BHARAT KALACHAR
From cruise mode to roller coaster
G.SWAMINATHAN
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The violin behaved like a genie, obeying every command of Kunnakkudi Vaidyanathan.
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PHOTO: K.V. SRINIVASAN.
SPELLBINDING: Kunnakkudi Vaidyanathan.
It is a little difficult to fathom Kunnakkudi Vaidyanathan's music. He is enigmatic and a maverick but above all a genius. He plays the violin in a completely unconventional manner that leaves one both puzzled and exasperated at times. In his hands the instrument behaves like a tamed giant, the fairytale genie, capable of creating resonance of any decibel. He can take the violin on a cruise and quickly switch over to the roller-coaster mode.
One almost expects sparks to fly as string and bow meet but what one hears instead is sparkling swaras. How does Vaidyanathan manage to do all this within the ambit of the ragas' arohanam and avarohanam? He unleashes the swaras with razor sharp precision and the link is found with a sleek touch. Thus one hears the cooing of a cuckoo, the roar of a lion, the chirping of a bird, etc., and they all connect to produce music that is spellbinding.
Beneath the acrobatics there is an artiste who has mastered the classical idiom that surfaces as a rare prayogam of Kannadagowla or Asaveri or a striking sangati in Suddha Dhanyasi. Only such moments are few and far between.
The concert of Kunnakkudi Vaidyanathan and company that opened the Margazhi Mahotsav of Bharat Kalachar started with a resounding Gambira Nattai (`Gnana Vinayakane') and concluded with a streak of Madhyamavati.
In between there was the moderate `Ora Jupuchu' (Kannadagowla), `Charanam Charanam Raghurama' (Asaveri) that began on a soft note but later assumed a strident tone and a dazzling `Himagiri Thanaye' in Suddha Dhanyasi.
Vaidyanathan's loyal band consists of Darasuram Ganapathy on the mridangam, Thiruvidaimaruthur K. Dakshinamurthy on the kanjira, Kalyanaraman on the ghatam, Mayiladuthurai Rajaraman on the morsing and Chennai Srinivasan on the tabla.
It should be mentioned that Vaidyanathan inspires and stimulates the percussion group and it is vice versa. The Bharat Kalachar concert was no exception.
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