Sunday, May 22, 2011 - 3:30 p.m.
Kum. Akkarai S. Subhalakshmi - Violin
Sri. Parupalli S. Phalgun - Mridangam
1. 10-raga varna
2. Sarasamukhi - Gowda Malhar
3. Evarani - Devamruthavarshini
4. Teliyaleru Rama - Dhenuka
5. Birana Varalichi - Kalyani (R,K,S,N & thani)
6. RTP in Rageshri
7. Few more light songs
Shashank was pleasantly surprised at the huge turnout (relatively) on a Sunday Afternoon. He remarked he rarely got such numbers, given it is a south indian instrumental concert. He was his usual cheerful self and interacts with the audience after each song. He started off with a 10-raga varna, with Ghana ragas, followed by Yadukulakambhoji, reethigowla and 3 others I forget. He followed it with a sweet composition of H. Muthiah Bhagavathar, in Gowda Malhar (Sarasamukhi). I had recently been enchanted by MMI's version and it was a treat to hear it from Shashank who brought out the bhava as well as MMI (dare I say
). Then came Evarani in Devamruthavarshini, although he said it is the same as Kharaharapriya for all practical purposes. Then came a contemplative alapana full of karuna rasa that had me wondering what it is. It defintely sounded familiar, but not like the other "karuna rasa" ragas like purvikalyani, lalita, shubhapantuvarali, that one usually hears in concerts. After the alapana, Shashank revealed it to be Dhenuka - ah-hah! the one from heavenly duet by SSI-MSS in their "divine unison" album (I knew I had heard it somewhere!) - and followed it with a detailed "Teliyaleru rama", which I enjoyed very much. Special mention has to be given to Sri. Parupalli who played magnificiently, I thought
The main song was Birana varalichi in Kalyani, which Shashank did full justice. He showed his prowess in playing dual octaves during the swara prasthara. At one point, his fingers were a blur as he played some rapid swaras, to make any Hindustani instrumentalist feel envious. Personally, the rapid playing took away some of the "sowkhya" of the concert - but I guess many people expect it in an instrumental concert.
Moving on, Shashank asked what the audience would like for Pallavi and went through a list of raga. The audience responded enthusiastically when he mentioned Rageshree and so he proceeded to play RTP with Rageshree, with several ragas inserted in between that sort of confused me and cut down my listening pleasure. I don't know why artists nowadays make a mish-mash of 8-10 ragas in a RTP. Before you can identify any particular one and start enjoying it, it's gone and replaced by something else. It's quite a bit of mental exercise for those of us who come to concert for musical aesthecity and not mathematical puzzles.
Anyway, from the RTP onwards, it seemed like a Hindustani concert with some many "Kapi-Behag-Sindhu Bharavi" raga (I lost track of how many, so pardon my list) - which was a contrast to the first half - strongly Carnatic and majestic!
Aside from those nitpicks, it was one of the most enjoyable and memorable concerts that I have seen in the Bay area. Hope to listen to a single raga RTP from start to finish, next time