Neyveli Santhanagopalan sang to a packed hall in the company of T.K.V. Ramanujacharyalu (violin), Madirimangalam Ramachandran (mridangam) and Tiruchi Murali (ghatam). While the violin accompaniment by Ramanujacharyalu was of a high order, in alapana versions, niraval and swara segments, Madirimangalam was full of anticipation and provided the right kind of support that the vocalist needed. Tiruchi Murali punctuated with his ghatam beats during the entire concert.
It was a refreshingly new Santhanagopalan, without long meditative pauses and less of marathon swara singing for each kriti. The entire morning concert was marked by sedate singing, often reminding one of Madurai Mani Iyer bhani, in several passages. Right from the ‘Magasuva Ninne’ varnam in Narayanagowla to the end piece from Tiruppugazh, the recital was out and out rhythm-oriented. There was, therefore, not a dull moment.
‘Intaparaka’ in Mayamalavagowla was the second item that had niraval lines ‘Kannathalli Thanri’ with swarakalpanas. Santhanagopalan’s voice had a feather-touch of softness that it gave the performance a soothing effect all through. That he could reach higher pitch without any strain, was another plus point for him.
The Kannadagowla raga kriti of Tyagaraja ‘Harineninendu Vedakudura’ had a short swaraprastara. The raga alapana for Kasiramapriya was truly rewarding. While ending the alapana, Santhanagopalan injected an element of ‘Thanam’ into it and it was well received by the audience. Though Dikshitar’s ‘Ramanatham Bajeham’ began in a pace of vishranti, the vocalist chose a faster pace in swaraprastara, after a leisurely niraval of ‘Kumura Guruguha Mahitam.’ Syama Sastri’s ‘O Jagadamba’ in Anandabhairavi served as a soul-stirring rendition and Santhanagopalan seemed deeply immersed in the kriti that he even forgot his customary gestures towards his accompanists!
Madhyamavati was given the status of the main raga and Santhanagopalan took the listeners to a flight of ecstasy, as many shades of the raga shone through the vocalist’s spirited rendition. Ramanujacharyalu’s version was almost a shadow of the original and evoked the same response from the rasikas, with a thunderous applause. The Tyagaraja kriti ‘Evarichira’ (‘Who gave you the arrow that multiplies in to tens and hundreds?’ explained the vocalist) was an unheard of piece. Santhanagopalan dwelt on the line ‘Okatey Senapathy’ for niraval and swarakalpanas and was perhaps carried away by his own manodharma that he had to skip the RTP.
However, the space he got was intelligently utilised for a moving virutham ‘Siva Siva Pasyati’ and he hastened to render the Kapi raga tillana of M.D. Ramanathan quickly followed by the padam ‘Saramaina’ and a rapid fire Tiruppugazh.
From an accompanying artist, M. Narmada has now graduated to presenting solo violin recitals. She has, however, the right credentials and therefore used her morning slot to claim the rightful place for the violin solo. She has the advantage of years of experience in accompanying her legendary father and guru M.S. Gopalakrishnan, as well as several other vidwans and vidhushis from both North and South. This aspect clearly reflected in her easy-flowing alapanas and niravals. The additional point was the rich tonal quality of the violin that helped her in presenting a memorable concert.
Narmada opened her recital with the Saveri varnam ‘Sarasuda’ and followed it up with the Muthiah Bhagavatar kriti, ‘Gamganapathe’ in Hamsadhwani. The raga alapana for Hamsadhwani and the short swaraprastara were presented with felicitous flow.
Tyagaraja’s ‘Paramathmudu’ in raga Vagadeeswari was marked by piety and sobriety. (For those unfamiliar with the raga, she promptly made an announcement.) Narmada also revealed that she is a good singer, when she sang the pallavi line of Muthuswami Dikshitar’s unusual kriti, ‘Paranthamavati Yuvati Parvati Paramesyuvati’, before playing it on the violin. Sung in praise of Thanjavur Brihannayaki, it has no Anupallavi, but has one Samashti Charanam. The name of the raga was Damavati.
The Thodi alapana was the highlight of the concert. Narmada invested all her prowess to present a complete picture of the majestically flowing raga. The detailed essay was so elaborate that it unveiled not only the violinist’s incredible mastery over the instrument, but also her imagination. The bowing technique of the Parur School was evident in every phrase. The Syama Sastri kriti, ‘Ninne Nammi Nanu’ followed the alapana. The swara sallies involved all the three accompanying artists, mridangam, ghatam and morsing and Narmada gave equal role to each of them in rotation. The morsing artist, Bhagyalakshmi M. Krishna, was a surprise introduction. The percussion trio, Shertalai Ananthakrishnan (mridangam), Udipi Balakrishnan (ghatam) and Bhagyalakshmi (morsing) contributed an engaging thani and each had the share of rasika’s appreciative applause, after the violinist’s rendition of niraval and swarakalpanas for ‘Kanchadalayadakshi Kamakshi.’
As a soft piece before RTP, Narmada played Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Mayilvahana Vallimanamohana’ in Mohanam. It was a lilting presentation. Ragam-tanam-pallavi gain a special appeal when presented on instruments. Khambodi was Narmada’s choice for the day and she had the pallavi lines, ‘Kamalasani Dukkasamharini Rajarajeswari’ in (Kanda Jati Triputa/Kanda Nadai). While the alapana served as a strong base, the tanam was enchanting.
The final pieces were ‘Jagadodarana’ , ‘Adum Chidambaramo?’ (Behag) and ‘Pibarae Ramarasam.’ Narmada rendered the fast-paced ‘Tarana’ in Sindubhairavi as a tribute to the violinist’s guru and his father Parur Sundaram Iyer. ‘Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma’ served as a fitting finale.
(charukesiviswanathan@yahoo.co.in)
