Evocative music at its best
K. C. ASOK
|
The 30th Neelakanta Sivan Sangeetha Aradhana was a bonanza for lovers of Carnatic music.
|
IN FULL FLOW: Mukhathala Sivaji. Photo: S. GOPAKUMAR
Todi is a weighty raga. Changing its madhyamam to pratimadhyamam makes it the multifaceted raga known as Bhavapriya. It also bears a close resemblance to Subhapanthuvarali raga, for the difference lies only in the nishadha.
Thrissur V.R. Dileep Kumar, whose concert was held on the fourth day of the recently concluded 30th Neelakanta Sivan Sangeetha Aradhana, chose `Mamava Siddha Nirjara... ' in Bhavapriya as one of the main pieces in his recital. When he started detailing the raga, some rasikas were seen trying to find out which raga it was.
Familiar kritis
His recital included familiar kritis like `Mokshamugala..'(Saramathi), `Ananda nadamaduvathille... ' (Poorvikalyani), and `Eppavaruvayo... ' (Jogpuri), and also less familiar kritis like `Pahi suresha... ' (Nata), and `Maridalaretuma swami... ' (Khamas).
After a fast number in Attana (`Sakala Kala ... ' in Kanda Chappu tala) came `Keeravani,' a popular raga.
Ragam-thanam-pallavi (`Kailasa pathe pasupathe gouri pathe trilokapathe... ') was the major item of the concert. However, the elaboration of Keeravani seemed to lack its conventional sense of calm.
Throughout the concert, S. Eswara Varma's accompaniment on the violin was superb. Vaikom P.S. Venugopal on the mridangam and Adhichanalloor Anil Kumar on the ghatom did a good job. The vocalist could have reduced the number of racy sangathis.
Ragas like Nalinakanti, Vasanti and Vijayasree were used in the kalpana swaras to conclude the main item.
Mukhathala Sivaji's concert was marked by his cultured voice and free flow of `sangathis.'
Natta, with which he began the concert, was followed by `Jaya jaya swamin' in Adhi tala. Hen then sang `Sankari neeve amba... ' composed in Begada and set to Roopaka tala, and `Palimpara in Arabhi.
Mix of old and new
The song that featured in most of the concerts during the festival was `Ananda nadamaduvathille... ' in Poorvikalyani as it is one of the most popular compositions of Neelakanta Sivan. `Manavinala kim... ' in Nalinakanti was followed by `Karunakara siva sankara' in Gourimanohari, which differs from Keeravani in `daivadam.' A not-so-often-heard `Vararagalaya... ' in Chenchu Kamboji was the `thukkada,' after which came the main item in Madhyamavathi, `Palimsu Kamakshi Pavani... ' composed by Syama Shastri.
The manner in which the vocalist slowly built up the raga lakshana was delightful. Other items sung included `Teduvatheppo... ' in Khamas and `Eppavaruvayo... ' in Jogpuri.
To the delight of the audience the vocalist sang `Sararanthal velichathil sayanamuriyilnjan Sakunthalum vayichirunnu... ' . The song was greeted with applause.
A superb Thillana in Mandu raga, a composition of violin maestro Lalkudi was the last item. K. Venkitachalam ably accompanied on the violin.
Kadanad V.K. Gopi on the mridangam and P.L. Sudheer on the ghatom deftly accompanied the vocalist.
The day was also an occasion to remember the late Neyyatinkara Mohanachandran.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Entertainment
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
