Rich repertoire

December 23, 2009

Sudha Ragunathan’s concert was a good balance between what she has learnt from her guru MLV and how well she can present them with her own manodharma.

A modest start with Patnam Subramania Iyer’s Abhogi varnam ‘Evari Bodhana,’ left the rasikas guessing for the the line-up. Sudha followed it up with a Tiruppavai ‘Vaiyathu Vazhveerkal’ in Gowla for it was the second day of Margazhi. The subtle improvisations in rendering the pasuram, different from MLV’s popular recording, brought out her flair for presenting the songs with a touch of her own.

In ‘Unnai Allal,’ the Kalyani kriti of Papanasam Sivan, Sudha must have realised that the karvais in the lower octaves could not sustain long that day and kept the rendering in the mandara sthayi phrases to the minimum. The usual fizz in Sudha’s rendering was missing.

The brilliant swara presentation sparkled with the nadai variations, playing around the swaras ma, pa, dha and ni was a treat to the ears. M.R. Gopinath on the violin was equally matching with his quick responses to the swara patterns Sudha displayed.

An impressive alapana of Saveri gave a lilt to the concert and Dikshitar’s ‘Kari Kalabha Mukham’ sung with leisure highlighted the kriti’s beauty enormously.

Sudha presented ‘Marugelara’ in Marga Hindolam, one of the hallmark pieces of MLV, in fast pace and set the ground ready for the main item of the evening.

A delightful raga exposition of Sankarabharanam spilled the genius in Sudha in every phrase. She intelligently traversed through the middle octaves in the elaboration. A smart graha bedha, which a trained ear can make out clearly, displayed streaks of Kalyani raga and Sudha glided back into Sankarabharanam gracefully. She brought the sahitya bhava to the fore in ‘Manasu Swadheena’, of Tyagaraja in Misra Chapu.

Thani avarthanam by Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan on the mridangam and R. Raman on the morsing had the characteristic vigour and virtuosity.

For the tukkada session, Sudha took up the Purandaradadasar devar nama ‘Yake Nirdayanadeyo’ and ‘Muralidhara Gopala,’ a composition of Periyasamy Thooran in raga Maand popularised by her guru. Her own popular song ‘Brahmamokate,’ the Annamacharya’s kirtana in Bowli followed. She then had to sing the listeners requests ‘Kuraionrum Illai’ and ‘Maithrim Bhajatha’ to conclude her concert.

The voices of Ragam Sisters, Sivaranjani and Nalinakanthi, are different from each other. Sivaranjani has a soft and malleable voice while Nalinakanthi has a sharp one with a nasal tone to it. But they blend well during their presentation.

The sisters began their recital with ‘Varana Mukhava,’ Koteeswara Iyer’s composition in Hamsadhwani. Sivaranjani’s brief alapana of Mayamalavagowla was soothing and Dikshitar’s ‘Sri Nathadi Gurugoho’ was presented well.

Syama Sastri’s classic piece ‘Mayamma’ in Nattakurinji was pleasing. The sisters exhibited their good patanthara through this kriti. The clarity in rendering the verses added a compliment to it.

The extensive handling of the vivadhi raga Naganandini by Nalinakanthi had the stamp of their training with S. Rajam, an expert in the area and the kriti ‘Sathaleni Dinamulu’ of Tyagaraja was a proof of their vast repertoire.

Another rarely heard composition of Muthuthandavar ‘Darisithalavil’ in Lathangi followed before the sisters took up ‘Santhana Ramaswaminam’ in Hindola Vasantham.

Sivaranjani then presented the main raga for the evening Kharaharapriya. The alapana hovered around the madhya sthayi mostly. Srilakshmi Venkataramani supported well during the alapana by presenting a neat sketch of the raga in the solo segment. She knew the exact spots where the vocalist was to be let alone to express without the violin accompaniment.

‘Rama Nee Eda’ was gracefully rendered. The thani by Hamumanthapuram Bhuvaragan on the mridangam and G. Ravichandran on the ghatam was set in a perfect timeframe but tended to hurry towards the end.

The sisters, who performed to a full house, concluded with the Revathi raga kriti of Purandara dasa ‘Aparadhi Nanalla’ in Khanda chapu to a long applause by the audience who positively acknowledged their talent.

R. Revathi

Firm grip over rhythm

Whoever says that Carnatic music is on the wane? Such sceptics would do well to attend a flute concert of J.A. Jayanth, whose astonishing capacity belies his age. At 17, he is more than a full-fledged vidwan. Nothing extraordinary because he is the grandson and disciple of the well-known flautist and disciple of Mali, T.S. Sankaran. He started learning to play the flute when he was four.

The Kapi that he played that day still rings in my ears. Long ago, Tiger Varadachariar, after singing Tyagaraja’s ‘Anyayamu Seyakura,’ in the Music Academy’s expert session remarked that ‘this is the original Kapi and any other Kapi would be decoction-less!’ Jayanth’s Kapi had the distinct flavour of the raga. The kriti he chose was ‘Intha Soukhyamanine’ of the saint. The kalpanaswaras were sweet and melodic.

Arunachala Karthik’s response on the violin, both for the alapana and swaras was equally absorbing. Ammangudi Ramanarayanan presented a neat thani on the mridangam, with a few flashes here and there. Another Raga that Jayanth chose for elucidation was Malayamarutham that evokes pensive, meditative mood. The evergreen ‘Manasa Yatulo’ of Tyagaraja was the chosen piece. In this kriti too, the swaraprastaras were extraordinarily brilliant.

His ‘Bagaayanayya’, a musical blend of lakshana and lakshya was the definition for Chandrajyothi. The swaraprastaras added to the serene charm of the raga. He opened the concert with Vallalar’s song, ‘Kalai Nirai Ganapathy,’ a rarely heard piece. He brought out all hues of this pleasant raga. ‘Sarasasamadhana’ (Kapinarayani) and Raghuvamsasudha (Kadhanakuthuhalam) suited the instrument well. In the latter, he switched to the fast tempo in the charanam, without losing its musical essence. Paramacharya’s ‘Maithrim Bhajatha’ provided the appropriate finale to his performance. Jayanth has excellent grip over rhythm. It is unfortunate that he didn’t play any kriti in Misra Chapu or Khanda Chapu. Excepting ‘Manasa Yatulo’ in Rupakam, all the other pieces were in Adi Tala. This omission perhaps was due to the time constraint. In an eighty-minute concert, how much could he pack?

ramakrishnan.h@gmail.com

 

'Carnatic music is the base for world music'

M. Balamuralikrishna  

 

M. Balamuralikrishna, who charmed the audience during a recent U.S. tour, credits his musical brilliance to his mother's blessing.

 

During his recent U.S. tour, Padma Vibhushan, Dr. Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna rendered an exceptional jugalbandi with Ronu Majumdar on the flute. They were accompanied by Abhijit Banerjee (tabla), B.U. Ganeshprasad (violin) and T. Murugabhoopathy (mridangam). The concert was organised by Indian Fine Arts, Austin, Texas, whose directors, Raj and Janaki Nagarajan, hosted the maestro for the first time in the U.S. 38 years ago.

 

Usha Akella, on behalf of IFA, tried to get an insight into the octogenarian musician and the man in a rare interview. “He answered questions with charm and humour. His wisdom was evident and he resonated with something beyond the familiar plane of consciousness,” syas Usha. Excerpts:

 

Congratulations! It was a stupendous concert. You, along with Ronu Majumdar, brought the audience to its feet. I need poetry to express myself… every word blooms as a flower when you sing, realising its fullest potential in meaning. There is only one Balamuralikrishna, a rare genius.

 

Bala! Bala! (laughing) I am only Bala when it comes to music.

 

You were the earliest initiator of jugalbandi with Hindustani musicians such as Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Pt. Chaurasia, Smt. Amonkar and Pt. Jasraj. You have a special relish for crossing genres. What makes jugalbandi successful?

 

Carnatic music, as it is called, is the base for world music. If we know Carnatic music well, all other music is in our grip. But for others it is not like that. Carnatic music means karaneshu attati iti carnataha. That which pleases your ears is Carnatic music. It may be Hindustani, Western or Persian music, it may be anything… If it is good and you enjoy listening to it, it is Carnatic music. There is nothing like a separate Carnatic music. Don't confine Carnatic music to a small area.

 

Your association with IFA goes back a long way. What is your overall experience of U.S. audiences versus Indian ones?

 

It's the same. They are our own people.

 

I have had the pleasure of enjoying Lavangi at most of your concerts. I was astounded to hear that you composed the pallavi, anu pallavi and charana in three circumambulations at the Meenakshi temple. Is this right?

 

At the Brihadeeshawara temple… the arohana and avarohana came to my mind. The song has become popular because everybody dances to it now. Unless there is a song you can't establish the raga.

 

Your first concert was at age 8, mastery of 72 Melakartha ragas at 15 and you have performed at over 25,000 concerts. In the West one thinks of Mozart who seemed to have that inexplicable musical genius at a young age. How do you describe your talent?

 

(Laughing) I don't know. It happens.

 

Your effortless style makes it easy for even a novice to take up classical music. They just have to listen to you and the gates open wide. I am so intrigued by that style.

 

That is because most people normally put Carnatic music in a room and lock it. I've sung with all musicians including the French and British… one should only know Carnatic music well.

 

Every time I listen to you, I feel boundaries collapse and you touch the source of music, of nada and bring your music back from that realm.

 

Music is like that. You can't put it in a box and lock it.

 

You have done more than 400 compositions in all the Melakartha ragas? Personally, what are your favourite ragas?

 

You won't be a stepfather. You are not going to pick and choose.

 

Your bhava is exquisite. Where does it come from?

 

Every raga has a shape and if you can imagine the shape… bhava flows. You are the same person changing dresses everyday. Music is like that in relation to ragas.

 

Personally, have you achieved everything you wanted to as a musician?

 

I have to achieve more and more (smiling).

 

So what is left?

 

We are growing everyday… everything is growing. Look at the world... and around you… there is always something new.

 

There is no end ?

 

No.

 

You can't lock Carnatic music in a room.

 

Only a few have the capacity to unlock it.

 

I know what I sing. Every day the sun rises and sets. But every day is different. If music is not like that, it's not music.

 

I read that you have done work on music therapy.

 

I am not using it. It is too costly. But my experiments were successful.

 

I am interested in the man behind the artist. While reading your biography I read that you lost your mother early?

 

Yes, when I was 15 days old. My mother played the veena and my father, the flute. When she was pregnant, they thought if it was boy they would name him Murali Krishna and if a girl, Saraswati. My mother, predicted everything about my life before her death. She said her veena in some form will always be with me and that I would become one of the world's great musicians. I feel that came true in the form of Dr. Saraswati who takes care of everything.

 

Did your father bring you up?

 

My mother had five sisters. She was the youngest. My eldest aunt was a widow. She took care of me. I think of her as my mother.

 

Your compositions have beautiful lyrics…

 

I don't have any knowledge. I went to school for just three months. I don't know how I am able to speak in English. I have not studied Sanskrit… I don't know how, my compositions have poetry.

 

As a child do you remember the moment when you knew music was going to be your path?

 

I gave my first concert when I did not know anything. I never imagined I would become a musician.

 

What do you feel is your contribution to Carnatic music?

 

I made all music into Carnatic music. (Smiling). I brought that awareness.

 

That is phenomenal.

 

I don't know anything… I don't know music… I am an instrument. Like that violin (pointing to one), It doesn't know music. Somebody plays it. It makes music. Like that I am an instrument for music. Music uses me if it wants me. So I never feel I am great.

 

When you start to sing… you are a child of God.

 

It's my mother's blessing.

 

(Usha Akella is a writer-poet, based in Austin, Texas, the U.S.)