JA Jayant and Nandini Shankar’s flute and violin juxtaposition hits all the high notes

JA Jayant (flute) and Nandini Shankar (violin) explored the beauty of ragas in their essays. , Photo Credits: Akhila Easwaran

To enjoy and appreciate the Hindustani-Karnataka Jugalbandi, a Rasika must almost be a part of the individual and integrated styles of both schools. Here, more than the literature or lyrics, what matters is the music, the ragas, the phrases and their inherent charm, the scope for elaboration, creativity and above all, the deep knowledge of the tunes chosen and presented.

Integration provides immense and unlimited scope to the creativity of artists.

Jayjayant (flute) and Nandini Shankar (violin). , Photo Credits: Akhila Easwaran

JA Jayant, who hails from a distinguished musical background, is a renowned world-touring young flautist. Nandini Shankar’s grandmother Rajam is a famous Hindustani violinist. No wonder, Jayant and Nandini compete with each other to showcase their musical knowledge and expertise.

Jugalbandi provided immense scope to both of them to explore the fascinating depths of the chosen ragas. Nandini started with Raga Bhimpalasi, which is the Carnatic equivalent of Abheri. Both the artistes presented soft and gentle notes and phrases of the raga. The pace picked up as he launched into powerful exchanges on chosen bandhis and explored the myriad shades of ragas. He complemented and complemented his presentation by creating an eye-catching picture of Bhimpalasi and Abheri.

The second and main offering was Yaman in Hindustani and Kalyani in Karnataka. Raga provides immense scope for improvisation. The campaign by two talented players was remarkable – the grand finale saw a thunderous applause from the crowd.

Their selective experimentation and fast, slow and intricate sections demonstrated their deep understanding of their respective styles.

Percussionist NC Bhardwaj on Mridangam and Chandrajit on Tabla were the participants in the Sangeet Yatra. He exchanged restrained yet captivating rhythmic patterns during his Taani Avarthanam.

In the concluding part of Jugalbandi, two popular ragas were performed after the bhajans. One, through the popular ‘Raghupathi Raghava Rajaram’ with Raga Mishra Peelu in Hindustani and Kapi in Karnataka, and the other with Purandaradasar’s ‘Tamboori Meetidava’ with Bhairava in Hindustani and Sindhubairavi in ​​Karnataka.