Experiments are bound to be like this, I suppose - partly good, partly not working. So it was with ‘Panch Tantra,’ a musical event based on folk lore, which was presented at The Music Academy recently.
The idea was to combine storytelling with music, but till halfway through, the listener was left guessing what was the link between the stories recounted and the musical jamming that followed. The link was not clear except that the programme was to raise funds for deprived children and therefore, stories were being told. Some parts of the concert did not engage this reviewer.
Things started looking up after Sudha Ragunathan came on nearly halfway into the show. What stood out in the production was some impressive singing by Sudha, the cementing factor that was Anil Srinivasan's piano, and some delectable strains from Ambi Subramaniam's violin. Ambi is definitely here to stay.
The other participating artists were Jayanthi Kumaresh on the veena and Naveen Iyer on the flute. Acting as a foil to these musicians were Pramath Kiran on the tabla/morsing and Trichy Krishna on the ghatam.
The musicians themselves did the story telling. The links between the stories and the songs were clearer when Sudha started singing. For example, after Jayanthi Kumaresh recounted the story of the great monk and the lesson he taught his disciples about illusion, she ended the story emphasising the Truth as Parabrahmam. To which Sudha responded with Ramalinga Adigalar’s lines, ‘Petra Thai Thanai’; it resonated with the audience. After singing this in ragamalika, Sudha presented ‘Pirava Varam’ in Latangi composed by Papanasam Sivan. Niraval and swaram added to the presentation. Tamizh always has an edge in concerts in Tamil Nadu or for Tamizh audiences. Anil was particularly brilliant with brief passages in each raga as he accompanied Sudha's singing.
Then, it was Sudha's turn to tell a story. Narrating the story of Hanuman's Ramayana fluently and with a calm demeanour, she called on the entire ensemble together, first to present Bharatiar's ‘Chinnanjiru Kiliye’ and then ‘Vaishnava janato.’ Before ‘Vaishnava janato,’ she sang some phrases of Harikhambodi, a parent raga. The instrumentalists followed each with short strains in a janya of Harikhambodi.
‘Panch Tantra’ began with Anil telling us the story of the Yaksha and Yudhishtira, after which Sanjeev played ‘Kanne Kalaimane,’ a film song. Following this, Ambi played Suddha Saveri with beautiful touches and a short children's composition.
This was a precursor to a Jataka tale by Anil. Jayanthi followed by playing the veena to Anil's accompaniment. I have always emphasised how crucial tanam playing is to the veena. We enjoyed tanam by Jayanthi. The tanam echoed on the piano as Anil took up her lead.
