Standout for spontaneity
M. RAMESH
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Thoughtful raga selection marked Krishna's concert; Yesudas' recital soared after initial hiccups.
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T. M. Krishna's concert will be remembered, if not for anything else, for the artiste's selection of ragas. Cliches are not for Krishna. Not for him the obscure ragas that leave one guessing. The artiste offered a variety fare, like a nice Gujarati thali in a south Indian restaurant.
Early on in the concert Krishna took up Kedaram for a brief alapana, a choice that caused several approving `aha's around the hall. A very leisurely paced ``Ananda Natana Prakasam" of Muthuswamy Dikshitar followed. The relaxed gait was understandable because anything faster would have made the puritans unhappy. The elaborate neraval and swaras at ``Sangeeta vadya vinoda" were the highlight of the concert. Some old timers said it reminded them of MDR. Violinist Sriram Parasuram provided spirited support.
Following up Kedaram with another slow exposition — Devagandhari — was perhaps unwise, but the choice hinted at a welcome spontaneity in selection. Absence of rehearsal is the very hallmark of Carnatic music. Tyagaraja's "Sita vara sangeeta gnanamu" was the song selected.
Then came a brisk Todi alapana, ending in a lengthy bass that raised expectations of a low-starting song like "Daasarathe," but on offer was Tyagaraja's "Dasukovalena," set to a 10-beat rhythm. The Todi piece ended at 8.20 pm and the air was thick with anticipation of an RTP, but like a captain sending an established opening batsman to the middle order, Krishna took off with a brisk "Swaminatha Paripalaya." A Nattai piece in the middle of a concert? Krishna is an iconoclast. One remembers how he took up Syama Sastri's swarajati after an elaborate Bhairavi alapana in a concert some time back.
CLICHES ARE RULED OUT: T. M. Krishna. Photo: K. V. Srinivasan.
There was to be no RTP anyway. ``Enduku Nirdaya" in Harikambodhi followed a lengthy, benchmark-setting alapana.
The percussionists — Srimushnam Raja Rao on the mridangam and T. V. Vasan on the ghatam — delighted the audience with an impeccable performance.
K. J. Yesudas is an enigma. Little needs to be said about the artiste's talents or, for that matter, about his grasp of Carnatic music. However, hardcore rasikas sometimes come back from his concerts wondering what went wrong. But when it clicks, it really clicks. Yesudas' concert for Kartik Fine Arts was one that clicked, albeit about an hour after it began. Opening with the Nattai varnam, Yesudas took up an alapana of Mohanam. Lack of symmetry between ascent and descent spoilt the fun. Seconds after Yesudas was swirling in the upper reaches of the raga, the alapana itself ended. Dikshitar's "Rakta Ganapatim" followed but somewhat lacked in `rakti,' perhaps because the vocalist was thoroughly dissatisfied with the audio arrangement and kept asking the sound engineers to keep the balance right. Then came the swaras like the burst of a machine gun. While one could see and marvel at the vocalist's imagination and authority, what came out was more of Yesudas' talent than Mohanam.
Then followed the ubiquitous ``Pavana Guru" (Dikshitar, Hamsanandi). It didn't come out as well as you get to hear in some of Yesudas' cassettes. At this stage the concert changed character. The Malayamarutam alapana that followed ought to be preserved as a sort of gold standard for the raga. Yesudas took the concert to a crescendo with a Karaharapriya, delivering a melodious alapana that rose from the depths of the raga, explored all its reaches and sank back into the depths in a slow gurgle. Taking up Tyagaraja's immortal "Chakkani Raja Margamu," Yesudas started off with sangatis that dwelt on each syllable as though he was doing an `akara' on each underlying note-reminiscent of Chembai. Vionist Nagai Muralidharan's play showed class. Thiruvarur Bhaktavatsalam, who usually likes to power his strokes, provided percussive support very subtly, although wearing finger caps.
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