Fine and delicate curvatures
THE EXPRESSIVE possibilities of a trained voice, gifted with fluency, influenced the creative instincts in the performance of T.M. Krishna for Raga Tarangini. By his easy interpretation he gave a beauteous angle to the varied and rich shades of Todi and Karaharapriya. With a well-cultivated kutcheri pattern he built up the public relations exercise exceedingly well.
The main features of his music were the fine and delicate curvatures in sancharas highlighting the raga lines. Savadanam and attention-gripping fast phrases were well-balanced. When he began Todi alapana a thought crossed the mind how long he would extend it going by his inclinations in recent times. But good sense worked to keep the vistara pointedly brief and temptingly thrilling. But the deep intensity of the song "Gajavadana" with its charming chittaswaram raised his musical perception to great heights. At this stage his artistry became eloquent.
Suddenly he let himself go in speed while rendering the Nattai kirtana "Swaminatha." The Kalapramana, the Swaraprastharas at two points "Vamadeva" and "parvath" looked like a batsman hurrying to touch the crease when a close-in fielder's throw is directly aimed at the stumps. This is one of the kutcheri methods, for T.M. Krishna reined in this tendency by the leisurely treatment of the Navagraha song "Sri-Sukra-Bhagavantam" in Paras.
Then came the main item Karaharapriya exposition and the song "Chakkaniraja." The main spring of his manodharma revolved round oscillations (Asaivus) and Karvais.
M. A. Sundareswaran on the violin was good, but could not glimpse the aesthetic approach of the vocalist and so the alapanas were tame-textured. Mridangist Srimushanam Raja Rao has his own ideas of accompanying technique - soft and bold, smooth and rugged, gentle, and reverberating. Sundar Kumar played the kanjira.
Light-footed, easy grace and efficient voice control provided an insight for listeners into the musical make-up of Ranjani and Gayatri. In rendering the kirtanas "Paratpara" (Vachespati) "Rama Ninne" (Huseni) and "Hiranmayaeem" (Lalita) the melodic structure was well preserved. Vachaspati alapana by Ranjani was on traditional lines, while Gayatri seemed to have been bit by the present day kutcheri bug of over-stretching the raga Lalita beyond its aesthetic limits.
This part of the programme consumed nearly forty-five minutes, after which they calmed down to an exposition of Karaharapriya. H. N. Bhaskar's violin support was raw in approach against the niceties that Gayatri grafted into her vocal exercise. Manoj Siva, on the mridangam, was a picture of poise and pleasantness. Guru Prasad was the ghatam artiste.
SVK
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