Full concert archived here: https://youtu.be/CTZg-tYM3zE
Vid. Shailesh Ramamurthy Flute Concert at Parivadini Annual Series - Nov. 25, 2015
All the wanton deluge from the rain gods in the past two plus weeks in Chennai (and Bangalore) demanded a sober, statesmanly affirmative response from us lovers of Carnatic music. That came in the perfectly fitting form of a flute concert today at Parivadini.
Having enjoyed the wonderful Swarajatis exposition by Vid Neela Mami yesterday, I was looking forward to another sedate treat. And having known Vid. Shailesh personally for many years, I was fairly confident about the forthcoming session. And now I am writing this after a truly blissful experience.
Vid. Shailesh is known in the circles of Carnatic connoisseurs as a self-effacing, extremely talented musician and teacher. Being a highly placed techie garnering patents regularly for his work on signal processing, he perhaps does not have the time or inclination for a busy musical performing career. The loss is entirely that of rasikas for sure!
Let me begin with the song list and details:
Vid. Shailesh Ramamurthy - Flute
Vid. Shraddha Ravindran- Violin
Vid. Akshay Anand- Mridangam
Venue: Parivadini Series, Raga Sudha Hall, Chennai
Guruleka Etuvanti- Gaurimanohari-T
Arunachalanatham- Saranga-MD
Budhamaashrayami-Natakurinji-MD
Emani Pogadudura-Veera Vasantha-T
Mahima taggincuko-Rishabhapriya-T
Chittam Irangadenayya-Shahana - Papanasam Sivan
Sarasa samadana -Kapi Narayani-T
Todi- Swarajathi Rave Himagirikumari - SS
Tani
Karpagame- Madhayamavati-Papanasam Sivan
The start of Guruleka amply intimated the mood as one of sedate sparkle. The flute sound came with an unbelievable “madhuratva”= sweetness. Astonishingly, this mood was sustained throughout. The young accompanists got into the same mindset and faithfully towed the line. The mridangam sound was happily blending with the flute timbre.
After the Karthika Purnima tribute to the Lord of Arunachala, Shailesh embarked on a splendid Natakurinji. The exposition was full of delightful, well-paced, phrases and the flute pretty much spoke out the lyrics throughout. The alapana and swaras were beautiful. Natakurinji was in full bloom. The swaras had a good amount of “kanakku” but without breaking any sweat. This piece alone was enough to showcase Shailesh’s immense vidwat.
The Veeravasantha song reminded Lord Rama that he had bestowed a sense of pride on Indra (could it be a hint about the deluge last few days - a bit like the rains in the story of Govardhana episode of Bhagavatam!)
The Rishabhapriya sealed the sense of displeasure of the devotee Thyagaraja, full of “nindastuti” for the Lord’s unrelenting nature.
Sivan reinforced the mood but added a warm musical glow with the beautiful Shahana kriti.
In all the three items, Shailesh displayed a wonderful poise in the presentation. The Kapinarayani was no different, except for a little faster rendition. Shailesh obviously doesn’t share the enthusiasm of many flautists for speed. Add to that a truly seamless switch between the long flute and the mid-range one with no tonality or blowing artifacts. A defining experience of calm flute music.
The Todi exposition was classic. In two alapana sessions, Shailesh delineated this incomparable gem among Carnatic ragas with all its lovely contours. Shraddha’s rendition earned his appreciation.
The Todi swarajathi of Shyama Shastri is held up as a masterclass by every knowledgeable rasika. Not heard as often as the Bhairavi one, it was a welcome choice of Shailesh. Apart from enunciating every line with pith and moment, he added some fine kalpana swaras.
The tani from young Akshay showed how rapidly he is gaining concert experience. His mridangam has a deftness of touch and depth of tone that is indeed rare. A student of Sri K S Kalidas, he brings credit to the Pazhani school every time I hear him. The tani was done very appropriately for the overall mood of the concert.
The last item was the auspicious Karpagame.
A truly enjoyable concert. Thank you Parivadini!
