The thematic musical presentation, Tale of Two Ragas at best can be stated as a tale well told. In simpler terms, it was a jugalbandi in the lec-dem mode, definitely not pedantic, in fact, layered with lucid exposition of the ragas dealt with both through song and word. The spice that gave it that extra flavour was the teeming of ragas with flute and dance gestures by the two streams of Carnatic and Hindustani. In short, it was a musical conversation that spoke eloquent.
The duo, vocalists, Ragavan Manian (Carnatic) and Gargi Panchangam (Hindustani) began with the ‘Vatapi Ganapatim,’ in raga Hamsadhwani and likewise wrapped up the show with a mangalam once again invoking lord Ganapathi, set to raga Sindhubhairavi. Both had plenty to offer in terms of their respective raga: like the Jayjaywanthi (Dwijawanthi in Carnatic lore), a vakra, shadav-sampoorna raga of the Kamaj that, where the vaadi is ‘ri’ and samvadi ‘pa’. Such nuances were prefaced by Gargi and offset by a beautiful bandish, ‘Jayathu jaya maharani…’ in the same raga. Her Carnatic counterpart briefed the audience about how Muthuswamy Dikshitar’s exposure to Hindustani raga during his tenure at Kashi, incorporated the melodic Jayjaywanthi into Carnatic lexicon and renaming it as Dwijawanthi. We were a tad disappointed that Ragavan did not take up ‘Akilandeshwari…’, and instead took Sahana raga to show the similarities between Jayjjaywanthi and Sahana, an ubhaya vakra raga whose basic rasa (artistic emotion) is tranquillity. The alapana and the violin replay exuded the serene characteristic of this raga. The Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna composition, “Kaavave Kanyakumari Neeve Gathivamma…” a la Shyama Sastri’s style of composition sans the sublime depth, as far as the sahitya went, oozed a sweetness that was innate in the raga itself. Ragavan’s rendition brought the Sahana’s tilting melody to the fore. Dr. Sriram Raghavan’s finishing touch on the mridangam was subtle and superb. The Kalyani raga and its counterpart, the Yaman, are common pairing in such concerts though. It was explored a little more extensively than the other raga. Gargi’s oral explanation on the Shrigaar rasa evoked by the Yaman was as enveloping as the raga alapana. With two bandishes, she explained the layers of this raga, and her Meera bhajan was in the sweetest of tones. Ragavan took up Purandara Dasa’s “Kelano Hari taalano…”. Kudos to Ragavan for composing and rendering a lakhana geetam, in Manipravala (Poorna ragam, sampoorna ragam) in Naata that really narrates the physiognomies of this intoxicating raga that is termed ‘vivadi’ in musical parlance. Wish we had many such lakshana geetams to understand the contours of any raga-it would be a boon to the listener and the aspirant. When it came to Jog, we were told that it evokes Veera rasa and this was explicitly shown through dance demonstration with excellent gesticulations and expressions by Gargi depicting the Mahabharata scene- a dialogue of intense emotion between lord Krishna and the valiant Arjuna. The flute by Ragavan symbolised and spoke for Krishna while she mimed Arjuna’s anxiety, doubt and fear with sharp clarity.
The tillana and tarana in Behag was a trip in laya aspect of music. It was like a contest on a level playground where one would emerge the victor for sure and here Gargi outshone the Carnatic Behag composition sung in Balamurali style. Apoorva on the violin was dulcet, shadowing the vocalist and replaying the nuances with fine clarity. Abhay Kulkarni on the tabla was suave and smooth, while Prakash Kateel on the harmonium was melodic. The concert was put up by Bangalore International Centre, a TERI initiative.
ADVERTISEMENT