Exploring and experimenting without losing the traditional essence is the way most contemporary classical musicians prefer to engage with their art; pushing boundaries to enter a cosmopolitan space. But it’s easier said than done to remain rooted while in quest of a refreshing appeal. At The Hindu Friday Review November Fest, Jayanthi Kumaresh undertook an adventurous excursion with her 15-member Indian National Orchestra into a new territory. There was drama, uninhibited improvisation and impassioned dialogue, but at the heart of each composition was well-mounted raga-tala interplay. The classical spectrum provided the backdrop for capturing the oneness of India through its physical symbols — the lotus, the peacock, the Ganga and the Himalayas and their emotional undercurrents. In the process, dispelling the myth about the restrictive nature of Carnatic and Hindustani music.
Jayanthi skillfully choreographed a level playing field where the percussive and string instrumentalists and the two vocalists lent their individual artistry to the ensemble. But the spirit of the orchestra lay in those many moments when the performers found perfect junctions for joyous exchanges. Jayanthi was not only a conductor in total control but also displayed unflinching dexterity and intensity on the veena till the closing note of the concert. She brought out unusual tones and textures, for instance, the bass line-like drone.
The opening with Oothukkadu Venkata Subba Iyer’s ‘Sri Vignarajam’ in Gambhira Nattai was brisk with the instrumentalists joining vocalists Abhishek Raghuram and Bharath Sundar in traversing the contours of the raga and setting the tempo for the evening. The ensemble next sang paeans to the lotus through a composition in raga Kanada (equivalent of Sahana in Hindustani) rounding it off with Abhishek and Bharath’s expressive rendition of ‘Alaipayuthe’. The dancing peacock’s resplendence came through in a Reethigowla composition that saw Jayanthi, Ambarish Amaravadi (also on veena) and violinists Charulata Ramanujam and young Vaibhav Ramani portray the bird’s colourful feathers and graceful steps in racy and melody-rich passages.
Raga Gangeshwari, first performed by sitar virtuoso Pandit Ravi Shankar, was taken up to capture the ebb and flow and holiness of river Ganga. The artistes built up well on the sound base provided by Rafique and Shafique Khan’s nuanced sitar playing, with old-world harmonium (Ravindra Katoti) interludes, and flautists Prasanna Pattanaik Bhutto and Amit Nadig’s soulful blowing. The chants of Adi Shankaracharya’s ‘Gangashtakam’ completed the river’s long course.
The collaborative voyage reached the peak in ‘Himalayan Heights’ that saw the percussionists (Guruprasanna, Trichy Krishna, Arun Kumar and Anantha R. Krishnan) display myriad rhythmic patterns through the aptly chosen raga Bhinna Lalit. Their powerful beats and strokes drew up the image of the mountain’s magnificence and ruggedness. Repetitiveness, though, in the long-drawn-out exchange brought in some monotony, with the proceedings briefly losing momentum.
And then came the grand finale ‘Kashmir to Kanyakumari’, a celebration of the country’s folk music. An imaginatively put-together piece, it began with the haunting Behag and moved on to the lilting Sindhubhairavi. As fingers glided over the strings speedily and rhythm reverberated, the native beauty of the folk tunes stood out. The instrumentalists once again in unison reiterated the purpose of this orchestral arrangement — unity in musical diversity. Abhishek’s deep-throated and well-modulated ‘Mile sur mera tumhara’ and Bharath’s delicately soothing “Isai than…” accomplished the mission. The shades of white of the artistes’ attire and backdrop conveyed the purity of purpose.
