Back Friday Review Bangalore Chennai and Tamil Nadu Delhi Hyderabad Thiruvananthapuram
Many shades
Pravin Godkindi presented
flute recital at
Veene Sheshanna Bhavana
under the auspices
of Shri Rama Kala Vedike.
It was in memory of S.B.
Hungund, noted musician,
acclaimed dramatist and a
trenchant critic.
The consummate flautist
gave ample evidence in support
of popular recognition.
He dramatically demonstrated
his expertise, versatility
and knowledge in
dovetailing the styles of
both the major schools of
Indian classical music.
For a better understanding,
analyse the present concert
from two perspectives:
the general form (more
physical) and the other, the
expected substance (or its
subliminal content). In the
present instance, the former
took precedence over the
latter.
Now, find how he explored
Hemavathi and navigated
through alaap, jod,
jhaala and gat.
Alaap featured sancharas,
nilugades and gamakas carrying
shades suggestive of
Carnatic style, simultaneously
retaining the salient
features of Hindustani grandeur
by characteristic emphases
laid on individual
notes and the method of
framing the phrases, reinforced
by various alankars.
The Badhat entered into
more and more intricacies
to include the jod and jhaala
sections, which carried similar
flashes.
Further, when the percussionist
joined the lead
artiste, their reciprocating
and collective extempore
knew no bounds in transforming
the picture into a
climactic extravaganza.
The mature artistes (flautist
and the percussionist),
intuitively foreseeing each
other's spontaneous moves,
created a world of wonders
wherein surging tootkaaras
(tonging) and sprouting
layakaris kept the audience
spellbound. Changes in
pitches in the reverberating
beats simulated the expressions
of a tabala tarang.
Nevertheless, the above
feats worked more on a conscious
plane (identifiable
more with the outward appearance-
objective) where
mastery over the instrument
and exceptional dexterity
were instrumental in
keeping the audience thoroughly
engaged.
As far as the subliminal
content (subjective) was
concerned, the concert
failed to penetrate into
deeper layers of the psyche,
where awaited a sense of repose
for a gentle arousal and
a transcending peaceful experience.
In a way, this missing
element kept haunting
all the time.
Other highlights were Puriyakalyan
(vilambit and
drut), a thumri dhun (Mishra
Khamach) and a Meera
Bhajan.
© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu
Pravin Godkhindi's concert in Mysore spoke of his expertise, versatility and knowledge
DEXTEROUS The badhat had many intricacies