The sky was overcast, signalling a downpour. I walked into The Music Academy to watch ‘Naada Yoga’, which promised a musical feast comprising Carnatic, Hindustani, folk and a children’s choir.
Though I went with a lot of trepidation, as often programmes of this nature do not go beyond the novelty factor, I was pleasantly surprised. For, that evening saw a torrential downpour of melody.
Dr. Sudha Raja’s children’s choir sang bhajans and namavalis with a lack of self-consciousness, which was appealing.
Then, there was Aruna Sairam, who coaxed the rasikas to join her in chanting the Omkara mantra. The voices in unison was a collective expression of devotion. Invoking the rain god, she sang Dikshitar’s Amruthavarshini kriti, ‘Anandamruthakarshini’ where her swara korvais were patterned like the sound of falling raindrops. In her signature style, Aruna took audiences on a multi-lingual journey, with a devotional poem of Sant Gorakhnath from U.P., the abhang ‘Bhaktha Jana Vatsale’ from Maharashtra and Narsi Mehta’s ‘Vaishnava Janatho’ from Gujarat (she rendered the Kathiavadi folk version), before returning to Tamil Nadu with Oothukadu’s ‘Kaliyanarthana’ thillana. She has left such an imprint on this thillana that every time she sings it, a picture of Krishna and Kaliya is painted in our mind’s eye.
After the initiation to Bhakti cult traditions in the first two segments, mohanaveena exponent Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt took rasikas on a meditative journey. Raag Maru Behag unfolded in all its glory, with soft strokes and rhythmic flourishes intertwined with dexterity and depth. Panditji then shared the stage with young keyboard artist, K. Satyanarayanan, for a jugalbandi. The youngster, who had earlier played with Aruna, mirrored with conviction and talent, the evocative notes of the maestro playing Sarang.
The high point of the evening’s recital was the Desh piece, ‘Jhir Mir Barse Re,’ which gained a new dimension when the two instrumentalists were joined by Anwar Khan, a folk singer belonging to Rajasthan’s Manganiyar community. Here, the difference between classical and folk styles disappeared and it was simply an outpouring of emotions in a pristine form, sheer bliss for the artists and the rasikas.
Finally, the Manganiyars led by Anwar Khan on vocals, Manjur Khan on the dholak, Asim Khan on the sarangi, Gungar Khan on kartal and Manjoor Khan on the kamaicha, took the stage. Though, there were very few left in the audience, the group performed a Meera bhajan and a Sufi kalaam, which was powerful. For this group of musicians, stars in their own right, music is penance and the honesty with which they render it, strikes a chord.
The programme, curated by Sashikiran, was presented by Art of Living, in association with Sri Krishna Sweets, to commemorate International Day of Yoga.
