In a musical event in Kochi, under the ‘Jalsa’ series of concerts, the organisers strove to bring together the best in folk and Indian classical music.
Thayillam, a music group that is devoted to folk music, headed by C.J. Kuttappan, was full of life as the musicians swayed and rendered folk songs that spoke of their dreams and aspirations. Theyyams and panthams came alive as the artistes tried to recreate a feel of the rituals through the sound of drums and other musical instruments of Malabar.
Hindustani vocalist Sanjeev Abhyankar endeared himself to one and all with his moving khayal gayaki. The Vilambit khayal in raag Yaman stood out for its adherence to tone. The Mishra and Sapat taans were executed meticulously. The fast and progressive approach of the Mewati gharana was visible throughout. Ajay Joshi on the tabla and Niranjan Lele or the harmonium provided accompaniment. The Drut khayal ‘Aeri aali piya bin’ in teen taal was vibrant with its swift flourishes and taans. ‘Main sanware ke rang rachi’, a Meera bhajan, further heightened the emotive connect with the audience.
P. Unnikrishnan, who sounded rather sedate in the beginning, came into his element only in the last phase of his Shanmukapriya improvisation on the niraval. He started with ‘Varalanthukommani nayanthu’, a Tyagaraja kriti in Gurjari raga. His main song was ‘Mariveredikkevarayya rama’, a composition of Patanam Subramania Iyer. The mel kalai niraval and the kalpanaswaras, which were packed and engaging, won applause.
K.V. Prasad and Tripunithura Radhakrishnan kept pace on the mridangam and the ghatam. S.R. Vinu played the violin. Durga Jasraj played the perfect host.
The programme was organised by Art and Artistes, a multimedia music production company.
