Mohanam well-rendered

THE Saxophone concert of Kadri Gopalnath, marked the inauguration of Mudhra's annual musical festival at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan on December 5. Mrs. Sulochana Pattabhiraman (musicologist, composer and teacher) was conferred the Mudhra Excellence award endowed by P. Obul Reddy. N. Ram, Editor, Frontline, inaugurated the festival.

The varnam (Navaragamalika) was Gopalnath's opening piece which was played in a fast tempo followed by a krithi in Hamsadwani with imaginative swaras. The Karnaranjani alapana was appealing followed by `Vanchitone'' of Muthiah Bhagavathar. Kadri dealt the Bhairavi swarajathi `Kamakshi'' of Shyama Sastry in a controlled manner with gamakas. He captured the contours of Mohanam in the raga alapana and the sanctity and feelings of the monumental krithi ``Nannupalimpa'' of Tyagaraja with swaras.

A. Kanyakumari handled the violin evoking rich tone and imaginative sancharas in Karnaranjani and Mohanam. Guruvayur Dorai (mridangam) Rajasekhar (morsing) played an interesting tani.

Vibrant style

A musical ensemble composed and conducted by Ghatam Karthik featuring Karthik (ghatam) K. L. Sriram (vocal, flute and keyboard) Embar Kannan (violin), Poongulam Subramanyam (mridangam), Papanasam Sethuraman (kanjira), Veda (rhythm effects) and N. Sundar (tabla and morsing) was presented `Taka Dimi Taka Janu''. The programme included songs composed by Ghatam Karthik.

After a brief sketch of Nattai by Embar Kannan (violin), Sriram sang ``Sri Sankara Guru'' in a vibrant style. This was followed by `Mangala Karini' in Ratipatipriya by Sriram. Charukesi was rendered in a soulful spirit by Sriram. This was followed by `Charukesi Sarasya Lochani' in two speeds and the namavali `Jayajaya he mahishasura mardhini' in the third speed, which reminded one of the `Jayajaya he mahishasura mardhini' (a concluding prayer of Anantharama Dikshitar in his discourses). The audience enjoyed the rhythm.

Only sometimes the percussion instruments drowned the melodic effect of the singer. Earlier a C.D. `Taka Dimi Taka Janu' was released.

The performance of T. V. Sankaranarayanan proved the astuteness of the singer. His aim is to give a pleasant concert by resorting to his special style of kalpana swaras. The bhava he evoked was minimal. The raga vinyasas of Bahudari and Shanmukhapriya revealed the tonal eloquence but were not rich in melody. Mohanam has a unique appeal to the listeners. Sankaranarayanan gave a full picture of Mohanam with abundant imaginative prayogas. `Kapali' was rendered in a majestic form with swaras. The delineation of Bahudari and Shanmugapriya by Mysore Nagaraj on violin was comprehensive. Creative laya patterns were played by Neyveli Narayanan (mridangam) and Karthik (ghatam) which were supportive to the vocalist.

Melody sustained

Mysore Nagaraj and Manjunath handled the violin superbly sustaining the melody throughout the recital. The synchronisation of the krithis was praiseworthy.

The elaboration of Nattakuranji by Nagaraj was neat and satisfactory followed by `Mamavasada' of Swathi Thirunal with swaras was palatable. The raga delineation of Kalyani handled by both alternatively in three octaves with unusual prayogas were well-received by the rasikas.

Tiruvarur Bakthavatsalam and Vaikom Gopalakrishnan (mridangam and ghatam) gave a splendid tani.

In its talent promotion programme, Mudhra presented Shobha Ramesh of Hyderabad. Shobha has a flexible voice which traverses freely in the middle and top octaves. But she has to train her voice to reach down to the mandharasthayi panchamam to produce an impact while singing ragas and krithis. ``Sobillu'' (Jaganmohini- Tyagaraya) ``Sri Kalahastheesam'' - a panchalinga krithi of Dikshitar and ``Mamayura Meedhil'' (Bilahari-a song of Chidambara Bharathi) were enjoyable. The elaboration of Pantuvarali had praiseworthy sancharas and phrases. The Ranjani ragamalika was entertaining while the bhajan in Sindhu Bairavi of Swati Thirunal was melodious.

Mudhra Bhaskar (mridangam), Tiruchi Murali (ghatam) apart from supporting the recital gave a good tani. Melakaveri Thiagarayan played an elegant Pantuvarali.

- R.S.

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