MADRAS MUSIC MELA 2002 |
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RASIKANUBHAVA 6 |
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V Balakrishnan via email...
Endowed with a sweet and sruti aligned voice, Sheela also has pleasant stage manners. Her effortless brigas are beautifully crafted. She commenced her concert for Music Academy on December 19, 2002 with the Kalyani Ata tala varnam. Namanavini vinavayya (Chakravakam) of Karur Dakshinamurti was a good selection, which she ended with a few avartas of swaras. Abhimanamennadu (Begada) of Patnam Subramanya Iyer was sung at a rather fast pace while Palimpave mannu (Hemavati) of Vina Kuppayyar was a refreshing change to Sri Kantimatim, which is the kriti mostly sung in this raga. In Bindumalini, a raga of aesthetic beauty, she sang the kriti Enta muddo of Tyagaraja. It was then that Sankarabharanam was taken up for elaborate treatment. The alapana was unalloyed and pure. The traditional sancharas brought out the swaroopa of the raga, thanks to the vocalist's adherence to a good patha. Her fast-paced visits to the Tara sthayi were blemish-less. Akshaya linga vibho, a song of great lyrical beauty, was taken up in the proper tempo with clear enunciation. The neraval at Badari vanamula and kalpanaswaras at a difficult eduppu, were reflective of the self-confidence of the vocalist. Hindolam was the raga for RTP. A short and brisk alapana and an equally precise Tanam and Pallavi followed. The swaras included Mohanam and Revati. A Purandaradasa devarnama in Salagabhairavi and Pibare ramarasam in Yamankalyani were very pleasing. This artiste has real merit that would take her to the prime time evening slots in the coming years.
Samininne, a varnam in Sriragam, gave an auspicious start to the concert. Sri Gananatham Bhajamyaham (Kanakangi), a not-too-familiar kriti attributed to Tyagaraja, was rendered with bhava. It is an intricate raga which requires careful handling. A few swara passages followed. A fast paced Pahimam Sri Rajarajeswari (Janaranjani) made the audience sit up. Hiranmayim Lakshmim (Lalita), a Dikshitar kriti in praise of the goddess of wealth, was rendered in a way that brought out the beauties of the raga. Kamakshi, Syama Sastri's masterly composition in Bhairavi, was taken up next. The step-by-step development of the Swarajati, with its wholesome sahitya, is capable of creating a prayerful mood even in a non-believer. The brothers did full justice to this composition by singing it with full bhava. Sarasasamadana, with crisp swaras at jockeying speed woke up some elders, who were having a short afternoon nap! It was now time for the major raga. Quite appropriately, Todi was taken up. By proper control of the voice and stressing on notes that bring out the raga lakshana, Shashikiran developed the alapana up to Panchama, when Ganesh took over. He indulged in fluent brigas. Both were adept in modulating their voices to suit the requirements. Gajavadana of Kumara Ettendra Bhupati, an rather unfamiliar kriti was rendered with its beautiful chittaswara. Annamacharya's Nanatibaduku in Revati, and Vellaitamarai of Subramanya Bharati in Bhimplas saw the conclusion of an enjoyable concert.
Senior violin vidwan M S Anantaraman
commanded the instrument to produce novel patterns. Madrimangalam
Swaminathan was very soft on the mridangam.
Gurucharan began his concert with a
varnam
of Mysore Vasudevachar in Kadanakutuhalam.
Gajananayutam (Chakravakam), attributed to Dikshitar, was
neatly presented with neraval and swaras at Ajendrapujita. This kriti
brightened up the atmosphere. Sevikka vendumayya (Andolika), a composition of Muthutandavar on the Lord of Chidambaram, was appropriate as
it
was Arudra-darsanam day. Biranabrovaide (Kalyani), a kriti of
Tarangampadi Panchanada Iyer was taken up with neraval at Neepadapankajamu.
Tyagaraja's Orajupu (Kannadagowla) was rendered
neatly at a fast pace, while Dikshitar's Sri Matrubhootam (Kannada) was sung with devotional fervour. Gurucharan then rendered a good
alapana in Natabhairavi with confidence. The composition Sri
valli devasenapate of Papanasam Sivan was sung with neraval and
swaras at Mamavasada Sivakumara. The concert was rounded off
with Swati Tirunal's Visweswara in
Sindhubhairavi and a Tillana in Sankarabharanam.
Young Charumati Raghuraman, who is a
Class XI student, has competence and ideas far
beyond her age. She is a disciple of violin maestro T N Krishnan.
Her violin accompaniment was a joy to watch. Her bowing technique
was good and
produced excellent tonal quality. Her Kalyani and
Natabhairavi were flawless. She is bound to make her mark in a short
time. Erode Nagarajan on the Mridangam and C S Venkataramanan on the
Khanjira gave very good support.
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