Of strings, rhythm and the Chitra veena
G.S. PAUL
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Durgaprasad enthralled the audience with his graceful rendition of popular kritis on the Athi Chitra veena.
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The highlight of the recital was Syamasastri's `Sarojadalanetra' in Adi tala.
SPECIALIST INSTRUMENT: Athi Chitra veena has a unique resonance.
Gottuvadyam, also known as Chitra veena, has nine main strings and 12 sympathetic ones. Unlike the veena, the Chitra veena has no frets, which makes its playing very intricate.
But once Durgaprasad plucks the strings of his improvised gottuvadyam and moves the gottu over them briskly, the musician's unmatched mastery over his instrument is evident.
Durgaprasad, who has undergone traditional training in gottuvadyam under the doyen Allam Koteswara Rao, has christened his new creation (instrument) as Athi Chitra veena.
Improvisation
It was a quest for improvising the tonal quality of the traditional gottuvadyam that inspired Durgaprasad to design a new instrument. He also reduced the number of major strings to five (including three tuned to the same note `Sa') and the resonant ones to eight.
The sustenance of swaras became an added advantage for bringing out the nuances of ragas. Portability was yet another advantage.
A two-hour concert organised by the Vivekananda Sangeetha Sadas, at Sahithya Akademi Hall, Thrissur, demonstrated the dexterity of the musician in handling his instrument. `Intha moti,' Thiruvottiyur Thyagayya's Adi tala varnam in Saranga was full of verve and it also brought to the limelight a strict adherence to kalapramana.
As he started playing Natta, Dikshitar's `Mahaganapathim manasa smarami,' the potential of the instrument was evident. Some of the phrases were alluringly played.
Resonating music
Playing on the three strings has an added advantage of creating a unique resonance that made one believe that a symphony of instruments was played in unison.
This was more discernible in `Entharo mahanu bhavalu,' the Thyagaraja Pancharatna in Sri raga, Adi tala, that is more heard in the choral rendition during Thyagarajaradhana.
The highlight of the recital was Syamasastri's popular composition in Sankarabharanam, `Sarojadalanetra' in Adi tala. A bewitching alapana apart, the delineation highlighted Durgaprasad's feel for sahithya. The kalpana swaras and neravals reflected his originality.
He was accompanied by Ranjith on the violin, Trivandrum V. Surendran on the mridamgam and Sudheer on the ghatom. Ranjith's embellishments for the ragalapana of Sankarabharanam was noteworthy. Thyagaraja's `Dandamubettenura' in
Balahamsa was another delightful number in the recital.
Durgaprasad, who has undergone Teacher's Training Course in music, explained the details of each composition. A postgraduate in music, he is an employee of All India Radio.
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