With over a lakh views and musicians joining in from all over the world, this year’s anniversary fête in memory of maestro Neyyattinkara Vasudevan was a different experience altogether for musicians, music buffs and organisers.
Instead of a grand concert and a lecture that are usually organised by Manirang, the Neyyattinkara Vasudevan Foundation, to pay homage to the musician, the organisers decided to go in for a week-long online programme from September 21 to 27 in view of the pandemic and curbs on the number of people attending a function.
Violinist Thodupuzha Manoj
“We invited Vasudevan sir’s disciples, their students and certain select musicians to participate in the programme. Their recitals were posted on Facebook and the number of views came as a boost to our morale,” says eminent Carnatic vocalist Sreevalsan J Menon, Neyyattinkara Vasudevan’s prime disciple.
In addition, veteran musicians like TH Subramanium who wanted to offer tribute to Neyyattinkara Vasudevan also participated in the fête. “It turned out to be an online gathering of musicians of different generations. Laila Sashikumar, Vasudevan sir’s disciple who rendered Tyagaraja’s ‘Intha Soukya’ in Kapi, was perhaps the senior-most while Anjana A who sang ‘Jalandhara Supeedasthe’ in Valachi was the youngest. Senior vocalist Ayamkudi Mani, who had been taught by sir, recalled sir’s teaching method and how each class was special. Since the recitals are there on Facebook, anyone can go back to listen to them,” explains Sreevalsan.
Ayamkudi Mani
The organisers had given a time limit to each of the singers and they were requested to begin their performance after saying a few words to pay homage to the late virtuoso.
As Edappally Ajithkumar points out before his melodious violin recital, Neyyattinkara Vasudevan was among the handful of Carnatic musicians from Kerala who had carved a niche for themselves without moving away from the State. Moreover, his programme Karnataka Sangeeta Paatam on All India Radio proved to be a guide and eye-opener for students of classical music in the State.
Subbulakshmi Krishnamoorthy, Vidhu Vijay, Anish Ram, Anand Subramanium, Gayathri Devi Vijayakumar, Kollam Balamurali and Latha Prasad were some of the vocalists who participated in the programme. Saranya Ozhukil, Sreevalsan’s student, tuned in from the US with the soulful Swathi kriti ‘Saramaina’ in Behag, while ghatam exponent Vazhappally R Krishnakumar played ‘Tamburee mettidava’ on the ghatam.
Laila Sasikumar
Thodupuzha Manoj Kumar, who used to accompany the legend on the violin, was among the senior musicians who participated.
“It was a first for us and we were not sure how it would pan out. Contrary to our expectations, it turned out to be a huge success and now we are planning to see if it can be made an annual feature along with the concert and lecture,” says Sreevalsan, who performed a duet with his son, Narayana Menon.
He adds that even after the official conclusion of the ‘remembrance week’, musicians from all over the world were sending musical notes of love and affection as a mark of respect for Neyyattinkara Vasudevan.
