The latest in the chain of Carnatic soirees in Kolkata was the annual melodic ritual

observed by Rasikhapriya. Having completed 20 glorious years in this metro, Rasikhapriya shifted base to Chennai. But under the inspiring stewardship of its secretary S. Kannan and his eminent violinist wife Vasantha Kannan, along with the support of their vocalist daughter K. Srividya, the famed organisation synonymous to classy Carnatic kutcheris, celebrated its 21st anniversary with a grand itinerary spread over five days in the city of joy last year and returned with even greater enthusiasm this year with a six-day soiree (4-9 November) at Uttam Mancha for the 22nd anniversary. This featured vocal concerts on five days and only one instrumental (violin) recital.

Exclusive violin

Having participated in the most prestigious classical music soirees of Kolkata (like ITC Sangeet Sammelan) as an accompanist, veteran violinist A. Kanyakumari is not new to this part of the world, but this was her first solo concert here and the tempo of the fourth day was set right from the varnam in Natakurinji. Blending the expressions of soulful vocalism and the instrument’s virtuosity, her melody merrily danced from composition to composition in different ragas and talas before and after her main piece Sreevalli Devasenapatey in raga Natabhairavi.

Superb control over gamakas of varied weights, fine embellishments steeped in perfect pitch of the notes and interesting harmony and dialogue with the violin of her disciple-accompanist Rajeev made

her introductory elaboration very pleasing. She played excellent tanam, albeit following predictable arithmetical patterns, but her proficiency came to the fore when she played the ragamalika-swarams and effortlessly presented varied rhythmic designs prior to an arresting tani avartanam played by mridanga vidwan K.V. Prasad and khanjira exponent K.V. Gopalakrishnan.

Kanyakumari also played two out of “ten ragas she has created”. One was Anjanadri, a janya of Rasikhapriya. The other raga Mahalakshmi, which blends Hamsadhwani and Vasanti, was created inspired by the thought that ‘though there are several ragas named after Saraswati, Gauri and Narayani, none is dedicated to Lakshmi.’ And what a beauty it turned out to be!

Vocals

On 4th November, the festival was formally inaugurated by V. Shankar, president, Sri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts and Sangeetha Sabha, Mumbai. He delivered a spirited speech, covering various aspects of the art and artists. The inaugural day featured celebrated vocalist O.S. Thiagarajan. He chose to

sing raga Kambhoji elaborately among several others presented during the concert and displayed his experience in the kalpanaswarams, with many variations in the slow tempo. Renukadevi, a rare kriti of Muthuswami Dikshitar, was rendered beautifully. Mullaivasal Chandramouli and Akshay Anantapadmanabhan offered wonderful support on the violin and mridangam respectively.

On the second evening Manda Sudharani gave a concert displaying innovative ideas. She selected Kharaharapriya as her main raga with elaborate ragam-tanam-pallavi (Hare Rama Govinda Murare Mukunda sauray) set to Chatusra jati Jhampa tala in khanda nadai. The tanam was sung beautifully to the inspired accompaniment of mridangam. Her superb grip on the laya was evident. After singing Tyagaraja kritis in Kannadagaula and Poornachandrika, she chose to sing Tamralochani in Latangi (Balamuralikrishna) and later Mayamma (Ahiri, Adi, Syama Sastry) with superb dexterity. Her voice sounded very resonant and robust in the lower registers but could not do justice to higher notes of the middle octave.

KOLKATA ROUNDUP (Part 1)

Carnatic carnival at Rasikhapriya

A. Kanyakumari (violin) and K.V. Prasad (mridangam) SHILPI SAMBHAMURTY

12 l SRUTI February 2015

Vijay Siva, on the following day, sang a crisp alapana of Saranga and Arunachalanatham, Muthuswami Dikshitar’s kriti set to Roopakam. In Hiranmayeem Lakshmim (Lalita, Roopakam), he chose to render the niraval and kalpanaswarams very beautifully with the lyrics ‘Sangeeta vadya vinodini’. Apart from other compositions in ragas Harikambhoji, Kedaragaula, Suddha Hindolam, he sang Bhairavi elaborately by treating Upacharamulanu, a masterpiece of Tyagaraja, and brought out the finer nuances of the raga, laya and vak-bhava with effortless ease.

Special mention should be made of veteran violinist Vasantha Kannan’s accompaniment style that followed the vocalist like a shadow and enhanced his creativity. She played a superb Bhairavi alapana. Her experience was demonstrated in the niraval and kalpanaswarams in Saranga as well. Manoj Siva (mridangam) and K.V. Gopalakrishnan (khanjira) played a superb tani avartanam and offered perfect support for the entire concert.

Trichur Brothers (8th Nov) began with Matey malayadhwaja (Khamas, Adi) and captivated the audience with their powerful voices which enhanced the beauty of the chosen kritis. They sang the majestic swarajati of Syama Sastry. After

rendering Guruvayurappane appan (Reetigaula, Adi) they took up raga Todi for elaborate treatment and as the main piece with Dachukovalena. However, the niraval and swaram fell short in raga-bhava. The bhajan and tillana as concluding items were well sung. The huge potential of the brothers seems to border on showmanship. Their father Trichur Mohan was a great support on the mridangam. They were ably supported by M. Satyanarayana (violin) and S. Vengataramanan (khanjira).

Conversely, a traditionally rich concert was offered by Malladi Brothers as a grand finale to this six-day music festival. The piece de resistance was a captivating Dhanyasi. The duo gave a beautiful raga and song rendition (Paradevata, Adi, Muthuswami Dikshitar) followed by lovely kalpanaswaram. They explored many scintillating sancharas, bringing out the essence of the raga. They also sang Needu charanamule (Simhendramadhyamam, Misra Chapu) with superb niraval and thrilling laya patterns in the kalpanaswaram. Their concluding item was in Sindhubhairavi. Violinist Mavuduru Satyanarayana played a good Dhanyasi. K. Sai Giridhar (mridangam) was full of energy and played a lively tani avartanam. He was equally

matched by S. Vengataramanan (khanjira).

Points to ponder

While violinist Kanyakumari interacted with her listeners with contagious warmth so becoming of an erudite musician who wishes to reach out and educate even the lay listeners and encourage them to attend such concerts to enjoy and learn in the process, veteran vocalists like Vijay Siva displayed their inclination to remain immersed in music by shutting off communications with the listeners despite the fact that performers cannot do without an admiring audience. Such aloofness alienates especially those who are not familiar with Carnatic music and, moreover, with the languages of the kritis. This applies even to those Tamil-Telugu speaking youngsters who fail to understand the rich lyrics of the compositions – the backbone of this genre, unlike Hindustani music and, therefore, miss out on the most vital and beautiful aspect of a Carnatic concert which encapsulates the traditional culture of India. Frankly, this era demands musicians who can both entertain and educate at once.

MEENA BANERJEE

(to be continued)

Vasantha Kannan SHILPI SAMBHAMURTY

Malladi Brothers SHILPI SAMBHAMURTY

13 l SRUTI February 2015