Mellifluous festival ragas
S. RAMACHANDRA IYER
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The seven-day Sree Neelakanta Sivan Sangeetha Aradhana featured both stalwarts and up-and-coming singers.
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Sweet melodies: S. Sowmya, Neyveli Santhanagopalan, Lalgudi siblings G.J.R. Krishnan and Vijayalakshmi
The 33rd Sree Neelakanta Sivan Sangeetha Aradhana was held in connection with the 108th death anniversary of the saint-composer Neelakanta Sivan. The seven-day programme was held at Sree Sathya Vageeswara Swami Japa Dhyana Bhajana Mandapam, Thiruvananthapuram.
The opening concert was by S. Sowmya. Her recital, which began with the navaragamalika varnam ‘Valachi vachi,’ composed by Pattanam Subramania Iyer, stood out for her fine selection of compositions. ‘Ananda Nadamaduvar,’ composed by Neelakanta Sivan in Purvi Kalyani, was appreciated by the listeners.
The Shyama Sastri keerthanam ‘Durusuga’ in Saveri was selected for elaborate raga alapana niraval and kalpanaswarams. The taniavarthanam by Neyveli Narayanan (mridangam) and Udipi Sridhar (ghatom) was an added attraction. Avaneeswaram S.R. Vinu accompanied on the violin.
Memorable performance
Neyveli Santhanagopalan gave a memorable performance on the second day. A special feature of the concert was the vocal support provided by Sreeranjani, daughter of Neyveli Santhanagopalan.
The Sree raga varnam composed by Karur Chinnadevudu in Garbha Puri, ‘Sami Ninne Kori,’ gave an impressive start to the concert. Tygarajan’s ‘Nijamarmamulanu’ in Umabharanam, not often heard these days, was a refreshing experience. Papanaswam Sivan’s ‘Karthikeya Gangeya’ in Thodi was the main piece of the concert. T.H. Subramaniam’s violin, especially for the Thodiragalapana and the kalpanaswaram, matched the brilliance of the vocalist. The Swati Tirunal thillana in Dhanasree was the concluding item of a superlative performance.
Expectations were sky high when the Lalgudi siblings, G.J.R. Krishnan and Vijayalakshmi, began their violin concert. They kept the audience rooted to their seats during the three-hour concert. Beginning with an Adi tala varnam composed by their father, Lalgudi G. Jayaraman, in ‘Nilambari,’ they played the Neelakanta Sivan composition ‘Shambho Mahadeva’ in Bouli. Vijayalakshmi’s bowing for the ragalapana of Papanasam Sivan’s Surutti composition, ‘Dhyai Seyya’ was exquisite. Tyagaraja’s ‘Enthamutho’ in Bindumauni preceded the ragam, thanam and pallavi in Shanmukhapriya. Nanjil Arul (mridangam) and Anchal Krishna Iyer (ghatam) accompanied the main artistes.
Kavalam Sreekumar, S. Saketharaman, Gayatri Venkataraghavan and T.V. Sankaranarayanan participated in the Sree Neelakanta Sivan Sangeetha Aradhana.
Kavalam Sreekumar opened his recital with a Adi tala varnam in Kedaragowla. ‘Pranathosmi,’ a unique composition in Gurupriya, Gambhiranata and Saraswathi, composed by B. Sasikumar, followed. Two Neela Kanta Sivan keertanams, ‘Anantha Nadamaduvar’ and ‘Enintha thamatham’ in Puri Kalyani and Natakurinji respectively, paid tribute to the composer. Kutti Kunju Thankachi’s (daughter of Irayimman Thampi) composition ‘Paripahi’ in Rasikapriya was a novel addition. ‘Kapali’ in Mohanam was the major item.
A thillana by B. Sasikumar in Hamsavinodini was the concluding item. He was accompanied by Edappally Ajith (violin), Kadakkavur G.S. Rajesh Nath (mridangam) and Adichanalloor Anilkumar (ghatam).
S. Saketharaman’s recital commenced with the Neelakanta Sivan composition ‘Shambho Mahadeva’ in Bouli. ‘Entraikku sivakripai’ in Mukhari, a piece by Neelakanta Sivan, was sung well. The main piece was the Tyagaraja composition ‘Rama Neeyada’ in Kharaharapriya. Three more songs were sung after the taniavarthanam by Trivandrum V. Balaji (mridangam) and K.V. Gopalakrishnan (ghanjira).
Gayatri Venkataraghavan chose ‘Pavani’ in Bahudhari, a varnam composed by her guru A. Sundaresan, to open her account. ‘The flagship of the concert was the Tygaraja composition ‘O Rangasayee’ in Kambhoji. The taniavarthanam by Kadanad V.K. Gopi (mridangam), Perukavu P.L. Sudheer (ghatam) and Trivandrum Rajamani (ghanjira) was appreciated by the audience. Eswara Varma admirably supported on the violin.
On a solemn note
T.V. Sankaranarayanan’s recital was on the last day. His son Mahadevan Sankar gave vocal support. The vocalists were accompanied by S.R. Mahadeva Sarma (violin), K.V. Prasad (mridangam) and T.V. Vasan (ghatam). The singer began on a solemn note by reciting a tribute composed by himself on Neelakanta Sivan. Sivan’s ‘Sri Ganapthiye’ in Nata and Tyagaraja’s ‘Entha Bhagyamu’ in Saranga set the tempo of the musical evening.
After a brief recital of ‘Padmanabha Pahi,’ composed by Swati Tirunal, Sankaranarayanan chose Sankarabharanam for alapana and the Tyagaraja kriti ‘Ethuda Neela’ for elaborate rendering with niraval and swaraprastharam. The taniavarthanam by K.V. Prasad (mridangam) and T.V. Vasan (ghatam) stood out.
The enticing ‘Eppo Varuvaro’ in Jonpuri reminded one of the artiste’s illustrious uncle Madurai Mani Iyer. ‘Eru Mayileri’ in Mohanam was the penultimate item of the concert. The Western music note composed by Muthayya Bhagavathar brought the annual music festival to an end. The music concerts were organised by the Sri Neelakanta Sivan Sangeetha Sabha.
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