Dharohar of Dharwad

Pt. M. Venkatesh Kumar proved the timeless appeal of tradition in his emotively charged rendition, writes Lalithaa Krishnan

January 07, 2016 05:52 pm | Updated September 22, 2016 10:44 pm IST

Pandit M. Venkatesh Kumar at The Music Academy. Photo: V. V. Krishnan

Pandit M. Venkatesh Kumar at The Music Academy. Photo: V. V. Krishnan

Along the Maharashtra-Karnataka border lies the Dharwad belt — a fertile ground that yields rich musical harvests, notably in the Hindustani tradition. Prime local talents have been meticulously groomed under the guidance of the late Puttaraj Gawai, saint-musician, a revered household name in those parts.

For Pt. M. Venkatesh Kumar, who received intensive in-house training at Gawai’s ashram in Gadag, it has been a slow but steady road to national recognition. Known for the seamless blending of key elements of the Kirana and Gwalior gharanas, the veteran vocalist’s robust style is also enriched by characteristics of the Patiala school.

In his New Year eve recital, the opening strains of Purya evoked a moving ambience, contributed to, in great measure by the raga’s sparing use of the tonic note, the shadja. As the vilambit headed, fortified by purpose, into the plaintive madhyam, the ‘ma-ni’ link was defined. Sargams and bol-taans speeded up the organic progression to the tara saptak shadja and gandhar. The drut sparkled with creative variations, with shadja-varja passages lending a premium value to the shadja when it surfaced in rare appearances..

Carnatic or Hindustani, the raag Yaman wins unanimous approval. In ‘Mera Manwa’, vilambit explored the mandra saptak in detail, gaining firm footholds on the expansively sustained shadja and gandhar in the upward climb.

An enormous energy, neither aggressive nor underplayed, gathered force at the tara-saptak-gandhar, throwing into relief the esoteric touches at the nishadh during the descent. The sargams were remarkable in that they carried a Carnatic azhuttam, rendered at a tempo and with a clarity that made for easy deconstruction and notation.

‘Aeri Aali Piya Bin’ was a drut that rang out with joie-de-vivre, the expert manipulation of lyrics at ‘Jab se piya’ resembling the stretching and shortening of strings by a master puppeteer.

In an elegant vilambit and a luminous drut, which stood out for sinuous taans, it was interesting to observe the manner in which Shankara, an audav-shadav vakra raag, was handled, differentiating it from Hamsadhwani, a close affiliate.

A thumri in Mishra Kafi ushered in a change in mood. Then, in response to audience requests, came four Dasarapadagalu in quick succession. Intense outpourings of devotion, it was evident that these emotive renditions came straight from the heart.

‘Apara Mahima’ (Purandaradasa, Mishra Bhimpalas), ‘Kala Beda’ (Basaveswara, Mishra Patdeep), and two Kanakadasa compositions, ‘Toredu Jivisa’ (Misra Kirvani) and ‘Bhajare Hanumantham’ (Bhairavi) touched a chord that firmly cemented the artist-rasika connect.

Keshav Joshi (tabla) and Vyasamoorthy Katti (harmonium) alternated between delicate touches and bold emphasis, unobtrusively aiding the main artist’s creative flights.

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