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Musical homage
G.S. PAUL
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Festival A host of cultural programmes were held in connection with the observation of Thiruvathira at Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple, Thrissur.
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Expertise and aesthetics: T.N. Krishnan,
A number of cultural programmes were held as part of ‘Athirotsavam 1183,’ organised by Sree Vadakkunnathan Kshetra Kshema Samithy, Thrissur, in connection with Thiruvathira.
The programmes, held at Sreemoolasthanam of the temple in a specially erected auditorium, began with T.N. Krishnan’s violin concert and speech.
The maestro recapitulated his association with Thrissur right from early childhood. He reminisced how he was chosen by Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar to accompany him in a concert in Thrissur town as Mysore Choudiah failed to turn up. He was only seven then.
Bowing technique
His concert highlighted an unmatched swaraprasthara. His distinctive bowing technique, marked by soft movements and deft fingering, are the hallmarks of his artistry.
He opened with ‘Mahaganapathim manasa smarasmi,’ a Dikshitar composition in Natta set to Adi tala. Amritavarshini received a neat portrayal as he switched on to ‘Evaarani nirnaya.’
TNK’s virtuosity in elaborating a raga to highlight its singular phrases and portray its varied shades was demonstrated in the essaying of Panthuvarali for which he chose the Tyagaraja composition ‘Siva Siva Siva yena rada’ in Adi tala.
While ‘Paridana michithe,’ Patnam Subramania Iyer’s composition in Bilahari, set to khanda chappu, was melodious, Ragam, Tanam, Pallavi (RTP) in Shanmughapriya was delectable with Mohanam, Kapi and Surutty emerging in sequence. A notable number in the post-RTP section was ‘Chandraselhara, eesa jagatheesa,’ a Tamil composition in Sindhubhairavi.
Ramesh Narayan were among the top artistes who participated in the festival.
A two-hour jugalbandhi by Ramesh Narayanan and Ananthapadmanabhan was enthralling for the forays they made into the delineation of the ragas Purya Dhanasree, Abheri and Darbarikannada.
A notable feature was the way in which veena artiste Anananthapadmanabhan followed the vocalist in the typical Hindustani style but switched to the Carnatic style while playing independently.
Flute recital
Balasai (Chennai) presented a flute recital that was patterned on the typical Carnatic concert format. He began with an Adi tala varnam ‘Chalamela,’ a composition of Sreerangam Rangaswamy Nattuvanar in Nattakurinji.
The verve created by the varnam was maintained in ‘Gajananayutham Ganeswaram,’ a Dikshitar composition in Chakravakam, set to Adi tala.
The recital attained a new dimension with the misra chappu composition of Swati in Charukesi, ‘Kripaya palaya soure.’
Poorvikalyani was the main raga and the composition was ‘Parama pavana Rama’ of Ramanathapuram Srinivasa Ayyankar in Adi tala.
Kavalam Sreekumar sang select compositions. Among them, a Dwijavanthi composition of Kavalam Narayana Panicker in Malayalam, ‘Saantham,’ created a tranquil ambience.
Other notable renditions were Neelakantan Sivan’s ‘Aanandanatanamaaduvar’ in Poorvikalyani and Papanasam Sivan’s composition in Mohanam, ‘Kapaali.’
The festival also featured vocal concerts by Sudha Varma, Vamanan Namboothiri, Girija Varma, Muralidharanunni, Thullal pada kacheri by Kalamandalam Gitanandan and troupe, Sopana Sangeetham by Njaralathu Harigovindan, Vadya samanwayam, directed by K. Jayakrishnan, and Thiruvathirakkali by different troupes.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
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