GAYATHRI GIRISH AT SWAMY’S HALL- 10/10

[CRama]

Gayathri Girish presented a one of its kind concert- RAGA MANJARI- a concert of exclusive Ragamalikas under the banner of Shanmukhapriya Fine Arts at 6 PM on 10 Oct. As per the theme, the entire concert consisted of Ragamalikas with raga alapana, kalpana swaram, pallavi etc. She was accompanied by Dr.M.Narmada on the Violin, Neyveli Narayanan on the Mridangam and Trichy Murali on the Ghatam. At the beginning of the concert, a minute silence was observed praying for the souls of Swami Dayananda Saraswathi and Flute N.Ramani who have left for heavenly abode.
List of songs.
• Angayarkanni Aanandam kondale-Navarasa Ragamalika Pada varnam composed by Lalgudi Jayaraman
Ragams- Bilahari, Huseni, Valaji, Saranga, Sucharitra, Athana, Rasikapriya, Sahana and Nadanamakriya.
• Saarasa bhavaa drutha -Swarajathi Ragamalika of Swati Tirunal
Ragams- Kalyani, Begada, Athana, Suruti and Thodi
• Arabhimanam Vaithu- Ragamalika of Tarangampadi Panchanada Iyer
Ragams-Arabhi,Anandabhairavi,Kalyani,Hamsadhwani,Saranga,Sama,Mohanam,Lalitha,
Durbar, Bhairavi,Poorvikalyani,Kamalamanohari.
• Gaaravamu- Navarathnamalika of Subbrama Dikshithar
Ragams- Kalyani, Thodi, Saveri, Athana, Neelambari, Manirang, Kambodi, Mukhari and Mohanam
• Shanmugapriya nayakan- Ragamalika composed by N.S.Chidambaram- Tuned by Tanjore S.Kalyanaraman.
Ragams-Shanmugapriya,Sankarabharanam,Bhairavi, Mohanam, Sahana, Saramathi, Panthuvarali, Durbar
• RTP- Ranjanimala-
Ragams- Ranjani, Manoranjani,Janaranjani, Sreeranjani
Ragamalika swaras- Ranjani, Manoranjani,Janaranjani, Sreeranjani, Mararanjani, Sivaranjani.
Pallavi- Ranjani Niranjani Bhaktha manoranjani
Rasika Janaranjani
Nal Varamarulvay Sreeranjani
Talam-Khanda Matyam.
• Dayanandapanchakam
Composed by Swami Paramarthananada
Ragams-Dwijavanthi, Sivaranjani, Chandrakauns, Tilang, Durbari Kanada
• Simhasanasthithe- composed by MD
Ragams-Sourashtram, Vasantha, Suruti and Madhyamavathy

When we think of ragamalikas, what comes to our mind is the ragamalikas of five minutes duration usually we hear in the post thani segment. But there are some weighty ones also which are rarely featured in concerts. The magnum opus of Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan- the Melaragamalika in 72 Melakartha ragams and the one in 108 ragams composed by Ramaswami Dikshithar are wonders in this genre. When I heard about a concert of ragamalikas, I was skeptic- how it will be. But having known the calibre of GG in giving thematic performances, I knew it will not be just a string of ragamalikas. There will be something more to it. Yes. This concert showed another dimension of ragamalikas- how mighty and weighty they can be. How they can be further embellished applying manodharmam element. In this context it may be remembered that Tanjore S.Kalyanaraman has been a trendsetter in presenting ragamalikas decorated with raga alapana and swarams and Gayathri Girish has taken many a leaf out of that. Going by her penchant for unearthing hidden treasures while presenting thematic concerts, she has taken great pains to learn and present unheard ragamalikas and not depend upon already popular ragamalikas- like she avoided Sree Viswanatham of MD and instead chose Simhasanasthithe. Similarly, she did not sing Bhavayami of ST, but unearthed a rare Swarajati, which I have never heard even in TVM. Also she skipped Valachi ragamalika varnam, but presented the Navarasa ragamalika varnam of Lalgudi Jayaraman.

The concert started with the pada varnam composed by Lalgudi Jayaraman. The theme described in this varnam is the Digvijayam of Meenakshi and the Navarasas have been shown depicting various episodes from Thiruvilayadal puranam and suitable ragams have been selected to depict the nava rasas. Swaras and sahithyam for each rasa has been composed with great wisdom. This Varnam has got enough scope for abhinayam in dance recitals. It may already be popular in the dance. I have not seen. The skill and vidwat of the composer Lalgudi is evident throughout. The second item was a Swarajathi ragamalika composed by Swati Tirunal. Here also for each stanza, swaram and sahithyam has been composed as is common for any Swarajati. GG rendered a few rounds of Kalpana swaras in all the ragams in the reverse order, each time seamlessly merging into Kalyani. The next ragamalika- Arabhimanam vaithu is a familiar one and it was rendered with great bhavam. Navarathnamalika of Subbarama Deekshitar starting with the lines Gaaravamu is a mighty composition with Sahithyam with ragamudhra and Swarasahithyam (Chittaswaram and parallel sahithyam) for each of the nine ragams. Gayathri first rendered alapana of all the nine ragams, then rendered the ragamalika with great felicity which itself is a stupendous task. Shanmugapriya nayakan is a ragamalika tuned and popularised by Tanjore S.Kalyanaraman and Gayathri appended liberal doses of Kalpana swarams to it with the final korvai in all the ragams which was really breathtaking.

For making this Ragamalika concert a wholesome affair, a RTP in ragamalika comprising four ragams in the Ranjani family - Ranjani, Manoranjani, Janaranjani and Sreeranjani was presented with all its grandeur. All the ragams were presented with compelling details with well rounded brighas and abundant karvais. There was no ambiguity in the structure of even a rare ragam like Manoranjani. The raga alapana and tanam were attempted in all the ragams and elaborate swaras presented in all the ragams besides including two more ragams in the swara segment- Mararanjani and Sivaranjani. The pallavi was set to Khanda Mattya talam. The entire exercise was a scholarly affair. The glide between the ragas were so effortless and clear. Trikalam was executed with precision.

The post thani segment comprised of Dayananda Panchakam composed by Swami Paramarthananda- the disciple of Swami Dayananda Saraswathi in five ragams- Dwijavanthi, Sivaranjani, Chandrakauns, Tilang and Durbari Kanada in praise of Swami Dayananda Saraswathi. This was a tribute to the Swamiji who attained Mukti recently. The programme concluded with the ragamalika of MD- Simhasanasthithe in four ragams- Saurashtram, Vasantha, Suruti and Madhyamavathy. Gayathri Girish needs special appreciation for ensuring that there was never an instance of the shade of an earlier ragam in the multitude of ragams presented in so many ragamalikas. Kudos to GG for making this concert a top notch one with exclusive ragamalikas. Eventhough there were no big kritis in this concert, we never felt any drip in the weight of the concert. In fact it was very heavy fare.

Accompaniments- simply great. Dr.Narmada is a perfect match for the virtuosity of GG in presenting so many ragams in the many ragamalikas. Her alapanas in her inimitable style with her infectious smile was a treat in itself and also her succinct swara passages. Her Janaranjani brought to me memories of Nadadinamata played by MSG and Narmada in an old concert. She embellished the concert significantly. Neyveli Narayanan was greatly supportive and his thani with Trichy Murali was highly enjoyable.

[Nick H]

My ignorance of raga is known, but I have always enjoyed ragamalika, particularly an extended series of raga malika swarams with a good-length RTP. It is like reading a book: each chapter is complete in itself, but also leads to the next. That is how I as a not-really-a-rasika experience and enjoy it.

Gayathri has told me about the concert, and it had gone straight into my diary as a certainty. I am never particularly good at time management and punctuality (ask my managers from the past! 9.00am, is Nick here? Of course not!) but I wanted to be there from the start of the varnam. Swamy's Hall is little more than a half-hour drive, and parking close by is usually not a problem. I was defeated by traffic, including one deadlock jam that took volunteer traffic controllers to sort out. The journey took 1 hour 15minutes, and I missed not only the varnam but the second piece as well. Thankfully, most people had come from easier places, and there was a good-sized audience.

It was a very good concert, and one that must have taken a great deal of work to put together. It also presents a much greater challenge than the usual to the violin accompanist, and Narmada met the challenges and more.

The gods were determined that I should not have an easy drive home, either. Literally, the gods! One street was closed for temple, another was blocked by a god going in his car!

[Rsachi]

Wonderful to hear of such a scholarly musical treat! Can't think of anyone other than GG taking up such a challenge, putting together rare songs, making them interesting, singing so many ragas! The accompanists are top calibre too.

If a recording is avaiable it would be a real treat.

Congrats to GG for eliciting such a review too!

[rshankar]

CRama- you made up (almost) for missing this concert due to unforeseen circumstances!
Nick - very funny - as Jamie Uys said it, 'The Gods must be crazy'!
But glad you were able to catch most of it!

[rajeshnat]

Nice list of songs in colorful ragamaligas. I wish I was there.

[kvchellappa]

Rama is avatara ratnam of Vishnu (in my opinion) and C Rama is one of the Reviewer ratnams in rasikas.org. He gives a concert experience in his reviews.

[HarishankarK]

As is her wont Gayathri seems to have delivered another stupendous concert. Congratulations to her.

[Sivaramakrishnan]

The challenge before the singer to avoid repetition of raagas and the need for inclusion of rare kritis was well countered by GG. 'Arabhimanam' was a 'long awaited' Ragamalika and it did impress many. The tricky Matyataalam for the Pallavi was well handled. Neyveli Narayanan's gesture in keeping the percussion volume low enabled full audibility of the Sahitya. Violin accompaniment maintained right balance. Most uruppadi-s were rare (including tukkadas) that proved GG's penchant for serious stuff.
Company of CRama at the concert was another plus for me. The venue near Mandaveli has good acoustics and provides good listening experience.

[arasi]

A miss for me, of course.

How GG likes challenges, how hard she works and how good she is!

CRama,
Your retirement is a boon indeed to the Reviews section in Rasikas...

[mkal]

Sounds like a very interesting concert. Hope a recording becomes available. Coincidentally, a couple of days ago I was listening to a Sri. Tanjore S. Kalyanaraman concert CD from 1974 where he has sung this same RTP. With fabulous accompaniment on the violin by Sri. MSG. So I can sort of imagine what Smt. Narmadha's accompaniment must have been like for this concert

[harimau]

Sounds like a very interesting concert. Hope a recording becomes available. Coincidentally, a couple of days ago I was listening to a Sri. Tanjore S. Kalyanaraman concert CD from 1974 where he has sung this same RTP. With fabulous accompaniment on the violin by Sri. MSG. So I can sort of imagine what Smt. Narmadha's accompaniment must have been like for this concert

Gayathri Girish acknowledged that this pallavi was set up by Tanjore Kalyanaraman.

Brinda Venkataraman, the convener of Shanmukhapriya Fine Arts, being a student of Sri Kalyanaraman, would have made the tape available to Gayathri Girish, her daughter-in-law.

[MV]

Sounds like a splendid concert and thanks for a splendid review CRama. I hope the convener makes the recording available to her daughter-in-law plus 'others'

[hnbhagavan]

Any other rendering of Lalgudi's padavarnam available?