Melodious, meaningful
G. SWAMINATHAN
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With her characteristic inflections and flourishes on the veena, Gayathri added beauty to the ragas.
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EDUCATIVE TOO: E.Gayathri
The hall seems to be exactly designed for chamber music. It carries the perfect blend of antiquity and modernity. Soft chiming clocks and pictures adorning the walls take one to the olden days while the split air-conditioners put time in its perspective. Musiri Chamber concert this time featured the veena recital of E. Gayathri. It was an educative concert by Gayathri with interludes of her lucid explanation on the divinity of the veena with its close relationship to the human system and vedic culture. According to the Vedas, the human form was deiva veena and the instrument now played is maanushi veena. She enlightened the audience with her melodious music as well as meaningful discourses in between the songs.
Gayathri referred to how the structures of the veena could be compared to human system with the `thandi' as the spinal chord. She drew references from astronomy, mythology, sastras and the Vedas to establish the exclusive holiness and sanctity of this ancient instrument.
Lilting swara segments
On the concert side, Gayathri chose to showcase to the listener the ethereal beauty of ragas like Manirangu ("Paradevathe" by Papanasam Sivan) and Hamsanandi ("Pahi Jagajjanani" by Swati Tirunal). She distinguished Manirangu's speciality notwithstanding its strong semblance to Sri ragam. Earlier, her poignant prelude in Varali for Syama Sastri's "Kamakshi" and her swaras at "Sukha Syamala" were soul stirring.
Swati Tirunal had a good representation in this concert with "Sumasayaka," the tana varnam in Karnataka Kapi with its lilting swara segments, "Bhaja Bhaja Manasa" in Sindhubhairavi and "Taruni Jhan" in Dwijavanti towards the end with "Pahi Jagajjanani" as the main. Two serene Tyagaraja compositions "Shantamu Leka" in Sama and "Pahi Ramachandra" in Yadukulakhambodi came in between.
Extraordinary perceptions
One could observe Gayathri's characteristic subtle inflections and flourishes added to the raga through her extraordinary perception. These were seen in the sangatis and swaras of the opening "Sarasiruhaasanapriye" in Nattai, Varali and Hamsanandi vividly. The concluding part carried Annamacharya's "Enta Matramu" in Brindavani, a raga for reconciliation and harmony according to Gayathri with its two contrasting nishadas in the same raga. Shertalai Ananthakrishnan, a bright youngster provided mridangam support in the right dose as the veena always shines better with subdued percussion. Even Ananthakrishnan's tani avartanam was well balanced with multiple segments of soft and subtle rhythmic layers.
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