Mark of a veteran vocalist
JAYA NARAYANAN PISHAROTY
|
The highlight of T.V.Sankaranarayanan's recital was the excellent rapport among the artistes on stage.
|
MASTERLY RENDITION: T.V. Sankaranarayanan.
Veteran Carnatic vocalist T.V. Sankaranarayanan's musical legacy dates back a hundred years to his famous grandfather, Madurai Pushpavanam Iyer.
T.V.Sankaranarayanan was initiated into the world of Carnatic classical music at the age of nine by his uncle Madurai Mani Iyer.
His concert in Thrissur was organised by Thalam Cultural Trust and Vivekananda Sangeeta Sadas. T.V.S cut no corners and made no compromises. His `two- hour recital' stretched for three and the audience stayed put. T.V.Sankaranarayanan's famous invocation to Ganesha, `Mahaganapatim' in Nata had verve and vitality. His major presentation was Kalyani. The lower octaves were well explored and all the possibilities of the raga were touched upon.
The composition was `Himadri Sutey Pahimam' with exuberant niraval at `Shyamakrishna Sodari.' Kalyani came forth in all her moods, shy and graceful, and sometimes making a bold statement. `Thaye Yashode' in Thodi, sounded interestingly different as T.V.S follows the bani of his guru.
Main raga
When the recital moved to the main raga of the evening, Kapi, the masterly touch was evident. `Inte sowkhyamani,' a Tygaraja kriti, delineated fully the `bhakti bhava' as the devotee tried to describe the heavenly bliss of chanting the lord's name.
Avanishwaram Vinu's violin interludes were brilliant and T.V.Sankaranarayanan took the cue from him and sang back the passages played on the violin. It was a touching gesture, worthy of a truly great man. The thaniavarthanam was spirited, each artiste refusing to budge an inch from the highest levels of perfection.
The third major raga of the evening was Surya (also called Sallapam). It is like Hindolam but has anthara gandharam. And that makes all the difference.
The exquisite ragam, thanam, pallavi and soulful rendition proved that it is one of the favourites of the performer himself. The composition moved into Raga Desh and back again with effortless ease.
T.V.S. interspersed the performance with short pieces in Durbar, Behag and Hamsanandi. He did not fail to include all-time favourites such as `Eppo Varuvaro' in Jaunpuri and `English notes' in Sankarabharanam.
A striking feature of the concert was the magical empathy on the stage. AIR artiste K. Jayakrishnan (mridangam), Sreejith (ghatam) and Payyanoor Govinda Prasad (muharsing) gave able support to the vocalist.
Unfazed by the presence of the master vocalist, Vinu kept his own pace and style. None of these youngsters had been born when T.V.S started his career. But the senior artiste graciously put them at ease.
T.V.S is generous in his appraisal of new generation singers. "They are tech-savvy and smart. They are lucky enough to get exposure and fame early. What is lacking is `bhakti-bhava,' which is the bedrock of all classical art, especially Carnatic music."
T.V.Sankaranarayanan is one of those rare artistes whose personality and performance, both find a way into the hearts of rasikas.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
