In his virtual flute concert as part of ‘Yours Truly Margazhi’, organised by the Federation of City Sabhas, Shashank displayed a perfect bond between form and content. In the very first song ‘Neekela Dayaradhu’ in Sarasangi (Khanda Chapu), his poise and energy were palpable. Ramaswami Sivan, the composer, whose mudra is Guhadaasa, says, ‘O, Sri Rama of Saketapura, why don’t you show mercy on me?’ Neat gamakas brought out the essence of the raga, which is the 27th in the Melakarta scheme. There are not many kritis in Sarasangi, but there are popular ones in its janya ragas, Kamalamanohari and Nalinakanti.
In the swaraprastara, Shashank displayed his grip over laya, with a sense of proportion. In the insightful alapana of Dharmavati, his focus was on melody. He played Mysore Vasudevachar’s ‘Bhajana seya rada’, in praise of Rama displaying a perfectly sruti-aligned swaraprastara. A vibrant ‘Sadha mathim’ in Gambhiravani came up next, the only Tyagaraja kriti in this raga.
Kamboji seems to be the flavour of the season and Shashank offered a Ragam Tanam Pallavi in it. He began the raga elucidation on an almost 4 ft long flute with a deeper base, giving the raga greater depth. For the 100-minute concert, he used a combination of five flutes, which gave the range of five octaves. A 3 ft long flute was the main instrument, whose tone is one octave lower than the normal flute. In this, the gamakas blend much better and the tone is more soothing on the ear.
Clarity of notes
Coming back to the RTP, in the tanam and later in the swaras, the flautist showed his expertise in the flutter tongue technique, without compromising on the clarity of notes. The pallavi started after three-and-half beats in khanda triputa tala tisra nadai, and Shashank’s playing revealed his percussive knowledge. His presentation of the swaraprastara and the rich tonal quality of the flute in the lower registers during raga phrases highlighted his craftsmanship.
On the violin, R. Raghul was a great asset, standing up to every challenge, whether the alapana, tanam or swaraprastara. On the mridangam, Anantha R. Krishnan’s performance throughout the concert and during the thani in Sankeerna nadai was brilliant. Gowrishankar was on the tambura.
Shashank wound up a concert, marked by impressive technique and style, with two Sindhubhairavi kritis, ‘Vishveswara darusan’ (Swati Tirunal), and ‘Chandrasekhara esa’ (Anai Vaidyanatha Iyer).
The Chennai-based reviewer specialises in
Carnatic music.
