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Music Season
MUSIC ACADEMY
The flute brings off lights and shades
GOWRI RAMANARAYAN
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Sikkil Mala Chandrasekhar brought to the fore her ability to make the flute almost speak the sahitya.
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Photo: V. Ganesan
STEADY AND EXHILARATING: Mala Chandrasekhar.
A few decades ago, instrumental music was all the rage. Now it has few takers except in newfangled packages. A pity. Because Sikkil Mala Chandrasekhar’s flute recital had elements to delight and content the listener. Nothing thought less or unpolished, no fireworks or frayed threads. From start to finish it had control and ragabhava. Getting into stride with the varnam in Ritigowla composed by the Sikkil sisters, Mala established her feel for gamakam right away with
Pantuvarali. It had a lucid outline and brought to the fore her ability to make the flute almost speak the sahitya in ‘Siva, Siva, Siva Enarada,’ extending the raga’s appeal in madhyamakala swaras. Obviously she has worked on her fingering techniques to achieve this clarity and modulation. Her Abhogi evoked a focussed ambience (or what is best expressed in that untranslatable Tamil word ‘kalai’). The kalapramana was right at that stage of the concert, and suited to the chosen raga.
The day being Tiruvadirai, sacred to Siva, what could be better than Gopalakrishna Bharati’s familiar gem ‘Sabhapatikku,’ bearing a niraval trail, with the kind of texture that even vocalists do not often achieve? Its evocativeness rose from a union of art and craft. The violin responded well (M.R.Gopinath), despite some plain phrases, not in the same style, but with complementary melodising. After a glinting Gambhiravani (‘Sadamatim’) came a pleasant rather than melting ‘Devi brova’ (Chintamani).
Expansive Khambodi could have been pitched at a slightly slower pace and more karvai strung for that haunting effect the raga can create. But it did show how the flute can bring off singular lights and shades. This was fine sampradaya music, missing no glide and curve.
The imposing ‘Sri Subrahmanyaya’ was adroitly handled and taut, the kalpanaswarams rippling spontaneously. Madirimangalam Swaminathan (mridangam), assisted by E.M.Subramaniam (ghatam) was of immense help here, brightening the effects without drowning the delicate sounds. They reserved more forceful playing for their cheerful tani.
Dharmavati was both steady and exhilarating. The infelt alapana drew the listener into its flow. The pace was just right here, maintaining swarasthana and kalapramana suddha, the piercing nishada a counterpoint to its shimmering rishabha and pratimadhyama. Using both fresh and repetitive essays, the flute shaped ragaswarupa with sincerity in alapana and tanam. The pallavi returned to the Nataraja theme of the day with ‘Un darisanam kidaikkumo Nataraja,’ its Adi tala structure with atita eduppu explained, and the lyric first sung to make it accessible to the audience. The expansion and swaraprastara proved that the concert had built itself up to ripeness, reflected by the violin as well.
The tisragati used for some swara essays was relishable. Nor did the ragamalika essays (with little pace and gati variations in Saveri) lighten the effect of the RTP.
With M. Chandrasekharan, Guruvayur Dorai and Tiruchi Murali (ghatam) Madurai T.N.Seshagopalan had a reliable team for kriti building and manodharma music. He began gracefully, immersed in tranquil Sriragam, making the varnam more than a warming up exercise. ‘Abhimana’ (Begada) continued the mood with swaraprastaras like summercool rills slowing down on contour-held swaras in between.
Surutti was a vision. True, the brigas were blurred in speed, but the usual-unusual melodic combinations swerving into wide sancharas high and low, kept listeners riveted. Apt lines from the navagraha stotram (Dharanigarbha sambhutam) preceded ‘Angaraka’ where the slow swaras showed feeling and nirnayam how many phrases hooked to ma-ga-ri! Some songs have a power of their own, as we saw that day in ‘Eti janma’ (Varali) sung with a gentle pakkuvam. The percussion too was notable for empathy here. The rest of the concert were briga-wheeled roller coaster rides, marked by instances of swarasthana imprecision. Kharaharapriya gallivanted up and down the scale with neither roundedness nor progressive evolution. There were some infelt prayogas, hooked to the upper shadja, but they underscored the tinsel clamour of the rest, especially in higher sancharas touching the upper panchama.
‘Chakkani raja’ sailed on its own strength, with a few pearls scattered on niraval and swaras. Chandrasekharan’s violin in alapana and backing kept its grip on ragabhava as well as vidwat. His wide canvas brought the raga back to its melodic shades. For srutibhedam lovers there were two servings. Thodi from Kharaharapriya and Hindolam from Hamsanandi, managed with the ease of a veteran.
There was nothing delicate about the toss-and-catch swaras of Hamsanandi on the day in alapana and tanam. Chandrasekharan joined the fray here. The pallavi (Khanda Triputa) had only sound and speed to offer as gati, odukkal, korvai and sarvalaghu came and went in relentless teamwork. The mridangam and ghatam gave a free rein to their fingers right through the main pieces.
Shanmukhapriya and Haripriya presented standard fare in varnam and ‘Tatvamariya’ (Ritigowlai) with swara appendages. Subhapantuvarali and Khambodi made a good pair of ragas for alapana with a well realised ‘Amba Nilambari’ between. The first was more effective in the higher sthayi sancharas, with judgment including panchama touches to prevent lightness. The kriti ‘Sri Satyanarayanam’ was steeled by a patanthara and swaraprastara that refused to sneak into Hindustani territories as possible with this scale. But here as in Khambodi, which was shaped with grasp of grammar and format, the higher sancharas sounded weak, without the weight of volume and vibrancy. Nor could the violin (B. Raghavendra Rao) compensate for this low voltage though on the whole melodious and supportive.
‘Kanakkankodi’ made a good choice with that made-for-niraval line ‘Manikkam vairam’ where the mridangam (Patri Satish Kumar) provided tonic and the ghatam (Ernakulam S. Ramakrishnan) brought off some telling korvais.
The RTP wove a keen Ranjani alapana and tanam for a well-planned, meticulously prepared pallavi incorporating two speeds in the line of the lyric, and set to Misra Triputa in tisra gati.
The limitations of the raga were offset by the interesting tala divisions in niraval and swaram, in a natural, not laboured manner, with sparkle and spirit. It was good to hear a tani in this tala as the korvais sounded different in expansion over its segments, tisram giving it jauntiness, and misram making for pauses.
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