“Heard melodies are sweet; but those unheard are sweeter.” Shantala Subramaniam belied these immortal words of Keats. Her flute played on, not only to the sensual ears, but to the soul and spirit. Even while she delineated Saramathi, she could convey what the saint of Tiruvaiyaru sought to, in his divine composition. That finally is music. In between she played the long flute that created soft and smooth waves.
‘Mokshamu Galatha’ of Tyagaraja was her natural selection. What can one say about the Saint’s choice of this raga! Her Khanda Nadai swara prastharas were as spontaneous as they were sweet. The impact of the Khanda nadai continued in the splendid thani provided by Neyveli Venkatesh on the mridangam and N. Guruprasad on the ghatam. Avaneeswaram Vinu’s delicate interpretation of Saramathi was exquisite.
A 30-minute RTP in Khambodi was the highlight of the evening. After a wholesome alapana, she sang the pallavi for the benefit of the rasikas: ‘Aananda natanamaadinaar thathimitheem ena kanaka sabhayil’ in Thisra jathi Triputai. That was followed by a crisp single korvai thani.
Shantala commenced the concert with the Kedaragowla varnam which was a melodic exercise in rhythm. ‘Sobillu Saptaswara’ followed. Her stunning elucidation of Kalyani was followed by Tyagaaraja’s ‘Amma Raavamma,’ on Mother Tulasi in Khanda chapu. The niraval was at the usual ‘Thamarasa Dala Nertrudu.’ Swati Tirunal’s ‘Bhogindra Sayinam’ in Kuntalavarali and Gopalakrishna Bhaarathi’s ‘Eppo Varuvaro’ in Jonpuri were splendidly rendered.
The Swati Tirunal javali ‘Saramaina’ in Behag was a charming rendering on the long flute. Shantala concluded her concert with Tyagaraja’s ‘Nadupai’ in Madhymavathi. Shantala has a solid foundation in vocal music laid by the decade-long tutelage under Vairamangalam Lakshminarayanan. She learnt the nuances of rhythm for 15 years under equally renowned stalwarts. And flute? Self-taught, being the sister of Shashank and her father learnt the art from the great Dindigul S.P. Natarajan.
(ramakrishnan.h@gmail.com)
