Novelty at what cost?

AFTER LISTENING to the performance of O. S. Arun on Bahulapanchami day under the auspices of Sri Thyagaraja Seva Samit an experienced listener would have wondered whether Carnatic music had taken a new avatara at his hands. The quality of a musician depends on how well he captures the life-breath of Carnatic music. Any excess of novelty techniques can make a cutcheri exceptional, but whether the aesthetic demands of Carnatic music are met has to be kept in mind.

The raga alapanas of Abhogi and Chandrajyoti, came in fits and starts. The Pantuvarali vistara had predominant overtones of Puryadhanasri very little of the Thanjavur flavour. Madhyamavati was the exception. Rasikas with long years of listening experience could have found some satisfaction if the violinist, M. A. Krishnaswamy, in his solo versions, had stuck to Carnatic purity. But he seemed to have been fettered by the accompanist dharma of dancing to the vocalist's tunes.

The inherent strength of Sri Tyagaraja's songs - ``Sadinchane'' (Aarabhi pancharatna), ``Kanna Thandri'' (Devamanohari) ``Sasi Vadana'' (Chandrajyoti) ``Manasu Nilpa'' (Abhogi) ``Parama Pavana'' (Pantuvarali) and ``Rama Katha'' (Madhyamavati) took Arun's overbearing treatment very well. Neyveli Skanda Subramaniam (mridangam) played non-stop of during the song session. A. S. Krishnan (morsing) was hardly noticeable.

SVK

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