Seven years ago, a temple in Thrissur invited Nedumbally Rammohan and K.N. Meera to present a concert. Initially hesitant to sing together in public, the trained classical musician couple finally accepted the offer.
It was after the success of this 2013 concert at Vishnumaya Kshetram in Peringottukara that the couple went on to carve a successful joint career. The journey broadened and deepened the couple’s repertoire, which primarily comprises Kathakali music as well as Carnatic and Mohiniyattom compositions besides a few bhajans, folk and even film songs.
Even bigger audience
Early this April, when the country and much of the world was reeling under the lockdown, Rammohan and Meera got a request from a Facebook group to present a live concert. They began with the ‘Kathakali Sekharam’ video, and followed it up with a series of collaborative music performances.
After that, the couple has been even busier than usual. This has not meant any additional income, “but that isn’t the aim,” shrugs Rammohan. “To our surprise, we found that there has been a steep rise in audience numbers, higher than expected,” adds Meera.
The initial months earned the couple more than one lakh views, a majority of them from Malayalam speaking people, including expatriates in the Gulf and the U.S. “There are techies in America and Europe. As well as lawyers and engineers in Kerala,” says the 45-year-old Rammohan. “And the other day, a doctor called to thank me for the ‘therapeutic value’ of our renditions.”
On the other end of the spectrum are experts and maestros. For instance, Carnatic vocalist S. Sowmya “suggested we sing Kerala-based ragas such as Puraneera and Kanakurinji. That was a pleasant surprise,” smiles Meera. “It was unbelievable when the musician told us subsequently that she has been following us on Facebook.”
On Facebook, the couple has no accompanists, unlike their stage shows, where they are supported by the violin and flute, besides mridangam, tabla, ghatam, chenda, maddalam, idakka and occasionally the keyboard.
The response to the live shows has been highly encouraging, says the couple, who both have a Masters in Carnatic Music from the University of Calicut. “Listeners write to us about related subjects such as a padam that reminded them of a yesteryear master or a Kathakali show seen decades ago,” says Rammohan, who is a disciple of vocalist Kalamandalam Sreekumar.
Thematic concerts
The couple has been working on various combinations in recent times. Thematic concerts based on the Ramayana, for example. Rammohan renders a Kathakali verse on Hanuman while Meera responds with a Carnatic kriti hailing the monkey god.
Or Rammohan sings a Kathakali song with a particularly folksy tune, to which Meera replies with a piece from the traditional Kaikottikali dance where women typically sing and clap while dancing in a circle. Says Meera, “Initially, finding a mutually viable sruti was a problem, suitable for the male and female voices. Soon we worked it out.”
Meera, who learned the art of Kathakali singing from Madambi Subrahmanian Namboodiri, does stage collaborations with vocalist Deepa Palanad. Rammohan had his initial training under a couple of gurus including his father V.N. Narayanan Namboothiri. As a teenager he was also initiated into Kathakali under Kalamandalam Soman of the Kalluvazhi stream.
For 25 years now, Rammohan has had a busy career as Kathakali vocalist but has also been a mathematics teacher in a school since 2010.
The writer is a keen follower of Kerala’s traditional arts.
