Striking the right chord
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`Paadatha Veenayum Paadum' was a fitting tribute to the great music director.
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M. K. Arjunan
IT IS through music that M. K. Arjunan reveals his innermost self. In Arjunan, the person and the composer seem separate and distinct. Ask him to speak on his music and invariably Arjunan becomes fidgety, rather uneasily searching for the appropriate word. But with his harmonium before him this master musician is a transformed man. He lets his music speak for him. For nearly three hours, four young singers and an enthusiastic orchestra paid tributes to this brilliant but unassuming music director.
Musical tributes
`Paadatha Veenayum Paadum,' as the organisers Bank Employees' Arts Movement, Ernakulam (BEAME), called the programme, was held at Kerala Fine Arts Hall, Kochi. This was part of a series being conducted by BEAME to pay homage to the master composers of Malayalam film music. Arjunan was honoured at a special function held before the programme. "We had organised five programmes earlier in this series," said A. K. Raghunath, president of BEAME.
Twenty-four songs, handpicked from the vast treasure-trove of songs composed by Arjunan, were evidence enough of this musical genius.
Golden melodies
The four young singers, Ganesh Sundaram, Vijesh Gopal, Sangeeta Prabhu and Gayatri Varma brought to life those golden melodies. There were occasional hiccups like when Ganesh faltered a bit on a semi-classical piece, which ironically is his forte or when Sangeeta struggled through her opening song. But all said and done both of them did justice to the other songs they rendered. Vijesh was as consistent as ever, while Gayatri was undoubtedly the pick of the lot in her debut on the professional stage. What makes Arjunan's songs so special is the way in which he uses instruments to create the mood, tempo and bring out the intimate essence of the lyrics. And recreating every note in its full range becomes a challenge in a live programme. It was a perfect tribute to a great composer.
K. PRADEEP
Photo: Mahesh Harilal
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