Friday Review
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In a class of her own
LALITHAA KRISHNAN
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Sprightly sangatis and stimulating swara patterns made the concert of Seetha Rajan enjoyable.
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Fine balance: Seetha Rajan
A life well lived and music well loved have much to offer in common. Looking back and taking stock, the artiste who has experienced both can find immense comfort in reliving a montage of moods and moments in which life reflects art and vice versa.
Seetha Rajan walks tall as an artiste and guru. Having made a decision not to hop on to the commercial bandwagon that hits a tired trail on the hype highway with monotonous regularity, she has long since opted for a path less trodden.
The result is that her music reflects the hard-won equipoise that stems from having endeavoured and won - on her terms.
The serene air of Tyagaraja’s ‘Sri Narada’ gave a soothing start to the artist’s vocal recital on the concluding day of Krishna Gana Sabha’s Gokulashtami series. Kalpanaswaras encapsulated essence.
A sprightly ‘Sudha Madhurya Bhashini’ (Sindhuramakriya, Tyagaraja) provided textural contrast to the Anandhabhairavi alapana that followed. Insightful prayogas were chiselled around the panchama, complementing the weighty sangatis of Muthuswami Dikshitar’s ‘Dandayudhapanim.’
Fitting tribute
The Latangi alapana was young in spirit, employing janta permutations and wide spanning jarus to create surprise pockets of discovery. The emotive articulation of sangatis in Koteeswara Iyer’s ‘Kai Kooda’ was a tribute to the composer. Stimulating swara patterns called attention to a creative mind.
Tyagaraja’s ‘Paluku Kantachakkeranu’ offered a tantalizing glimpse into Navarasakannada.
The detailed Thodi exposition was a finely etched tapestry, sancharas carrying the stamp of superior craftsmanship. There was a fine balance here, of mellowness and passion, as the artist oversaw the intricate detailing with anuswaras at every point, including the panchama, dhaivatha and tara stayi gandhara.
Majestic sangatis powered Kumara Ettendra’s ‘Gajavadana’ highlighted by the chittaswaram and kizhkala swaras heavy with meaning. The artist gave a different slant to Mohanam in the RTP. The fluid curves of the alapana captured a distinctive flavour and proceeded in two stages, the initial segment up to the tara stayi shadja. Continuous loops of phrases were linked to the tara stayi gandhara.
The unhurried development of the tanam mined valuable nuggets at vadi-samvadi points. The pallavi ‘Mohana Muddu Rangaiyya, Nannu Brova Vaiyya’ (tisra triputa tala, khanda nadai), composed by vidwan A. Sundaresan revealed there was far more to its deceptively simple structure than glimpsed on the surface.
V. Sanjeev (violin) complemented the vocalist’s ideas and came much closer to capturing the main artist’s drift in Mohanam.
Sathish Kumar (mridangam) and S. Karthik (ghatam) offered percussive support and a tani that combined intelligence with sensitivity.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
