The musicians featured in the sixth National Music festival in Tharekkad presented a grand spectrum of classical music.
Rajeswari Satish
The vocalist showcased her reverence for tradition in her vocal recital on the opening day. Her concert, however, had a narrow impact, as her voice had its own limitations. The kritis ‘Lambodaramavalambe’ (Kambhoji, Mysore Vasudevachar), ‘Varumoninkaruna’ (Saranga, C.S. Krishna Iyer) and ‘Kadaikkan’ (Sudhasatvaananda), which was preceded by a tidy sketch of Begada, were appealing renditions. The delineation of Thodi was fairly good, but being the main raga, it could have been elaborated in greater detail. The concluding pieces, including the Malayalam song ‘Kintu cheyyu’, were rich in aesthetics. While Saraswathi Moorthy’s violin accompaniment was just adequate, Harihara Lakshmanan (mridangam) and Riju Unnikrishnan (ghatam) impressed with their fine show. Together they produced an enjoyable thani.
Ramakrishnan Murthy
Endowed with a resonant voice, Ramakrishnan Murthy reaffirmed his pre-eminence as a front ranking musician. Perfect sruti, pure classicism and elegant presentations marked his outstanding performance. His alaapana of Varali, the placement of sangatis in the niraval in the Dikshitar kriti ‘Mamava Meenakshi’ and the plentiful flow of swaraprastharas were simply marvellous. Capturing the beauty of Sankarabharanam with a captivating exposition, he took up Tyagaraja’s ‘Enduku Peddala’ and appended it with an analytical niraval and well-formulated swara patterns, revealing his immaculate kaalapramanam. In his scintillating essay of Shanmugapriya, he wove a beautiful tapestry, exploring the raga to its fullest potential. After doing full justice to the thanam and pallavi, he presented an excellent swara ragamalika in Bahudhari, Dhanyasi, Khamas and Shanmugapriya. Violinist Charumathi Raghuraman presented delectable raga and swara versions. Anantha R. Krishnan (mridangam) provided soft and highly supportive accompaniment while Vazhappally Krishna Kumar (ghatam) impressed with his masterly display. Their tani received huge applause.
Suryaprakash
It was an enriching musical experience to listen to Suryaprakash, a torch bearer of the Madurai Mani Iyer bani. In his alapana of Kalyani, he painted a majestic picture with full bodied prayogas, focussing on the many facets of the raga’s innate charm. The lively niraval and vibrant swara combinations in ‘Vasudevayani’ (Tyagaraja) bore testimony to his manodharma.
The aesthetic flourishes in the delineation of Subhapantuvarali, coupled with enchanting thanam passages, offered aural pleasure. After the pleasing pallavi, he indulged in a spate of swara patterns including ragamaalika swaras in a variety of ragas.
M.A. Sundareswaran lived up to his reputation as a versatile violinist. Sai Giridhar (mridangam) offered delightful rhythmic patterns in the tani, though it was too noisy at times. He received splendid support from Kovai Suresh (ghatam). As the day was dedicated to Tyagaraja, a group of vidwans rendered his Pancharatna krithis in the morning.
J.A. Jayanth
Youngster J.A. Jayanth fascinated the audience with an exhilarating flute recital. The racy ‘Tatvamerugatarama’ (Garudadhwani, Tyagaraja), followed by an absorbing interpretation of ‘Maarubalka’ (Sriranjani-Tyagaraja), crowned with zestful swaraprastharas, was excellent. His splendid portrayal of Kapi, played with three different flutes, projected the raga swaroopa in full. The serene Tyagaraja kriti ‘Intasowkhya’ offered plenty of ‘sowkhyam'.
Trivandrum N. Sampath (violin) earned praise for his tuneful accompaniment. Palakkad K.S. Mahesh Kumar (mridangam) was the picture of concentration. Providing apt support, Payyanur T. Govindaprasad (morsing) produced sonorous ‘naada’. Their tani, a tisra gathi special, was superb.
Sadanam Harikumar
Sadanam Harikumar is a multi-faceted artiste, being proficient in classical music, Kathakali, painting and so on. Preceded by a pleasing sketch of Saranga, he presented elegantly his guru C.S. Krishna Iyer’s kriti ‘Varumonin Karuna Kadaksham’. The high point of the recital was an exquisite alaapana of Vaaachaspathi, embellished with sangatis. The kriti, ‘Vasanthabandhu’, his own creation, was presented with aplomb. Kodunthirapully Subbaraman gave enough evidence of his skill as an accomplished violinist. Rendering ideal support, Palakkad Harinarayanan (mridangam) stole the show with his dexterous beats. He was ably supported by Vellattanjoor Sreejith (ghatam).
Kanhangad Sankaran Namboodiri
Kanhangad Sankaran Namboodiri and his disciples presented about 25 kritis of various composers that included the trinity, Mysore Vasudevachar, Swati Tirunal, Purandaradasa, Annamacharya, Papanasam Sivan and so on. Their selection was not judicious as it consisted of too many vilamba kaala kritis. They should also pay more attention to sruti. However, some of the kritis were rendered with evocative bhava. Anoop Bhaskaran’s violin accompaniment was valuable. Kallekulangara Unnikrishnan (mridangam) displayed his skills. He was well supported by E.M. Deepu (ghatam).
Kottakkal Madhu and Kalamandalam Vinod
The Kathakali padam concert by Kottakkal Madhu and Kalamandalam Vinod was a fitting finale to the festival. It was divine music all the way, when they rendered the padams with utmost devotion and feeling. Madhu sparkled in his elaboration of Sri, Bhairavi and Hindolam, exploring the inherent, sweet nuances and the myriad shades of the ragas. The respective padams were ‘Ajitha Hare’ (Kuchela Vrittam), ‘Ramaneeya Gunakara’ (Kachadevayani Charitham) and ‘Endihamanmaanase’ (Karna Shapatham). The other pieces which deserve special mention were ‘Poomadinotha’ (Darbar, Nala Charitham, Day Four) and ‘Maathe Bhavatheeya’ (Arabhi, Seetha Parithyagam). Kalamandalam Venumohan (chenda), Kalamandalam Raja Narayanan (maddalam) and Sadanam Ranjith (edakka) provided support.
The annual Palghat Fine Arts Puraskaram was awarded to veteran musician T.V. Gopalakrishnan. The fete was organised by Palghat Fine Arts Society.
