The veena’s ability to reproduce Carnatic music gamakas in its purest form makes it a connoisseur’s delight, though there are certain limitations such as low note-sustenance. Vipanchika Mahotsavam in Kochi celebrated the music of the veena through two main concerts and lecture demonstrations.
Saraswati Rajagopalan’s musically rich concert on the first day was proof of her mastery and classicism. A disciple of K S Narayanaswamy and a top grade artiste of All India Radio, Saraswati presented two melakarta ragas that are rarely performed, Dharmavathi and Sarasangi, as her main focus. The main raga for the concert was Dharmavathi, a raga that is suited for instruments but not a favourite with vocalists.
Her detailed raga delineation established the contours of the raga in the first few phrases before she moved to a bhava-laden elaboration of rishabham and nishadam. Saraswati’s technique was accentuated in the tanam section in which she played dense passages maintaining a round rich tone. She moved on to Mysore Vasudevachar’s kriti ‘Bhajanaseyarada’ set in Roopaka tala. Though her improvisation passages stood out, her kriti renditions were quite cursory. This was seen in ‘Saraswathi namostute’ (Saraswathi raga), ‘Manavyalakim’ (Nalinakanti) and ‘Marivere’ (Anandabhairavi).
Prolific musical expressions
The artiste switched between the vocal and instrumental styles with ease when she played Sarasangi. In the alaapana, she played prolific musical phrases featuring the gamakas and rounded up with jharus. Dynamic kalpana swara essays, with due emphasis on laya aesthetics and mathematical permutations, followed her rendition of ‘Jaya jaya padmanabha murare’. Support from Palakkad Jayakrishnan on the mridangam and Velattanjoor Sreejith were commendable. Except for Saraswati Rajagopalan’s ‘Akhilandeshwari rakshamam’ in Dwijavanthi, Muthuswamy Dikshitar’s chowka kala kritis, which are usually a vainika’s choice, were not featured in this recital or the next day’s concert by R S Jayalakshmi.
Jayalakshmi in her concert combined melody as well as instrumental nuances characteristic of the veena. It was a display of skill all along as she started with brisk renditions of Sahana varnam and ‘Vinayaka ninnuvina’ in Hamsadhwani. Routine phrases were eschewed and even masked when she played an opulent Kalyani alaapana in a bright tone. The alaapana had the peaks in appropriate places with added subtleties.
R S Jayalakshmi with Charulatha Chandrasekhar
Jayalakshmi’s grand daughter, Charulatha Chandrasekhar who is gaining attention on concert circuits and is often hailed as a prodigy, was not limited to a supporting role. Charulatha played a few tanam phrases well, not letting the tempo lag. Tyagaraja’s ‘Etavunara’ was delectable in style and presentation. However, the concert could have fared better with at least a few slow-paced renditions.
The taniyavarthanam by Alleppey Chandrasekharan on the mridangam and Vazhapilly Krishnakumar on the ghatam did not fail to impress with their spontaneous tuning, interaction and synchronisation. Jayalakshmi and Charulatha had ‘Janani ninuvina’ (Reethigowla), ‘Brovabharama’ (Bahudhari) and ‘Raghuvamsa sudhambhudhichandra’ (Kathanakuthoohalam) as their other selections.
The festival was organised by Shanmukhapriya Foundation.
