Sopana Sangeetham till recently was synonymous with the singing of ashtapadi in temples. Kavalam Narayana Panicker's research and effort have been a moving force in restoring Sopana Sangeetham to its rightful place as Kerala's own style of music. And violinist B. Sasi Kumar has been working with Panicker on the project to draw up a structured pattern for teaching Sopana Sangeetham and reviving the system of talas associated with it.
Sopana Sandhya, staged at Vyloppilli Samskriti Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram, recently, was a labour of love. The performance showcased how Sopana Sangeetham is inextricably woven into the music, dance and the very heartbeat of Kerala.
In fact, the musical presentation by Sasi Kumar's students began by tracing the origins of music to the rhythm of heartbeat. Its sublimation was an outpouring of devotion to the Almighty. This musical journey naturally led to the sacred steps (sopanam) in front of the sanctum sanctorum of a temple.
The Thyaani in Malahari raga, Ayyadi tala, was followed by the Nirampadal – the invocatory piece to Goddess Kali in front of a Kalam (drawing on the floor using naturally coloured powders). ‘Chitrasenan Vannu,' a piece from Kunchan Nambiar's ‘Harini Swayamvaram,' was sung in Kamboji, Khandagathi tala.
It is believed that vaggeyakkars like Swati Thirunal and Kunchan Nambiar had used this system of music and talas in their compositions.
Ragas of Kerala
The second part of Sopana Sandhya was dedicated to a Mohiniyattam performance, where Kavalam Narayana Panicker rendered the ever popular Swati Tirunal composition ‘Bhavayami Raghuramam' in the Sopanam system of talas, using talas such as Chambada, Ayyadi, Chamba, Ashtaka, Panchari and Marmam.
Sasi Kumar, who tuned the music, used Saveri, Nattakurinji, Dhanyasi, Mohanam, Mukhari, Purvi Kalyani and Madhyamavathi – the ragas that embrace the soul of Kerala's music.
The solo performance was by Saritha Parvathy, a student of Sopanam Institute led by Kavalam. The singers were Girish, Prasanth, Govind, Asha Praveen, Gopikrishnan and Krishna Priya – all training in Sopana Sangeetham under Sasi Kumar. Accompanying artistes were Kalapeethom Prakashan on the edakka, Vijayan on the maddalam, Soundarraj on the veena and Prasanth Shenoy on the flute.
