BRAHMA GANA SABHA
Wholesome concert
N.C.Soundaravalli
Veterans are not deterred by the strength of the audience. For them music is meditation and it is with great bhakti that they approach the art. N.C.Soundaravalli belongs to this category. The hall at Brahma Gana Sabha had few listeners but the vocalist, with touching sincerity, presented a wholesome concert.
After opening with a varnam that had her own additional swaras, Soundaravalli took up `Sri Jalandhara' in Gambiranattai with swaras at `Sri Janavi.' `Ra Ra Raghuveera' in Atana and `Anu dina munu' in Begada also had their quota of kalpanaswaras.
It was time for a treatise and the artiste's choice was Purvikalyani. One point has to be mentioned. Soundaravalli's expositions of Purvikalyani and Thodi did not involve extraordinary vocal manipulations. But through pithy passages she sketched the range of the ragas touching the core of melody. `Ksheera Sagara Sai,' (Purvikalyani) had niraval-swara ornamentations at `Unadarul Indri Oru Anuvum Asaiyumo' and `Koluva Maregatha' in Thodi at `Tumbura Chekoni.'
Her list included `Nagumomu' (Abheri) with its breathtaking sangatis, `Bogeendra Sayeenam' (Kuntalavarali) that came with its lilt and `Venkatachala Nilayam' (Hamsanandi) with a prelude of ragamalika verses. And music does transcend age. V.L.Kumar on the violin could prompt, repeat and add frills to Soundaravalli's singing. Young Neyveli Skandasubramaniam on the mridagam nourished the senior citizen's singing, especially the swara korvais with great fondness and finesse. Madipakkam Murali on ghatam not only nodded his head in approval for many of the sangatis of Soundaravalli but also joined hands by adding percussion inputs. It was a case of bonhomie among musical minds independent of the age factor. Being present at such a concert was indeed a rare experience.
G. SWAMINATHAN
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