Like guru, like sishya
GARIMELLA SUBRAMANIANM
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Kasturi Rangan sang in a familiar style while Shuba Ganesan was all control.
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One was in for many pleasant surprises during two concerts under the aegis of the Shanti Arts Foundation and Endowments — the unique experience of discovering Kasturi Rangan, T.N. Seshagopalan's sishya, from the manner in which he sang a kriti in Vijayasarasvati raga; welcome reappearance of `sruti bedam;' excellent rendering of Todi, a raga sang in almost every kutcheri today, through a tillana rendered by Shuba Ganesan; and the realisation that Shanti Arts Foundation, celebrating its 10th anniversary, may be setting an example for patrons of art.
The tonal ornamentation Kasturi Rangan imparted to the Saveri varnam struck one as somewhat unusual and reminiscent. But it was too early to make up one's mind. When he displayed the entire range of his voice in the Pantuvarali alapana, and glided across stayis seemingly effortlessly, there was no mistaking the characteristic Seshagopalan style.
A keen grasp of lyrics was another facet of his mastery that came through in `Appa Rama Bhakti.' So absorbing were the neraval and svaraprastaram in the anupallavi that when he finished, one almost forgot that he was yet to sing the charanam.
The great discovery came when Kasturi Rangan sang `Saranam Vijaya Sarasvati maye.' Few will disagree that this Muthaiah Bhagavatar composition is one of Seshagopalan's signature songs.
While rendering the Todi raga, he rose up to the `tarastaayi,' introduced a shift in the tonal (`sruti bedam') and gave a flavour of Mohanakalyani, eliciting a spontaneous round of applause. T. Hemamalini on the violin backed the vocalist all the way with matching solos. Her spell in Todi was even more remarkable.
T.K. Ramakrishnan and T.V. Venkatasubramanian on the mridangam and the ghatam concluded `Dasaradhi' with an impressive tani avartanam.
Shuba Ganesan seemed focussed on tapping the listeners' mental frame. The impact of her mellifluous voice, honed by M.L. Vasantakumari and later by Calcutta Krishnamurthy, was considerable. The compositions in Kalyani, Harikambhoji, Bahudari and Hindolam were embellished with clear enunciation and melodic improvisations.
The varnam `Vanajakshiro' has an attractive charanam and swaram that lend themselves to rhythmic variation. Shuba handled the phrase `Niluparani Mohamaye' sensitively without stretching it too much.
In Periyasami Tooran's Kiravani kriti on the Kanchi Paramacharya, Shuba passionately interpreted `Punniyam Oru Kodi Purindeno' after an immaculate alapana with sanchara. But the surprise element of the concert was Ramanadhapuram Srinivasa Iyengar's Todi tillana. The moment that mirrored Kandadevi Vijayaraghavan's excellent violin support was the concluding passage of his Kiravani alapana. V.M. Ganesan on the mridangam and Nirkunam Shankar on the kanjira gave a brisk tani towards the close of a controlled presentation.
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