Iyer Brothers, Ramnath and Gopinath presented a concert at Karthik Fine Arts’ Margazhi Utsav 2024. Photo Courtesy: Srinath M
When two or more veena players come together to perform Kachari, and when they use this arrangement to their advantage, the concert becomes an enjoyable exercise.
The Iyer Brothers – Ramnath Iyer and Gopinath Iyer – excelled in planning and presentation in their recent concert for Karthik Fine Arts. He was accompanied by Chidambaram S on Mridangam. Adambakkam K on Balashankar and Ghatam. It was Shankar.
The brothers started with Pallavi Gopal Iyer’s Thodi Varnam ‘Kanakangi Nee Chellimi’ in Ata Taal. The varnam, which is quite challenging, was played with finesse, with the charanam section taking the tempo up a notch.
Muthuswami Dikshitar’s ‘Mahaganapathim’ is an all-time classic in Nattai and was taken in Mela Kalam with a fascinating Swarakalpana section. The brothers took turns in creating an aesthetically pleasing final Kalpanaswara centered around Panchamam.
R. Pichumani Iyer and Trivandrum R. Due to the patronage of stalwarts like Venkataraman, the brothers have a huge reserve. In his Kannada raga Alapana, one can see his distinctive left hand technique. He played another Dikshit kriti ‘Sri Matribhootam’, a song where the musician meditates on the form of Thayumanavara of Trishiragiri or Tiruchi.
Ramnath Iyer and Gopinath Iyer, Chidambaram S. on Mridangam. Balashankar and Adambakkam on Ghatam. With Shankar. , Photo Courtesy: Srinath M
Before presenting Tyagaraja’s ‘Sogasuga Mridanga’, Gopinath took an alapana of Sriranjani, limiting his presentation to the upper shajam after which Ramnath covered the higher areas. His alapana stood for a few single meitu long phrases spanning from lower sa to upper ri. Next, he played Kalpanaswara in two movements, ending with a note centered on Dhaivatam. The percussionists involved themselves enthusiastically, tracing some of the patterns played by Venika.
As a filler, the popular piece ‘Ganamoorte’ was played. The elaborate accompaniments in ‘Nav Megha Megha’ demonstrated the veena’s ability to enhance the presentation of a composition. The main raga of the evening was Kalyani, where the maturity of the artistes shone through as they presented a free-flowing alapana, which featured some beautiful experimentation through the technique of dragging. His tanam involved working around different octaves with measured precision and ornamentation using jantai notes and fast metas. The composition the pair presented was Tyagaraja’s ‘Ettavunara’.
In the Mysore tradition of veena playing, compositions called ‘Nagma’ were first composed by Veena Venkatagiriyappa. These compositions, which were inspired by Hindustani harmonium renditions, are purely swara-based and focus on one note, around which other melodic explorations are built. The Iyer brothers played a song in the Raga Sindhubhairavi composed by Doreswami Iyengar on the Mysore Veena in Adi Taal. This excerpt indicates how the brothers are constantly expanding their repertoire. The singing concluded with Lalgudi Jayaraman Thilana in Mishra Shivaranjani.
published – January 08, 2025 05:28 PM IST
