Soulful and spontaneous

I WAS a child when I first heard him, and a teenager when I chased his concerts - whether from the last row in the Music Academy balcony, or some small school hall in a far off suburb. Listening to K. V. Narayanaswamy's Kalarasana concert at Rani Seethai Hall made me realise that though the voice is not as strong as it used to be, the music retains the same radiance as it has always done, sounding fresh and ripe at the same time.

Right from the start the imagination was effortless, spontaneous, the approach invariably soulful, even in swara singing. As in the initial kriti ``Entara'' (Harikhambhoji) when he brought off the loveliest combinations in two speeds, almost as in play.

Varali is of course most suited to this kind of temperament, and once again we saw how alapana, kriti and improvisations are all parts of a whole conception of the raga. Notably, the swara singing was a continuation of the raga in another mould. It also extended the image in the lyric (``Azhimazhai kanna'') with cool showers. (No thunderstorm here). And with ``Tiruvottriyur Tyagarajar'' we became as mesmerised as Ghanam Krishnayyar's nayika in the song, only, we saw Athana everywhere!

The alapanas of Yadukulakhamboji (``Yaarendru'') and Shanmukhapriya (``Andavane'') had the clarity, definitive craft and dignity - the combination you can find only in a master. Old appeared new. Why not? It had been thoroughly inscaped. The neraval in the former stood out, while the kalpanaswaras stunned you by their intricate novelties in the patterning. Sahana was the main raga in the ragamalika pallavi, handled with a delicacy that did not overstretch it in length and phrasing, in both alapana and tanam. The best thing you can say about the accompanists - H. V. Srivatsan (violin) Manoj Siva (mridangam) and S. Sivaramakrishnan (ghatam) - is that they lost all track of the individual self and merged with the music.

Finally, it was ``Varuhalamo'' (Manji) in an extreme slow tempo which stole the show. The gaps between the swara and syllable were not silent moments, but moments of intense emotion. At the end, the standing ovation came - after a pause of equally intense rapture.

Consistency. This is what strikes you most about Vijay Siva's performances. (His late season recital had the same sense of proportion and values as this early one for Kalarasana). He is also one of the few top rankers of today who can be counted on to present both composed and improvised music with equal precision in form and content. This was evident at the Kalarasana recital though it was slow to warm up. That happened with a glistening alapana of Hamsanadam where both voice and violin (R. K. Sriramkumar) seemed to revel in the sharp beauty of every note, particularly the madhyama, iridescent in a myriad combinations. ``Kalyanarama'', Adi, was as good as expected with the neraval in two speeds for the line ``Mallikadi sugandha - nava-nava'' casting heady fragrance across the hall. The swaras sparkled, making many unobtrusive laya patterns, especially in the first kala.

Sankarabharanam was memorable, a wonderful step by step structuring, using tradition as the point of reference and foundation, but not as a bar to original creativity. This was followed by a thrilling ``Akshayalinga vibho'' where the improvisations focussed on bhava, based on a natural command of rhythm. Besides, the Chapu tala enabled the stress to fall in different ways, as highlighted by the resourceful percussionists (Manoj Siva, mridangam, B. S. Purushotthaman, kanjira). Needless to say, their tani was marked by controlled exuberance. The tailpieces were rendered with suitable changes in mood for each, whether viruttham followed by ``Ma ramanan'' (Hindolam), ``Navasiddhi petralum'' or the Surutti javali ``Mayaladi''.

GOWRI RAMANARAYAN

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