At a time when instrumental music concerts are a rare event, Capital’s religious organization Adi Sankara Seva Samaj organized a violin solo concert of the Chennai-based artiste R.K. Shriramkumar. The concert was held at the Sri Ishta Sidhi Vinayakar Temple complex recently. That Shriramkumar is a scholar and repository of information on Carnatic music and has in-depth knowledge on Muthuswami Dikshitar’s compositions one yearned for a talk or a workshop by this veteran. However, his violin recital too turned out to be a delightful experience.
Sticking to a traditional pattern, choosing compositions in traditional ragas and a recital bereft of gimmicks were the hallmarks of Shriramkumar’s recital that regaled the music lovers. In his two-hour recital he took up Swati Tirunal’s “Pankaja Lochana” in the raga Kalyani and Tyagaraja’s “Intha Sowkya Mani” in the raga Kapi for detailed renditions and did adequate justice to these items. Besides, he brought out the nuances of these ragas in a delightful manner while delineating them.
Earlier, Shriramkumar’s rendition of Mysore Vasudevachar’s “Pranamamyaham” in the raga Gowla provided a sparkling start to his concert scheduled on an otherwise dull Sunday morning. Tyagaraja’s “Sitapati Na Manasuna” in Khamas, Shyama Sastri’s “Marivere Gati” in Anandabhairavi and Muthuswami Dikshitar’s “Hiranmayeem” were the other renditions that captivated the audience.
Chennai’s seasoned K.V. Prasad provided an elegant mridangam accompaniment. Delhi-based youngster N. Harinarayanan provided an understanding accompaniment on the the ghatam. Both the percussionists played an enjoyable tani avartanam in Adi taal.
Thoughtful selection
Elsewhere, on the occasion of Sree Ramanavami, Noida’s Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Satsangam, and the Vedic Prachar Sansthan, had organized a Harikatha featuring B. Suchithra, last week. The programme was held at the temple premises of Sri Adi Shankara Mutt, Noida.
In her performance of about two hours, Suchithra too captivated the audience by her eloquent discourse on the subject “Sri Rama – On the path of Dharma” and intertwining her musical talents into the discourse. Her thoughtful selection of songs, whether it was Tyagaraja’s kritis or Arunachala Kaviraya’s compositions from Ramanataka or even the slokas that she rendered in the form of viruthams (in Shanmukhapriya and Saveri ragas) not only synchronized well with her discourse but also brought to fore her talents in Carnatic music. Added to this was a right doze of humour which kept her proceedings lively. It was a grand finale of sorts when the audience spontaneously and overwhelmingly started singing along with the artiste during her concluding bhajan.
V.S.K. Annadurai on the violin and Elathur Jayanth P. Dass on the mridangam provided understanding support to Suchithra by chipping in wherever required and not overdoing their roles. Suchithra is the granddaughter of the renowned Harikatha exponent Tanjore T.R. Kamalamurthy. She is also proficient in Carnatic vocal, devotional and Abang concerts.
