Viswa Kala Sangama
In the midst of the unrelenting downpour of Carnatic concerts during Chennai’s frenetic and happening December Season, there is a drizzle of Hindustani recitals that classical enthusiasts await and make it a point to attend. One such was the sitar solo by Pt. Janardhan Mitta (disciple of Pt. Ravishankar) accompanied by Rimpa Siva (tabla) under the auspices of the Viswa Kala Sangama. Torch-bearer of an illustrious style, Pt. Mitta, a resident of Chennai, is a familiar name in the city’s music circuit. On this occasion, the artist gamely went ahead with his programme, undeterred by knee discomfort, by resorting to an elevated seating arrangement to facilitate playing posture.
His accompanist, Rimpa Siva, daughter of the seasoned table artist Swapan Siva, is a chip off the old block, whose precocious talent saw her accompanying stalwarts such as Hariprasad Chaurasia and Ali Akbar Khan from age 11. This prodigy’s skill, carefully honed under the watchful gaze of her father and guru has seen her winning national and international acclaim. Whether in the artless smile that acknowledges a spontaneous round of applause at the end of an intricate permutation or in the nonchalant flick of the wrist that confers the crowning touch to a breathtaking tihai, it is evident that this gifted artist has percussion in her blood.
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Pt. Mitta’s unhurried journey through raag Abhogini in the main piece opened up vistas of tranquillity illumined by starbursts of imagery. As the name suggests, Abhogini incorporates the nishadh (tivra) into the familiar Abhogi scale. In Carnatic parlance, the raga translates into Gowrimanohari sans panchama.
While the ‘srgmd’ suite wafted the flavour characteristic of Abhogi raga, the ‘mdns’ teased memory into recalling the raga Vasantha in the Carnatic domain. The silken texture of the former provided the perfect foil for the sparkle of the latter. Alap, jod and jhala were sheened with poignancy, particularly in phrases ending with a double gamak at the madhya sthayi gandhar that welled with tenderness. Going all out to showcase Rimpa’s skill, the senior artist ensured that the young percussionist had ample scope to display her prowess in variegated rhythmic patterns and multiple solo turns. With remarkable deftness and a sure touch, Rimpa picked out the tisra gait that whirred in consonance with the compositional grid. In the drut set to teen tal (16 beats), the notes danced to a joyous rhythm that held you in thrall as steady patter intensified to a thundering tattoo in the race to the crescendo.
The next piece in Palas Kafi offered a combination of Bhimpalas and Kafi. The unstructured grace of the dhun was brushed with shades of whimsy as variations swirled and gambolled on a liberal canvas. In the gat (raag Hemant) which followed, tantrakari emphasised samasam and Rimpa’s nimble fingers worked their magic yet again, anchoring the ebb and flow of the melody in which the dominant shuddh madhyam and tivra nishadh were bold punctuation marks.
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