T he 2016 edition of Akashvani Sangeeth Sammelan of Prasar Bharati held recently at AIR’s multi-track auditorium in the city, featured Hindustani and Carnatic music with a laya vinyasa interlude. The programme was inaugurated by violin maestro T.N. Krishnan.
Sundri is a double reed wind instrument with a strong semblance to shehnai but smaller in size. The artist was Pt. Suryakant Khaladkar along with Saratkumar Khaladkar and Dinesh Maulikar on Sundri (from Pune) and supported by Sanjay Apar (Aurangabad) on the tabla.
The major presentation was a detailed portrayal of Maru Behag in vilambit, madhyama and dhurit through raag and a bandish set to ek taal. The vilambit passage rested on lingering phrases with stress on melody.Though the raag reflected a plaintive mood in the slow pace, it turned vivacious in madhyama and dhurit kaal. The swirls and eddies special to wind instruments made their presence at the appropriate junctures to make the raag shine.
- The Akashvani Sangeet Sammelan concerts broadcast will commence on October 22 .
- The programmes discussed here will be aired on November 14 (10 p.m.), October 23 (10 p.m.) and October 23 (9.30 p.m.) respectively in Chennai A and FM Gold-National Hook-up.
The second piece was in Saraswati with a bandish in teen taal. The short prologue and the brisk bandish showed the beauty of Saraswati exclusive to Hindustani. Pt. Suryakant Khaladekar signed off his recital with a fast and colourful ‘dhun’ in Misra Khamaj. His accompanists participated with dedication while Sanjay Apar’s beats were soft and subtle to suit the moods of the raags.
‘Laya Vinyasa’ by thavil exponent K.G. Kalyanasundaram from Tiruchi bristled with energy. The heavy duty instrument created a wonderful package of strong, sharp beats to complement the suppleand slow patterns of rhythm keeping the audience fully engrossed for nearly 30 minutes. The laya was in misra chapu to a pallavi in Kalyani played by Kovilur K.G. Somanathan on the nagaswaram who initiated the laya vinyasa. The time-keeper was Sembanarkoil Jothi Natarajan.
The finale was a vocal recital by up-and-coming singer Vishnudev Namboothiri of Thrissur. With an impressive resonant voice, Vishnudev essayed Nattakurinji for Tyagaraja’s ‘Manasu Vishaya.’ The vocalist exploited the unique charm of Nattakurinji with several fascinating phrases in the madhyama regions and through comfortable trajectories in the upper registers. His swarakalpana, centred on madhyamam, showcased the depth of his imagination and arithmetical acumen.
Vishnudev shared a dynamic Pantuvarali with an alapana linked to ‘Sankari Ninne Ika Jala’ by Mysore Vasudevachar. The exposition and extrapolation on ‘Pankajakshi Neethu Mahima’ with swara sallies were promising. Vishnudev Namboothiri began his concert with Swati Tirunal’s Navarasakannada kriti ‘Vandhe Sada Padmanabham’ and concluded with Lalgudi Jayaraman’s Mohanakalyani thillana. N. Sampath from Thrissur on the violin matched the vocalist’s vision in ragas and swaras with ingenuity. N.C. Bharadwaj on the mridangam and Udupi S. Srikanth of Thiruvananthapuram on the ganjira added pep to the proceedings with agile percussion beats.
