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Music Season
MUSIC ACADEMY
Interesting line-up
KRIPA SUBRAHMANIAM
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The artists performed with involvement and enthusiasm, making their concerts memorable.
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Photos: V. Ganesan
Aspirants: (Clockwise from left) Mudicondan Ramesh (veena), Sangeetha Vasudevan, Nandita Ravi, Sumitra Vasudev and Saketa Raman.
Sumitra Vasudev, a prime disciple of R. Vedavalli, was featured in the afternoon slot with Padma Shankar (violin) and Trivandrum R. Vaidyanath (mridangam). Sama raga, Adi Kothavasal Venkatramier’s varnam, was the opening piece. Paras raga, ‘Adi Chintaye’ by Muthuswami Dikshitar and swaras at ‘Chintaye’ were handled. A small raga feature of Durbar was followed by the kriti of Tyagaraja in misra chapu.
Mysore Vasudevachar’s kriti, ‘Ninne Nammitinayya’ in Simhendra Madhyamam, misra chapu, was the next kriti. The Kedaragowla kriti, ‘Vanajanayana’ with a raga prelude and swaras for this kriti were rendered. Arunachala Kavi’s ‘Kanden Kanden’ was sung with feeling in Vasantha raga, Adi talam. Next came the RTP in Shanmukhapriya.
One wondered how both Simhendra Madhyamam and Shanmukhapriya were featured in a two-hour concert, the ragas being next to each other in the melakarta scheme, having the same swaras excepting the nishadha. Sumitra perhaps overlooked this factor. Her voice status improved by this time and the raga rendition was good.
The pallavi was in kanda jathi triputa tala and the trikalam exercise came through competently. The pallavi words were ‘Dhara Haasa Vadana Hare Krishna’. Ragamalika swaras in Valaji, Kapi and Vagadeswari came in succession and ended with Shanmukhapriya. The thani was played later. Padma’s raga essays were good and she followed the main artiste faithfully.
Vaidyanathan gave enough support to carry the concert along. From the start, Sumitra’s voice was not in fine fettle. She realised her voice limitations and tried to steer clear of this impediment. The concert was on the whole a listless one and one wished the artist had showed more involvement.
Nandita Ravi, daughter and student of Rama Ravi, acquitted herself well in her concert. The opening piece was a Saranga raga varnam in Adi talam. The kriti in Sri Ranjani, Adi of Tyagaraja, ‘Sari Evvare’ and swaras at ‘Sari Evvare’ glided easily.
The next piece in line, the Sama raga kriti ‘Guruguhaya’ of Muthuswami Dikshitar, Adi tala, a kriti of intense lyrical beauty was sung with warmth. Her clear rendition made one enjoy the meaning of the song. Raga Durbar came out in its true colours and the violinist also played well, but for a few roadblocks while negotiating the raga.
‘Mundu Venuka,’ a kriti of Tyagaraja, Adi tala, came out next with all the natural progression of the sangatis duly sung.
‘Neetu Padame Gati,’ a Panthuvarali kriti in Rupaka talam of Ponniah Pillai, with niraval and swaras were replete with raga bhava with no ambiguity, whatsoever.
The lofty raga Sankarabharanam came along next. With a voice that did not quite cooperate, Nandita explored the raga in non-strident elegance. The violinist’s demonstration of this raga was a quality presentation. Swaras and kuraippu swaras at ‘Saamagana’ were addressed potently. An Ahiri padam, ‘Mosamaye’ by Polla Varamu Varu’ and ‘Modi Jese Velara,’ a javali in Khamas were the concluding pieces in the concert.
Anayampatti G. Vankatasubramaniam on the violin and Srinivasa Rao on the mridangam provided ample support for the concert.
Nandita, belonging to the Brinda School, sang the padam and the javali true to their style. When bhajans and abhangs have become the norm these pieces at the end made the concert memorable.
‘Mahaganapathim’ in chatusra ekam of Muthuswami Dikshitar in Nattai was preceded by a varnam in Nattakurinji. Mudicodan Ramesh, on the veena, played swaras at ‘Mahaganapathim’ fluently. ‘Muddu Momu,’ a kriti in Suryakantham, a melakarta raga, featured the third piece in the artist’s agenda. The kriti was prefixed by a lengthy raga alapana.
Huseini was a moving and satisfying raga alapana and the kriti, ‘Sri Kalahastheesa,’ a Panchalinga kshetra kriti of Vayu Tattuvam in khanda chapu was rendered. A kriti in Swara Ranjani, ‘Raghunatha Nannu,’ Adi tala, of Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar came next.
Thodi raga vinyasa came out in the same dignity that we find in Syama Sastri’s kriti. Ramesh then played the misra chapu kriti, ‘Ninne Nammi’ with niraval and swaras at the first and second speed dexterously. The raga sancharas brought the gamaka flavour of Thodi in abundant measure and ghana ragas like Thodi have great scope to show their virtuosity and Ramesh proved this right.
Later Ramesh took up a dwi-raga pallavi in Adi tala, two kalais. ‘Bhajare Re Manasa Sri Raghuveeram’ in Abheri and Mohanam were played imaginatively and each raga was well demarcated and delineated clearly. Swaras were rendered in both the ragas.
The thani interlude between Mannargudi Srinivasan and Udipi Balakrishnan was a delectable one. The mridangam’s soft and anticipatory beats enhanced the quality of the concert. At the end, Ramesh played a Mand raga kriti, ‘Muralidhara Gopala’ and ‘Unakkum Enakkum’ in Chenchurutti. Ramesh’s veena-playing was soft and smooth. The dexterity of his fingering technique was not a harsh one, and one heard a quiet veena concert of good standard in the afternoon slot.
Sangeetha Vasudevan, who swapped her concert date with T.P.Nishanth, opened her recital with a Suddha Dhanyasi kriti, ‘Samodam Chintayami’ in misra chapu of Swati Tirunal and it was a dampener for the start of the concert.
A more lively kriti would have been a better choice. The Purvikalyani kriti, ‘Ananda Natamaduvar,’ Rupaka tala of Neelankanta Sivan featured next.
The Natabhairavi, Adi tala kriti of Papanasam Sivan, ‘Sri Valli Devasenapathe’ was the next piece. Kalyani was the main raga and was rendered indifferently followed by the kriti, ‘Entuku Nee Manasu,’ Adi tala of Tyagaraja. Niraval and swaras and the thani followed in the mandatory lines. Her swaras made one feel that they were by rote. ‘Maithrim Bhajata’ and the tillana were the final tukkadas.
Sangeetha has made a beginning and has a long way to go to make a mark. Arunachala Karthik on the violin was a shade better in raga improvisations and the mridangist, Trivandrum N.Hariharan lent good support.
Thiruvotriyur Tyagaier’s Kedara Gowla Adi tala varnam was the initial piece and the Nattai kriti, ‘Swaminatha Paripalaya,’ Adi tala of Muthuswami Dikshitar set the majestic tone of Saketa Raman’s concert. Swaras at ‘Parvathi’ were teasingly executed. Arabhi ragam, without strain, poured out. The kriti, ‘Nada Suda Rasam’ in Rupaka tala was a sprightly rendition. The long karvais at shadjam filled the hall with pleasant reverberations. His voice facilitated him to execute swaras at proper gait at ‘Dhara Bhajane’. Violinist Avanishwaram Vinu coordinated and harmonised well with the vocalist.
Thodi was the raga chosen for a lengthy delineation before the artist embarked on the kriti, ‘Emi Jesite’ in misra chapu of Tyagaraja.
Saketa Raman gave a long-drawn sketch of the raga. His Thodi was a sumptuous fare and his rendition of the song was full of feeling and they glowed naturally.
Swaras were sung with Thodi gamakas coming out in exact proportion. Thani followed this rendition and the mridangist B. Sivaraman acquitted himself well. The Ragam Tanam Pallavi was Brindavana Saranga.
The raga was sung at some points with a Hindusthani touch and it had moments of Kakali Nishada creeping in and this made one doubt if it was Brindavana Saranga or Brindavani. The Pallavi read thus: ‘Soundararajam Ashraye Brindavana Saranga Varadarajam’ set to misra nadai Rupaka tala with ragamalika swaras. This was done most energetically and the audience lapped it up enthusiastically.
‘Baro Krishnaiyya’ in Mand, Desh raga tillana by Lalgudi Jayaraman and the Hamsanandi kriti, ‘Muruga Muruga’ were sung in the final phase of the concert.
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