Suryaprakash gave a moving concert in Sathguru Sangeetha Sabha, Calicut on May 19th. It was a special concert for the occasion of veteran Calicut Vicha Bhagavatar birth centenary. I was one of the fortunate member to take part in the concert. I would be failing in my duties as a true artist and music lover if I don't reflect the truly extraordinary lifetime memorable concert of brilliant Suryaprakash on that day.
1. Bhairavi ata Thala Varnam Surya(as I affectionately call him) straightaway set ablaze the concert to a great start with superb form in the Bharaivi Ata Thala Varnam on a brisk note.
2. Sivalokanadanai Kandu Then, Gopalakrishna Bharati's (Nandanar) 'Sivalokanadanai kandu Sevithiduvome' cast a magic spell on the listeners. Though I was on the Mridangam, I was taken to a completely different world of paradise during this song.
3 Orajoopu Then came 'Orajoopu' sung with such a brisk and breezy manner that it set the tempo of the programme in full flow and motion.
4. Ninnana Velasina Then, we had a full scale Kalyani, the raga well suited to the brilliant voice of Surya(gifted with the pitch of scale 'D') and it was a resounding success. He covered the entire gamut of the raga. Not a phrase,thrust or gamaka misfired and the summing up was extremely evocative. Ninnana Velasina was the rare Krithi of Thyagaraja sung in Misra Chapu Thala. The swaraprastharams were fraught with Gathi Beda Sancharams mixing Thisram and Chatuswaram combining them in different speeds. That too the eduppu was not Samam. It was one Akshara thalli. Even a minute slip would have dealt danger. It was an enchanting display of Suryaprakash's expertise over laya.
After this, I was wondering What Surya would sing. I could feel the wisdom and presence of mind of Surya in the selection of songs as he sang a 'Mayamma' full of Bhava laying equal emphasis on the rich treasures of Vilamba Kala at the right moment.
Then came an interesting Viruttam in Begada and the song 'Manamohana Mane' composed by Vichu Bhagavatar. This song was requested by the organiser just few hours before the concert and to my astonishment Suryaprakash sang the new composition with such confidence as if he has been singing it for years. (Note: without a piece of paper).
Kanada was the main raga of the evening . The raga was delineated beautifully putting to effective use the 'Gana and Naya' method. He handle the raga with such tender and delicate care as a mother would be to her dearmost baby.
Karaikal Venkatasubramaniam on the violin played an equally effective Kanada showing glimpses of his Guru Maestro T.N. Krishnan in the bowing technique.
Suki Evaro was the melting song. The swaraprastharams for this song in the Sarvalaghu pattern reminded the evergreen Madurai Mani Iyer's Style. There were all types of strokes with sound technique in it(delicate late cut,square cut,etc.) I played the Thani Avarthanam for this song.
The unique feature of Suryaprakash is that his music appeals to the connoisseur as well as the layman. The thukkada Section including Bhajan,Viruttam(Ragamalika),Kandan Karunai Puriyum(Bhimplas) and the Yamankalyan piece Krishna Nee Begane with Hindustani touches hypnotised the audience.
Suryaprakash is endowed with an amazing rich voice and it ranges the gamut with superb and trained ease. His voice was well modulated and perfectly aligned to the Sruthi without a single jarring note throughout the concert. Surya has the special quality of keeping the audience interest at a passionate pitch all through. Though, being the proud disciple of the great TVS and the priceless treasure of the madurai mani Iyer School, Surya is shrewd enough to use it to the right extent and brings more variety to his performance in his inimitable original style. His music is natural,spontaneous and flowing . The spirit is always cheerful and joyful, the tempo never comes down and there is never a dull moment in it.
The audience response after the programme was full proof to it. Bombay jayashree's mother was one of the audience ,enjoying the concert till the end.
It is not an easy task to impress the audience of Kerala. Surya succeeded completely in it. I enjoyed playing for this superb performance.