Rendered with dignity
T. V. Sankaranarayanan
TWO THINGS were evident at Sunandaa's afternoon concert at the Sri Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha. One, give talented artistes the right performing ambience with an excellent sound system and they can deliver the goods; and two, there are several upcoming musicians out there, committed to presenting music with quiet dignity.
Beginning with ``Karunimpa," the Sahana varnam, Sunandaa's bhava-oriented approach to krithi rendition with sahitya suddha and clear enunciation worked to her advantage in the Periasami Thooran composition ``Muruga Muruga" in Saveri and Tyagaraja's ``Thulasidala" in Mayamalavagowla and ``Ela Nee Daya" in Atana. The latter two krithis were capped with a neat round of kalpanaswaras.
With a voice particularly suited to negotiating jarus and at ease in the upper octave, Sunandaa's essay of Purvikalyani was compact, followed by the Tyagaraja krithi, ``Gnana Mosaga" with brisk swaras at ``Paramathmudu." Her calm, unhurried approach also stood her in good stead in the main raga, Bhairavi. However, the lack of emphasis on time-honoured pidis that are so essential to the raga swaroopa resulted in a rather meandering course in the madhya sthayi, although she made a creditable recovery in the long karvais of the tara sthayi phrases that bespoke diligent application. Dikshitar's ``Balagopala" included neraval and swaras at ``Nila Neerada Shareera."
Avoidable though, was the handling of the characteristic phrase ``ri ga ma pa da pa." as a series of plain notes sans the requisite gamakas, as the soul of Bhairavi resides precisely in these gamakas. A conscious choice in favour of quality music over the glitzy briga route can only bode well for this artiste's musical growth. The violinist, R. Kailasam's rich tone and unobtrusive support highlighted the performance as did the clarity and evenly sustained pace of Madurai B. Sundar's
mridangam.
Lively kalpanaswaras
Having ensconced himself firmly in a niche shaped by the performing dynamics of his guru, T. V. Sankaranarayanan, Surya Prakash is very comfortable with his chosen style. His selection of kritis, logical development of raga and the palpable sense of good cheer he exuded while handling kalpanaswara all contributed towards making his concert an enjoyable one.
There was an orderly progression of ideas in Nalinakanthi and Karaharapriya ragas. Lively swara exchanges between vocalist and violinist added pep after the Periasami Thooran composition ``Gananathanae" in Saranga and Tyagaraja's ``Manavyala" in Nalinakanthi. The artiste sprang a surprise with the rare Muthuswami Dikshitar krithi, ``Maruvakaadi Malini" in Maaruva.
His choice and interpretation of the ever-popular Tyagaraja krithi ``Chakkani Raja" drew well-deserved nods of appreciation. Sung with verve and a huge dose of positive energy, ``Dina Karunakaranae Nataraja" found great favour with the audience.
Akkarai Subbulakshmi's violin accompaniment complemented the vocalist's style. But why the deliberate attempt to breach the Hindustani-Carnatic divide by introducing sangathis with a decidedly Desh flavour into the Nalinakanthi raga? Melakaveri Balaji (mridangam) and Tiruchi Murali on the ghatam were soft and exuberant by turns, ably supporting Surya Prakash.
Scintillating jugalbandhi
Teamwork is always good news and when the team is a husband-wife duo, it's even better news. About the main artistes: Sriram Parasuram and Anuradha Sriram have trained intensively in both the Carnatic and Hindustani systems under the guidance of illustrious gurus.
In their jugalbandhi, it was a pleasure to hear them bring out the best in each other with Sriram's calm-inducing timbre being a perfect launch pad for Anuradha's quicksilver flights of artistry. With excellent support from their four accompanists, M. A. Krishnaswami (violin), Satish Kumar (mridangam), Umakanth (harmonium) and Gurumurthy Vaidya (tabla), they began with the Jog-Nattai combine.
His voice lending itself very naturally to the Hindustani idiom, Sriram embarked on a reposeful Jog that created a warm, relaxed tone. Anuradha's Nattai exposition was more hurried with fast phrases covering a wider gamut. The khayal, ``Mora Ladla" in Rupak taal and the Dikshitar krithi, ``Swaminatha" were rendered with ιlan. Next came the elaboration of Varali and the corresponding raag Multani.
Respecting the demands of Varali, Anuradha made a conscious effort to internalise and to dwell upon the vistara it offers. ``Eti Janmamu," the Tyagaraja krithi was sung with feeling and the soft strains of Multani captured in the khayal, ``Nainan Mein Aan Baan" set to Rupak taal.
In the Ragesri-Ravichandrika and the (Sindu) Bhairavi which followed, they were totally at ease alternating in both idioms, weaving in and out with a skill and dexterity that went with the natural flow.
Had the krithis ``Swaminatha" (Nattai) and ``Marugelara" (Ravichandrika) been paced at a slightly slower kalapramana, it could have added to the vocalists' comfort level during the nuancing phase of the kalpanaswaras.
The poet Subramanya Bharathi's composition, ``Unmai Arindavan," innovatively tuned in Chandrakauns by Thanjavur T. S. Kalyanaraman made for very interesting listening.
Sriram and Anuradha invite the listener to share a musical vision.
A vision of possibility where one becomes part of a larger experience in which distant echoes of forgotten notes open up a realm of infinite melodic possibilities.
LALITHAA G. J. R
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