers exhibited great training in voice culture though the Tanam got only lip service in a poor vilamba. The pallavi in a double-beat khandajati triputa on a half-matra take-off (`sabhapate, sakala deivamum unakku sari samanama) was expertly handled. The 10-minute tani showed mridangam and ghatam weaving patterns which combined complexity of rhythmic structure with aural aesthetics. When two high- pitched and melodious voices with abundant practice in duet singing of heavy and light songs sound together, it is not surprising that the result is charming, but Carnatic music is not bound by just that. There have to be more serious efforts at `manobhava' and at handling kritis of depth. An artiste should take care to avoid stagnation, even at high levels.

The Mambalam Sisters (Chitra and Vijayalakshmi) gave a commendable account of their training and imagination. `Mahaganapatim' (Atana, Adi), `Ma pala velasiti'' (Thyagaraja, Asaveri, Adi) and `Kamakshi kamakoti' (Dikshitar, Rupakam) in madhyamakala, with a preamble in Simhendramadhyamam accounted for the first half-hour. Sangati, gamaka, sruti-suddha, laya, sahitya-suddha and diction ranked high. Manobhava in raga, niraval and svaraprastara were a shade lower. Hemalatha's quiet confidence and delivery on her violin perfect both in raga and tala, were noteworthy, considering the 5-1/2 sruti. Sankarabharanam was taken for a near-half-hour competent elaboration around `Svara-raga-sudha-rasa' with kalpanasvara at `paramananda mane' followed by a short and effective tani. Tirupoonthuruthi Vishwanathan on the mridangam and K.S. Rangachari on the kanjira gave a pleasant six-minute tani. While their accompaniment was generally conducive to a creative build- up, one wondered why percussionists generally lose control over themselves when it comes to `bhajans.' The Meera bhajan in Durbari (sung beautifully by the sisters) surely deserved a softer support from the tala-vadyas.

Good teamwork

Mayavaram Sisters Uma and Geeta possess a natural, pleasing voice at 5 kattai with an upper reach to higher Pa and even Dha. T. K. Padmanabhan could take all their sangati and kalpana svarams in his violin. Papanasam Kumar (mridangam) and K.V.R.S. Mani (Kanjira) chipped in with their rhythmic support from `Swaminatha' (Nattai) through `teliya leru rama, Dhenuka, Adi) and `Ramachandram bhavayami (Dikshitar, Vasanta, Rupakam). Good teamwork underscored the concert. Meeenakshi (Dikshitar) was rendered well, though the Purvikalyani alapana was a little dragging because of the structuring. `Tatva meruga' (Thyagaraja, Garudadhvani, Rupakam) and `Annapurne Visalakshmi (Dikshitar, Sama, Adi) were some of the rare songs rendered.

The former had an impressive display of duritakala sangatis and the latter stood for its deep feeling. Both enjoyed an apt placement in the concert. `Evarura' was developed through alapana, niraval and svaram, culminating in the tani. The mridangist's `mettu' resounded pleasantly and the kanjira appeared to utter the `sollus.' When an artiste elevates the listener to even a momentary realisation of the ultimate through soulful singing, faithful reproduction of lyric and perfect diction, she has reason to feel gratified. In their rendition of the song `Pullaai piravi... ' the sisters achieved just that.

Impressive

On the same day KFA presented Savitha Narasimhan with Kovai Chandran (violin) and H. Vijayaram (mridangam). Patnam Subramania Iyers `Nee padamule', prefaced by a well-structured alapana in Bhairavi with niraval and svara at the line `samaja vara' was impressive. `Smara sada manasa' (Svati Tirunal, Bilahari) was well-planned and rendered effortlessly and in taste.

`Uma Gauri' (swara-sahitya, Ravikiran, Purvikalyani) was a new one and delivered appealingly. Tirupati Narayanaswamy Iyer's popular javali `vagaladi' in Behag added spice to the concert well-featured by the singing and able accompaniment.

P. S. KRISHNAMURTI

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