For the second year in succession, the Music Academy did the right thing in giving a slot in the morning concert series for delightful nagaswaram music of a very high order. In Vyasarpadi Kothandaraman’s recital, one could feel the kriti as he played along. Perfectly kriti-aligned, it sounded like vocal music. He was ably supported by Vada Iluppai Anandan.
Kothandaraman’s concert was planned for the sabha audience. The alapanas he played were short and crisp and he did not indulge in long and tiring ones.
It was ‘Karunimpa’ varnam in Sahana to begin with, followed by Siddhivinayakam of Muthuswami Dikshitar in Chamaram. The kriti gave the artist an opportunity for a subdued swaraprastharam. Without much ado, the vidwan went ahead with ‘Karpaga Manohara’ of Papanasam Sivan in breezy Malayamarutham. There was a brief interlude of the thavil by Tiruvalaputhur A. Kaliyamurthy, while the artist changed his ‘Seevali.’ Next was the Manirangu kriti ‘Ranidhiradhu’ of Thyagaraja.
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The alapana of Purvikalyani was melodious when the vidwan played for a short while. This made the rasika long for more, as he had offered only a sketch of the raga. Perhaps he was aware of the time constraint that he only chose to retain the two lilting chittaswarams. He eschewed even swaraprasthara for the kriti, ‘Paramapavana Rama’ of Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar.
Even for ‘Hindolam,’ where he had scope for offering an enchanting alapana as a prelude, Kothandaraman did not succumb to the temptation, but instead plunged straight into the song ‘Govardana Girisam’ of Muthuswami Dikshitar. Kothandaraman’s next choice was a Manji kriti of Syama Sastri, ‘Brovamma.’
The raga itself has a streak of melancholy and when the actual kriti was rendered, one was moved by the essence. It was all the more haunting when the song was in a relaxed pace. The high calibre of the artist, too, came into play to heighten the listening mood.
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Khambodi and nagaswaram should conjure up a vision of broad canvas of the raga alapana. No, not for Kothandaraman. His vinyasa merely touched the contours of the raga was confined to present the contour of it, leaving the rest to the rasika. But then, he had niraval to do and dwell on swaraprastharam also for the kriti “O Rangasayi’ of Tyagaraja, where he rounded up all the elements that he had left behind in his alapana.
There was Ragam and Pallavi, but no Thaanam. When in all other instrumental music, Thaanam in RTP is a joyful exercise, the artist, after playing an elaborate Subapanthuvarali, launched on the pallavi, eliminating Thaanam. Rasikas were guessing the lyric of the pallavi lines. (It will help if instrumentalists recited the pallavi lines for better enjoyment.)
The thani avarthanam by Tiruvalaputtur A. Kaliyamurthy and his co-vidwan Veliyambakkam M. Pazhanivel was superb for its varieties of nadais. It was not unleashing of sound and fury, but being part of a majestic display of accompanying the Raja Vaadyam. While playing for the kritis too, they offered such a support that showed their mastery over the instrument.
Post-thani, it was ‘Visveswara’ of Swati Tirunal in Sindubhairavi and a Pahadi Thillana of Lalgudi Jayaraman brought the curtain down.
Does a nagaswaram concert in a closed hall require mike? When the vidwan raised the nagaswaram, which he did several times, it was out of the zone of the mike. The sound was more natural and pleasing than when it was heard through the amplifier.
It is said that veena is an instrument that is closest to the human voice. The recital of B. Kannan recital this was clearly established. Kannan opened his concert with ‘Ninnukori,’ varnam in Mohanam, briefly sketching the raga to begin with. His handling of fast and slow tempo of the varnam looked as if it was a child’s play for him.
This young vainika is getting better with every concert. Here, he had an advantage, too. He did not have to apportion time for the accompaniment like violin and, therefore, had all the time to showcase his vidwat. In addition, he had a mridangam vidwan, who did not drown the veena naadham. Chaluvaraju was enjoying the music of the main performer and was conscious that he needed to be gentle in his support.
With a brief alapana of Chamaram, Kannan played ‘Siddhi Vinayakam’of Muthuswami Dikshitar. Dhanyasi followed next and here again the focus was not on elaboration but presenting a relaxed alapana to suit the kriti of Thyagaraja – ‘Sangita Gnanamu’ with its swarakalpanas. They were easy flowing and revealed the artist’s creative strength.
Kannan moved to Hamsanadham and did a short outline of the raga to offer ‘Banturiti’ of Thyagaraja. The vainika’s glides were so smooth that there was no slip anywhere in the concert. His fingering for alternating between the ghana-naya sounds was absolutely faultless and also revealed his flow of kalpana.
Kannan excelled in the alapana of Kharaharapriya. He did not merely attempt to draw a bigger picture of the raga, but put his heart and soul into producing a thoroughly enjoyable preamble. Certain phrases sounded fresh in their prayogam and acquired a special status. ‘Pakkalanilabadi’ was the song he had chosen to present and he stuck just to the kriti. It was good thinking to avoid niraval as well as swarakalpanas.
Again it was remarkable treatment of Pantuvarali. The rich tonal quality of the instrument aided him to draw the raga with all its colourful hues. If the alapana was full of his imaginative skill, the niraval and swaraprastarams were catchy for his rendition of ‘Raghuvara Nannu’ of Tyagaraja in madhyamakala. The fast paced Navarasakanada kriti ‘Ninnuvina’ was the lighter piece and best suited for instruments. The rapid passages that he negotiated were well modulated adding the element of gaiety of the sahitya.
The vainika chose Dharmavati raga for his Ragam Tanam Pallavi and the day being Vaikunta Ekadasi, Kannan announced the pallavi lines, ‘Saptagiri Vasinam, Govindam, Chintayami Paramparam,’ in Adi talam (2 kalai). Dharmavathi unfolded with all its grandeur, and breathtaking sangatis. Thaanam was so lilting that one could feel the rhythmic syllables dancing on his veena. The swarakalpana was so enchanting that Kannan did not attempt to go after a ragamalika.
A broken string could not stem the flow. Fixing it in five minutes, Kannan presented ‘Bhavayami Gopalabalam’ as the concluding piece. The thani between Chaluvaraju (mridangam) and Udupi Balakrishnan (ghatam) was lively.
(Charukesiviswanathan@yahoo.co.in)