Held for the first time in the city, Mumbai Margazhi Mahotsavam enthralled a packed auditorium in St. Andrew’s College with Carnatic music for 12 hours over cups of hot filter coffee.
Maestros at work: (From left) S. Shashank, Aalmelu Mani and Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman performing during Margazhi Mahotsavam at St. Andrew’s Auditorium in Bandra on Saturday.
Conceived and produced by Banyan Tree Events, the festival featured renowned Carnatic musicians and artistes like K.M. Uthirapathy (nadaswaram), S. Shashank (flute), Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman (mridangam), Aalmelu Mani (vocal) and Abhishek Raghuram (vocal).
The festival derives its name from the Margazhi month, which is considered very significant for spiritual sadhana . Shashank started off with a composition by Saint Tyagaraja in ‘raga Kannada’ which was followed by a pallavi.
“The festival would have given the listeners a comprehensive idea of Carnatic music both instrumental and vocal music,” says Shashank.
Having studied Hindustani music under Pandit Jasraj, Shashank found it easy to connect with an audience who are not from south India.
“I have developed a style of presentation which can connect very well with north Indian music lovers giving them a taste of Carnatic music,” he said. He performed his rendition of Carnatic music to keep the listeners emotionally connected.
A senior Carnatic musician and Padma Vibhushan awardee, Sivaraman started his lecture demonstration with a composition in Aadi-thalam. While playing the thalam on his mridangam, he requested the audience to clap along to the beat. Sivaraman explained to the audience the different cattle skins used to make various layers of mridangam , which gives the instrument its tonal quality.
Sivaraman’s 45-minute lecture demonstration ended with the audience giving him a standing ovation. “Brevity is always the soul,” he said.
