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Non-strident aesthetics
LALITHAA KRISHNAN
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Sedate and facile, Unnikrishnan was in no hurry that evening.
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Quality presentation: P. Unnikrishan
As part of its fourth anniversary celebrations, the Guruvayur Dorai Trust presented an award to veteran kanjira vidwan Mayavaram G. Somasundaram. A versatile artiste who has accompanied four generations of musicians, was lauded by eminent personalit
ies who spoke on the occasion. His unswerving loyalty to vidwan Madurai Somu, for whom he provided accompaniment for 32 years and his teaching tenure at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, during which he groomed a considerable number of students with dedication, were highlighted.
In keeping with the Trust’s aim of providing assistance to deserving students, vidwan Guruvayur Dorai presented a mridangam to Vijayan Chockalingam, a disciple from Mauritius.
The felicitation was followed by P. Unnikrishan’s vocal recital. The vocalist’s penchant for non-strident aesthetics was the distinguishing factor in his concert. The varnam ‘Sarasijanabha’ (Nattai) was negotiated facilely. After a subdued ‘Mahaganapathe’ (Natanarayani, Muthuswami Dikshitar) Tyagaraja’s ‘Varaalandhu’( Gurjari) followed. Thus far, one got the impression that the artiste was conserving his energy for bigger things to come. It was during the sarvalaghu swara segment in Gurjari that the pace began gathering momentum, Nagai Murali’s dexterity on the violin matching Unnikrishnan’s vocal agility, phrase for phrase. Came Varali, and the vocalist was still in no hurry to prove a point. A relaxed, laid-back air prevailed as long-winded prayogas circled the shadja and the dance of anuswaras choreographed intricate passages.
In the niraval in Tyagaraja’s ‘Karuna Yelaagante,’ one heard the words ‘Paramathmudu Jeevathmudu’... and then what? One had to engage in a spot of lip-reading and strain one’s ears to catch the res of the sahitya. If only the artiste were to favour ‘spashtam’, it could become yet another potent ingredient in his winning recipe.
The vocalist’s yen for Khambodi assured the listener of a quality presentation. Expectations were fulfilled in the goal-oriented progression of essence-laden sancharas towards the dhaivatha and the extended sojourn in the tara sthayi. Content scored. However, with ‘akara’ singing at a premium in the tara sthayi, the ‘u’ kara and ‘ri’ kara predominated, with the result that there was constrained sound projection and the artiste lost out on ‘azhuttam.’ Gopalakrishna Bharathi’s ‘Thiruvadi Charanam’ was addressed with the ease born of long familiarity. Unnikrishnan’s niraval and kalpanaswara excursions invariably offer something to look forward to, and this instance was no exception. The niraval at ‘Aduthu Vanda’ began almost imperceptibly and was built with skill to generate pace and excitement.
Nagai Murali’s strong tone and support proved a boon to the main artiste. His skilled sketch of Varali and sensitive touches in Khambodi lent completeness. Shertalai R. Ananthakrishnan (mridangam) and B.S.Purushotham (kanjira) embellished kritis, niraval and swaras with strong percussive patterns.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
