Octogenarian vocalist G.S. Mani’s concert will be remembered for its pedagogic value and the variety that it offered. In this day and age of sprint-music, Mani’s leisurely, karvai-based alapana style stands out for being a conservatory of classicism.
At 82, Mani’s voice is clear and age has certainly not withered the veteran’s variety — for there was something for every one in his concert. For those who preferred the familiar, there was a Kanada, Surutti and a Bhairavi, and for the adventurous, there were rare ones such as Kosalam, Ganavaridhi, Vijayavasantham and Padma Deepam. For those who wanted lighter ragas, the list consisted of Ahiri, Chandrakauns and Sindhubhairavi. The tee-off was with the Bhairavi varnam, ‘Viribhoni,’ followed by an alapana-prefaced Kanada (‘Varaguna Gambhira,’ his own composition).
Then came the three central elements of the concert — Kosalam (Koteeswara Iyer’s ‘Ka Guha Shanmukha’), Surutti (Chirakalam Nammitini—his own) and Bhairavi (Syama Sastri’s ‘Sari Evaramma’). Unhurried rendition, the hallmark of Mani’s music, was stamped on both the alapanas.
In the elaborate Kosalam alapana, the veteran craftily steered clear of Kalyani, though after the shatsruti rishabham, all the notes are the same as that of Kalyani. A tinge of Kalyani did come, but that was just at a couple of places in the six-minute alapana. It was a brilliant Kosalam, delivered more in the style of an ‘ustad’ than a ‘bhagavatar’. In Mani’s baritone, ‘Ka Guha’ acquired more-than-normal beauty and the rendition was a treat. The singer ended the pieces with a few rounds of kalpanaswaras.
This was followed by Ganavaridhi (Thyagaraja’s ‘Dayajuda’), a surprise because this raga also features a shatsruthi rishabham — and was a buffer between Kosalam and Surutti. Chirakalam in Telugu (Mani’s native tongue) was emotional, particularly on the line ‘Daya chupu talli.’
The Bhairavi alapana that followed was like setting a standard. It had unmistakeable nagaswaram overtones — and at the end of it, Mani did say that while he was singing the alapana, he was reminiscing on the nagaswaram concerts he had heard during his formative years.
It was again a brilliant Bhairavi, rendered in typical Mani style. Towards the end, the alapana was delivered like a tanam.
‘Sari Evaramma’ was again rendered at a leisurely pace, the swaras at the pallavi line made for a happy listening.
After a couple of fillers (Thyagaraja’s ‘Sompaina’ in Ahiri and ‘Nee Chittamu’ in Vijayavasantham), Mani took up a sloka (Vaidehi Sahitam) in a raga that resembled Gowri Manohari but announced it to be Padma Deepam, a Gowri Manohari derivative that skips ‘ri’ and ‘dha’ on the ascent. Mani said it was the Carnatic equivalent of Hindustani Patdeep, and that it lends itself to an elaborate singing.
All through the concert, Mani kept lauding his accompanists, M.A. Sundareswaran and Mannargudi Easwaran, for their excellent playing.
G.S. Mani, a veteran with seven decades of experience, is well-versed in Hindustani too and has scored music for films and composed over 300 songs in Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu.
