Little light, little classical

Singer Vijay Prakash used his Carnatic foundation with great effect at the Yagnaraman July Fest

Singer Vijay Prakash performing at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha

Carnatic fusion. The trend has really caught on. The weekends are filled with kutcheris and peppered with fusion concerts such as a Carnatic-EDM or a spin on film music that is neither classical nor completely light. It’s the product of changing times, allowing rasikas to approach music with tinted viewing glasses. These initiatives lead to artistic conversations that venture into new territories.

Singer Vijay Prakash credits his strong foundation in Carnatic music to his artistic malleability. As he opens with a traditional rendering of the Saveri varnam, we find ourselves awaiting a few lines of the melodic ‘Innum Konja Neram’ that does follow but much later.

He fills the first hour of his concert at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, finale of the Yagnaraman July Fest 2017, with recognisable compositions: Tyagaraja’s ‘Sri Ganapati Nee’ is well-presented, though a flash of niraval in the first two lines of the charanam slightly mars the composition.

The recital brightens with a ragam-tanam-pallavi. Set to Khambodi and an eight-beat cycle, the words ‘Bhajanam bhajanidham bhajatham bhaja, shri Rama nama’ offer aural pleasure. Violinist K.J. Dileep shines, compensating for the extraneous vocal modulations in the raga portion.

An exploratory demonstration of Purandaradasa’s ‘Venkatachala Nilayam’ comforts the packed hall with Vijay stating, “no matter what genre we hear and interpret as artistes, our Carnatic training helps us understand a variety of music, analyse it beautifully, and add our own flourishes.” His accompanying artistes, including Jayachandra Rao (mridangam) and Giridhar Udupa (ghatam), nod in agreement as he adds, “We are all fortunate for the training that allows us to express in so many ways.”

Multi-genre take

The second half has members of the audience calling out requests. Bassist Keith Peters, keyboard player Navneeth Sundar, (along with his trusty iPad) , and drummer Manjunath join the team as they progress into a multi-genre interpretation of the chart-topping ‘Take Five’ from The Dave Brubeck Quartet’s ‘Time Out’ album. They innovate, bringing Keith’s dexterity to the forefront. The highlight though is a piece, which according to Vijay, utilises modal changes of ragas, traversing through a system of griha bedams formed on the scale of an audava raga.

The evening has the audience humming along as Vijay finishes with strains of his most-well known hits. Rahman’s ‘Innum Konja Neram,’ an acknowledgement of singer Shweta Mohan’s presence, who has come to enjoy the show, and a catchy ‘Hosanna’ have us smiling. Despite the frills, it is what Vijay does best. Perhaps, it is what we relish as well.