The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Fine expression to king of ragas

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 24, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Fine expression to king of ragas

Staff Reporter

Dhananjaya Hegde called the rendition ‘excellent’
Smitha Bellur liked the ‘sincere’ approach

BANGALORE: If Yaman is the king of ragas, you needed Raghunanadan Panshikar to quench the Hindustani music lover’s desire to find one of the finest expressions of it, on a rainy Sunday evening.

The concert, to mark the first anniversary of Sapthak, saw the musician from Pune display his artistry with impressive results. Mr. Panshikar seemed to have mastered the art of building the concert to a crescendo after making a smooth and elegant beginning, without ever breaching the minimalist restrictions he seemed to have imposed on himself.

If you did not have claps till the end of an hour-long rendition of the raga, it was probably because the artiste seemed to have eliminated unnecessary highs and lows and breathing exercises . Mr. Panshikar hardly used saragam (pronouncing the swaras).

He sang the base line of the cheez (composition) “Mo mana laagana laagi…” in different ways, each time weaving tension in the concert and releasing it in creative ways with the “sum” (the tabliya and main artiste arriving at the end of a cycle at the same point of time) with many in the audience gesturing in agreement. Mr. Panshikar concluded with dhrut (fast-paced rendition) with “Yeri yaar piya bina sakhi…”

The accompanying artistes – Ravindra Katoti on the harmonium and Rajendra Nakod on the tabla – only enhanced the evocative mood of the evening .

Vocalist Dhananjaya Hegde called the rendition “excellent and elaborate” while another performer Smitha Bellur liked the “sincere” approach of the artiste to music.

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