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Melodious, well-modulated voice
For years what has kept the layman away from classical music were gross vocal renditions lacking in clarity of diction and incoherent presentation of the literature. Lata Mangeshkar is quoted as musing over how she attempted taking lessons from a renowned Ustad at an early stage in her career.
``He urged me to sing the tans parting my jaws widely, and often going into a drone. Realising how it was stealing the mellifluence in the voice, I stopped my lessons for good,'' as put in Dhwanyalokam Kavyasya Aatma Dhwani. The artistes of the younger generation have come to realise this and they have tried to impart the true feel or bhava to each composition rather than indulge in vocal acrobatics.
S Sowmya, a leading female Carnatic vocalist of the day blessed with a melodious voice, well modulated in pitch and girth. She is the disciple of the glorious late S Ramanathan. Sowmya has a Kerala connection as her mother hails from Trichur, and till the age of 13 she was in the FACT township at Udyogamandal where her father was an official. She performed recently at Kalikotta palace, Tripunithura on the occasion of the 27th anniversary of Poornathrayeesha Sangeeta Sabha.
It is a joyous challenge for every artiste of excellence to perform before a discerning audience, where he gives his best. Tripunithura, the seat of culture in Ernakulam indeed provides that.
Ms Sowmya started the concert with navaraga varnam Valachi Vaachi by Pattanam Subramania Iyer. Sambho Mahadeva in Panthuvarali had a plausible delineation of the ragam.
Vande sada padmanabham in Navarasakannada and Varalanthukom by Tyagaraja in Kurjari, the one kriti popularized by S Ramanathan followed. Yarruku than theriyum was a Tamil kriti in Deva Manohari. The ragam thanam pallavi was in Thodi. Sowmya's efforts paid off when she rendered Eesham Achyutham Govindam Poornathrayeesham because the home folk went ecstatic as the piece was on their own deity Lord Poornathrayeesha. Narmada, daughter of the violin maestro M S Gopalakrishnan provided accompaniment on the violin.
The Thaniyavarthanam by Neyveli Narayanan on the mridangam and Uduppi Sridhar on the ghatam was noteworthy as rhythm patterns got intricate.
A kavadi chinthu, a part of Tamil folk tradition, was sung to keep up with popular taste. Enna thavam cheithane was a soulful Kapi, Papanasa Sivan musing on what penance had Yashoda done to mother a son like Krishna and further be witness to his leelas.
The concert was indeed one to be reckoned with, thanks to the efforts of Poornathrayeesa Sangeeta Sabha.
H.B
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