Carnatica: Madras Music Mela 2002

In a powerful and clear voice, Dr. Lokanatha Sarma began his concert for the Nadopasana Music Trust (held at Astika Samajam, Venus Colony this year) on December 6, 2002, with the Sowrashtra kriti "Sriganapatini" (Adi, Tyagaraja). A few avartas of brisk swaras at "Panasanarikeladi" followed, to give the necessary early thrust to the concert. This was followed by "Kadalevadu", a rare Tyagaraja kriti in Narayanagowla. Saveri was then taken up for elaboration. The few phrases at the beginning, brought out the raga structure in an emphatic manner. The gradual development of the raga followed the classic tradition of the great masters of the past. What astonished the rasika was the strict alignment to sruti and the expansiveness of Dr. Sarma's expression. The tonal quality and the felicity even at tara sthayi was admirable, and would have shamed even a much younger musician. The almost forgotten "Etunamminavo manasa" of Patnam Subramanya Iyer was the kriti. The beauty of Saveri was fully brought out in this song, which was sung, as it should be, in chowka kala. Raga alapana in Pantuvarali followed in which the asaivu-s and the stress at the jeeva swaras were distinct and most enjoyable. "Vadera daivamu", the song immortalised by Sri Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, was taken up. Dr. Sarma rendered the sahitya clearly. The neraval and swaras at "Adina matalu" revealed his vidwat strikingly. Sarvalaghu pattern of swaras established its superiority over the now-fashionable kanakku pattern. The programme, well under 2 hours was followed by a ragamalika rendering of select Lakshmi Ashtottra slokas in Mohanam, Shanmukhapriya, Hindolam and Hamsanandi. This was capped by Purandaradasa's "Neeye gatiyenakke", also in Hamsanandi. M R Gopinath on violin was good in Saveri and Pantuvarali alapanas. Melakaveri Balaji on the mridangam and A S Murali on the ghatam gave excellent support.

Senior vocalist Neela Ramgopal of Bangalore, sang for Naada Inbam on 7th December. "Seetamma mayamma" in Vasanta gave the ambience for the concert followed by a brisk volley of swaras. The Vara kriti "Divakara tanujam" was taken up after a short and fast alapana of Yadukulakambhoji. Syama Sastri's swarajati in Todi, "Ravehimagiri kumari", a very difficult composition, was rendered with rare confidence and full bhava. This piece has a majesty of its own. The neraval and swaras at "Syama krishnanuta" were impressive. Simhendramadhyamam was taken up next for elaborate handling. The brigas were effortless and precise. Mysore Vasudevachariar's popular kriti, "Ninne nammitinayya', was sung with the right expansiveness. The neraval and the swaras at "Neerajanetra" exhibited the grip of the artiste over the classic beauties of the raga. A brisk alapana in Begada followed by an even brisker Tanam, showed the style that had been perfected by the vocalist. The Pallavi was embellished by ragamalika swaras in the ragas Amritavarshini, Sriranjani and Mohanakalyani. Mysore Srikanth excelled in his flawless raga alapanas for Simhendramadhyaman and Begada. He has an admirable bowing technique and is bound be seen more in Chennai concert platforms. Melakaveri K Balaji rendered excellent support on the Mridangam.

Malladi brothers gave a good concert at the music festival organised by the Tirupoonnturuti Trust at Sringeri Pravachana Mandiram, on December 9, 2002. All the kritis rendered were from the Krishna Leela Tarangini of Sri Narayana Teertha. They began the concert with the popular "Jaya Jaya Swamin" in raga Nata. The brothers have distinct tonal quality, which blends very well. This was followed by a brisk "Pahipahi jaganmohana krishna" in Kedaram. Todi was taken up, and Ramaprasad rendered a neat and brisk alapana. The brothers then rendered "Govinda miha", a Tarangam rendered by most of the artistes in Bagesri. The neraval at "Sangeetarasarasika" was refreshing and the volley of swaras that followed were appropriate. Ravi Kumar rushed through a fast-paced Kalyani alapana. The briga-laden alapana was elaborated by Ramaprasad beyond Tara sthayi. One felt that the alapana could have been rendered at a slower pace at the initial stages. With full bhava, the Tarangam "Kathaya kathaya madhavam" was sung with swara rendering. "Govardhana giridhara" left the rasikas guessing the raga. The raga, which resembles Hamsanadam in parts, was the Hindustani raga Suddhasarang. "Madhava Mamava" in Neelambari, with a second charanam containing the mudra of Narayana Teertha, was very evocative. (This kirtana is mistakenly believed to be a composition of Swati Tirunal by many rasikas). Vittala Ramamurti on the violin was adequate. Neyveli Narayanan on the mridangam and Kovai Viswanathan on the ghatam gave good support.

The annual series of Carnatic music concerts under the auspices of Shanti Arts Foundations and Endowments started off with a concert by Trichur V Ramachandran at Sastri Hall on December 11, 2002. The festival this year is dedicated to the trendsetter of yesteryears, the late Sri G N Balasubramaniam. Ramachandran, one of the prime representatives of the GNB style, commenced his concert with "Valachi vacchi", the Navaragamalika varnam. "Karimukhavarada", a composition of GNB in Nata, was rendered in a brisk manner. A short alapana of Pantuvarali and the song "Ninne neranammi" followed with a few avartas of swaras at "Veda sastra". Syama Sastri's "Marivere" in Anandabhairavi was rendered with full bhava. A briga-laden Mohanam reminded one of the flashy style of Ramachandran's master. The kriti that he took up and rendered at a fast pace was GNB's "Sadapalaya". At this stage Ramachandran's voice opened up and he took up Todi for elaborate treatment. The sangatis at the tara sthayi were flawless and the neraval and swaras were rendered with effortless ease and text book precision. "Ninnu pogada tarama" in Kuntalavarali, yet another composition of GNB followed. "Dikku teriyada kattil" a composition of Subramanya Bharati, popularised by GNB was sung. The vocalist rounded off the concert with the slokas in Kharaharapriya, Saveri, Yadukulakambhoji and Sindhubhairavi. M Chandrasekharan on the violin was superb. His Todi sparkled. Veteran Palakkad Raghu on the mridangam played admirably, with perfect anticipation. It was as if the instrument was expressing the sahitya of each song in unison with the vocalist. Suresh on the Ghatam gave very good support.