The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Moods of nature in music

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Wednesday, Sep 03, 2008
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Moods of nature in music

N.J. Nair

P. Padmesh, a flautist in Thiruvananthapuram, is bringing out a trilogy which captures the beauty of nature in different forms

P.Padmesh

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Music has the innate power to convey all moods and emotions. Be it the pangs of love, separation, or the immaculate devotion to the Lord, everything can be poignantly depicted through certain unique blend of ragas.

P. Padmesh, a flautist in the city, is bringing out a trilogy Yamini, Nattinpuram and Sagaram, which capture the beauty of nature in different forms.

According to Padmesh, this is a sequel to an earlier series of flautist Kudamaloor Janardhanan, Keli, Viraha and Kaivalya brought out by Invis Multimedia, a city-based company.

“I have explored the unlimited possibilities of Carnatic ragas to encapsulate the charm of nature in different moods. Yamini, the first in the series, depicts the nocturnal beauty of nature. The magnificence of the moonlight falling on the blanket of night, the music of silence, the hushed and eerie music of owls and the tranquillity may often escape one’s imagination. Yamini attempts to present the varied moods of nature at different stages from dusk to daybreak. When the night starts growing, the mood of nature too changes gradually. My compositions are trying to trace the change,” he says.

His three compositions in Vageswari, Bahudari and Neelambari ragas with the subtle support of the tabla attempt to mark out the evolution.

The second album Nattinpuram is a stranger’s trip through a village. “I am trying to unveil the rustic charm from a stranger’s point of view, but it would be a trip down memory lane for the non-resident Keralites as well as those living in urbanised villages. Folk music and rhythm have been liberally used to lend vigour to the compositions. The music and rhythm of bullock carts, melody of a flowing river and all sights and sounds one come across in a remote Kerala hamlet have been drawn up through folk music. The music and rhythm are a bit loud. A variety of instruments, including mridangam, ghatom, maddalam and idakka, have been used to pep up the compositions,” he says.

Sagaram delves into the mystery and depths of the ocean. “The changing moods of the sea, both serene and tumultuous, have been presented through Revagupti and Charukesi ragas,” he says.

Padmesh also seeks to break the convention that select ragas alone can be used to create different moods.

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