When konnakkol added lustre
M. RAMESH
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Subhash Chandran's display was splendid without eclipsing Subramaniam's performance.
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BONHOMIE: Artistes, led by L.Subramaniam, showed rare cooperation. Guru Subhash Chandran is at extreme right. Photo: R. SHivaji Rao.
It was indeed a strange sight when the main artiste, L. Subramaniam, raised his hand in the middle of the concert to beckon someone among the audience over to the stage. This happened after the mridangist (Vellore Ramabhadran) and ghatam-player (Giridhar Udupa) completed their first rounds of the tani that followed a brilliant Gowri Manohari piece by the violinist.
All heads turned to find out who was being marked out for such special attention. The person turned out to be the hero of the evening, T.H.Subhash Chandran, in whose felicitation the evening's celebrations were held — celebrations that culminated in Subramaniam's one-hour violin recital in which his son Ambi accompanied him.
Subhash Chandran presently joined those on the stage and at the behest of Subramaniam, added weight to the percussion team with some splendid konnakkol phrases.
Memorable aspect
It was appropriate. The earlier two hours had been spent in praising Subhash Chandran's prowess as a percussionist — he could play the mridangam, ghatam, kanjira and morsing — but the illustrious speakers highlighted the remarkable ability of the younger brother of T.H.Vinayakaram in konnakkol.
Subramaniam, a long-standing friend of Subhash Chandran, saw to it that the konnakkol, rather than his own short-duration violin concert, became the memorable aspect of the evening. Rare is such co-operation and bonhomie among senior artistes! But the thoroughly enjoyable konnakkol did little to eclipse the high-quality violin rendition of Subramaniam. The concert opened with a superb alapana of Hamsadhwani which led on to the popular Jalajakshi varnam. Subramaniam played in all the four speeds. It was a display of talent, although the fourth-speed version became somewhat cacophonous.
Then came Gowri Manohari. The alapana evidently left the audience somewhat foxed, because there was a pensive silence instead of a roaring applause at the end of it. Credit it to Subramaniam's unique style.
There were no phrases that were borrowed from Saint Tyagaraja's famous `Guruleka Etuvanti.' Nor did Subramaniam take up that kirtanam for renditition, choosing instead, `Brova Samayam.' The final item of the concert, which sounded fantastic, was a total mystery. Later, when asked Subramaniam said it was a new raga he had scored, which he intends to call Devi Priya.
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