Versatile violin
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Sriram Parashuram spoke of the many facets of this Western stringed instrument
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Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.
TAKE A BOW A divine instrument
"If Goddess Saraswati were to visit the world today she would choose to hold a violin now because of its versatility," said Sriram Parashuram, violinist and vocalist of both Carnatic and Hindustani genres, quoting music critic Subbudu.
Sriram was speaking at Karnataka Ganakala Parishat's 37th Annual Music Conference at Gayana Samaj recently.
Sriram's lecture-demonstration titled "Violin Vaibhava" had him highlighting all the virtues of the Western instrument that have been deftly adopted in Indian folk, tribal, classical, and film music. It was between 1560 and 1600 that the stringed family of the violin, viola, cello and bass was heard. Sriram said: "The violin has strings of various dimensions strung in tension and the sweeps of the bow produce the sound. One long seamless sound produced by running the entire bow is equal to 500 plucks of a plucked instrument (like the veena, for example). "This is the only instrument which can be compared to the human voice. The violin's bowing technique and left-hand fingering is equal to the voice chords and gamakas. A good modus operandi in bowing can yield a an hour of fluidity. That is why it is also called a breathless instrument," he said.
Sriram detailed some more amazing possibilities. "Its inherent tone is adaptable to both Hindustani and Carnatic with a variable tonal leeway that enable tuning for about 2,200 shrutis. This is where it scores over an instrument like the piano with a fixed temperament, i.e., there is either a Sa or a Ri in a piano, but nothing in between. Infinite anuswaras that yield better phrases or improved sangatis are what a violin can offer. Soft, timid, bold, aggressive... the sky is the limit for its dynamic tonal range and intrinsic acoustic possibilities."
Earlier Sriram flagged off the assembly with morning ragas Ahir Bhairav and Chakravaham that had ample scope for demonstrations and explanations.
It was with raag Bhatial that the harmonic mix that produce the bhava element were explained. "It is in the variations given in our stress and presentation that every line assumes more bhava and meaning. The tempo, meend, sahitya and notes have to be diligently assimilated to create a bhava," he said.
Just as they say humans have two sets of vocal chords with 30,000 vibrating reeds, the violin has about 60,000 strings vibrating at the same time during a reverberating full-blown concert, said Sriram in the lec-dem. So, if your manodharma has to come to the fore in an instrument, violin assumes a status as it gives room for realising, elucidating and adapting your creativity in raga and sahitya with punctuations and strokes given from a single long bow, he said.
RANJANI GOVIND
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