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In total harmony
LINGUISTICALLY THE harmonium, a Western instrument, was linked with harmonic notes and the concept of harmony. But the man who harmonised the harmonium with the unfathomed ranges of Indian classical music was Kottaram Sankunni Nair. At a time when the harmonium was derided by many as an instrument incapable of handling the `gamakas' of Carnatic and Hindustani music, Sankunni Nair took it up as a challenge and used his instrumentation skills to adapt the instrument to meet the demands of melody. Not surprising then that many including Rabindranath Tagore, Jawaharlal Nehru, Kamaladevi Chatopadhyaya and General Cariappa appreciated his achievement.
The Avishkar Kottaram Sankunni Nair Smaraka Kalakendram at Kochi has been spreading the message of harmony for the last one year imparting training to youngsters in Hindustani and Carnatic music, light, classical and instrumental. Recently, this cultural centre functioning under the guidance of Sankunni Nair's son S. P. Nair, celebrated its first anniversary with a three-day festival of music and dance, in association with the Kerala Fine Arts Society.
At the festival, inaugurated by Uthradam Tirunal Marthanda Varma, the Maharaja of Travancore, the first Kottaram Sankunni Nair Award was presented to veteran vocalist Mavelikkara Prabhakara Varma. Avishkar also honoured violinist Nedumangad Sivanandan and drama actress Thankam Vasudevan Nair.
The three-day cultural programme was enriched by illuminating talks, classical concerts, light music, devotional music and dance programmes. While the highlight of the first two days were classical concerts by Rukmini Nair and Prince Aswati Tirunal Rama Varma, the grand jugalbandi on the final day, by Mohan Kumar and Changanassery Madhavan Namboodiri, succeeded in creating an ambience of harmony. A perfect homage to the harmonium maestro.
Rukmini Nair, a legatee of the Sankunni Nair heritage, had imbibed music lessons from stalwarts like Musiri Subrahmania Iyer, G. N. Balasubramaniam, K.V. Narayanaswami etc. She was accompanied in her concert by Thiruvizha Sivanandan (violin), Kuzhalmandam Ramakrishan (mridangam) and Udupi Sreedhar (ghatam). Beginning with the Deekshitar `krithi' `Vathapi... ' in Hamsadhwani, she took the concert to great heights with her rendering of the GNB `krithi' `Intha paraamu... ' in Bhairavi. Other notable pieces presented were `Sree Rangapura vihara... ' in Vrindavana Saranga, `Raghuvamsasutha... ' in Kathanakuthoohalam and `Eppo Varuvaro... ' in Jaunpuri.
Aswati Tirunal Rama Varma was accompanied in his concert by Attukal Balasubramaniam (violin) and Dr. G. Babu (mridangam). A disciple of Vechoor Harihara Subramania Iyer and Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, he chose Balamurali's `Omkarakari... ' in Lavangi as the main `krithi.' The opening piece was M. D. Ramanathan's `Gajavadana... ' in Hamsadwani, which was marked by a brief `alapana.'
The festival had a fitting finale with an enthralling jugalbandi by Pandit Ramesh Narayan's disciple Mohan Kumar (Hindustani) and noted Carnatic vocalist Changanassery Madhavan Namboodiri. The instrumental support was provided by Kamalakar Seth (harmonium), Edappally Ajith (violin), Roshan Haris (tabla) and Palakkad Mahesh Kumar (mridangam). The jugalbandi was a neat blend of the two musical streams. Three ragas, Kalyani, Hindolam and Sindhubhairavi, were used to create a perfect harmony.
M. K. BALAGOPAL
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