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Music Season
MUSIC ACADEMY
Fluent flow of manodharma
V. SUBRAHMANIAM
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It was a grand veena recital with choice compositions.
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Photo: V. Ganesan.
Impressive: E. Gayatri.
A few decades ago, the vainika who was on the stage of the Music Academy for the evening concert 4.15–6.45 p.m. on December 20, was seen as a child prodigy under the same aegis as Baby Gayatri. It is with a sense of great happiness that one f
inds her as a senior vainika vidushi, mature in her gnanam giving a highly satisfying concert. This goes to prove that latent potential talent when correctly nurtured can blossom into a fragrant flower of artistry.
The day being Vaikunta Ekadesi, Gayatri had presumably chosen only kritis on Maha Vishnu for the concert. Accompanied by Thrissur Narendran on the mridangam and B.S. Purushotaman on the kanjira, Gayatri began with the Gowlipanthu kriti of Tyagaraja, ‘Teradeeyagarada’ set to Adi talam.
The next piece was ‘Vande Vasudevam’ in Sriragam of Annamacharya which was set to tune by Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer in khanda chapu talam with a crisp chittaswaram. The line, ‘Saraseeruhananam’ in the charanam was taken up for niraval and kalpanaswaram. After a well-presented alapana in Varali, the fourth day’s Andal Pasuram ‘Aazhi Mazhai’ in Adi talam with niraval and kalpanaswaras at ‘Vazha Ulaginil’ was impressively done.
The grand composition on Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam by Muthuswami Dikshitar in Nayaki ragam, Adi talam was played sedately. Kalyani was taken up as a prelude to the Narayana Tirtha composition, ‘Gopalam’. The raga essay was brilliant sans blemishes. This composition, a rare one, was embellished with kalpanaswaras only in the second speed. Another rare kriti of Mysore Vasudevachar, ‘Sridhara Pahi’ in Jayanthasri, Rupaka talam was next on sequence.
Tyagaraja’s ‘O Rangasayee,’ in praise of Lord Ranganatha in Khambodi, Adi talam came up next. In Khambodi this kriti is non-pareil. The raga alapana Gayatri offered for this piece, abounded in unadulterated bhava-rich prayogas. The kirtana rendition was equally brilliant and one was reminded of the vocal rendition of this piece by Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. After nirval at ‘Bhuloka Vaikunta’ followed by kalpanaswaras in the charanam, thani avartanam by Narendran and Purushotaman was neatly presented.
The Ragam, Thanam and Pallavi which was next in Brindavani, a variation of Brindavana Saranga had a liberal inclusion of Kakala Nishadam. Ragamalika sequence in the Thanam included Madhuvanti, Gowda Malhar, Valaji and Revathi. The pallavi was in Adi talam, two kalai, but being a rendition on the veena, sahitya was not known. Nor was it orally narrated by Gayatri. An exquisite exposition with the right dose of kalpanaswaras enhanced the quality of the pallavi.
After a Maand piece, ‘Bharo Panduranga’ and ‘Srinivasa’ in Hamsanandi set to Adi talam of Papanasam Sivan, Gayatri concluded her concert.
Gayatri has benefited greatly from the associations she had with vocal vidwan veteran T.M.Thyagarajan in moulding her veena style to the gayaka tradition with the reduction of plucking frequency. Gayatri has tremendous control of the instrument and her sangatis are executed with pin-point precision, in spite of them being faster than the conventional veena speed.
Gayatri is perhaps driven by a fluent flow of manodharma that her rendition is packed with sangatis and one has little time to savour them.
Gayatri could give a little more space in her playing to allow better enjoyment of her vainika skills by the audience.
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