Paati was there again. Hadn’t seen her in a week. “I got the link for some online concerts and I was listening to them on this,” she said, pulling out her smart phone from a cloth bag. “I never miss concerts by young musicians,” she whispered into my ears. ‘Bournvita’ mama, whom I often bump into at canteens, turned back irritatedly and said, “Shshhhhh”.
Gearing up for paati’s running commentary, I tried to look straight at the stage. “See the seating is exactly like the way it is at his guru T.M. Krishna’s concerts. A lot of youngsters these days follow this arrangement,” she whispered again while I was curious to see where the tanam in Arabhi was heading. Rithvik Raja followed the tanam with ‘Saadhinchane’, Tyagaraja’s Pancharatna kriti, on a rather mellow note. Paati hurled another point: “Arun Prakash (mridangam) and Aniruddh Athreya (kanjira) are his guru’s favourite accompanists.” A kriti that is often heard as goshti ganam has a different pace and energy, but on the concert stage it was acquiring a more sedate character. L. Ramakrishnan, a violinist I hugely admire, played the entire kriti with the musician with elan. The movement of the kriti — the rise and fall — was captured beautifully by both the artistes. A meditative opening.
Imaginative niraval
Pantuvarali alapana was slightly sketchy and the rendition of the kriti could have been better. The niraval at ‘Veda shastra purana’ was highly imaginative, pushing the boundaries of meaning. It flowed seamlessly into an equally competent swaraprastara.
Next, the melodious notes of Anandabhairavi began to fill the space, evoking the emotions of karuna, sringara and more in the listeners. Rithvik opened Dikshitar’s Kamalamba Navavarana kriti, ‘Kamalamba samrakshatu’, with the anupallavi, ‘Sumana saaradhita’. I was totally immersed in the beauty of the phrase ‘Sundara manah priyakara sakhi’ and the eloquence with which the violinist played it.
‘Marivere dikkevarayya rama’ in Shanmukhapriya was brisk, engaging and the musician worked the mood to a crescendo with the swaraprastara. Paati seemed to thoroughly enjoy the piece and kept tala loudly with her hands. The Kedaragowla alapana was a bit repetitive, however, Ramakrishnan’s delineation was more imaginative and the tanam that followed made for a rich listening experience. The exchange of ideas between the vocalist and the violinist was interesting. Even this composition, ‘Saraguna palimpa’ began with the anupallavi.
Arun Prakash is among the finest musicians today. Not just a percussionist, he is a composer too. In the tani avartanam, without trying to dazzle, he drew attention to the inner workings of laya. Along with Anirudh Athreya, he gave a fresh dimension to the concert.
The Bengaluru-
based author writes on
classical music.
