Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Entertainment | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

On styles and instruments

PAPPU VENUGOPAL RAO

From the various veena-playing styles, techniques to percussion instruments, the sessions proved enlightening.

M.S. Anantharaman.

R. Venkataraman, a popular Vainika from Kerala, presented a lecture demonstration on the Tranvancore style of veena. Venataraman introduced the topic with a classification of various veena styles prevalent in Carnatic music. He listed four styles — Thanjavur, Travancore, Mysore and Andhra.

He presented a Kalyani Swarajathi followed by another in Kambhoji. They were composed by Palaghat Parameshwara Baghavatar. He mentioned a pancharaga swarajathi as a very special item depicting Tranvancore style, in Kalyani, Begada, Surati, Atana and Todi.

Vidya Shankar.

He demonstrated the swarajathi where vakra prayogas are seen in both Kalyani and Todi. Then he went on to demonstrate some fingering techniques of his guru .K. S. Narayanaswamy.

He claimed that the Tana tradition was strong in Kerala music and has influenced the Mysore veena tradition. He then demonstrated a tanam in Ghana ragas.

In all, there were four lecture-demonstrations pertaining to veena styles. The last one was by Vidya Shankar on the veena vadana, playing techniques of the veena.

The scope of the paper was very wide and time was short. But Vidya Shankar's lecture demonstration reflected her erudite scholarship and teaching experience. She demonstrated the importance of gradual technique in teaching and learning the veena, from simple to complex.

She emphasised the importance of fingering techniques while teaching the basics. She concluded her lecture-demonstration with the geetham in Sriragam.

Parur style

M. S. Anantharaman presented a lecture-demonstration on Parur style of violin.

Anantharaman divided his lecture-demonstration into two. In the first, he presented exercises on the violin beginning with the Sarali notes. He followed it up with a demonstration of Janta. Then he played a Saveri varnam. He explained how his father, Parur Sundaram, conceived the technique of playing on one string. He demonstrated the Mohana varnam, delineating the intricacies.

In the second part of the demonstration, he dealt with some compositions, which are meant to be a part of learning process. Anantharaman explained how his father's knowledge of Hindustani music helped him widen the repertoire. He then demonstrated the bowing techniques of Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu and Mysore Chowdaiah. He played an extremely melodious bit of Western music and concluded the lec-dem with Papanasanam Sivan's "Karpagamae" in Madhyamavati.

He was assisted ably by his son, M. A. Krishnaswamy, on the violin and K.R. Ganesh accompanied them on the mridangam. The lecture demonstration will be remembered for its lucidity and adherence to tradition.

This year, both the stringed and percussion instruments were taken up for lecture-demonstrations. The first of the percussion instrument lectures was presented by Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman. It was about "The unique percussion language of kanjira, morsing and konnakkol," and the participants were Sundar Kumar (kanjira), Srirangam Kannan (morsing) and Tiruchi Tayumanavar (konnakol).

Sivaraman took up each one and explaining their origin and evolution.

Sundar Kumar first gave a brief introduction about the origin of kanjira and said that they were prevalent in Orissa and some parts of Northern India but was known by a different name. Sivaraman showed a synthetic Kanjira, which was tunable as a sample.

Then Sundar Kumar traced the origin of kanjira playing in Carnatic music to Chitoor Radhakrishnan, a disciple of Tyagaraja. This was followed by Srirangam Kannan's morsing demonstration.

A rare instrument, the morsing arrived on the kutcheri scene in the last century, initiated by Adityapuram Seetharamiah.

Then he gave a list of famous morsing players. The origin is attributed to the `Jews' harp' and is classified as a wind instrument, sushira vadya, but is associated with percussion instruments in practice.

It is played by holding it in the mouth with the tongue supporting it, where the mouth becomes a resonator and body, the shell. Kannan then presented some rhythmic patterns and position changes. . Sivaraman then introduced Tayumanavar, the only artiste of his stature in konnakkol. A disciple of Kumbakonam Rajappa, Tayumanavar described various important components and phrases in konnakkol. The lec-dem interspersed with useful inputs and humorous remarks by Sivaraman was undoubtedly an enlightening programme with the best in the field as participants. It concluded with a tani avarthanam by the trio.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail