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A feast of Hindustani recitals
T. V. Gopalakrishnan... pure melody.
HAMSADWANI, WHICH celebrated its NRI Music Festival from December 19, 2001 to Jan 4, 2002, in its unique way, included a series of Hindustani concerts for four days (January 1-4). The first of the concerts, was by Kala Ramesh (vocal), from Pune on New year Day.
Kala hails from Chennai, learnt Hindustani music from Pt. Krishnanandji of the Kirana Gharana.
Later she moved to Pune where she learnt the Kumar Gandharva style of singing, of the Gwalior Gharana. Kala, gifted with a sweet, yet forceful voice, rendered a beautiful concert. The Kumar Gandharva stamp was evident now and then, intertwined with the melodious flow of music. She began the concert with Raag Kalyan, vilambit in ek taal. The purity of notes was her strength and her voice flowed like a stream of water. The way she handled the stretching of notes, during the alaap, spoke of her expertise. The Drut that followed in teen taal was equally good with a free flow of fast tans. Kala rendered Durga next, a beautiful, melodious raag, equivalent to the Carnatic Shuddha Saveri. Shri Kumar Gandharva's composition in madhya laya ``Nanda Je Aaye" was followed by yet another madhyam drut and a tarana. With just five notes of Sa Re Ma Pa Dha, Kala created a garland. The soft and rhythmic Tabla by Shri Milind Dote was gentle on the ears.
Not very typical of Hindustani classical concerts, Kala presented a variety of songs in her programme. She sang a Malvi Lok Sangeeth, a Jhula (lullaby) in Brindavani Sarang, and a Tappa in Kamaj. Tappa is a type of song sung by the camel riders in Rajasthan, when they have to travel for long.
This was followed by a Gorakhnath Bhajan in Bhairavi, it was unusual that she presented yet another Surdas Bhajan in raag Gowdmalhar. For, it is custom to end a Hindustani concert with Bhairavi.
Rich voice
T. V. Gopalakrishnan, who performed on January 2 was accompanied by Rajesh Davale on the tabla and Munna Showkat Ali on the harmonium. TVG began the programme with raag Poorvikalyan, vilambit in ek taal. As he sang Bansurian Bhaje, Nanda Kumara, Gopala, the roop and the nuances of the raag unfolded beautifully.
TVG has a rich voice, which lends itself to Hindustani music. The swar alaap was done with precision. Though one could feel the touch of Carnatic music at times, in his rendering of fast tans, and during alaap, when he slipped into singing ha.ri, it did not dilute the melody or purity of the music in anyway. Its TVG style, one should say.
The Drut Choom Jananana Payal Bhaje was rendered very well. The swar prasthav in the lower octaves was very impressive. He delivered the bol than very effectively playing with the words Payal Bhaje. There was good interaction between the accompanying artistes and the harmonist was giving good support. Rajesh on the tabla was brilliant. He was constantly challenged by TVG, which brought out his best. Then followed a Swati Tirunal composition in Raag Bhimplas and Raag Gorak kalyan was presented very briefly, both in vilambit and drut.
TVG's range of voice inthree octaves was explored very well in his rendering of raag Behag. The tarana that followed the vilambit and drut , composed by Krishnanadji, was a brilliant piece, delivered well.
Interestingly, raag Behag, considered a light raag in Carnatic music, and is sung only towards the end of a concert , is a main raag in Hindustani. TVG, then presented a Tulsi Bhajan Mangala Maruti in raag Shyamkalyan and concluded his concert with raag Bhairavi. Rupali Dalal (vocal) from Mumbai, was disappointing. She started wellwith raag Poorvikalyan, but within a short time, her voice was getting sore and she could not do full justice to the concert. She was apologetic, yet continued with lot of confidence.
Her ability to perform well was evident, but it was a pity she had to limit herself. She presented a vilambit in taal Jhumra, drut in teen taal, followed by a tarana. She concluded her concert with a brief Bandesh in raag Bhageshri, a beautiful piece, ``Vinathi Suno Meri."
Hindol Mazumdar on the tabla and Pratap Giri on the harmonium gave good support. In the Hindustani system, the selection of main raag for a concert depends on the time of the day.
At Hamsadwani, since the timing of the concert being the same each day, music lovers ended up listening to Poorvikalyan three days in a row. Perhaps, in future, the organisers should take steps to avoid repetition. Needless to add, the audience would appreciate the virtue of punctuality.
PUSHPA LAKSHMAN
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