Mr. V Balakrishnan of Chennai writes via
email:
- A controlled voice and clarity of sahitya, were the hallmarks of
Nityasri Mahadevan's performance for Jaya TV's Margazhi Maha Utsavam
held at the Chettinad Vidyasram school hall, on December 4, 2002. It was
a thematic concert on compositions in praise of Lord Muruga. Nityasri
started off with two rare kritis in ragas Devakriya (Sriguruguha,
Dikshitar) and Supradeepam (Varasikhivahana, Tyagaraja). She sang
Papanasam Sivan's "Saravana bhava ennum" in Shanmukhapriya with
great gusto, making full use of her felicity in the higher octave, and
followed it up with crisp swaras. "Senthil andavan" in
Kharaharapriya, also of Sivan, found the capacity audience, consisting
also of the not-so-knowledgeable in Carnatic music, swinging to the
lilting melody of the song. Poorvikalyani was taken up for expansive
elaboration and the song "Inda paramugam yedu" followed. The
fast-paced higher octave gliding swara rendition was listened to with
awe and appreciation. Some viruttams in ragamalika pattern and some
popular old Tamil songs like "Velan Varuvanodi", "Vallikanavanpere",
enhanced the devotional aspect of the programme. M A Krishnaswamy on the
violin, and I Sivakumar on the mridangam gave full support to the
vocalist.
- In a powerful and clear voice, Dr. Lokanatha Sarma began his
concert for the Nadopasana Music Trust (held at Astika Samajam, Venus
Colony this year) on December 6, 2002, with the Sowrashtra kriti "Sriganapatini"
(Adi, Tyagaraja). A few avartas of brisk swaras at "Panasanarikeladi"
followed, to give the necessary early thrust to the concert. This was
followed by "Kadalevadu", a rare Tyagaraja kriti in
Narayanagowla. Saveri was then taken up for elaboration. The few
phrases at the beginning, brought out the raga structure in an
emphatic manner. The gradual development of the raga followed the
classic tradition of the great masters of the past. What astonished
the rasika was the strict alignment to sruti and the expansiveness of
Dr. Sarma's expression. The tonal quality and the felicity even at
tara sthayi was admirable, and would have shamed even a much younger
musician. The almost forgotten "Etunamminavo manasa" of Patnam
Subramanya Iyer was the kriti. The beauty of Saveri was fully brought
out in this song, which was sung, as it should be, in chowka kala.
Raga alapana in Pantuvarali followed in which the asaivu-s and
the stress at the jeeva swaras were distinct and most enjoyable. "Vadera
daivamu", the song immortalised by Sri Chembai Vaidyanatha
Bhagavatar, was taken up. Dr. Sarma rendered the sahitya clearly. The
neraval and swaras at "Adina matalu" revealed his vidwat strikingly.
Sarvalaghu pattern of swaras established its superiority over the
now-fashionable kanakku pattern. The programme, well under 2 hours was
followed by a ragamalika rendering of select Lakshmi Ashtottra slokas
in Mohanam, Shanmukhapriya, Hindolam and Hamsanandi. This was capped
by Purandaradasa's "Neeye gatiyenakke", also in Hamsanandi. M R
Gopinath on violin was good in Saveri and Pantuvarali alapanas.
Melakaveri Balaji on the mridangam and A S Murali on the ghatam gave
excellent support.
- Senior vocalist Neela Ramgopal of Bangalore, sang for Naada
Inbam on 7th December. "Seetamma mayamma" in Vasanta gave the
ambience for the concert followed by a brisk volley of swaras. The
Vara kriti "Divakara tanujam" was taken up after a short and
fast alapana of Yadukulakambhoji. Syama Sastri's swarajati in Todi,
"Ravehimagiri kumari", a very difficult composition, was
rendered with rare confidence and full bhava. This piece has a
majesty of its own. The neraval and swaras at "Syama krishnanuta"
were impressive. Simhendramadhyamam was taken up next for elaborate
handling. The brigas were effortless and precise. Mysore
Vasudevachariar's popular kriti, "Ninne nammitinayya', was
sung with the right expansiveness. The neraval and the swaras at "Neerajanetra"
exhibited the grip of the artiste over the classic beauties of the
raga. A brisk alapana in Begada followed by an even brisker Tanam,
showed the style that had been perfected by the vocalist. The
Pallavi was embellished by ragamalika swaras in the ragas
Amritavarshini, Sriranjani and Mohanakalyani. Mysore Srikanth
excelled in his flawless raga alapanas for Simhendramadhyaman and
Begada. He has an admirable bowing technique and is bound be seen
more in Chennai concert platforms. Melakaveri K Balaji rendered
excellent support on the Mridangam.
- Malladi brothers gave a good concert at the music festival
organised by the Tirupoonnturuti Trust at Sringeri Pravachana
Mandiram, on December 9, 2002. All the kritis rendered were from
the Krishna Leela Tarangini of Sri Narayana Teertha. They began
the concert with the popular "Jaya Jaya Swamin" in raga
Nata. The brothers have distinct tonal quality, which blends
very well. This was followed by a brisk "Pahipahi jaganmohana
krishna" in Kedaram. Todi was taken up, and Ramaprasad
rendered a neat and brisk alapana. The brothers then rendered "Govinda
miha", a Tarangam rendered by most of the artistes in
Bagesri. The neraval at "Sangeetarasarasika" was
refreshing and the volley of swaras that followed were
appropriate. Ravi Kumar rushed through a fast-paced Kalyani
alapana. The briga-laden alapana was elaborated by Ramaprasad
beyond Tara sthayi. One felt that the alapana could have been
rendered at a slower pace at the initial stages. With full
bhava, the Tarangam "Kathaya kathaya madhavam" was sung
with swara rendering. "Govardhana giridhara" left the
rasikas guessing the raga. The raga, which resembles Hamsanadam
in parts, was the Hindustani raga Suddhasarang. "Madhava
Mamava" in Neelambari, with a second charanam containing the
mudra of Narayana Teertha, was very evocative. (This kirtana is
mistakenly believed to be a composition of Swati Tirunal by many
rasikas). Vittala Ramamurti on the violin was adequate. Neyveli
Narayanan on the mridangam and Kovai Viswanathan on the ghatam
gave good support.
- The annual series of Carnatic music concerts under the
auspices of Shanti Arts Foundations and Endowments started off
with a concert by Trichur V Ramachandran at Sastri Hall on
December 11, 2002. The festival this year is dedicated to the
trendsetter of yesteryears, the late Sri G N Balasubramaniam.
Ramachandran, one of the prime representatives of the GNB style,
commenced his concert with "Valachi vacchi", the
Navaragamalika varnam. "Karimukhavarada", a composition
of GNB in Nata, was rendered in a brisk manner. A short alapana
of Pantuvarali and the song "Ninne neranammi" followed
with a few avartas of swaras at "Veda sastra". Syama
Sastri's "Marivere" in Anandabhairavi was rendered
with full bhava. A briga-laden Mohanam reminded one of the
flashy style of Ramachandran's master. The kriti that he took up
and rendered at a fast pace was GNB's "Sadapalaya". At
this stage Ramachandran's voice opened up and he took up Todi
for elaborate treatment. The sangatis at the tara sthayi were
flawless and the neraval and swaras were rendered with
effortless ease and text book precision. "Ninnu pogada tarama"
in Kuntalavarali, yet another composition of GNB followed. "Dikku
teriyada kattil" a composition of Subramanya Bharati,
popularised by GNB was sung. The vocalist rounded off the
concert with the slokas in Kharaharapriya, Saveri,
Yadukulakambhoji and Sindhubhairavi. M Chandrasekharan on the
violin was superb. His Todi sparkled. Veteran Palakkad Raghu on
the mridangam played admirably, with perfect anticipation. It
was as if the instrument was expressing the sahitya of each song
in unison with the vocalist. Suresh on the Ghatam gave very good
support.
Bhuvaneswari, a 65-year
old rasika and a student of music says:
-
Savita
Narasimhan accompanied by Akkarai Subhalakshmi and Kalladaikurichi Sivakumar,
performed at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Mini Hall, under the auspices of
Kalapradarsini and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Kala Kendra on December 3, 2002.
She rendered the
following songs in her concert:
Varnam - Hamsadhwani - Adi
Rara ma intidaka - Asaveri - Adi
Narada gana lola - Atana - Roopaka
Padmavati ramanam - Poorvikalyani - Misra Chapu
Angarakam - Surati - Roopaka
Yaro ivar yaro - Bhairavi - Adi (Main piece)
Narimani (Javali) - Kamas - Adi
Tillana - Hamsanadam - Misra Chapu
The entire concert was
executed neatly. Savita's sruti was perfect, and her alapana of
Poorvikalyani very good. She is perhaps one of the rare few to include a
Vara kriti (Angarakam) in her concert. Although she sang Bhairavi
alapana only for about 7 minutes only, a rasika like me could easily grasp
the essence of the raga. She embellished the kriti with neraval and swaras
and gave a beautiful structure to the raga overall. Savita seems like a
promising talent and has a pleasant personality and stage presence. I wish
her all the best for a bright future.
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