MUSIC ACADEMY
Alapana of haunting quality
V. SUBRAHMANIAM
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Vijay Siva rendered a brilliant concert steeped in patanthara, the highlight being the exposition of Kalyani.
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Photo: R. Ragu.
SANS GIMMICKS AND FRILLS: Vijay Siva.
N.Vijay Siva's vocal concert left the audience satiated giving them the feeling that they had listened to a brilliant concert sans gimmicks and the frills that one comes across these days. As a senior disciple of late D.K.Jayaraman, there was no dearth of patanthara suddha in the compositions rendered by Siva.
Endowed with a slightly high pitched and slender voice, Siva has now surmounted certain small impediments his voice used to have, through adopting open throated singing. His voice co-operated very well that evening and responded well to his musical commands.
Perhaps, if he could reduce the nasal twang he occasionally exhibits, his voice would certainly become more robust.
After a small sloka on Ganesa, Siva started off with the Adi tala tisra nadai kriti "Gam Ganapate" (Hamsadwani of Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar) with a few flashes of kalpanaswara. He proceeded to render a Dhanyasi (Adi) piece of Bhadrachala Ramadas, a rare one.
After a pleasant alapana of Mukhari, `Entaninne' of Tyagaraja in Rupakam was rendered with neraval in `Kannulara Sevinchi' and kalpanaswara.
The highlight of the concert was the Kalyani alapana which was highly imaginative and full of depth. No aspect was left unexplored so much so that the essay is bound to haunt the listeners for quite a few days as the alapanas of yesteryear stalwarts used to.
The kriti was Muthuswami Dikshitar's `Abhayamba' in Adi tala. This kriti contained swarakshara prayogas aplenty. He chose the lines "Abhayavarada Pani Aliveni" for neraval.
Though this line appeared a little crowded with sahitya leaving no elbow room for imaginative phrasings, Vijay Siva handled it expertly, packing it with imagination. After kalpanaswara and tani avarthanam, Siva took up his mentor's masterpiece, `Mayamma' (Ahiri, Syama Sastri).
The Ragam Tanam Pallavi was in Khamas. The raga alapana was crisply developed, followed with sharp essays of tanam. " Naarada Guru Swami- Nannadarimpave" was the pallavi in Misrachapu tala with eduppu six mathras after samam.
`Sharada Bhujanga Ashtotram' of Adi Sankara tuned by violinist R.K.Sriramkumar in a ragamalika (khandnadai, Adi) was a pleasant surprise.
A ragamalika virutham from `Abhirami Andadi' came next and the concert concluded with `Apagara Nindai' of Arunagirinathar in Chakravagam.
Vijay Siva has matured into a singer of high rank over the years and it is very clear that he would scale greater heights soon.
Sriram Kumar accompanied him on the violin very competently, his solo essays being equal in brilliance, matching the vocal artiste. Vellore Ramabhadran, veteran mridanga vidwan, elevated the concert to great levels by his supportive percussion.
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