Veteran nagaswaram player Vyasarpadi G Kothandaraman presented a sublime recital along with his disciples, Tirupati B. Kesanna and Chittoor R. Devarajulu. A thorough stickler for tradition, Kothandaraman is uncompromising in his approach to practicing and performing the instrument.
Briskly beginning the recital with Tyagaraja’s ‘Janaki ramana’ in Shuddha Seemanthini, the trio presented some swift swaras at ‘Rakta nalina’. Throughout the recital, Kothandarman’s disciples complemented him, leading to perfect coordination among the three instrumentalists. This was followed by Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar’s ‘Saraguna paalimpa’ in Kedaragowla. Every sangati carried the stamp of the instrument in highlighting prayogas using long-winded phrases with impeccable sruthi shuddham. ‘Paraloka bhayamu’ in Mandari was rendered next. The alapana that preceded the kriti stood out for its clarity.
Begada, a raga that is traditionally favoured by nagaswaram artistes was chosen for an elaborate alapana. A rare kriti of Papanasam Sivan ‘Bhuvaneshwari padam ninaindu’ was played. This proved to be engaging for the audience as many kept guessing what the kriti could be.
The main song of the evening was ‘Janani ninuvina’ in Reethigowlai that had an appealing swarakalpana section.
One of the best parts of the recital was the faceoff between Tirupungur T. G. Muthukumaraswamy and Adyar D Senthil Kumar, the thavil vidwans. In a thani that lasted more than 20 minutes, the two artistes truly demonstrated the potential of the underrated instrument by thoroughly charming rasikas with their competitive playing. The recital ended with ‘Enna Thavam seidhanai’ in Kapi.
Bangalore Palanivel and Prabhavati with Velliambakkam V. M. Ganapathi and Bikkampatti B. R. Venkatesh on the thavil | Photo Credit: SRINATH M
S P Palanivel and Prabhavathi Palanivel
Balanced, sincere and traditional are the words that come to mind when describing Bangalore S. P. Palanivel and Prabhavathi Palanivel’s duo nagaswaram performance. The couple, who are based out of Bengaluru have won several awards and are A-graded AIR artistes. They were accompanied by Velliambakkam V. M. Ganapathi and Bikkampatti B. R. Venkatesh on the thavil.
Beginning their recital with a pleasant Hamsadhwani (‘Varanamukhava’), they demonstrated the uniqueness of the rettai-nagaswaram arrangement in the final kalpanaswara section, taking turns at every avartana.
The duo next presented Tyagaraja’s ‘Nadopasana’, prefacing it with a brief Begada alapana. The raga shines when played on the nagaswaram. So this was a good choice to gain the attention of rasikas as the recital progressed. Another kriti that the audience instantly recognised was Purandaradasa’s ‘Narayana ninna’ in Suddha Danyasi. Given the fact that instrumental music performances do not draw a big audience as vocal concerts do, it was appreciable that the performers chose familiar pieces. The only piece rarely heard piece they played was ‘Vandeham shive’ of Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar set in Kathanakuthuhalam.
Bangalore Palanivel and Prabhavati played Shanmukhapriya as the main. The raga was once the forte of nagaswaram artistes. | Photo Credit: SRINATH M
The main raga of the evening was Shanmukhapriya, a raga that was earlier preferred mostly by the nagaswaram artiste community and was not much heard in Carnatic concerts. The alapana by the couple was expansive. The strength of the nagaswaram lies in free-flowing alapanas that do not necessarily progress in a sthayi-wise manner. The duo demonstrated their ability to present the raga with eloquence, redolent of tradition.
The main kriti chosen was ‘Parvati nayakane’, composed by Papanasam Sivan, with some power-packed kalpanaswarams at the pallavi line. The tani avartanam by Ganapathi and B. R. Venkatesh though short was energetic. The concert ended with a thillana in Dwijavanthi.
