Madipakkam S Suresh – Mridangam
Pudukottai N Ramachandran – Ghatam
Sri Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha (Vani Mahal ) on 29th Dec-2012.
Song list:
tatvamariya taramA - reethigowla -Adi-pApanAsam sivan
sadAmadin dalatu - gambheeravani-Adi-thyAgarAja
Ennadu juthuno-kalAvati-Adi-thyAgarAja
raghuvamsa sudhA- kathanakuthUhalam-Adi- patnam subramanya iyer
Amba Nee Iranga enil pugaledhu-AtAna -Adi -pApanAsam sivan
Ananda naTam ADuvAr-pUrvikalyAni-rUpakam-neelakaanta shivan
pAl vaDiyum mugam ninaindu ninainden -Nattakkurinji-Adi- Oothukadu Venkata Subbaiyer
tera teeyaga rAda - gowLi panTu - Adi –thyAgarAja
enduku peddala-shankarAbharanam-Adi-ThyAgaraja
Eppadi pAdinAro - karnATaka dEvagAndhAri-Adi-suddhAnanda bhArati
Aaj raho raghuvir- Behag-Adi- Tulasi Das Bhajan
Theeratha vilayattu pillai- rAga mAlika – Adi-Subrahmanya Bharathi
kATRinilE varum geetam – Evergreen hit of MS Amma from movie 'Meera'
Thillana- kamAs- Adi
English note – SankarAbharanam -Adi- Muthiah Bhagavathar
bhagyAda lakshmi bArammA- madhyamAvathi-Adi-purandara dAsaru
The concert began with Sri Papanasam Sivan’s Tatvamariya, in Reethigowla , garlanded with some brisk swara patterns. The rich tone of the violin came out very naturally with a well balanced audio arrangement and acoustics.
‘sadAmadin’, in gamBhiravAni quickly followed. gambhIravAni, derived from mela raga nAganandini, has some interesting swara combinations, making it a very pleasant hearing.The phrases ‘ S G3..P M1..’ and ‘D3 N3.. S’ always catches the attention. The ekaika krithi of Sri. ThyAgaraja on Shiva, was played in medium-fast tempo. Though the krithi was a short one, it swayed the mood in a big way.
Ennadu Juthuno, a rarely sung kriti in kalAvaTi, She sang the opening sangati, after short rAga AlApana, followed by a sweet presentation of the kriti.
The superfast Parur masterpiece , ‘raghuvamsa sudhA’ in Kathanakuthuhalam came next. Clarity of notes were never compromised, while maintaining the super speed, The rhythmic support by Sri. Suresh and Sri. Ramachandran matched violinist’s ideas perfectly, and this piece kept the listeners on the edge throughout…
‘teliyalEru rAma’, in Dhenuka brought the heart beats to back to normal, with its bhava laden rendition.
Later, after a very traditional AtAna Alapana, she went on with ‘Amba Nee Iranga enil pugaledhu’, by Sri.PApanasam Sivan
Then a detailed elaboration of pUrvikalyAni was taken up. Blossoming of this magnificent raga in the Parur style, bringing out the beauty of each note in three octaves and occasionally reaching out to the ‘athi thAra sthaAyi’ , through weighty gamakas, and raga sancaras in elaborate cyclic patterns in the nagasvaram bani exhibiting the brilliant quintessence of the raga… The krithi ‘Ananda naTam ADuvAr tillai ambalam tannil..’ was presented well , followed up with kalpana swaras. Exchanges between the violinists and rhythm artists were interesting, and the excitement escalated gradually with the build up of swaras, sancaras becoming faster and longer, with occasional long bow runs, culminating in a beautifully designed rhythmic pattern.
A melodic ‘pAl vaDiyum mugam ninaindu ninainden’ , by Oothukadu Venkata Kavi was sung and then rendered beautifully, with all its tenderness and bhakti .A quick ‘tera teeyaga rAda’ in gowLi panTu followed. In this krithi, Thyagaraja prays to the lord Tirupathi Venkata Ramana, to take out the envy in him.
The main item of the concert in SankarAbharanam , started in a slow pace, and went on to a detailed Alapana. The raga exposition was done in phases, gradually developing , displaying the raga bhava, along with the skills and command on the instrument. Treatment of the raga was very traditional and brought out the essence of the raga in its purity. A brief TAnam followed, showcasing the Parur-MSG style and techniques of tAnam playing in violin, accompanied with Mridangam ,said to be a practice of Kerala tradition. ‘enduku peddala was the kriti of the day, played with neraval and swaram. In this krity, Sri ThyAgaraja prays to Rama to bless him with the real wisdom . Shri Madipakkam S Suresh (Mridangam) and Sri. Pudukottai N Ramachandran (Ghatam) played a matching thani Avarthanam.
Eppadi pAdinAro marked the lighter, but interesting part of the concert . Aaj raho raghuvir in Behag which was set to tune by Sri. Parur Sundaram Iyer was played with a brief raga AlApana, Next were, ‘Theeratha vilayattu pillai’ , ‘ Kaatinile varum geetham ‘ - an evergreen hit of MSS from the movie Meera , and the popular thillana in kamAs, thAm thAm thAm….
English note, composed by Sri. Muthiah BhAgavathar and popularised by Sri. Madurai Mani Iyer , is a composition well suited for violin , was presented with all its glory, before concluding the concert with ‘bhagyAda lakshmi bArammA’.
The signature Parur-MSG tradition was on display throughout the concert. Many in the audience liked the presentation of each krithi with a few lines sung by the artist which made the sAhitya clear to everyone. Participation of the accompanying artists throughout the concert, with interesting exchanges, were also welcome notes, that enhanced the involvement. Vani Mahal had very good acoustics, which too contributed to the overall experience.
.biju