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A different dimension
SWEETNESS AND quietude marked T.N.Seshagopalan's morning veena recital at the Narada Gana Sabha. The Purvikalyani alapana had some playfulness to match "Anandanatamaduvar", where the kalpanaswaras bristled with the excitement of the dancing feet. The following Nayaki was stretched somewhat, but not the weighty "Ranganayakam", which came off as if vocally rendered. Subhapantuvarali remained chaste to the Carnatic tradition. A yearning feel in the treatment, again matched the arthabhava in "Ennallu Yurake". The performer singing the charanam lines here (and elsewhere too) added another dimension. From start to finish Seshagopalan was restrained and absorbed in the music. True, the mandara prayogas were often inaudible, and every passage was not charged with power, but the vocal bani was a plus point, even in a tailpiece like Subramania Bharati's "Theeradha Vilayattu Pillai". V. V. Ravi played with understanding, while exuberant Guruvayur Dorai (mridangam) and subdued T.V.Vasan (ghatam) were all empathy. In their energetic tani, the volume-varied, pausesstrewn kuraippu lingered in the mind.
Finely textured
Satisfaction or contentment does not have the precise connotations of the word tripti, experienced while listening to O.S.Thiagarajan, at the Narada Gana Sabha. The concert had teamwork, bhava, craft skills, good formatting and programme selection. But what brought life to the whole was the sense of proportion, which characterised everything the singer did on that day. Meru Samana'', Mayamalavagowla, set the tone of depth and care for details. The alapanas explored the ragas with camaraderie and respect. Swati Tirunal's Pahi Parvatanandini, Arabhi, had its sheen augmented by the neraval where the percussion (Srimushnam Raja Rao, T. H. Subhashchandran) knew just when to be unobtrusive, or to add punch. Bhairavi, with {ldquo}Koluvaiyunnade{rdquo}, was mature, finely textured, the violin (Bangalore Balu Raghuram) iridescent on the gamakas. There were no sudden brakes or screech of gimmicks in voice or strings to jolt you out of the nurturing flow. No neraval here, but the joyful swaras hastened to answer the singer's summons. The tani had buoyancy.
Ear splitting sancharas
The post noon recital of the Mambalam sisters Vijayalakshmi and Chitra was noisy. The mikes were too loud for duo singing, and for the violin (R.Hemalatha), which became ear splitting in the higher sancharas. The sisters chose demanding pieces with differing talas: Marubalka, Sriranjani, Adi, Amma Ravamma, Kalyani, Chapu, and Sri Subrahmanyaya Namaste, Khamboji, Rupakam, maintaining the chowka kalam even for the charanam that is often accelerated in speed. The raga alapanas lacked precision in swara sthanam, especially in the upper octave, with unclear endings. After mechanical essays, Kalyani did get better. Khamboji had longer phrases but faltered in voice projection. The neraval for Vasavadi had waning patches. R. Hemalatha's violin was bright, while Papanasam Kumar and K.S.Rangachari provided brisk percussion on mridangam and kanjira.
GOWRI RAMNARAYAN
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