Light and shade picture

Immaculately clean raga lines in the tarasthayi gave a passionately shapely picture of Khamboji. There was disciplined smoothness in the sancharas wherein the artiste used her vocal faculties to convey a grand sweep of the major raga, observes SVK reviewing a concert.

AN ARTISTE'S excellence depends on the innate ability to introduce the gracefulness of fast passage, in relation to karvais in an alapana of a raga - nothing in excess or nothing out of place in an alapana design. Such a contrast of stillness (karvai) and fluidity of movement enhances a raga's beauty. Added to this method, if the artiste is able to sense the value of light and shade, gana-naya in an exposition, the alapana gains in finesse.

This aspect was very much in evidence in the Kambhoji alapana of Gayatri in her performance with her sister Ranjani at the Festival of Music organised by ICICI group jointly with the Music Academy. Immaculately clean raga lines in the tarasthayi gave a passionately shapely picture of Kambhoji. There was disciplined smoothness in the sancharas wherein she used her vocal faculties to convey a grand sweep of the major raga. Earlier Ranjani presented Kalyani, more poised in approach, expressiveness without exaggeration marking the progress of Kalyani vistara. With these plus points, there is still scope for reposefulness in their presentation.

Their nourishment of the kirtanas to bring out the structural, aesthetic and sahitya bhava is commendable. It is here that their music has depth. The articulation of the words with proper emphasis on their emotional bearing, the slow and the swift well regulated in neraval enhanced the radiance of the kirtana, ``Thiruvadi-Charanam''(Kambhoji), a moving piece of Gopalakrishna Bharati, and in the plain rendering of the Nilakanta Sivan song, ``Enraikku-Siva-Kripai'' in Mukhari, ``Okapari-Joodaka-Raadha'' (Kalavathi) and ``Birana-Varalichchi'' (Kalyani in tisranadai) were rendered in a great hurry to reach the destination. The kamas alapana in brief and the song ``Sitapati-Naa-Manasuna''of Tyagaraja and ``Hiranmayim''(Lalita) of Muthuswami Dikshitar were heart-warming.

As against the general upbeat of the performance by Ranjani and Gayatri, the contribution of the violinist, Usha Rajagopalan, was below par. The alapanas of Kalyani and Khamboji were pedestrian with the nuance highlights not much in evidence. J. Vaidyanathan (mridangam) with S. V. Viswanathan (ghatam) lifted up the Kirtanas with firm, cryptic patterns with a healthy combination of gentle tekas and lightning pharans.

Rich and eloquent

After the release of the book, ``Indian Music - Sancharas in ragas'' by M. Narmada, M. S. Gopalakrishnan and his daughter, the author of the book, gave a short (violin duet) concert in which the Kanada raga alapana by MSG twinkled with kaleidoscopic melody. He evoked in his instrument eloquent rich tone. The kirtana, ``Sri-Narada-Nada,'' is a simple song with stupendous appeal and they played it with great solicitude. Narmada presented Pantuvarali vinyasa with distinct shades of Puryadhanasri. The song was ``Siva-Siva-Siva-Yanaraadha''. S. Bola Shankar was the mridangist.

To sing with visranti preserving at the same time the liveliness of a concert is the challenge before every performing musician. They are not incompatible. The former reflects musical maturity.

Vitality of communication ensures the latter. The interpretation of kritis strongly echoing the grandeur of the composition has to be conveyed with vocal intensity of the aesthetic concepts which run through them.

It is then that music creates a lasting impression on the minds of the rasikas, which balancing act was achieved with consummate skill by the past vidwans in general and by some youngsters today.

Manodharma in raga alapana has to be matched by energetic expression, since the vocalist, in the main, provides the inspirational spark to the violin and mridangam accompanists to emulate.

R. Vedavalli, singing for Naada Inbam, relied mainly on kritis in her performance accompanied by V. L. Kumar (violin) and Neyveli Narayanan (mridangam).

The sahitya and structure of the kritis were well brought out, but the impact was minimal. There was parsimony in the raga vistaras of Ananda Bhairavi, Saveri and Todi and the songs were ``Nee-Mathichallaka'' (composed by Mathrubhutamayya) ``Yaro-Evar- Yaro''and ``Karuna-Joodavamma''.

The other items were ``Chete-Buddhi-Maanuraa'' (Atana), ``Bhaktuni-Chaarithramu'' (Begada), ``Maamava-Satatam'' (Jaganmohini).

The brief Anandabhairavi solo version by the violinist was impressive. The mridangist put some life into the performance.

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