Ragasudha, a five-day music fete in Thrissur, was a sumptuous treat for rasikas. S Mahati proved a stickler for tradition by opening with a varnam and ending with a tillana. Abhogi adi tala varnam ‘Evari bodhana’ of Patnam Subramania Iyer provided a good start. Soon, she entered into two compositions, the leitmotif of which was nritta.
Swati’s ‘Paramananda natana’ entailed jatis ‘Thrukita thom, thaka thim’, which described Siva’s blissful dance. The number revealed Mahati’s competence to dwell on swaras in innumerable combinations and thus unfolding the shades of Kedaram. ‘Ananda natanamaduvar’ of Neelakantan Sivan in Poorvikalyani, Roopakam, had the same traits. Niraval at ‘natanamaduvar’ and the swaras, especially in the upper sthayi, embraced interesting sancharas. Malavi, a raga created by Tyagaraja, appeared in ‘Nenarunchinaru’.
Mahati’s RTP was special as she combined two ragas – Hindolam and Vasantha – both being Panchama-varjya. The aural effect could have been more if they were not. The tanam was enticing but its duration could have been less. The sahithya was ‘Hindola dhyuti hira manimaya hare’. Rasikapriya, Revathi and Vrindavanasaranga shone in the pallavi. Akkarai Swarnalatha deserves special mention for the tani she bowed out on the violin with élan. Delhi Sairam’s mridangam could have been less sonorous while Vazhappalli Krishnakumar’s ghatam was commendable.
Kanakadasa’s ‘Baaro Krishnayya’ in ragamalika followed before she concluded with the famous Balamuralikrishna tillana in Kathanakuthoohalam.
Sudha Raghunadhan
A two-and-a-half-hour concert by Sudha Raghunathan was an exposition of her incomparable artistry. She opened with the dharu varnam, ‘Mathe malayadwaja’ in Kamas, Adi. A singular form that is a combination of swaras, jathis and sahithya in addition to pallavi, anu pallavi and charana, the composition, credited to Muthayya Bhagavathar, is supposed to be the first of its kind. Sudha made it alluring with a prolonged ‘Mathe’.
Sudha made ‘Entharo mahanubhavulu’, the Tyagaraja pancharatna composition in Sree, memorable with varied sangatis. ‘Mamavatu sree Saraswathy kamakoti’, an invocation to the goddess, was prefixed with the Saraswathy sloka, ‘Saraswathy namastubhyam, varade jnanaroopini’. Her high-pitched delivery with swara packets formed in accordance with the mnemonics was enjoyable. ‘Saraswathy’, taken for niraval, underscored the import of the composition of Mysore Vasudevacharya’s in Hindolam, Adi.
The essence of Varali was discernible in the short alap before she delved into ‘Karuna judamma’, Syama Satri’s composition in Misra chap. Even as she moved through the octaves, the movements in the lower one were impressive. Niraval at ‘padambhujamule’ entailed traits of swarakshara. Swati’s ‘Parama purusham’ was short but sweet.
An exhaustive essaying unravelled the structure of the sampoorana raga in a vibrant manner. The sruti-bedha at ma, though short, was done well. Violinist Charumathi Raghuraman presented a faithful tani.
Tyagaraja’s ‘Swara ragasudha’, elicited applause. Percussion tani was built up by N C Bharadwaj on the mridangam and R Raman on the morsing. Absence of the ghatam was strongly felt.
The post-main part embraced ‘Jagadodharaka’, a Purandaradasa composition in Kapi, Adi and Swati’s popular Hindi bhajan in Sindhubhairavi, ‘Viswasware daresane’ in Roopakam.
Sudha concluded with her favourite devotional number in praise of Vishnu, composed by Annamacharya in Bowli, ‘Brahmam okate’.
T M Krishna
TM Krishna’s concert on the last day drew a mammoth crowd.
Extreme care for nuances of ragas, import of sahithya for which umpteen sangatis were rendered, dynamics of voice et al made the concert impressive.
Bhairavi swara jathi was effortlessly painted on a wide canvas in athi-vilamba kala, which added grace to Syamasastri’s ‘Kamakshi Amba’ in Misra chapu. Repetition of ‘Abhimamuleda na pai’ went down the lower octave in such an extremely subdued tone that it bordered on the limits of audibility. ‘Syamakrishna sahodari’, the last charana, also went the same way.
Elaboration of Kannada was flamboyant. Dikshitar’s ‘Sree Mathrubhootham’ in Misra chap was rendered at a slow pace. Presentation of ‘Bruhi mukundeti’ of Sadasiva Brahmedra’s in Kurinchi was short. The last charanam, including ‘Hamsa niranjana kamsa hareti’, received vivid portrayal with added emphasis.
Krishna, in his typical style, prefixed a Sanskrit sloka to the Dhenuka number of Tyagaraja, ‘Theliyaleru Rama’. Beginning with ‘Hemanta kale’ by an anonymous author, it highlighted religious amity as the names of Hindu, Muslim and Christian gods were heard.
The alap of the raga was mainly rendered by the violin. Prolonged chains of swaras in a single breath and embellished by syncopations attracted cheers from the audience.
Akkarai Swarnalatha’s violin accompaniment was outstanding. The tani by Pravinkumar Sparsh on the mridangam and N Guruprasad on the ghatam was good.
Krishna, who had drawn flak for his presentation of Perumal Murugan’s poem, presented it as a virutham in Kapi.
The very beginning of Dikshitar note swara ‘Sakhti sahita Ganapathim’ was welcomed with claps and it marked the denouement of the concert.
The festival featured a mandolin recital by U P Raju and Nagamani and a laya-raga recital by Sukanya Ramgopal and party.
Ragasudha, the festival organised by Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, was held at the Koothambalam of Kerala Kalamandalam.
The fete had recitals by Unnimaya Manazhi (veena), Krishna Ajith (violin), Santhala Raju and Vivek Moozhikkulam (vocal).
