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Entertainment
Entertainer par excellence
Kunnakkudi Vaidyanathan... full of zest and zeal.
KUNNAKKUDI VAIDYANATHAN makes his objective quite clear — entertainment. The sancharas he plays on the violin are baffling and sometimes amusing, and indeed looked forward to by his fans! As an entertainer he is par excellence without however offending the grammar of Carnatic music though the principle of "Vadya Dharma" (as the late veena maestro V. Doreswamy Iyengar coined the expression in his Music Academy address in the year he was conferred Sangita Kalanidhi) might have been stalled. So long as there are takers Kunnakudi's style lives on. After a three-hour performance at the Narada Gana Sabha, Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan continued to be zestful and played a marathon Bhairavi for Papanasam Sivan's "Thaye Ezhai" and after quick Sadananda Tandavam in Bahudari he indulged in another marathon session of alapana in Mohanam for Arunachala Kavirayar's ``Ramanai Kannara Kande'', and the inevitable mohadi in the end.
Until the last quarter when Ushalakshmi Krishnamoorthy began a good alapana in Mohanam and broke the prosaic character of her concert — Kalyani Shanker's painstaking effort on the violin did not help — the artiste seemed to have lost touch. Erode K. S. Nagarajan's loud and telling beats on the mridangam might have added to her woes. K. V. R. S Mani's ganjira beats were more subtle and helpful. Beginning with the anupallavi, Ushalakshmi Krishnamoorthy sang "Nanupalimpa" — Tyagaraja came to her rescue — and the concert got rejuvenated. The programme included Syama Sastry's ``Mayamma'' (Ahiri), Dikshitar's ``Angarakam'' (Suruti) and "Maapaalavelasi" (Asaveri — Tyagaraja). That she sings open-mouthed and does not muffle her voice is a plus point.
Supported by Jayanthi Keshav (violin) and T. Shyamsundar (mridangam), Rema and Geetha gave a pleasing duo concert with the former rendering a good alapana in Madhyamavati for Tyagaraja's ``Vinayakuni'' while earlier Geetha rendered a chic alapana in Dharmavati for Dikshitar's Paramdhamavati.
The Hyderabad Sisters (Haripriya and Lalitha) figured in a vigorous concert. Haripriya sang a meaningful alapana for Syama Sastry's ``Nannubrovu''. The sisters did the neraval and swaras at the pallavi itself for Tyagaraja's "Kantajoodimi" (Vachaspati). Akkarai Subbulakshmi who is going places in violin play gave effective support as also Bombay Balajee on the mridangam.
Dr. Muralikrishna, a pupil of Balamurali Krishna has imbibed his guru's style in toto. His voice too bears a likeness. Bhadrachala Ramadas's Antara Ramamayam calls for special mention. V. L. Kumar (violin) and Tirupati Bhaskar (mridangam) gave good support.
Perfect sruti
R. Suryaprakash has a rich voice and he utilises it full-throated. While indulging in tara stayi in alapanas there is no faltering, and is perfectly sruti aligned. This is a strong point in this aspiring musician. Among the long list of songs he rendered, mention may be made of Papanasam Sivan's "Devi Neeye Tunai" (Kiravani) — he made an extensive alapana — and Tyagaraja's ``Ammaravamma'' (Kalyani). He is one of the promising amateurs with professional approach and touch. Good support from M. R. Gopinath (violin), J. Balajee (mridangam) and Madipakkam Murali (ghatam) helped.
Maharajapuram Ramachandran struck good form and the concert reached its peak in Hamir Kalyani alapana and the song ``Manamuleda'' (Tyagaraja). Need it be said that M. A. Sundareswaran (violinist) relished this Hindustani over-toned raga? With his voice in full flow and the mood of the audience favouring, Ramachandran rendered M. D. Ramanathan's ``Sagara Sayana'' in Bageswari effectively. Guruvayur Dorai's tani avarthanam, as usual quite satisfied tala buffs.
K.S.
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