Soul-stirring experience
K.C. ASOK
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Maestros Manna Dey and Balamuralikrishna provided a rare treat for music lovers in Thiruvananthapuram.
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`Living Legends,' a two-day musical programme in the capital city, was a celebration of music.
PHOTOS: S. MAHINSHA, S. GOPAKUMAR
SCINTILLATING: Veterans M. Balamuralikrishna took the audience on an unforgettable musical journey.
It was a royal treat for music lovers. `Living Legends,' a two-day musical programme in Thiruvanthapuram, was a celebration of music that featured the legendary playback singer Manna Dey and the connoisseur of Carnatic music, M. Balamuralikrishna. Organised by the Travancore Trust, the concert marked the artistes' birthdays too.
Manna Dey took the audience on a nostalgic journey with some of his ever popular, soul-stirring songs. The first song came as a form of invocation `He malik tere bante hum... .' This evergreen hit from the film, `Do aankem baarah haath' was sung by Manna Dey and Kannada singer Divya .
Divya next regaled the audience with golden songs like `Suno sajna... (`Aye din baharke'), `Dil Chees kya he aap mere... '(`Umrao Jaan') and `Vakt ne kiya... ' (`Kagas ke phool').
Immortal songs
SCINTILLATING: Manna Dey took the audience on an unforgettable musical journey.
Manna Dey took his seat by his harmonium and running his fingers over the keys, he began singing his all-time hits like `Aye mere zohar-e-jabeen... ' composed by Ravi Bombay, `Yari he Iman mera... ' from the Amitabh Bachchan starrer `Zanjeer', `Ab kaham jaye hum... ,' `Cham cham bajere payaliya... ' and `Surna Saje... ' tuned by Shankar Jaykishan and the ever favourite `Ee rat beegi beegi... ,' Indeevar - Kalyanji Anandji duo's `Nadiya chale chale... ,' Anand Bakshi-Laxmikant Pyarelal's `Shaam Tale Jamuna Kinare... ,' and Rajendra Kishan-Madhan Mohan team's `Kaun aya mere man ke dware... '. The song `He mere pyare vatan... ,' was the concluding piece.
Be it light, semi-classical or Qawwali, he belted numbers one after another to the enthusiastic applause of the audience.
When Manna Dey crooned `Manasa maine varu... ' it was a trip down memory lane for many, as for Malayalis, the song is synonymous with the singer Manna Dey, whose voice had made this a golden hit some 40 years ago.
The troupe had Mahendra Gokhale on the keyboard, Richard Mitra on the lead guitar, Indranath Mukerjee on tabla, Shyam Prasad on the drums and dolak, and Vaman Koli on special effects.
The simple orchestration jelled well with the songs. K.C. Khurana, who has been with Manna Dey as the master of ceremony for about 45 years, gave the show a touch of laughter with his humorous narrations.
Balamuralikrishna was among the audience on the first day.
Mesmerising
On the second day Balamuralikrishna with his powerful voice and self-styled bani held the audience spellbound. The ease with which he traversed through notes over three octaves of ragas amazed music lovers. `Saragunagavumu... ' (padavarnam in Todi), with which he began the concert, is his own composition.
Some special krithis by renowned composers were sung that included `Pancha matanga mukha ganapathi... ' in raga Malahari (Muttuswami Dikshithar), `Bageya nayya neemayalentho..' in Chandrajyothi (Thyagaraja), `Namasudhamayi... ' in Suddha dhanyasi (Swati Tirunal), `Viduva Viduva... ' in Suryakaantam (Annamacharya), Jayadeva's Ashtapathi in Raga Kosala and the rare Swati composition, `Nanamakhilesanu... ' forwhich the singer himself has composed a tune in Behag. `Palayasumam saila tanaye..' in Gangeyabhooshani was the main piece.
S.R. Vinu on the violin, B. Harikumar on the mridangam, Karthik on the ghatom and Govinda Prasad on the muharshang excelled. Apart from the main raga, the maestro elaborated ragas such as Malahari, Suddhadhanyasi, Chandrajyothi, and Sooryakantham.
He enchanted the audience with his unconventional aalapana. He also juggled with manodharma swaras, weaving magic.
Singing of tatwam in praise of Lord Siva, to violin strings for sruthi, was another highlight and the concert ended with his own tillana composition in Ahir Bhairavi.
The concerts proved that the maestros' unparalleled talent and experience had effectively stopped the clock for these two musicians.
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