The two-day music festival of Nandhikeshwar Thala Vidyalaya and Arts Academy, Chromepet drew to a close with a violin duet at the Chromepet Cultural Academy auditorium.
Over 100 disciples of Thillaisthanam Suriyanarayanan played mridangam for concerts and nama sankirtanam held on both days. The proliferation of classical music largely depends on rasikas and Suri can be proud that he has inculcated rasikathvam in these young minds. It was heartening to see them glued to their seats capturing moments of the duet on their handy cams and mobiles, and acknowledging the brilliant exposition of the foursome on stage.
V.L. Kumar and V.L.V. Sudershan, sons of violinist V.L. Vedagiri, a genius who is known for fusing intricate laya patterns with melody, presented their programme in the company of mridangam vidwan Thanjavur Kumar (guru of Suriyanaryanan) and Trichy Murali (ghatam).
Years of experience with AIR in handling arangisai concerts helped Kumar in packaging the fare attractively, time being the limiting factor. His brother Sudershan, who works for the Music College at the Annamalai University, Chidambaram, preferred to play second fiddle foraying to the mandra string (bass) time and again during the kriti phase, making it a veritable treat.
The Saveri varnam played in two speeds drew focus on the duo. Eschewing gimmicks, Kumar played a three-minute Begada that was on pure classical lines. The swaras for Dikshitar’s ‘Vallabha Nayakasya’ (Rupakam), though brief, were simple. Kumar then went on to explain the meaning of Tyagaraja’s ‘Teliyaleru Rama’ (Denuka-Adi) and painted the raga with light strokes. Thanjavur Kumar embellished the kriti further with his interesting tekkas and mel kala chathusram patterns.
Thooran’s ‘Thaye Tripurasundari’ (Suddha Saveri-khanda chapu) saw the brothers take off at a lightning speed. Thanjavur Kumar and Murali joined them to energise the performance further.
Glimpses of Sudershan’s prowess came to the fore in the alapana of Anandabhairavi. The sweetness of his violin matching that of his elder brother was noteworthy. Although Kumar has a flair for Hindustani music, that evening’s Hamsanandi was well within the Carnatic parameters. ‘Srinivasa Triuvengadamudaiyan’ (Adi) saw Thanjavur Kumar and Trichy Murali combining effectively to present an interesting tani.
