RAMAKRISHNAN MURTHY AT VANI MAHAL- 10/12/2015

[CRama]

Accompanists- M.Rajeev- Violin
N.C. Bharadwaj- Mridangam.
List of songs.
Samayamide-Kedaram-PSI (S)
Cheraravademira-Reethigowla-T (S)
Pankajalochana-Kalyani ST (R,N)
Hiranmayeem Lakshmim-Lalitha- MD
Parakela nannu- Kedaragowla- SS
Dhyaname varamaina-Dhanyasi- T (R, S)
Thani.
RTP- Gowla- Adi 2 kalai
Pallavi-Avan anri anuvum asayaathu Nammai kaakkum iraivan
RM swaras- Narayanagowla, Reethigowla, Kedaragowla
Virutham- Maanada mazhuvaada- Kambodi, Saveri, Mohanam, Kapi, Sindubhairavi.

My season 2015 started with this concert thanks to the kindness of Varuna who gave a respite from the torrential rains and I am happy that the start is quite good and auspicious as RKM presented an exhilarating concert of serene, poise and chaste classical fare. RKM is winning over rasikas all over the globe with his sensitive, sowkhyam focussed music and vidwath laden concerts. He is synonymous with strong sruti sudham, good imagination, padantharam and stage presence. In today’s concert, Samayamide was presented in a gripping kalapramanam and the swaras were very nicely crafted. The next song also provided the required liveliness to the concert. Kalyani alapana was done for 10 minutes with telling details and the kriti Pankajalochana was a good choice for a sub main also. We have heard this as main song in many concerts. The elaborate neraval made up for the skipping of swaras. Hiranmayeem was sung in a tad slow pace than many others and it was good. Again Parakela pepped up.

The alapana of Dhanyasi which was taken up as the main ragam was highly imaginative. The alapana had many interesting and surprising moments which are not usually heard in the alapana of Dhanyasi which once again vouched for his abundant manodharmam and vidwath. The kriti is a perfect bill to be sung as the main song, but sadly very few pick up this. There was no neraval but elaborate swara prastaras at the pallavi. The long avarartana of first kalam swaras was brimming with raga bhavam which had many aha moments in that. While doing the koraippu in second kalam, he landed on different swaras like ma, ga, sa and pa This was highly imaginative. However, for Dhanyasi, ni is the ideal place of landing besides sa and pa. So ma and ga could have been avoided.

Gowla was the raga taken for RTP. I remember he sang the same pallavi in the same venue last year albeit brief. In this concert, the raga was elaborated for 10 minutes. Again it required sadhakam and enough manodharmam to portray such an elaborate unadulterated Gowla without slipping to Nata or Mayamalavagowla. The tanam was highly enjoyable- more than the alapana. The raga facilitates singing of tanam- like all the pancharathna ghana ragams. The raga aapana was for 10 minutes and tanam 15 minutes. RKM announced that the pallavi was coined by Vidwan Arun Prakash. He sang Narayanagowla, Reethigowla and Kedaragowla in the ragamalika swarams segment. The swaras in Narayanagowla revealed at the start itself, rich in raga bhavam, never permitting Kedaragowla to enter its domain. Kannadagowla could have been taken in the ragamalika instead of repeating Reethigowla. Later he switched over to one kalai and presented trikalam. The entire RTP took 40 minutes.

After the pallavi, he took up the Virutham Maanaada mazhuvaada from Nataraja pathu in Kambodi, Saveri, Mohanam, Kapi and Sindubhairavi. Kambodi was hugely captivating. I left after the slokam. It was past 9.00 PM.

The accompanists played their role admirably. M.Rajeev’s violin was sweet and his replies and solos were most appropriate. He also excelled in his tanam for Gowla. N.C.Bharadwaj showed that he is a chip of the old block. His thoppi patterns were very enjoyable and his thani received repeated applause. There was no upa pakkavadyam.

The crowd was much less. Rasikas are yet to venture out to sabhas. Vani Mahal has refurbished its seating. The ticket charges also hiked. Minimum Rs 200.

A lively and highly satisfying concert for more than two and a half hours. My picks in this concert were the Dhanyasi alapana, Gowla tanam and Kambodi virutham.

[arasi]

CRAma,
As is your wont, you give a detailed account of this concert and we rasikas appreciate that.

Yes, Ramakrishnan Murthy is proving himself to be a seasoned artiste, even at this young age. We from far away are very proud of what he is doing, hailing as he is from our climes which are depicted as being populated by just money-monging, materialistic by a few Music and nurturing of it is part of our culture, it turns out to be.

Yes, GowLa, a tricky rAgA to sing extensively as in RTP, without straying into allied rAgAs!

New seats in Vani Mahal? Compared to some other sabhas, I thought they had decent seats even before??

[harimau]

CRAma,

Yes, GowLa, a tricky rAgA to sing extensively as in RTP, without straying into allied rAgAs!

New seats in Vani Mahal? Compared to some other sabhas, I thought they had decent seats even before??

At least Gowla is a quintessentially Carnatic raga that no Hindusthani musician would dare touch. The Gowla rishabam will scare the away like a mad cow might.

And if rajeshnat had reviewed the concert we would know down to the last nanosecond how long the alapana and tanam were.

Many seats in Vani Mahal were in bad shape. They probably have fixed that.

Heck, even Narada Gana Sabha has fixed the broken seats in the mini-hall.

And, wonder of wonders, the loo (men's of course, a tiger would cause hysterics in the ladies' room) has been cleaned up in NGS.

[kvchellappa]

Nice to see at least one musical input, Harimau (Gowla rishabham).