All string and rhythm
GARIMELLA SUBRAMANIAM
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The faint Carnatic touch that Salil Bhat's concert seemed to wear did not in anyway detract from its high quality.
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UNBROKEN LINEAGE: Salil Bhat on the Mohan Veena. PHOTO: K. V. Srinivasan.
Is Chennai's Hindustani music scene getting a little too Carnatic-centric? If it is true, it is surely not desired — either by the varied artistic tastes of the locals, or the growing population of north Indians over the decades. Salil Bhat's choice of rag Pooryadhanashree for his recital on the Mohan Veena may just have been a coincidence. But the show sponsored by Mudra at the Naradaganasabha mini-hall made one wonder if artistes were narrowing their choice in wanting to present something familiar to native audiences.
The Hindustani counterpart of Panthuvarali has perhaps been heard in almost all the recent concerts, barring the Sangeeth Research Academy series last December. It is not much of an explanation that performances are usually held in the evening or that Pooryadhanashree is a sandhya rag.
But none of this took away anything from the originality of Salil, who represents an unbroken musical lineage of 10 generations.
The tremendous global acclaim of the Mohan Veena, improvised by father Vishnu Mohan Bhat from the Hawaiian guitar more than three decades ago, draws upon this enviable heritage.
Resonance
The significance of the instrument's sympathetic strings became apparent soon after Salil commenced the alap. Their merit lies in that they resonate with a note long after it is produced on the main strings.
But the artiste produced melody in the higher notes. The jod and hjala gave a touch of Salil's technical skill and soon the show transformed into a display of string and rhythm ensemble.
Ramkumar Misra on the tabla greeted the vilambit with a flurry of strokes to match Salil's sensational opening spell. The two then settled down into a leisurely elaboration of the bandish, only to effect a change in tempo every now and then. This sequence of alternating cycles must have lasted about a quarter of an hour.
The madhyalay and the dhrut sometimes gave a hint of a rather tenuous differentiation in pace. But the audience absorbed what was on offer with diligence and deference.
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Chennai and Tamil Nadu
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