"Fiction is the willing suspension of disbelief" - ST Coleridge, 1817
Every wide-eyed kid at his grandpa's knee, every Alice, journeys into a wonderland willingly, all eager to experience a different world, one of joy and surreal experiences.
I feel every great Carnatic concert is a surreal experience that the rasika willingly submits to, to travel with the muse and the musician into a far far land of aesthetic boundlessness, full of prayers, processions, and "prasad" of the Almighty that nothing else comes close to.
If one needed a first hand experience of a stellar example of such an aesthetic "Vishvaroopa Darshana", one should have been present in the salubrious St. John's auditorium this evening. I saw a glint of a hint of a smile even on the face of the Holy Son on his flower-bedecked cross, as he listened to Vid. Amrutha Venkatesh. Accompanied by Edapalli Ajithkumar and Arjun Ganesh, she gave us an incomparable Carnatic treat for a whole 3 hours.
Let me get the list done:
1. Dani Samajendra Gamini- ST Todi Padavarna -as majestic as a royal caparisoned elephant was the Thodi. First time heard it.
2. A brisk and festive Arabhi "Pahi Parvathanandini" - prefaced by an exquisite, brief alapana. The first two items showed Amrutha was in fine form to deliver a great innings today.
3. Anandabhairavi-Marivere. A statuesque Shyamakrishna Sahodari was worshipped. Great alapana, no swaras.
4. Vasantha- Ramachandram Bhavayami- a quick round of swaras.
5. Elaborate Kambhoji, with the full works in the top octave, leaving nothing unveiled in this raga. Her voice caressed each note like the silken thread touched by a master Benares weaver, and her strong and soft modulations and massive octave-shifting glides can't perhaps be matched by any other vocalist today.
6. O Rangashayi. The Lord of Srirangam was extolled and pleaded with alternately, and Saint Thyagaraja, to my mind, was showing his approval throughout.
7.Tani- Arjun Ganesh gave a double treat. He embellished every song so well, and delivered a punchy tani with a long sequence with progressive accelaration of sollu patterns, reminding me of a Zakir Hussain improvisation. Applause.
8. At this point, Shubha pantuvarali made an entrance full of gravity and grandeur, like one can imagine a Bhishma pacing in his palace. This raga has such meditative potential and contrasts with everything extroverted in music. One has to be a true Nadayogi to present it the way Amrutha did. Her raga and tana got repeated applause.
Throughout, Edapalli Ajithkumar kept up with Amrutha in his raga essays and swaras. If anything, he illustrated how daunting it is for any violinist toaccompany such a vocalist unleashing an incredible range of gamakas (veena, violin, flute, vocal...whatever excellence in those instruments was brought into her singing today) and that too with a perfect voice.
9. Pallavi -eduppu after 2 counts, Khanda Triputa 2 kalai "Muruganai Guhanai ninai nee malmuruganai saravananai". Arudi on Nee. A lovely pallavi, with a taut structure, delivered with finesse and beauty. Ragamalika swaras in Natakurinji, Hamsanandi, Desh and back. While switching to Hamsanandi, Amrutha switched her two Raagini tampuras from Pa to Ma.
Huge applause for the RTP.
10. Pachai Mamalai - viruttham in Ahir Bhairav, Kapi and Mand.
11. Muralidhara Gopala - Mand
12. Ragi Tandira- Nadanamakriya
13. Nam japan kyon chod diya - Madhuvanti
14. TVG Behag thillana
15. Mangalam
I can say, from everyone's reaction in the audience, that Nadasurabhi festival was celebrated in the grandest possible manner today, in the best traditions of Carnatic music, by a versatile, imaginative, masterly, musician who took us into a wonderland of musical ecstasy. God bless Amrutha, God bless Nadasurabhi.
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