Genius remembered
G. SWAMINATHAN
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GNB DAY Jeyaraaj Krishnan and Jayasri Jeyaraaj stuck to tradition in their veena playing. Trichur Ramachandran reminded one of his guru, in style and presentation.
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PHOTOS: S. Thanthoni
HOMAGE: (from left)Trichur Ramachandran, Jeyaraaj and Jayasri Jeyaraaj and Prof. M. S. Swaminathan.
The centenary celebrations of G.N. Balasubramaniam, fondly referred as GNB, has been celebrated with fervour by many sabhas in association with the GNB Centenary Celebration Committee. E. Subramaniam deserves special mention for organising this seri
es of concerts. The most recent one, the sixth in the series, was conducted at the Bala Mandir German Hall in association with Indian Fine Arts Society. These series concerts mostly cover some compositions of GNB and the kritis popularised by him during his lifetime.
Notwithstanding the oppressive heat outside and inside, the sound of the veena filled the air as Jeyaraaj Krishnan and Jayasri Jeyaraaj performed. The concert was marked by its tradition-bound approach and delicate playing. Jayasri’s Kalyani alapana was full of demure phrases with a few spins thrown in between. The fast and dynamic ‘Sivakameswarim’ of Tyagaraja was counter-balanced with fine swaras ending in an appealing korvai by Jayasri.
Contrastingly, Jeyaraaj was slightly flamboyant initially and in the upper regions of the Bhairavi exposition, which prefaced the main ‘Balagopala’ of Dikshitar. The tanam was flavoured with the ragamalika in Saveri, Bilahari, Bageshree and Brindavanasaranga. GNB’s Gaavathi varnam, ‘Karimukha Varada’ (Nattai) in the beginning, ‘Radha Sameda Krishna’ celebrated by him in Misra Yaman in the end and ‘Manasa Yetulo’ in Malayamarutham in the middle, pepped up the concert.
Mannarkoil Balaji on the mridangam and Madipakkam Sankar on ghatam contributed to the perfect rhythmic composition of the concert, supplemented by a short but vibrant thani.
Able student
The next concert was by Trichur Ramachandran, the prime disciple of GNB’s, who also reminds one of the musical genius in many ways, especially the slightly nasal timbre in the voice and zestful presentation style. He was supported by M.A. Sundareswaran on the violin, R. Ramesh on the mridangam and E.M. Subramaniam on the ghatam.
A lilting Hindola varnam, a rare composition in a rare raga Chandrahasi (resembling Ravichandrika) ‘Entha Ninnu Vedidine’ and ‘Nee Valayil’ in raga Chaaya Ranjani (a derivative of Subha Pantuvarali) launched the concert with lustre. Mohanam was expanded with its pithy phrases circumventing the usual brigas of the GNB School, and Tyagaraja’s ‘Rama Ninne Nammina’. This kriti acquired a special position after GNB started including it in his concerts, Ramachandran commented.
Ritigowla, a raga that can glow with any style of deliberation, received a royal treatment in the expert handling of Ramachandran. The various hues of the melodic raga and the alapana were aptly appended with Tyagaraja’s ‘Raga Ratna’ which was another GNB favourite. The crisp niraval at ‘Bhagavathothamulu Koodi’ and the swaras added with brilliant coupling of jandai and dattu swaras, proved the genius of the guru and the dedicated sishya as well.
Sundareswaran added dignity to the raga elucidations with supple phrases and strong insight. Ramesh and Subramaniam were props of perfection.
Illustrious musician
The chief guest for the evening, Prof. M.S. Swaminathan reminisced about GNB’s music and the man. He admitted that he had only a few opportunities to listen to the live concerts of GNB. He emphasised the need for creating archives of the illustrious musician and a veritable composer, and encouraged the efforts to create a digital library on GNB. GNB, Prof. Swaminathan observed, had enjoyed adulation for his style and intelligence at a very young age. The Maharaja of Travancore referred to him as ‘that Shanmukhapriya boy’ while Kalki wrote that if an election had been held in the music world at that time, GNB would have easily garnered all the votes in his favour.
Prof. Swaminathan quoted a few lines from his poem ‘Golden Means’ where he expected people to imbibe the spirit of God. For anyone to become successful in the chosen field, inspiration, perspiration and Divine Grace were necessary. GNB was blessed with all the three, the scientist said. Had he wished, GNB could have been a lawyer but he preferred to become a musician. Prof. Swaminathan concluded his talk by sharing the opinion of GNB, who expressed decades ago that youngsters should be encouraged to learn and master music, irrespective of their place and background.
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