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Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.

THE TWOSOME Both Jeyashree and Shubha soaked in the pleasure of singing with each other

It was a jugalbandi, between two women, and a rather rare coming together. Apart from our own Shymala Bhave and Nagavalli Nagaraj, there aren’t too many women in the country performing jugalbandis. And what can you expect when musicians of the stature of Shubha Mudgal and Bombay Jeyashree are performing? An auditorium that is packed, houseful, brimming, and spilling over with people. Not surprising, for, it had to hold followings of both musicians.

Jeyashree and Shubha began the performance with raga Saraswati, which is basically a Carnatic raga. This janya of Vachaspati, the 64th in the melakarta scheme, is one of the most beautiful ragas; for the intense notes of devotion it spawns. This shaadava-shaadava raga was opened with the famous Saraswati shloka “Saraswati namastubhyam”. In Shubha’s powerful, full-blown voice and Jeyashree’s earthy and husky voice, the prayer couldn’t have sounded more perfect. There was a brief alaap before they started on their respective pieces. Both totally immersed in their music, they began on a slow, meditative note and soon gathered pace and momentum. While Shubha had long, meend-like phrases, Jeyashree’s was gamaka filled. Even the little gaps between phrases, was embellished with such finesse: soft and understated.

When the main composition was taken up, they refrained from singing together because Shubha sang a khyal written by her guru Ram Ashray Jha “Tero hi naam ratath, Sur gandharv muni guni”, set to teentaal and Jeyashree sang that wonderful piece “Saraswati Namostute” in roopakataala.

Any attempt at analysing their brilliantly structured renditions, though short, would sound pedantic and bland. The harmonium (Sudhir Nayak) and the violin (Embar Kannan) took their presentations up by many notches.

Shuddh Kalyan/Mohana Kalyani had a lalitya, that was at once so tantalising and evocative. Jeyashree rendered a Kannada composition, “Bhuvaneshwariya nene maanasave”, a Muthaiah Bhagavatar composition. If Shubha in her rendition of the Sadarang composition “Beetiya adhura aavat hai” traversed in a stream-of- consciousness manner and was hence deeply reflective, Jeyashree’s was marked by austerity. The swara prastara versus the boltaan worked well. But at this juncture the percussion joined in working out rhythm patterns, and it got too chaotic.

The highlight of the ashtapadi-thumri they rendered was the harmonium, who brought in new perspectives and with such élan. He wove in shades of other ragas and gave it a poignant intensity.

In all, it was an enjoyable concert. But like the many jugalbandis, this too had its share of problems. But that perhaps will be sorted out with more such endeavours, considering the fact that they are two thinking, intellectual musicians.

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