Aesthetic twists
THE EXPERIENCE of sukham in sangita calls for superior faculty of perception both on the part of the musician and the audience . In every raga and songs of great vaggeyakaras there is an abundance of rakti. If in raga alapanas and rendering of songs, an artiste is able to awaken this higher purpose of music, it exercises special charm on the minds of the rasikas. When a performance is set on the ascent to tranquillity, the music gets marked by dignity and not pomposity. The finer aspects of the sangita take hold of the performer.
In the highly competitive music scene, an aspirant is justified in feeling that if he does not keep step with the razzle-dazzle he may be sidestepped. The techniques of a fussy show of creativity can be easily acquired — the roller-skater sancharas in alapanas and an aggressive, distorted articulation of the sahityas of songs capped with well rehearsed mind-boggling kanakku swara prastaras that would keep the momentum going.
In many of the cutcheris today this two-pronged swiftness and stridency have become a staple food. But, in some young performers the motivation for the pursuit of sowkhyam seems to be gifted. Some benign hand seems to protect them from the unbridled pulls and pressures of contemporary music. They may be tempted occasionally to seek popularity more through bounce than beauty but the guiding angel pulls them back. The reputation of a sukham-inspired musician comes slowly but is lasting. Claptrap is ephemeral and soon becomes monotonous. One such providence-protected young artiste is Nisha Rajagopal whose particular style and musical content in her performance for Kala Pradarshini distinguished her from the general run of youngsters. Two or three vital parameters set her music apart. There was very little of sound and fury and in the alapanas of ragas Charukesi and Keeravani, no "uruttals and perattals." There was a sense of calmness beneath the sancharas. Another gift is the tapering cadences she brings about with an aesthetic twist at the finish of each sanchara that makes the raga glowing.
What contributed to the musicality was her capacity to modulate her open-throated expression with subtlety of control at the karvai points and in negotiating fast-phrasings. The mainstay of madhyamakala vinyasa method embellished now and then with swift passages within limits helped her make the alapana take an upward turn.
Equally poised were her rendering of kirtanas emphasising sahitya beauty in "Kripaya-Paalaya" (Charukesi) "Bhajana-Seya-Raadha" (Atana) and "Kaligiyunde " (Keeravani). Her interpretation of the songs proclaimed that she has been well schooled in refinement. She has within her grasp all the inputs that go to make her performance soothing.
The violin accompanist Ambika Prasad showed both depth and clarity, but in the sancharas and swaras beyond the top shadja the toning was somewhat harsh. Mridangam support by Madipakkam Suresh was energetic without being intrusive.
SVK
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Entertainment
