harikatha review of TNS

[sangeetafan]

HARIKATHA ON ‘SRI HAYAGREEVA VAIBHAVAM’
BY
MADURAI SRI T N SESHAGOPALAN
Creative nirupanas, divine music, appropriate expressions(tonal & visual) and a captivating stage presence – all converged in the form of Madurai Sri T N Seshagopalan, who gave a splendid Harikatha Kalakshepam in Bangalore on Aug 13, 2011 at Sri Satyanarayana Temple, Ulsoor, on the topic ‘Sri Hayagreeva Vaibhavam’.
Creative and absorbing nirupanas
The nirupanas he chose to present were rich in imagination, absorbing and original. At the same time, the traditional approach of presenting the nirupanas ( particularly in maintaining the right balance between music and narration) was adhered to throughout. The impact of this approach was evident when one saw the rasikas – attentive, curious and highly involved (some of them started singing the namavalis along with TNS) !
After the introductory compositions, TNS began with the narrative of Lord Hayagreevar slaying the asura Madhu and retrieving the Vedas from him (who had stolen the same from The Creator- Brahma), thus justifying the Lord’s position as the repository of all knowledge. TNS’s explanation of the symbology of the ‘Haya’ in the Lord’s name and form( meaning horse, which lends it the ability to tread on a straight path, not faltering or getting distracted) was enlightening. He extolled specific events in the lives of the Great Saints – Sri Vedanta Desikar and Sri Vadiraja who were devotees of Lord Hayagreevar. This exposition enabled the rasikas to visualize the attainment of Sakshatkaram of these great souls! Interesting incidents with reference to Sri Ramanujacharya and Sri Raghavendra Swamy were brought out with apt emotions. A fascinating incident in the life of Sri Vadiraja( a Saint-composer ) was taken up by TNS for an elaborate nirupanam. He rendered the popular devaranama of Sri Vadiraja – ‘Bega Baaro Bega Baaro Neelameghavarnaa’( Ragam Maand) and narrated the episode that led to the blue countenance of the Lord (Neelameghavarna) – unfolding it charanam by charanam. The climax of this nirupanam was the rendition of the last charanam( bearing the ankitam- Hayavadana) that was emotionally-charged and struck an immediate chord with the rasikas. A truly electrifying and elevating experience indeed!
Enchanting and divine music
The kathakalakshepam started in an exemplary manner by invoking the deities through the rendering of slokas, namavalis, keertanas and abhangs. These set the right ambience through his inimitable style of singing. Whether it was the ‘Rama Nama’, or the abhangs like ‘Tandava Nritya Kari Gajanana(Ragam Kanada) & ‘Sadhguru Vanchoni(Ragam Jhonpuri), or devaranamas like ‘Bega Baro’(Ragam Maand) & ‘Tungateera Virajam’(Ragam Saalagabhairavi) or a kriti like ‘Sri Satyanarayanam Upasmahe’(Ragam Shubhapantuvarali), one could experience the fluent extempore and brilliance of his music, emerging from the perfect fusion of all musical elements. The completely enthralled rasika would fall short to express the musical experience through words. Music of this grandeur and divinity in a Harikatha could only be a result of the amalgamation of Namasankeertana Paddhati and Karnataka Shastreeya Sangeetham, both undoubtedly mastered by TNS. A rare combination indeed!
The accompanying artists – Vid. S Yashaswi (Violin) and Vid. A S N Swamy (Mridangam) provided the apt support to make the musical performance a complete one.
Fine expressions, rich abhinaya and impactful narration
A pleasant and welcome feature of the Harikatha was the element of restraint with regard to the use of excessive histrionics. TNS brought out the rasas and the various shades of bhakti through his musical expressions ( subtle tonal modulations, jathi variations, appropriate selection of ragas and soulful renderings with clear sahithyam), rich abhinaya and impactful narration. TNS has a natural gift of abhinaya through which he beautifully exhibited diverse emotions. Further, he has a distinctive style of narration which conveys all expressions naturally and spontaneously. The narrations were interspersed with humour and wit that built up a pleasant rapport with the rasikas. It would be naïve to think for a rasika, that a Harikatha of such tall order and depth can be expressed and appreciated in a few words. Probably one reason why this ‘Kathakalakshepam’ could not be reviewed promptly!
In 1905, Mahamahopadhyaya Sri U V Swaminatha Iyer, after listening to Harikesanallur Sri Muthaiah Bhagavathar’s Harikatha spoke: “ Muthaiah Bhagavathar performed for 3 hours; we could speak about its excellence for 30 hours; if we try to simply jot down about his mastery in music, literature, command in many languages, his brilliant way of exposition, etc, it will extend over 3000 pages”. More than a century later, similar sentiments can be echoed after listening to the Harikatha of Madurai Sri T N Seshagopalan (a prasishya of Sri Muthaiah Bhagavathar)!

[rajeshnat]

TNS has a natural gift of abhinaya through which he beautifully exhibited diverse emotions.

I had attended two of his harikatha one in SKGS about Sadguru thyagaraja and the other in hamsadhwani where it was a week long Kambaramayanam series. Though I sat from a distance I did not spot any abhinaya,are you just talking about very minimal facial expressions when some one narrates during harikatha as abhinaya . Thank you for the review sangeetafan