Pandit Taranath Foundation hosted a marriage of accomplished, mature and discerning musical minds at the Mysore ‘Vanaranga’ recently. A huge portrait of Late Pandit Taranath, a mighty presence that shaped the Kannada consciousness during the early twentieth century presided over a splendid Hindustani-Carnatic jugalbandi by two mature instrumentalists, sarodiya Pandit Rajeev Taranath and Veene Vidwan D. Balakrishna. Eminent percussionists Vidwan Anooru Ananthakrishna Sharma on the Mridanga and Pandit Udayaraj Karpur on Tabla lent substance to the musical frame.
The jugalbandi showcased two true-blue Kannadigas: Balakrishna, an authentic exponent of the Mysoorubaani of veene , son and disciple of the titan Veene Doreswamy Iyengar represents the conventional Mysore ethos. Taranath’s concern for the culture of Kannadanadu and preservation of syncretism and his multifarious personality shaped by his flights into diverse worlds mainly English Literature, Language Studies and Hindustani music lend razor-sharpness to his own Kannadaness.
The word jugalbandi literally means ‘entwined twins’ and the binding can simultaneously be stifling and enabling. Operating within an extra boundary hence becomes a responsibility and often teases an artist into playful competition as well. Ideally, the two artists would function alternately like the sympathetic strings of a sitar that embolden and beautify the output of the main strings.
The evening’s refreshing duet involving Hindustani and Carnatic idioms of music celebrated manodharma sangeeta . Balakrishna registered humbly that the evening’s duet would be a continuation of the legacy that projected Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Guru of Pandit Taranath and Veene Doreswamy Iyengar in a jugalbandi in 1964.
The Yaman Kalyan-Kalyanijugalbandi played by the duo enabled the confluence of the two ragas — smooth interfaces, myriad reflections mirroring one another, simple following of phrases like a guru-shishya, humble negotiations, exchange of musical thoughts, laya patterns and imagination, powerful statements now and then–the onstage drama that ensued brought forth genuine music that inundated the entire ‘Vanaranga’ and the perceptive open-air audience.
Exploration of Yaman, an early-night melody individually on the sarod and veene and together on the two string instruments, became an integral experience at the hands of the Maihar-Mysore maestros who perhaps have negotiated this grand, fundamental raga associated with tranquillity, innumerable times along their musical journey. Vidwan Balakrishna’s raga-tana-pallavi in Kalyani evoked a deep sense of peace and the pristine notes and all-encompassing phrases defined by a smooth power made the rendering truly multi-dimensional. Pandit Taranath’s alaap-jod-gat in Yaman was an intense experience, power-packed and transcended predictability of every kind. A kind of tender drama was brought into play heightening the majesty of Yaman, reminiscent of the dramatic unfolding of Raag Yaman by Khansaab. As in any vibrant jugalbandi , here too the juxtaposition highlighted variations in temperament, rendition and approach to swara-laya, making it an educative experience for music-learners.
Percussive music in the concert was sparkling, whether in the supportive dimension or autonomous, including the brilliant tani-avartana . The sheer power, clarity and manodharma of the revered maestros on mridanga and tabla adorned Yaman-Kalyani and the Ragamala in Keervani that followed. Various ragas emerged from the stem of Keervani growing in multi-directions and all the four masters engaged in a multi-hued samvada that stood out like a meaningful sharing among compatible souls in the comfort of one’s home namely Mysore.
