Pace balanced with poise

THE PERFORMANCE of T.M. Krishna, after the inauguration of a new sabha, ``Sangeethalayam,'' presented a contrasting picture of pace and poise. His reputation as a musician with the gift of a good voice went even before the concert commenced. The effectiveness of the cutcheri pantha provided a measure of Krishna's involvement and his ability to co-ordinate music's gracefulness with his body gestures too.

Krishna's performing appeal was packaged in the rendering of the kritis ``Seshachala Nayakam'' (Varali) ``Entavedukondu'' (Saraswati Manohari) and the monumental Karaharapriya song ``Rama-nee-samaanamevaru'' in a stepped up brisk pace. Obviously to convey that his music was not just speed he sang ``Cheta Sri'' (Dwijavanti) There was a fine feeling of relaxation as he unhurriedly put before the listeners the kriti musingly. As the movement of the mood of Dwijavanti tuned to finesse in the song progressed, the vista it unfurled was enchanting and alluring.

Kharaharapriya was chosen for elaboration at great length. Perhaps his intention was to create an impression of a three-hour concert in his hour and a half programme. There was prolific imagination in the spatial coverage of the raga with some attempted longish sancharas showing now and then chinks of slippage. There was full-steam articulation in the way he presented ``Rama-nee-samaanamevaru'' while negotiating the sangatis. In the neraval for the line ``Paluku-paluku'' there was stylised eloquence. The violinist, M.A. Sundareswaran's Kharaharapriya vinyasa was expressive without exaggeration, clipped phrases subtly strung brought about by perpetual mellowness of bowing. Some of the sancharas he played in Kharaharapriya touched not only the heart of the raga but also the hearts of listeners. The emotional content of the raga touched the aesthetic chords. The melodic scheme of mridangam support was provided by Arun Prakash. The gentle modulations in the beats transformed his play into a glowing edifice of percussive persuasion. One significant feature in his tani was that he never resorted to loudness.

T.V. Sankaranarayanan got engrossed in the delights of his peculiar style of voice modulation with his creativity well matched to his talents, in a way demonstrating his performing competence. Singing for Nadopasana, he focussed his attention on interpretative dynamism. There was a drive in the alapanas of Kalyani and Bhairavi, marked by both vocal and exhibitionistic excursions in the top octave. Of the two, the sancharas in Bhairavi were well- chiselled with clever turns of phrases. There was a discernible method even in his spontaneity. Another satisfactory aspect was economy in elaboration which contributed to the essentials of the ragas' aesthetics. The restraint he observed in the kalpana swaras was also a contributing factor to the compactness of the performance.

The kirtana part of the cutcheri was sustained by ``Gajanana- maam'' (Mohanam) ``Ramabhirama'' (Durbar) ``Ninnu-vina- gatigaane'' (Kalyani) and ``Ra Ra Dasaratha Rajakumara'' (Bhairavi) and ``Banduriti'' (Hamsanadam). The method of rendering songs paid little attention to the sacredness of the sahityas, mumbled at times and dismantled by padacheda. The objective was how it helped assertiveness of the sangatis.

Shertalai Sivakumar was the violinist. In his raga essays there was lack of precision in the sancharas, which clouded the picturisation. Srimushnam Raja Rao, through a plethora of melkala patterns jacked up the song session.

Pleasant veena recital

Under the auspices of Sri Thyagaraja Sangeetha Vidwat Samajam S. Srinivasan gave a veena recital, very austere in approach and pleasant in interpretation. Free-flowing phrasings in the alapanas of Bilahari, Saveri and Shanmukhapriya lightened up the significant features of the ragas.

The meettu and movement of the fingers on the frets were firm without being harsh. The good rendering of ``Sri Mahaganapathi'' (Gowla) ``Kanukom Sowkhyamu'' (Nayaki) ``Pooraya Mamakamam'' (Bilahari) and ``Sankari Sankuru'' (Saveri) provided pleasurable experience to the listeners. The suppleness of Saveri and the robustness of Shanmukhapriya were noteworthy in the performance. Madirimangalam Swaminathan (mridangam) and T.V. Vasan (ghatam) provided soft beats to chime with the veena.

- SVK

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