Songs of devotion at Kalpathy fete

The annual Kalpathy Bhajanotsavam in Palakkad was composed of musicality and piety

Kalpathy Bhajanotsavam in progress

The annual Kalpathy Bhajanotsavam commenced with a superb ‘Guru keerthanam’ by veteran Kanpur Mahadeva bhagavathar and party.

On the second day, Thanjavur Thyagaraja Bhagavathar regaled listeners with his scintillating presentation of Jayadeva’s Ashtapadis, preceded by raga alapanas and succeeded by namavalis. His sketches of Pantuvarali, Thodi, Kamboji, Bhairavi and so on stood out for their classical texture.

Adhering to the ‘Panchapathi’ tradition, Kodunthirapully Subbaraman impressed with pleasing selections such as ‘Gurumatha guru pitha’ (Hindolam), ‘Narahari Deva’ (Yamuna kalyani), ‘Thandava darisanam’ (Reethigowlai ) and so on.

Anantharaman, a disciple of Pithukkuli Murugadas, rendered some fine songs popularised by the latter.

The third day’s proceedings began with a delightful programme by Mettupalayam Vasudevan and party. The highlight of his recital was the moving virutham and songs on Adi Sankara, Ayyappa, Vittala and so on. With their strong Carnatic base, Vittal Bhaktha Sangam, Thiruvananthapuram, led by Gnanananda Ram and Ramanan, sparkled in their rendition of Guru keerthanas, Ashtapadis and slokas in Gowla, Charukesi, Hamsanadam and other ragas.

Hyderabad Chidambaram and party maintained a lively momentum in their graceful presentation of ‘sampradhaya’ bhajans.

Erode Rajamani Bhagavathar displayed his maturity and flair for aesthetics in his ‘Abhang Divyanamam’, comprising abhangs and namavalis. His viruthams and songs in Pantuvarali, Sivaranjani, Bhupalam, Nalinakanthi and other ragas, enraptured the audience.

Ganesh’s performance on the fourth day morning was an outstanding one. A disciple of Maharajapuram Santhanam, Dr. Ganesh is both a Carnatic musician as well as a bhajan exponent. With his melodious voice, he rendered quite a few numbers and namavalis on Kanchi Paramacharya in ragas such as Vachaspathi, Arabhi, Nattakurinji, Dhanyasi, Hindolam and so on.

The septuagenarian Sethalapathy Soundararaja Bhagavathar proved his reputation as a seasoned nama sankeerthanam artiste. Portraying a number of kritis of Badrachala Ramadas, he enthralled the listeners with his enchanting music; his upper octave sancharas were eloquent and elegant. His ‘Ramadaya judave’ (Mohanam) and ‘Janakiramana’ (Madhyamavathi) deserve special mention.

Mahesh Kamath and Kuldeep Shenoy and their group Sri Vttobha Bhajan Mandali, Kochi, rendered abhangs of Thukkaram, Namdev and others. They kept the tempo alive throughout their programme

Shenkottai Harihara Subramaniam’s erudition, strong grounding in Carnatic music and bhava-laden approach were evident in his absorbing recital. With his resonant voice, he carried the listeners with him in the moving presentation of slokas and songs on Kanchi Acharya in Hamsanandhi, a beautiful piece in Dwijawanthi on Gopalakrishna Guru, the popular kriti ‘Vathapi Ganapathim’ in Hamsadhvani and numerous songs and namavalis on other deities, which bore the stamp of authenticity.

With his inimitable style and a keen sense of soulfulness, Udayalur Kalyanaraman grabbed the attention of the audience with his imposing ‘Divyanama Sankeerthanam’, which lasted for seven hours. He did full justice to it with his delectable raga alapanas, slokas, songs and namavalis. He rendered 14 tharangams of Narayana Theertha, with great bhava. He was ably supported by Briga Balu (vocal).

The final day’s proceedings began with ‘Unchavarthi’ by veteran Delhi Subbarama Bhagavathar. Seetha Kalyanam was conducted admirably by Sattanatha Bhagavathar. He adhered to tradition, rendering all the prescribed songs and suitable namavalis.

In the last event ‘Vasantholsavam’, Mayavaram Muthukrishnan and his group initially presented Divyanamam elaborately. Subsequently, they proceeded to Pavvalimpu, rendering methodically all the songs with praiseworthy coordination and cohesion.

Nelluvai Manikantan, Sankara Raman and others did an excellent job on the harmonium. Babu Rajasekar, G.R.Puram Karthik, Hyderabad Ramachandran and other vidwans provided superb mridangam support. Nurani Goutham and other youngsters acquitted themselves creditably on the Dolki. The festival was held in commemoration of Kanchi Sankaracharya Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi Swamigal’s 123rd Jayanthi.