To teacher, with love
G. JAYAKUMAR
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Trichy B. Siva Kumar's concert was held to mark the 70th birthday of veena artiste and teacher Rugmini Gopalakrishnan.
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What impressed the audience during Trichy B. Siva Kumar's veena concert was the artiste's skilful addition of gamakas to the swaras, which produced a euphonic and continuous flow of music. Siva Kumar achieved this effect by precisely pulling the strings in tandem with the pressing of the frets.
A follower of the gayaki tradition in veena, which produces music akin to a vocal rendition, he is the disciple of Chitraveena maestro Ravi Kiran.
The main composition of the evening was a Dikshitar kriti, `Meenakshi memadam' in Poorvikalyani raga, set in Adi talam. He began with a delineation of the raga, bringing out its salient features.
Slow tempo
This was followed by tanam, gently moving on to the kriti. Never brisk, he adheres to a style of playing in a slow tempo with a vibration that sustains a faint drone. This is what is unique about Siva Kumar's performance.
In the `charanam,' it was only apt that he played niraval at `Madhurapuri nilaye.' This was carried on by the playing of manodharma swaras. Thaniavarthanam was provided by Nanchil Arul with soft strokes on the mridangam and by Trivandrum Kartikeyan on the ghatam.
Earlier, Siva Kumar began his veena recital with an Ada tala varnam in Kanada raga. It was followed by `Sarasiruhasane' in Natta, set to Adi tala. The other items included `Mayame' in Ahari (Adi talam) and `Mamavasada' in Nattakurinji (Roopaka tala).
The concert concluded with a few thukkadas, which included a Lalgudi tillana in Rajshri, and compositions in Behag, Kamas and Madhyamavati ragas.
The programme was held to mark the seventieth birthday celebration of veena artiste and teacher Rugmini Gopalakrishnan. The concert, organised by a group of her disciples, was held at Teerthapada mandapam in Thiruvananthapuram.
The District Collector N. Ayyapan presented the veteran artiste a ponnada. A CD of veena recitals of Rugmini Gopalakrishnan, comprising compositions of Muthiah Bhagavathar, was released at the function.
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