Carnatica Brothers at SIFA- San Jose, April 21 - 2013

[KrithikaRajagopal]

Carnatica brothers (Shashikiran and Ganesh) performed at SIFA, San Jose and were ably accompanied by Sri. Nagai Muralidharan on the violin and Sri. Mannargudi Easwaran on the mridangam. The concert kickstarted with the beautiful Ata-tala varnam in Todi. It came as a special treat to the listener as this varnam is not often heard these days. The spontaneous appreciation for the choice was from Sri. Mannargudi Easwaran.

This was followed by Nee Bhakti Bhagya sudha in Jayamanohari, another not-much heard piece in the concert scenario these days. Kalpanaswaras were rendered carefully without bumping on to Sriranjani, given the speed the Kalpanaswaras were rendered in. This was followed by Ekambresa Nayike in Karnataka Suddha Saveri. Shashikiran presented a delightful potrayal of the raga encompassing all the octaves. He could hit the Mandra Sthayi Shadjam and one heard it as clearly as any other Madhya sthayi note. The brisk kalpanaswaras at the Madyamakala Sahitya (Pamarajana Palini) along with some spontaneous Ateetha eduppus at (Suddha Saveri Nuta) clearly exhibited their mastery over the art and solid control over tala. Ganesh brought out the essence of Begada within fraction of a second. Every swara that cascaded thereafter, had begada carved beautifully in it. Neraval and Kalpanaswara were aesthetically rendered which was followed by a Tani Avartanam by Sri.Easwaran. One would easily have wanted to dance to his beat. Such was the clarity of the mridangam. Before starting the pallavi, Saravanabhava-a composition of Chitravina Ravikiran was rendered. This had an Ateeta eduppu and the response from Sri. Easwaran was perfect.

Known for their complex pallavis and spontaneous change of ragas in the ragamalika part of the pallavi, one would not expect any less a pallavi from the Carnatica brothers. Shashikiran introduced the theme of the pallavi and easily, it was creativity at its best. Amongst several thematic pallavis that are doing the rounds in the CM scene, this comes as a refresher. The theme of the pallavi was based on the calendar year (21/4/2013). Interestingly so, 21+4+20+13=58 (Hemavaty). Hence, pallavi was set in Hemavaty. Khanda nadai Adi Tala was chosen signifying the 5 and the 8. As it was a Sunday, the words were 'Suryamurtey Namostutey' from the Muthuswami Deekshitar's Vaara kriti. Shashikiran started off the Hemavaty and covered almost every prayoga in Mandra Sthayi (again hitting Sa). His impeccable Sruti and clarity were remarkable. Pallavi was treated with Trikalam and presented with all its gait and beauty. The ragamalika that followed were handpicked from the Vaara kritis again which included Sourashtra, Surutti, NaataKurinji, Atana, Paras and YadukulaKamboji. Toward the end, Ganesh reversed these ragas effortlessly and landed again in Hemavaty. Listening to the pallavi was a beautiful journey in itself. Needless to say, Sri. Muralidharan's violin had a buttery smooth texture to it and was very pleasant to hear.

Wrapping up were short and sweet tukkadas in Revati (Mahadeva Siva Shambho), Raagi Tandira, Vijayambike (HMB) and Managalam. The sound system was well-balanced except at the start. Pallavis of such immense content and kanukkus came as a rare treat. It was an evening of CLASSICAL music in the real sense, with unswerving adherence to convention yet creativity at its best!

[rajeshnat]

Before starting the pallavi, Saravanabhava- a composition of Chitravina Ravikiran was rendered. This had an Ateeta eduppu and the response from Sri. Easwaran was perfect.

Krithika
may i know the raga for the composition. Tx for your review

[KrithikaRajagopal]

Bilahari!

[Lakshman]

What was the rare tODi varNa?

[KrithikaRajagopal]

KanakAngi