Enchanting start to music festival

City sways to G. Muralidhar Shenoy and Ravikiran Manipal

Hindustani vocalist Ravikiran Manipal performing at Ravindra Kalabhavan in Mangaluru on Friday. Photo: H.S. Manjunath

Carnatic singer G. Muralidhar Shenoy and Hindustani vocalist Ravikiran Manipal performed on Friday to mark the beginning of a 10-day music festival organised by Mani Krishnaswami Academy.

The Carnatic singer, who has apparently worked hard on his rendition, was impressive and far more confident than seen before, and was even entertaining. Clearly he has acquired a new-found mastery over kalpana swaras, which won him applause from the audience, particularly in the main piece ‘Parama Pavana Rama’ in Poorvi-Kalyani Raga. The brief swara prasthara was good.

Before this, he presented ‘Swami Natha Paripalaya’ of Muthuswami Dikshitar in Natta Raga with charm. A little improvement in breath-control can apparently take him to a higher plane as a singer. He presented the composition ‘Pibare ramarasam’ rendered in Hindustani Ahir-Bhairav Raga. Beginning with a Todi varnam, he also sang compositions in Begada and Kalyani Ragas.

Hindustani twist

On his part Ravikiran Manipal’s novel feather-touch opening of Raga Yaman was refreshing. He introduced tonal intensity gradually and tried a myriad ways to drive home the theme of the composition “Kahe dhund phire pathar ke mutt-mandir”, which essentially urged the audience to look within instead of searching God in Mutts and temples. Before beginning the concert, he explained the meaning of the composition he had chosen.

Despite innovative experiments, the artiste appeared to be struggling to connect with the audience. The fast-paced rendition combined with sargam before rising to a crescendo, however, came as a relief.

Changing of the microphone before he began to render a tarana in Raga Bageshree did not apparently help much. He concluded with a Kabir bhajan.

The music festival was inaugurated by managing trustee of Sharavu Mahaganapathi Temple Raghavendra Shastri, who observed that music filled one’s mind with positive vibes. Karnataka Bank chairman Ananthakrishna said no amount of praise for classical music would help it grow, but attending concerts and listening to the musicians would.