SRI KRISHNA GANA SABHA
Stereotyped rendition
SVK
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O. S. Thyagarajan's concert bordered more on artifice than art.
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Photo: K. N. Muralidharan
REPETITIVE: O. S. Thyagarajan.
The way O.S. Thyagarajan sang made it clear that for him sensitivity had no relevance. There was destitution of delicacy in his expository method with his one-track voice providing no variety. Raga elaborations and rendering of songs were emotionally famished. Sancharas in raga vinyasas wound through maze-like briga-ways with much faith placed on repetitive passages. Exhausting expressiveness was resorted to as substitute for chiselled refinement which was melodiously provided by the violinist T.V. Ramanujacharlu.
The sublime basis of Carnatic music is beyond the realms of formula-ridden technique. This can be achieved only if the musician has the capacity to visualise subtle variations of emphasis in raga alapana to highlight its lyrical image, which was negligible in O.S. Thyagarajan's mammoth effort. There was no place for madhyamakala and gamaka in his method.
The alapanas of Harikhambodi (`Entarani Thana') and Kalyani (`Nijadasa Varada') were replete with sanchara rhetoric. Ostentation marked the Kalyani vinyasa, not to speak of the scholarly grahabedas. Stereotyped-stylised system bordering more on artifice than art was the general impression that his concert created. Other songs were: `Paritapamu' (Manohari) `Sankari Sankuru' (Saveri) and `Antaranga Bhakti' (Shadvida Margini).
Violinist Ramanujacharlu brought a breath of freshness with clipped phrases. In the context of vocalist's propensities, the tonal sweetness of the strings was rejuvenating. He answered every musical statement of Thyagarajan in classical simplicity.
It was really the day of Mannargudi Easwaran on the mridangam. Apart from his expertise in playing for songs, the tani was admirably top class, imaginatively structured and precisely presented. It moved on the exalted sphere of percussive excellence. Korvai stimulation was the decisive factor in his unfolding of laya creativity. T. Raj Ganesh (kanjira) was inspired by Easwaran's play.
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