Accompanists
MSN Murthy - Voilin
J Vaidyanathan - Mrudangam
Monday saw a happy intersection of. Pantula Rama’s visit to Chennai and my own increasingly infrequent “home time”. Carnatic music’s stars may be away in Cleveland but some of them manage to cling on to their shine even in the blinding Indian summer.
The curtains unfurled to a gusty rendition of the Arabhi Pancharatnam. The prop for the Charanam lines was the Pallavi (Sadinchane) rather than the usual “Samayaniki”. An alaapana of Malayamarutham wafted in next and was well handled but for a tendency to risk the occasional misstep into the wid-ish gap between the Antara Gandharam and the Panchamam. Murthy’s violin was more cautious, sketching alaapanas that voted for brevity over exhibitionism. Manasa Etalortune was the expected krithi and in another departure from the norm, “Dinakara Kula Bhushanuni” was taken up for Neraval instead of “Kalilo Rajasa”. J Vaidyanathan grabbed the limelight here, soulful in his embellishment of the neraval, while latching on brilliantly to the flurry of Mukthayis and Jathis flying forth from the couple he was accompanying (MSN Murthy and Pantula Rama are partners, on and off the stage).
In the short alaapana of Kaapi that followed, Murthy once again produced the more elegant interpretation. Having just watched Scorsese’s “New York, New York” the previous day, I could not help being drawn toward certain (transposed) parallels. But Pantula’s comeback was an impressive one.
If I were asked to vote for the most versatile raga, Kalyani it would have to be – this emperor of the Pratimadhyama domain is as capable of conveying wistfulness and pathos as majesty and power; as suitable for vocal acrobatics as for serenity of expression. In this instance, the word that suggested itself from the raga’s considerable arsenal of adjectives was “breezy” - a gentle zephyr that swelled into a full-blown tornado in the tara sthayi. Pantula Rama’s vocal prowess is formidable even if her twister threatened to rattle the swarasthanas on a few occasions. A little more work on that front and we could very well have a voice rivaling MLV’s at the peak of her prowess. Murthy preferred to play second fiddle this time around with a marked emphasis on varja prayogas.
“Karu Velpu” is a krithi that I’d never heard, or even heard of, before the concert. I am not one of those who wring their hands with glee every time a rare krithi is presented. All too often, they turn out to be either clones of better known compositions or mediocre melodies that deserve their obscure fate. But it is indeed baffling that this gem is not sung more frequently. The power packed Pallavi consists of some 8-10 blistering sangathis (reminiscent of Dharini Tesulukonti) before yielding to a delightful karvai filled Anupallavi. The krithi was sung at a fairly brisk pace, opening up the possibility of a scorching 2nd speed swara session. It was a lesson for those with a tendency to launch into an overdrive during the swaraprasthara – start fast instead of speeding up. The jathis and korvais even at that breakneck speed served to underline the fact that Pantula Rama is as comfortable with rhythm as with melody.
Vaidyanathan’s tani was a short one continuing his good work throughout the concert. Variations in Tisram included a 1.5 avaratha korvai during the vinyasa and a final korvai of 1 avartha in Chatushram and Tishram. I do wish I had Ram’s flair for konakkol to describe it better.A pleasant Enta Muddo was among the 2-3 pieces in the tukkada section.
I wish we had Pantula Rama visiting Chennai more often. Maybe Kulkarniji and rasikas.org can do something towards that end!
Songlist (All Thyagaraja Krithis)
Sadinchane – Arabhi – Adi
Manasa Etalortune – Malayamarutham – Rupakam (RNS)
Mee Valla – Kaapi – Khanda Chapu (R)
Karu Velpu – Kalyani – Adi (RST)
Enta Muddo – Bindumalini
Other tukkadas in Senchurutti and Ananda Bhairavi
Ni Nama Rupamu – Sowrasthram - Adi
The curtains unfurled to a gusty rendition of the Arabhi Pancharatnam. The prop for the Charanam lines was the Pallavi (Sadinchane) rather than the usual “Samayaniki”. An alaapana of Malayamarutham wafted in next and was well handled but for a tendency to risk the occasional misstep into the wid-ish gap between the Antara Gandharam and the Panchamam. Murthy’s violin was more cautious, sketching alaapanas that voted for brevity over exhibitionism. Manasa Etalortune was the expected krithi and in another departure from the norm, “Dinakara Kula Bhushanuni” was taken up for Neraval instead of “Kalilo Rajasa”. J Vaidyanathan grabbed the limelight here, soulful in his embellishment of the neraval, while latching on brilliantly to the flurry of Mukthayis and Jathis flying forth from the couple he was accompanying (MSN Murthy and Pantula Rama are partners, on and off the stage).
In the short alaapana of Kaapi that followed, Murthy once again produced the more elegant interpretation. Having just watched Scorsese’s “New York, New York” the previous day, I could not help being drawn toward certain (transposed) parallels. But Pantula’s comeback was an impressive one.
If I were asked to vote for the most versatile raga, Kalyani it would have to be – this emperor of the Pratimadhyama domain is as capable of conveying wistfulness and pathos as majesty and power; as suitable for vocal acrobatics as for serenity of expression. In this instance, the word that suggested itself from the raga’s considerable arsenal of adjectives was “breezy” - a gentle zephyr that swelled into a full-blown tornado in the tara sthayi. Pantula Rama’s vocal prowess is formidable even if her twister threatened to rattle the swarasthanas on a few occasions. A little more work on that front and we could very well have a voice rivaling MLV’s at the peak of her prowess. Murthy preferred to play second fiddle this time around with a marked emphasis on varja prayogas.
“Karu Velpu” is a krithi that I’d never heard, or even heard of, before the concert. I am not one of those who wring their hands with glee every time a rare krithi is presented. All too often, they turn out to be either clones of better known compositions or mediocre melodies that deserve their obscure fate. But it is indeed baffling that this gem is not sung more frequently. The power packed Pallavi consists of some 8-10 blistering sangathis (reminiscent of Dharini Tesulukonti) before yielding to a delightful karvai filled Anupallavi. The krithi was sung at a fairly brisk pace, opening up the possibility of a scorching 2nd speed swara session. It was a lesson for those with a tendency to launch into an overdrive during the swaraprasthara – start fast instead of speeding up. The jathis and korvais even at that breakneck speed served to underline the fact that Pantula Rama is as comfortable with rhythm as with melody.
Vaidyanathan’s tani was a short one continuing his good work throughout the concert. Variations in Tisram included a 1.5 avaratha korvai during the vinyasa and a final korvai of 1 avartha in Chatushram and Tishram. I do wish I had Ram’s flair for konakkol to describe it better.A pleasant Enta Muddo was among the 2-3 pieces in the tukkada section.
I wish we had Pantula Rama visiting Chennai more often. Maybe Kulkarniji and rasikas.org can do something towards that end!
Songlist (All Thyagaraja Krithis)
Sadinchane – Arabhi – Adi
Manasa Etalortune – Malayamarutham – Rupakam (RNS)
Mee Valla – Kaapi – Khanda Chapu (R)
Karu Velpu – Kalyani – Adi (RST)
Enta Muddo – Bindumalini
Other tukkadas in Senchurutti and Ananda Bhairavi
Ni Nama Rupamu – Sowrasthram - Adi
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