A slice of the past, lively style
LALITHAA KRISHNAN
|
Of the two pairs, one evoked nostalgia and the other stood out for flamboyance.
|
SPECIAL: M.P.N.Ponnusami (right) and Thiruparankundram P.R. Viswanathan.
Madurai M.P.N.Ponnusami's nagaswaram recital at the Nagaswara-thavil Festival 2007 was special in more ways than one.
The septuagenarian vidwan recreated a slice of the past that launched listeners on a nostalgia trip to the time when his playing along with M.P.N.Sethuraman's breathed life into the evergreen melodies of `Thillana Moganambal.'
The success of the film and the widespread appeal of its music was a shot in the arm for an entire generation of nagaswara-thavil artistes who were inspired enough to take it up as a profession. Therefore, the large turnout of vidwans and rasikas was a mark of solidarity, the venue wearing an especially festive air that evening.
Supported by Thiruparankundram P.R. Viswanathan, the artiste commenced on an intriguing note, with his own composition `Siddhi Vinayaka' in Srothaswini.
Again, melody came to the fore with the Tyagaraja krithi `Entha Muddo' (Bindumalini). A delineation of Karnaranjani was airbrushed with gently dipping jarus and followed up with Ambujam Krishna's `Om Namo Narayana.'
Touch of melancholy
The lengthy Pantuvarali alapana carried a tinge of melancholy with the surfacing of several panchama-varja prayogas and the bitter-sweet tone was reminiscent of the shehnai.
Papanasam Sivan's `Amba manam Kanindu' was rendered with feeling, the sarvalaghu swaras incorporating catchy kanakkus leading to the kuraippu at the panchama.
M.S.K. Shankaranarayanan (left) and M.S.K.Venkatesan.
The tukkada items proved immensely popular and included `Kanna Vaa' (Madhuvanthi), a Tiruppugazh (Sallapam), `Aayiram Kann' with a lively `English Note' suffix and another Tiruppugazh (Kanada, played in madhyama sruthi).
The special thavil thani was truly the icing on the cake as Vedaranyam V.G.Balasubramaniam and Senthamangalam A. Manikandan served up a sparkling cocktail of sollus.
Lively duo
Mannargudi M.S.K.Shankaranarayanan and M.S.K. Venkatesan formed a lively duo with a colourful, flamboyant style that infused a strong dose of energy into their presentation. The upbeat air of `Namami Vigna Vinayaka' transmitted the joie-de-vivre of Hamsadhwani. `Raga Sudharasa' (Andolika) packed a powerful punch while rivulets of melody coursed through `Balasubramanya' (Bhimplas).
The main piece `Nee Nrittam Idum'and the Sarasangi raga yielded an unusual mélange of sancharas.
The brigas were whizzing Catherine wheels streaking across the night sky in a spectacular firework display. Much attention was lavished on the kalpanaswaras replete with kanakkus and a grand korvai.
Big surprise
Now came the big surprise of the evening. Two solemn little boys ascended the dais and proceeded to play a special thavil thani which proved a point — their level of proficiency was in inverse proportion to their size.
Within minutes, Thirukarugavur T.D.M.Anandasubramaniam (aged all of 8) and Thirumalapadi S. Gopinath (aged 13) were giving older artistes a run for their money, wowing listeners with the amazing clarity of their strokes and a variety of challenging sollus that rolled out with an azhutham to equal that of their seniors.
Special thavil vidwans, Idumbavanam K.S.Kannan and Thaththapuram Ganesan followed this up with their much-awaited thani during which percussion aficionados had a field day, gleefully following nadai variations with contagious enthusiasm.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
