Veena concert by T N Seshagopalan for Raga Tarangini

[harimau]

It can’t be denied that vocal music dominates the Carnatic Music scene at the cost of instrumental music. Specifically, there are no takers for veena or nagaswaram concerts though the great unwashed masses flock to new-fangled instruments such as the Saxophone, mandolin, or the Death Star of the Carnatic Music Firmament otherwise known as the keyboard.

Now it can be disputed which of the two instruments, the veena or the nagaswaram, draws a smaller crowd. I have seen as distinguished a nagaswaram player as Vyasarpadi Kothandaraman, who is being featured in a morning slot at the Music Academy this season, draw an audience of just 7 persons and a similarly small group for veena concerts. What is indisputable is that the nagaswaram is subjected to further indignity at the hands of reviewers who manage to discern nagaswaram pidis in the sounds emanating from anybody and anything from Abhishek Raghuram to the aardvark at the local zoo. Thankfully, no reviewer has as yet discovered the ten gamakas played on the veena - veena gana dasa gamaka – in vocalizations by any sound-producing organisms or else we will be reading comparisons of the throats of some singers to the fret board of the veena in reviews.

Thus it was heartening to see a reasonable crowd at a recent veena concert by Sri T. N. Seshagopalan. This was held under the auspices of Raga Tarangini at P S High School on Nov 12, 2010.

As is typical, Sri Seshagopalan kept to Indian Standard Time and arrived 25 minutes late. Thankfully, the concert started within 10 minutes and his performance made up for his arriving late, though he has already repeatedly stretched that fact too far in the past.

T. N. Seshagopalan – Veena
Madirimangalam Swaminathan – Mridangam
Adambakkam Sankar – Ghatam

Tulasidala – Mayamalava gowlai
Jagadanandakaraka – Nattai
Ninnuvina marigalada – Purvikalyani
Akhilandeswari – Dwijavanthi
Ennalu Oorake – Subhapantuvarali
Ethavunnara – Kalyani with a foray during alapana into Suddha Dhanyasi by way of graha bhedam.
Tanam in Kalyani, Nattai, Gowlai, Arabhi, Varali, Desh, Revathi, Behag, Surutti followed by the krithi with expansive swara kalpana.
Tani avarthanam.
Chinnam Chiru Kiliye
Hariguna Gavathu (Bhajan) – Gavathi
Mangalam

To put it simply, TNS displayed the same virtuosity on the veena that one expects in his vocal concerts. He brought his style of singing to the veena including the jaarus where he traverses a whole octave or more in one fell sweep which he did on the veena with a single meettu. And of course what is TNS without graha bhedam or seamlessly transitioning from one raga to the next in tanam?

Madirimangalam Swaminathan caressed the mridangam rather than beat it into submission. His accompaniment was superb and so was Adambakkam Sankar's. The tani avarthanam was excellent.

The concert proved a friend’s statement that all other vainikas should retire after throwing their veenas into the sea. Well, maybe not all but quite a few should consider doing so.

There may be one or two veena concerts by TNS during the December season and I can definitely recommend those to rasikas.

[kssr]

TNS, to the best of my knowledge, is the best in vocal rendering Subhapantuvarali. Hope he could bring out the beauty and pathos in his veena as well.

Crowds are always strange from our perspective. Less crowd for Ramani and more for Shasahank. Less for TNK and more for Kunnakkudi. All that we can say is that our perception and crowd perception are different.