Nedunuri Sri. Krishnamurthy performed at the Shanmukhananda Sangeetha Sabha, Mumbai on Feb 19, 2006 after receiving the 3rd Jayendra Saraswati National Eminence Award in Fine Arts. The program scheduled to start at 6:30 was delayed due to the arrival of H.H. Sri. Jayendra Saraswati Swamigal from Nerul. It started off by 6:50 pm. The invocation, a speech in Sanskrit (about the award) and the felicitations were simple and to the point. Nedunuri spoke for a couple of minutes about his association with the Maha Periyaval and on how to propogate music amongst the younger generation.
This was followed by a 2.5 hr feast of pristine classical music. It was music for the sake of music, sans gimmickry, one upmanship, full of devotion the art form. In Tamil, one frequently uses the word 'pazhuthu' - meaning 'ripened' or 'refined'. What music lovers were treated was nothing short of refined music coming with decades of sAdhana and experience.
The musician in him had an ideal team of accompanists (more on this later):
Malladi Sri. Ravikumar - Vocal Support
Sri. R. Madhavan (of Mumbai, who had to replace Mysore Nagaraj who was unwell) - Violin
Sri. K.V. Prasad - Mridangam
Sri. T.V. Vasan - Ghatam
1. taruNi - kAmbhOji varnam - Adi - fiDDle ponnuswAmy
2. evarani - dEvAmritavarshiNi - Adi - thyAgarAja
3. kanchadhaLAya - manOhari - Adi - muthuswAmy dIkshitar
4. kOrinavaramu - rAmapriyA - rUpakam - paTnam subrahmaNya iyer (R, S)
5. akhilAnDEshwari - dwijAvanti - Adi - muthuswAmy dIkshitar
6. panchAshaTpITha - karnATaka dEvagAndhAri - Adi - muthuswAmy dIkshitar (rAga sketch)
7. annapUrnE - sAmA - Adi - muthuswAmy dIkshitar
8. subrahmaNyEna - suddha dhanyAsi - Adi - muthuswAmy dIkshitar
9. kaligiyuNTe - kIravANi - Adi - thyAgarAja (R, N, S) followed by tani Avartanam
10. shringAra laharI - nIlAmbari - Adi - lingarAja urs (rAga sketch)
11. marubAri - khamAs - Adi - dharmapuri subbarAyar (rAga sketch)
12. patiki hAratI - suruTi - Adi - thyAgarAja followed by shriyat kAntAya and mangaLam kOsalEndrAya in madhyamAvati.
The sketch of kAmbhOji rAga was an appetiser to the rarely heard varnam. evarani has been sung by many musicians (including nEdunuri gAru) on several occasions. But this time, I was moved by nedunuri gAru's rendition. There was something magical about it. kanchadaLAya was rendered at a brisk pace, setting up the stage for a classic alapana of rAmapriyA. The alapana had well chiselled phrases, with ideas pouring like a torrent. The kriti to follow was embellished with beautiful rounds of second speed swaras. Enough has been written about the 1-avartana swaras of Nedunuri, It is simply amazing to see him creatively weave new patterns effortlessly both in the alapana and the swara passages. It is as if he is teaching how to put swaras. The patterns are deceptively simple, but hard to reproduce spontaneously.
Items 5-8 were rendered at the request of H.H. Jayendra Saraswati Swamigal (sure about 6 and 8), as he sent in a special word for the same. It was inspiring to see the seer also rendering many kritis (evarani, kanchadhaLAya, panchAshaTpITha etc.) silently sitting at the end of the stage.
It took a few phrases of kIravANi to settle down, but once he did, ideas came in like a cyclone. The sa, pa varja prayOgas and the traverse upto the tAra madhyama effortlessly were the highlights. This was the first time I was hearing this kriti from gAru. He performed a very brief neraval (In view of time) at the anupallavi ? ?kalini ingIta meru?? Trademark Nedunuri swaras and the panchama korappu were all lapped up by the audience. The Tani was a treat for the listeners. The kAlapramANam was perfect all through. I am not qualified enough to comment on the technical aspects, but it was full of soukhyam.
Nedunuri gAru wound up the concert with shringAra laharI and marubAri. The short sketches of both these ragas and the impromptu sangatis in marubAri left listeners wanting for more. Wish the concert continued longer. I was told later that a few other pieces were planned in place of items 5-8, but could not be sung for lack of time.
Madhavan, a popular young violinist from Mumbai, was at ease in sharing the dias with several giants in the field. He played with confidence and followed the maestro faithfully. He revealed is potential in the solo versions of the ragas and swaras, something appreciated by the veterans on stage. His alapanas were brief, but captured the essence of the raga in them
One word to describe the percussion bench - 'saukhyam'. I have heard several live concerts before, but never have I come out with this feeling of soukhyam ushered in by the percussion team. Both Sri. K.V. Prasad and T.V. Vasan were enjoying themselves and this was reflected in the playing. No jarring sollu, No resorting to loud banging the drum to produce more noise than music and gain applause. It was plain and simple - to enrich the music that was being presented and they did so commendably. One felt that when there is enjoyment within, it is reflected in your output, and in case of performing arts, it is contageous and gets transferred to the audience.
It is a vicious cycle. The main artiste is all inspired, so the accompanists are all charged up, this feeds back to the main artiste and he gives even better than his best. The end result is rich and wholesome music.
After listening to these concerts, one is happy that the Almighty has given us an ear for music and we are indeed blessed to have the sense to enjoy the same.