Songs to cheer, voices to soothe
|
A spectrum of artistes took the stage this week. MANJARI SINHA
|
A musical tribute complete with dance and vocal recitals was paid to Maharaja Swati Tirunal, the erstwhile ruler of Travancore, in New Delhi this past week.
Swati Tirunal in his short life of 33 years made immense contributions to the field of music, dance, literature and education. Master of 13 languages, this multilingual poet began composing songs at the age of sixteen.
The tribute organised by the Delhi Malayalee Associa at the India Habitat Centre. was conceived and coordinated by Jayaprabha Menon.
Meeta Pandit, daughter and disciple of L.K. Pandit of the Gwaliar gharana, presented Swati Tirunal’s Hindi compositions in different styles, opening with a khayal “Main to nahin jaaoon jal nire…” in raga Bihag. It was followed by a tap-khayal, “Gori mat maro bain” set to addha theka in raga Kafi. Meeta concluded with a tap thumri, a style widely sung in the Gwaliar gharana. The composition “Ab to bairagin bhai aali…” in raga Kha
maj had the bhava of the thumri but was treated with a flourish of intricate taans of tappa style.
Sanskrit compositions
Sudha Raghuraman brought in the Sanskrit compositions of Swati Tirunal in her impressive Carnatic vocal recital. She opened with ‘Amba maamavasada Varade Mahishasuramardini…’ in raga Nattakuranji set to Rupaka tala. “Saras Ma Ramana…” came next in raga Bhushavali, where her imaginative niravals were complemented by the violin of Annadurai. The final composition in raga Bihag was a javali depicting the emotions of a Virahotkanthita nayika. Sudha’s charming swara combinations during the alap and swaraprastaras not only reflected her musical talent but also evoked the emotion in the compositions with considerable ease. N.V. Chandrashekhar on the mridangam and Annadurai on the violin gave her commendable support.
Pratibha Utsav
The N.C.Z.C.C. showcased the talents of National Scholarship holders at Pratibha-Utsav 2007 in the Capital this past week. The young artistes presented vocal, instrumental and dance recitals for two consecutive evenings at the Triveni auditorium. Suhail Yusuf Khan (sarangi), Raji Anwar (tabla), Arpita Bhattacharya (vocal) and Nandini Pal (Bharatanatyam) performed on the first evening. Nitu Chopra (tabla), Azim Ahmad Alwi (sitar), Shambhavi Das (ghazal) and Pranati Baxla (Bharatanatyam) performed on the concluding evening.
There was considerable promise in some of the performances. Shambhavi Das, groomed by Pandit Shantaram Kashalkar of Allahabad and Soma Singh of Delhi, presented a ghazal by Shamim Jaipuri based on raga Bageshri, and another by Momin, based on Desh. She tried a difficult composition by Ghulam Ali sung by Asha Bhonsle. Azim, initiated to the sitar by Mohsin Ali Khan and being trained by Shahid Parvez now, played raga Yaman with alap-jod, a Masitkhani gat set to Jhap tala, followed by Drut Ek tala and a faster Teen tala composition, with considerable ease. Nitu Chopra played Teen tala on the tabla with full confidence but will have to polish it to gain clarity. Pranati has a long way to go to perfect her Bharatanatyam.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
