A. Kanyakumari and Vitthal Rangan, NC Bhardwaj on Mridangam and Sunil Kumar on Kanjira. , Photo Credit: Jyoti Ramalingam B
On a rainy evening, violin virtuoso A. Kanyakumari and his disciple B. It was raining melodious tunes of Vitthal Rangan, who was enthralling the lovers with his subtle and aesthetic music.
With perfect synergy, the guru-disciple duo started the concert evoking devotional passion with ‘Karimukh Varadha’, a GNB composition in Raga Nattai for Karthik Fine Arts.
This was followed by Alapana, which showcased the grandeur of Raga Thodi, which transitioned into Shyama Shastri’s Swarajathi ‘Rave Himgiri’.
suddhasaveriAlapana originated from the sharp bowing and delicate sliding of Vitthal Rangan, who was his guru.Artistically elaborated, creating a beautiful dialogue that highlighted the underlying seriousness and compassion of the raga. This led smoothly into Tyagaraja’s ‘Darini Tellusukontini’, which brought a lively change of tempo, followed by an electrifying exchange of kalpanaswaras.
‘Aparadhamula’, a rare gem from Tyagaraja in Raga Rasali, a janya of vanaspati, saw each stroke loaded with emotional weight, capturing the essence of the composer’s plea for forgiveness and spiritual liberation.
The centerpiece of the evening was a meditative Raga-Taanam-Kriti presentation by Dwijavanti, which included Muthuswami Dikshitar’s magnum opus ‘Chetashree Balakrishnam’. The worship of Kanyakumari was sublime, full of devotion and compassion. Vitthal’s Tanam, rhythmically complex and melodically inventive, was a fitting complement. After the presentation of the work, an exciting phase of Kalpanaswaras began in Ragamalika, crossing Sivaranjani, Madhuvanti, Hindolam and Trimurthi (a unique raga consisting of only three notes Shadjam, Madhyam and Daivatam) created by Kanyakumari. This raga is dedicated to Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
After this, NC Bhardwaj presented powerful percussion on Mridangam and Sunil Kumar on Kanjira. The spontaneous interplay of Tani Avtaranam garnered a lot of applause from the audience.
Providing a moment of quiet beauty and a refreshing contrast, the work that followed was Vali’s ‘Kuvi Azhaithal’ in Valaji.
The duo then presented a Thilana in Kanyakumari’s composition, Raga Trishakti, which unleashed a stream of ragas – Kannada, Vasanthi and Shivashakti. The closing piece was ‘Om Namo Narayana’ written by Ambujam Krishna in Karnaranjani.
published – December 17, 2024 05:43 PM IST
