It was neither a concert nor a lec-dem, yet informative and educative. In ‘Raga Vaibhavam,’ Dr. Radha Bhaskar, assisted by three vocalists, explained the raga lakshanas of seven rakti ragas and went on to render several kritis in each of them. It was an exciting journey into the realm of ragas. After explaining the arohana-avarohana and a few sancharas and adding some anecdotes, they went on to sing at least one full song and render the pallavi or a part of several songs – to bring home the variety of moods the raga offers. In Begada, for instance, Aishwarya Sankar provided a captivating alapana and sang pallavi of Nadopasana, while K.P. Nandini offered ‘Kadaikkan Vaithennai’ in full. Radha Bhaskar rendered ‘Vaallabha Nayakasya,’ while Deekshita Venkataraman chose ‘Sankari Neeve.’
In Saveri, after K.P. Nandini’s splendid alapana, Melakkaveri Thyagarajan on the violin produced a sweet raga sketch. Can we call him Mela ‘Saveri’ Thyagarajan? After the Saveri varnam by the four together, six kritis were rendered. How one wished ‘Sankari Sankuru’ had been one of them.
While dealing with Kalyani, Radha Bhaskar explained the raga vis-a-vis Dharmavathi and showed how the pidi (phrase)-oriented ragas differ from scale-oriented ones. It was Tyagaraja who gave Kharaharapriya its big status by composing 13 kritis in it and over 100 in its Janya ragas, while Papanasam Sivan offered 20 in it. It’s symmetrical structure was explained. After a brief alapana, the quartet presented parts of four kritis. The highlight of the evening was the demonstration of 18 of the many Janya ragas of Kharaharapriya, such as Abhogi, Devamanohaari, Jayamanohari, Mandari, Kapi, Kanada, Huseni and Sri.
How with plain notes, Kuntalavarali could produce several melodic numbers was demonstrated through ‘Kalikarulaku’ and ‘Bhogeendra Sayeenam.’ The 72 (last) Melakarta, Rasikapriya was explained and K.P. Nandini rendered ‘Arul Seyya Vendum Ayya.’ How Sindhu Bhairavi made use of all twelve notes was explained with the help of three compositions. Tips to identify a raga were given at the end. Ramaiah Vittal (mridangam) and Nanganallur Swaminathan (ghatam) provided the vital rhythmic support. They could have been offered a chance for at least a short thani.
An artist who is back in Chennai after a five year stay in Australia said the other day that in overseas concerts, ninety per cent of the audience are connoisseurs and the rest expect some melodic numbers, while in Chennai, it is the other way round. Most in the audience are not aware of the basics of our system of music. And thus, there is a need to create better awareness among music lovers about the nuances of Carnatic music. Raga Vaibhavam of Mudhra’s Radha Bhaskar is therefore a welcome step in the right direction and at the right time too.
ramakrishnan.h@gmail.com
