Versatility of a rare kind
GARIMELLA SUBRAMANIAM
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Craftsmanship and sensitivity made Sriram Parasuram's performance unique.
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Photo: S. Thanthoni
ABSOLUTELY LUCID: Sriram Parasuram proved his mastery on several fronts.
Call it jugalbandi, fusion or sangamam — these words do not adequately capture Sriram Parasuram's versatility as a vocalist and violinist, and his mastery over the Carnatic and Hindustani styles. The highlight of this young maestro's performance for Mudra and Brahmmaganasabha on Sunday last was ragas with common notes and at times common nomenclature.
Lurking beneath the sheer craftsmanship in the exposition of ragas is Sriram's sense of history and sensitivity to the subtleties and nuances of language. Each bandish presented that evening in contrasting Hindustani and Carnatic ragas was enriched by lucid explanations and comments.
Common ground
The komal rishabh asavari of the North and asaveri of the South suggest a common ground. Few know that there is yet another asavari based on the shuddh rishabh used mainly in the dhrupad tradition. Interestingly the Carnatic asaveri condenses the two Hindustani asavaris by adapting both the rishabhs.
In a madhyalay in komalrishabh asavari, Sriram gave his own improvised version of `mata bhavani dayani mahishasurmaradani,' popularised by Parvin Sultana. Moving deftly from violin to vocal, Sriram demonstrated the contrasting asaveri with Tyagaraja's divyanama kirtana `Dasaradhanandana.'
Then followed a drut known in the Kirana gharana, `meinto tumharodas janamjanamse,' immortalised by Pt. Bhimsen Joshi. Miyankitodi and Shubhapanthuvarali share a common heritage, a feature not evident in the nomenclature.
The striking similarity between them was obvious as Sriram played Muthuswami Dikshitar's `Srisatyanarayanam' after a madhyalay to press home the point. Listeners also would have discerned the sharp difference in spirit in the two compositions. Miyankitodi features the celebration of a wedding while the other is a tribute to Mahavishnu. Raag Jhinjhothi is evidently Chenchurutti in the Carnatic style. The Hindustani name derives from the expression `Jhaanjh uthi,' noted Sriram. Ramalinga Swamigal song ``Kallarkum katravarkum kalippagum kalippe; kanarkum kandavarkkum kannalikkum kanne" extolling Lord Siva has a simple yet appealing theme. Sriram's sang the lyric particularly well to convey its meaning. His English translation of the same was perfectly matched.
Sainarasimhan (flute), Ganapathi Raman (mridangam), Umakanth Puranik (harmonium) and Gurumurthy Vaidhya (tabla) were the accompanists.
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