Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
Amazing coordination
The Vrindavadyam team, from right:Durga Prasad, V. L. Kumar, Thiruvaroor Swaminath, K. V. Prasad, Parassala Ravi and Thripunithura Radhakrishnan.
TO PERFORM along with his most famous disciple on stage must be one of the most satisfying moments in the life of a musician. And to do this on the occasion of his 60th birthday celebration at the Kalikota Palace, Thripunithura, must have been something more than what noted mridangam player and teacher Prof. Parassala Ravi had bargained for. Playing along with his ward, the internationally acclaimed mridangist K. S. Prasad, the Vrindavadyam (instrumental concert) turned out to be a fitting finale to a hectic evening of celebration.
The vichitraveena, which resembles the gottuvadyam, violin, flute, two mridangams and the ghatam was a unique combination, but they blended so well, with unbelievable coordination, that the effect was simply amazing.
Durga Prasad on the vichitraveena, V. L. Kumar on the violin and Thiruvarur Swaminath on the flute took turns to take the lead, with Thripunithura Radhakrishnan (ghatam), Ravi and Prasad providing the percussion flavour.
The concert took off with `Neru Namithi... ' the lively Kanada Adathala varnam. It served as a true blueprint for the elaborate edifice of ragas that flowed subsequently, for the subtle improvisations, swaraprastaharas etc.
All the vibrancy of Shanmukhapriya was brought out through the Dikshitar krithi `Sidhi Vinayakam... ' and at the end of it the instrumentalists had tuned themselves perfectly. Two Tyagaraja krithis followed. `Niravathisukha... ' in Ravichandrika and `Ganamurthe... ' in Ganamurthi.
The main raga chosen for the evening was Poorvikalyani. The essence of the raga was revealed in the Dikshitar krithi `Meenakshimemutham... ' The `thaniyavarthanam' in Adi thalam, in which the two mridangams and ghatam performed separately, was also tagged on to this piece.
Importantly, the concert did not lag even when it moved into the final phase. `Thirathavilayattupillai... .' (Sindhubhairavi), was played superbly, every instrument coming alive, joining in as a whole, to lead to a perfect climax. The concert wound up with the Dhanashri thillana.
Earlier, in a public meeting in which Minister K. V. Thomas, inaugurated the celebrations. Parassala Ravi was felicitated by his gurus Prof. Velukutty Nair and C. S. Krishnamurthy, by a number of his students, organisations, music societies and people from various walks of life.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
|
