Vocalists and instrumentalists enriched the anniversary celebrations of Rasikapriya with their outstanding recitals.
Carnatic fiesta: U. Shrinivas
When Carnatic music programmes, intermixed with vocal and instrumental concerts, appear in a row for a few consecutive days, music lovers in Kochi make the most of the cultural programmes.
The recently concluded 31st anniversary of Rasikapriya, Kochi, conducted in association with Bharatiya Vidyabhavan (Kochi Kendra), from May 17 to May 20 had a sizable crowd of music buffs on all the four days.
The inaugural concert was by N.P. Ramaswamy who takes great care in selecting the best of ragas and kritis to ensure that the concert appeals to all types of audiences. He began with a composition of his own, a varnam (‘Sundara Thara’) in Kharharapriya. In its wake came ‘Umaa Nandanaaya’ in Sahana, another creation by the vocalist himself. Then he presented ‘Brihaspathe’ in Ataana, composed by Dikshitar.
Tyagaraja’s ‘Needayaraada’ in Vasantha Bhairavi was followed by a lucid description of ‘Gopikaa vasantham,’ a composition by Dikshitar in Mohanam, which helped balance the concert.
During swaraprastharam, Ramaswamy adroitly manipulated the basic scale to produce a flash of Madhyamavathi and Hindolam. It was then the turn for Khamas, through ‘Ee Vela Nannu.’ ‘Akshayalinga Vibho’ in Sankarabharanam was embellished by swara sequences. Avaneeswaram Vinu accompanied on the violin ably. Thripunithura Neelakantan and Shoranur Rajesh on the ghatom provided a steady rhythm.
Master of the mandolin
The Priya sisters.
U. Shrinivas who made headlines as a child prodigy has, over the years, ‘mastered’ the instrument and he has acquired the knack of presenting a ‘rakthi’ raga or a rare one with equal felicity. His concert on the second day of the programme began with a varnam in Vasantha (‘Ninne Kori’) by Tachur Singaracharyalu. He then took up GNB’s ‘Varavallabha’ in Hamsadhvani in which the swara sequence was capped by a scintillating ‘Mohra’ to whet the appetite of the listeners. ‘Jagadananda Karaka,’ a Naatta Pancharathnam, paved the way for Dikshitar’s ‘Ranganayakam’ in Nayaki. Sarasangi was adorned with ‘gamaka’ and staccato notes, highlighting the suppleness in Swati Tirunal’s ‘Jaya jaya Padmanabha.’ Tyagaraja’s ‘Meevalla’ (Kaappi) in a medium tempo and ‘Gaanamoorthe’ at a slower pace, was followed by Kalyani, which was affixed by thanam and pallavi.’ The accompanying artistes were V.V. Srinivasa Rao on the violin, B. Harikumar on the mridangam and Thripunithura Radhakrishnan on the ghatom.
Sattur A.G. Subramaniam, the stalwart from Trichy, was held in high esteem by his illustrious contemporaries like Ariyakudi, GNB, Madurai Mani Iyer and so on for his unwavering adherence towards ‘sampradaaya’ and for being a disciplinarian who looked forward to a total involvement on the part of the listeners.
Hence it is no wonder that his daughters Lalitha Santhanam and Bhuvana Rajagopal (Sattur Sisters) are firmly entrenched in the norms of tradition and principles of ‘Katcheri Dharma.’
Lalitha indulged in a little bit of ‘Vyavahaara’ when Bhuvana proved her mettle through engaging melodic patterns. They started with a varnam in Darbar (Chalamela by Veena Kuppaiyer) before coming up with compositions such as ‘Gananathane’ in Saranga, ‘Raaka Shashivadana’ in Takkaa, ‘Smaramyaham’ in Ramapriya and ‘Ramajothimanthu’ in Khamas by Bhadrachala Ramadas.
Lalitha then came up with a highly crafted composition by Pattanam Subrahmania Iyer in Keeravani (‘Varamulo’). Bhuvana sang a melodious ‘Balagopala’ in Mohanam.
Sattur Sisters.
Violinist Ajith Edappally and percussionist Vaikom Gopakumar (mridangam) and Thripunithura Kannan (ghatom) ably accompanied the vocalists. The thani that followed was absorbing. Ragam-thanam pallavi in Hemavathy, combined with a ragamalika comprising Bindumalini, Kanada, Vrindavansaranga and Vasanthi, charmed the audience.
The Priya sisters
The void created by the fading away of the fabulous pair Radha-Jayalakshmi has been filled to some extent by their disciples, the Priya Sisters. At present, the sisters are being trained by T.R. Subrahmaniam.
Their performance on the last day of the fete saw them enthral the listeners with a confident recital.
They began with a varnam ‘Jalajakshi’ in Hamsadhvani, composed by Maanambuchaavadi Venkatasubbaiyer, one of the foremost disciples of Tyagabrahmam.
N.P. Ramaswamy entertained the audience with their brand of music.
A lilting ‘Sree Vathapi’ in Sahana had an enjoyable swara phase. Dikshitar’s ‘Hirnamayee’ was sung meticulously. Koteeswarayyar’s composition ‘Arul Sheiyya’ in Rasikapriya was superb and then Shanmughapriya portrayed Bhairavi with some sprightly phrases. The duo sang Tyagaraja’s ‘Enaati’ with a charming ‘niravel’ (‘Sundaresha Sugunabrinda’) evoking the applause of the rasikas.
Again, it was the adventurous Shanmughapriya who presented a mellifluous Ranjini and the pair then presented thanam pallavi.
M.A. Krishnaswamy wielded the bow in the typical Parur style. Delhi Sairam (mridangam) and Madippakkam Murali (ghatom), effectively backed the vocalists.
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