Lively blend of Tala and natya

A shower of kritis in pleasing ragas and perfect adavus with soulful abhinaya made the final segment of Pollachi Tamizhisai Sangam's cultural fest enjoyable.

April 29, 2010 08:46 pm | Updated 08:46 pm IST

lively: Apsara Ramkumar.

lively: Apsara Ramkumar.

The last four events sponsored by Tamil Nadu Iyal, Isai Nadaga Mandram were held at Mahatma Gandhi Mandapam, Pollachi, under the auspices of Pollachi Tamizhisai Sangam. Popular songs in pleasant ragas made Vallivalam V.K.P. Dhandapanai’s nagaswaram recital quite enjoyable. Accompanied by Kappur K.S. Balaji on the nagaswaram and L.N. Parthibhan on the thavil, he impressed with the ‘sunadham’ that flowed through his majestic instrument.

Well-planned concert

Sudha and Srividya (Iyer Sisters), daughters of Geetha Ramasubramaniam, one of the Mayavaram Sisters, made a good impact on the listeners with their pure, traditional and enchanting vocal recital. Equally proficient in violin, the sisters were initially trained in vocal music by Kolkata Krishnamurthy and later their mother. Right now, they are under the tutelage of Lalitha Raghavan.

Their opening varnam, ‘Innam En Manam’ in Charukesi by Lalgudi Jayaraman was the beginning of a shower of melodious songs in Tamil. It was a well-planned concert with kritis in pleasing ragas. They sang ‘Thaamadhamaen Swami’ as the main piece with alapana, niraval and

swarakalpanas. ‘Ksheera Sagara’ in Purvikalyani by Papanasam Sivan was presented with brisk swaras. ‘Varuvaaro’ in Sama and ‘Enadhu Manam’ in Harikhambodi were moving. The ragamalika ‘Avare Kadavulai’, the thevaram, ‘Veyuru Tholi Pangan’ and the thillana in Thilang by Lalgudi Jayaraman gave a perfect finish to a gratifying concert. Chennai Sivakami Narayanan on the

violin and Prasanna Karthikeyan on the mridangam gave admirable support to the duo.

Classy choreography

There were two Bharatanatyam recitals the following day. Pavithra Madhuram’s pleasing stage presence, tasteful costume, and appealing make-up made an excellent first impression which was strengthened further by her perfect adavus and soulful abhinaya.

Her varnam, ‘Neeyintha Maayam Seythaal’ in Dhanyasi by Papanasam Sivan was a fine sample of classy choreography. The sancharis were limited not only in numbers but also in duration, lending a crisp edge to her varnam presentation. Guru Mutharasi’s (also Pavithra’s mother) clear voice poured out the majestic jathis in rapid succession and Pavithra added radiance to them with her graceful footwork. The padam ‘Chinnanjiru Kiliye’ by Bharatiar successfully brought out the quintessential love of a mother.

Venugopal’s vocal support was very impressive. Venkatasubramaniam on the mridangam and Sikkil Balasubramaniam on the violin exhibited exceptional skill in their performance.

Sprightly performance

Sprightliness was the hallmark of Apsara Ramkumar’s dance and she retained her liveliness throughout. Whether it was the demanding varnam or the emotional padam, she gave her heart and soul to it and never showed any signs of fatigue. Her varnam, ‘Ma Moham Thane Meeruthe’ by K.N.

Dhandayuthapani Pillai (Her guru’s father and guru) brought out the pangs of the love-lorn maiden and gave her excellent scope for depicting sringara rasa. ‘Arupadi Veedamarndha Aarumuga’ and ‘Vallikkanavan Perai’ were delightful to watch.

Effective vocal support by Sudev and crisp nattuvangam by guru Uma Anand (her voice was a lovely blend of melody and majesty) made Apsara’s dance recital really enjoyable. The violin and mridangam artists who played for Pavithra continued for Apsara too.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.