Beat notes
The silver jubilee celebration of a unique organisation the Percussive Arts Centre dedicated to promotion, preservation and propagation of the laya, led by young percussionist V. Krishna concluded with a meaningful Seminar 12 on Taalavaadyas. The event was held under the joint auspices of MES Kalavedi, MES College, Malleshwaram. Veteran mridangist Trichy Sankaran in his eloquent lec-dem drove home the importance of "Aesthetics in Percussion Arithmetic". A layman has a limited knowledge of the intricacies of the mridanga play. It is mothing more than arithmetic for him. That is why he draws himself out of the auditorium at the time of tani avartana. But the said seminar was an eye-opener. Trichy Sankaran spoke about the variety of laya in Carnatic music. The percussionist should play in such a manner that is pleasing to the ear and food for thought too. This could be achieved by the usage of koruppus, he demonstrated. He also spoke about the adaptation of yathi (gopuchcha, shrotovaha and sama), gathi (3-4-5-7-9) and jathi bedhas as magnifying agents of the beauty of the laya. Giridhar Udupa lent support on his ghata.
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Young singers N.R. Sharada and N. R. Harini and Kalavathi Avadhooth and Geetha depicted how arithmetic embodies the percussion ensembles and orchestras. Accompanied by Shivu (mridanga), Guruprasanna (khanjira), Arun (rhythms), Udayraj Karpur and Madhusudan (tabla) and Somasekhar Jois (konakkol) the singers in their respective duets sang Bhairavi atatala varna (at different speeds and followed it up by "Panchajanya" (a composition in trishra, chaturashra, khanda, mishra and sankeerna laya) and Nalinakanathi tillana respectively.
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The seminar concluded with a scholarly vocal duet by R.N.Thyagarajan and R.N. Taranathan, the well-known Rudrapatnam Brothers. Their admirable concert craft and in-depth musical knowledge was evident in their renditions.
They were accompanied by Palghat T.R. Rajamani (mridanga) and Guruprasanna (khanjara) and began with a Saveri Varna. A crisp "Nenendu vedakudura" (Karnataka Behag) was followed by the nuanced Reetigowla ("Ragarathnamalikache"), and others.
M. SURYA PRASAD
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