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CHENNAI • January 5, 2024
The beauty of a leisurely pace
Ranjani and Gayatri presented a concert
high on sowkhyam p2
Deepa Venkatraman
T
here are many waiting to
greet and take selfies
with young singer Rahul
Vellal after his concert at
Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha.
Rahul, the prodigy, became famous
after his soulful renditions in
Carnatic musician and composer
Kuldeep Pai’s YouTube production
‘Vande guru paramparaam’. “I feel
very happy for all the love and
e1402090
support,” says Rahul, who hails
from a non­music family. “My
parents are ardent music lovers and
listened to various genres of music
when I was a toddler. Seeing my
ability to identify tunes, they
wanted to enrol me in a music
class. Thus began the search for a
guru.” Rahul initially learnt from
Suchethan Rangaswamy and later
from Kalavathy Avadhoot. He now
learns from Ranjani and Gayatri.
The other challenge he faced
was getting a proper feedback. “I
used to participate in several music
competitions since the age of four.
As my parents have not learnt
music, the feedback from the
judges mattered a lot.”
Sooryagayathri too shot to fame
after her rendition of the
‘Hanuman Chalisa’ for mentor
Kuldeep Pai went viral. “I started
getting opportunities to perform in
temples. The overwhelming
response after every kutcheri
motivates me,” says
Sooryagayathri, who grew up
listening to her mridangist­father
P.V. Anil Kumar, who is an A grade
artiste at AIR Calicut.
Belonging to a musical family
has stood youngsters like
10­year­old Soorya Narayanan in
good stead. He is said to have had
sruti­suddham even at age two. “I
was always surrounded by music
since my father would sing, my
mother would play the veena and
my brother, the mridangam,” says
Soorya, who had his initial
training under his father. He
now learns from Neyveli
Santhanagopalan.
Similarly, 15­year­old
violinist Sivateja
Mallajosyula could
recognise ragas at the age of
two. He is the son of
vocalists and violin artistes
CULTUREBRIEFS
쑽
From the shadows
The Chennai chapter of INTACH (Indian National
Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) presents a
shadow puppetry show by Muthuchandran Rao
and group. It will be held on January 10 from 6
p.m. to 7 p.m. at Alliance Francaise, College
Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai.
A sixth­generation shadow puppeteer,
Muthuchandran hails from Thirumalapuram
village near Nagercoil in Kanyakumari district.
Learning from his father, Muthuchandran has
managed to keep the art of tholpavai koothu
alive. An expert on the epics, he can speak in
over 20 voices and uses his art to reach out to the
masses with messages on health and social
welfare. At the Chennai event, he will present
Sundara Kandam from the Ramayana.
CM
YK
A space of its own
Dance for Dance festival is a celebration of
myriad styles and expressions p4
Youngsters who found success
riding the social media wave make
a mark on the kutcheri circuit
Here comes
Gen Z
Pavani and Srikanth Mallajosyula. Seventeen­year­old vainika
Observing his inclination towards Charulatha Chandrasekar, the
music and the mridangam, his granddaughter of veena vidushi
grand­aunt, violin vidushi A. and scholar R.S. Jayalakshmi, is
Kanyakumari suggested he start ready to handle comparisons with
formal training at the age of five her grandmother. “While others
with mridangam vidwan Patri came to paati only twice a week for
Satish Kumar. “My parents also classes, I had a stricter regimen. I
started teaching me the violin did not enjoy this as a child, but
when I showed interest in it,” says now I see the benefit,” she says.
Sivateja, whose family has shifted Mandolin artiste Vishwas Hari,
base from the U.S. to Chennai to who has been undergoing training
help him pursue music. under gottuvadyam exponent
“Although I am her Allam Durgaprasad, recalls his
grandnephew and have been mother, who has learnt the violin,
learning from her since 2016, my taking him to kutcheris and
guru Kanyakumari ma gave me a enrolling him in keyboard class
chance to perform only last year in
the Army Amrit Mahotsav at Ooty
when she felt I was good enough,”
he says.
Dance festivals
The Music Academy’s dance festival will be held till
January 9. Senior and junior dancers belonging to
different styles will perform. Today's performances will
be by Kali Veerapathiran (9.30 a.m.); Dakshina
Vaidyanathan Baghel (11 a.m.); Sreelakshmy
Govardhanan (12.30 p.m.); Narthaki Natraj (6 p.m.); and
Mohiniyattam by Methil Devika (7.45 p.m.). Bhavan’s
Natyotsav is on till January 15 at Bharatiya
Vidya Bhavan, Mylapore. Today's
schedule includes Savitha Mishra
(Odissi, 4 p.m.); Bhavya Kumaran (5
p.m.); Devaniya School of the Dakshin
Gharana (Kathak, 6 p.m.) and Bala Devi
Chandrasekhar (7.30 p.m.). Brahma
Gana Sabha's dance festival is on till
January 25 and is being held at TAG
P.S. Dakshinamoorthy auditorium.
Today's performances are by
Swathi Jaishankar (5 p.m.);
Prarthana Prashant (6.15 p.m.)
and Shobana Balchandra (7.30
p.m.). Bharat Kalachar will
also play host to dance recitals.
Today: Bharatanatyam by
Udikshana Sangeeta Vidyalaya
(5.30 p.m.) and 'Om Sharvana
Bhava' by students of Padmini
Krishnamurthy (7.15 p.m.).
A UNIQUE
INTERPRETATION
OF THE RAMAYANA
Anita Ratnam traverses
eras with ease to come up
with a socio­political
narrative p5
when I was in Class IX. When there
are exams in school, I would
reduce the number of concerts,”
says Spoorthi.
These artistes also get the
privilege of sharing the stage with
senior artistes. Vishwas, who is a
Grade B artiste at AIR, Chennai, has
accompanied Sikkil Gurucharan,
Abhishek Raghuram, and Sriranjani
Santhanagopalan. “They all make
us feel comfortable. The best part is
that we learn a lot from their
feedback,” he says.
e1402090
Spoorthi echoes a similar view.
“During my tour of the U.S.,
mridangam vidwan K.V. Prasad
accompanied me. He shared his
expertise and also inspiring
anecdotes about legends such as
when he started playing rhymes on homework. I study at the airport, M.S. Subbulakshmi, Mandolin
it. The shift to mandolin happened during a flight, and in the train.” Shrinivas and Balamuralikrishna.”
because she was a fan of Mandolin Has this hectic schedule come in Thanks to social media, these
Srinivas. Finding a guru was the way of leading a normal budding stars also have a huge
challenging till they finally got in childhood? “When I am not online presence. While Rahul and
touch with R. Balakrishna. travelling, I play cricket and Soorya Narayanan’s parents
How do these young artistes football with friends. I miss family manage their social media pages,
juggle academics and music? vacations though,” says Soorya Sooryagayathri’s YouTube channel
Rahul, who was the school topper Naryanan. and pages are taken care of by her
in his Class X exams, says he has Spoorthi Rao, former winner of manager. The others handle their
managed to strike a balance Airtel Super Singer ( Junior) reality pages themselves. Spoorthi has
between the two. This balancing show, topped her school in the over 215K followers on Facebook.
game has been the biggest Class 10 board exam two years ago. When he was a toddler, Sivateja’s
challenge for Soorya Narayanan, After winning the show, ragam recognition video went viral.
who is also learning the veena from Bengaluru­based Spoorthi, who Making the best use of technology,
B. Srinivasan. Soorya, who has began learning from her mother at he recently recorded and edited the
performed over 40 concerts in age four, shifted to Chennai to train popular song ‘Mahaganapatim’,
2023, says: “My school supports my under Ranjani and Gayatri. simultaneously singing, and playing
music and allows me to take leave “I started performing concerts the kanjira, mridangam and the
for concerts as long as I submit the violin.
Rahul, Sooryagayathri and
Soorya Narayanan owe it to
Kuldeep Pai for their online
popularity. Vishwas and Charulatha
featured in one of IndianRaga’s
online productions also received
good response.
These youngters, who have
already won several awards,
enjoy the reach of the virtual
platform, but their heart lies
in live performances.
“Nothing can replace the
timeless appeal of personal
interaction in arts,” says
Spoorthi.
X
The new brigade (From left)
Charulatha Chandrasekar,
Soorya Narayanan, Vishwas
Hari, Rahul Vellal, Spoorthi Rao
and Sivateja Mallajosyula. (Top)
Sooryagayathri. PHOTOS: R. RAGU &
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Margazhi music contest
The fourth edition of The
Hindu’s Margazhi Music
Contest, open for
classical vocalists,
instrumentalists and
percussionists, invites
video entries, not
exceeding five minutes.
The contest will be held
in the Carnatic vocal,
Centenary special Hindustani vocal and
instrumental categories
Hamsadhwani and RRC Birth Centenary Committee and is spread across
present a special event today, 5.45 p.m., at Narada different age groups – for
Gana Sabha. On the occasion, Nirmala Lakshman, children below 12 years,
Chairperson, The Hindu Group, will pay tributes to R. juniors between 13 and 19
Ramachandran. Carnatic vocalist Sudha Ragunathan years, and seniors (20­40
will make a presentation of contributions to artistes’ years). The entries must
welfare associations such as GCMA, ABHAI and Drama carry details such as
Producers Association. At 6.40 p.m. the Tamil play names of the
Bharathi Yaar? with Isaikavi Ramanan as Bharatiyar compositions, composers, raga and tala.
and directed by SBS Raman will be staged. On January And in case of receiving more than one entry
6 Sivasri Skandaprasad and team will perform at 5 p.m. from a participant, the first one will be considered
and Kalakshetra’s ‘Paduka Pattabishekam’ will be for the contest. Videos can be uploaded on
staged at 6.35 p.m. Dancer­scholar Padma https://newsth.live/
Subrahmanyam will be the chief guest and Nalli MarghazhiMusicContest or
Kuppuswamy Chetty, N. Ravi, and R.K. Raghavan will by scanning the QR code. Last date is
grace the occasion. January 13, 2024.
A CH-CHE
 2 Friday, January 5, 2024
Singing gently into the evening
e1402090
Bala Shankar
n all artistic forms, it is
I harder to stay at the top
than to reach there.
Ranjani and Gayatri, by
some distance, have been
among the top for a decade
now. And, they continue to
strive to up their appeal and
relentlessly carry on their
classical exploration. Their
concert had some vibrant and
scholarly elements. A subtle
change that one noticed was
the retrofitting of leisure and
tempering of whirlwind
singing — like mature fast
Y
Confident
Trivandrum N.
J. Nandini.
PHOTO: K.
PICHUMANI
Music and
management
A well­planned concert is half
Sreevalsan Thiyyadi
he Trichur Brothers
T employed three
prudent ideas that
added to the experiential
value of their concert,
endearing the audience even
more towards the last lap of
the 140 minutes. A bhajan
Srikrishna and his younger
sibling Ramkumar delivered
after the main suite featured
introductory sketches with
just the notes of Bihag, which
the listeners intoned back on
a warm call from the singers.
More impressively, the duo
earlier came up with a
detailed niraval along the
centrepiece, and set the stage
for the tani avartanam. Their
skill in the swaraprastara was
anyway made clear in the
preceding sub­main package,
CM
YK
bowlers, they have cut the
pace and focussed on the skill
and brought in variations in
delivery. This made for much
better listening.
‘Ekadantam bhajeham’
(Bilahari, Dikshitar) was the
first evidence of that slight
kalapramana adjustment. It
was enjoyable, with just a
teaser quota of swaras.
Pantuvarali raga got a good lift
with many sensitive phrases
from Ranjani, especially from
the liberal use of Panchama
varjam that gave a Hindustani
feel.
The sisters’ repertoire is a
vast range of interesting and
the battle won
Interactive notes
Trichur Brothers — Srikrishna and
Ramkumar packed their participatory
concert with prudent ideas
polished compositions. A
novelty in this concert was a
Thiruvarutpa of Ramalinga
Adigalar, set to music by their
guru, P. S. Narayanaswamy, in
Adi, tisra nadai (perhaps
thoughtfully done to reflect the
opening word, ‘panniru’). The
lyrics, ‘Panniru kan malar
malarntha kadale’ are
pregnant with poetic charm
and meaning and the tala
structure allowed for a patient
rendition that enhanced the
enjoyment, topped with the
niraval at ‘Enniru kan maniye’.
PSN’s laya­laced chittaswara
added further elegance to the
composition.
N.C. Srinivasaraghavan
rivandrum N.J.
T Nandini presented a
well­planned
two­hour recital. A pleasing
voice coupled with a
penchant for song selection
helped her in taking charge
of the concert confidently.
Beginning with Ambujam
Krishna’s ‘Iniyaagilum ninai’
in Purvikalyani, Nandini
consistently demonstrated
clarity in sangatis in all the
pieces she performed. A raga
alapana in Hindolam
characterised by vibrant
phrases helped her
demonstrate her vocal range
and capability to produce
imaginative manodharma
sections. Even her selection
of phrase for swarakalpana in
Tyagaraja’s
‘Samajavaragamana’ proved
to be engaging – she centred
her swaras on the phrase
‘Murali vaadana’ in the
charanam landing the final
swara with a neat kanakku.
Nandini presented some
lesser­heard Swati Tirunal
kritis — ‘Gangeya
vasanadhara’ in Hamirkalyani
and ‘Satatam tavaka’ in
Karaharapriya. While the
former was rendered in
chowka kalam, the latter was
prefaced by a wholesome
A bright ‘Kandu kandu’ in
Kamboji (Purandaradasa) was
sweetly rendered with soft
handling of the sangathis. Even
the hustler piece,
‘Vijayambike’ (Vijayanagari) of
Muthiah Bhagavathar did not
unnecessarily whip up frenzy.
So, the recalibration of tempo
was intentional.
A classic alapana of Bhairavi
by both the vocalists and the
violinist created a sombre
THE MUSIC
ACADEMY
alapana. It is good that the
artiste chose to explore these
Swati Tirunal kritis that have
immense musical and lyrical
value and add variety to a
kutcheri. Nandini’s niraval
was at ‘mama hridi
vasanisham madhusudanam
shaure’ in the charanam. The
structuring of this niraval was
intelligently done following a
free­flowing approach that
helped listeners grasp the
bhava of the phrase.
Nandini chose raga
Bilahari for ragam tanam
pallavi. While one felt that
she could have spent some
more time on the raga
alapana, her systematic
graded tanam made up for it.
The RTP set in Khanda Ekam
ended with ragamalika
swaras in ragas such as
Ranjani and Manavati.
Nandini’s co­artistes were
Sriram Sridhar on the violin,
Kishore Ramesh on the
mridangam and Karthik
Krishnaswamy on the
ghatam. While Sriram
sometimes found it hard to
catch up with Nandini, he
rose to the occasion during
the RTP. A more confident
approach to playing would
help him in the future.
Kishore and Karthik provided
good support and enhanced
the presentation with their
contributions.
which skipped the niraval
altogether. This
three­pronged strategy, so to
speak, had an uncluttering
effect. Not to forget the
refreshing assistance from
teenaged violinist V.S.P.
Gayathri Sivani. The siblings’
father, Trichur R. Mohan,
supplemented on the
mridangam with a subdued
approach, as did Nerkunam S.
Sankar on the kanjira.
Together, the five converged
best in ‘Sujana jeevana’
(Khamas, Tyagaraja) just
ahead of the focal
ragam­tanam­keertanam in
Hemavathi. It was an hour’s
package.
The alapana took no time
in revealing the identity of
the melody, 58th in the
Melakarta system. Starting
with Srikrishna’s emphasis on
rounded oscillations, the
brothers built it up through
Ranjani and Gayatri
stitched in a better balance
to their trademark tempo
X
High on sowkhyam Ranjani and
Gayatri with Manoj Siva (mridangam),
Chandrasekhara Sarma (ghatam) and
M. Rajeev (violin).
PHOTO: M. SRINATH
mood in the middle of the
concert. The gait of ‘Thanayuni
brova’ (Tyagaraja) added to the
aesthetic strips as the kriti
blossomed with pleasing
swaras at ‘vatsamu’. The RTP in
Nalinakanti packed in a
beautifully rendered tanam, an
artistic pallavi in Adi with
tisram on the thattu (trimukhi)
and a colossal multi­raga swara
by Gayatri, anchoring on scale
shifts. The rapid rendition is a
challenge well accepted. As the
raga flip­flops are quick, they
do not give enough time or
scope to display the
characteristic phrases of the
alternate ragas, though. This
Crisp essays
An interestingly­structured RTP made all the difference
X the line ‘Tambura jekoni
Thoughtful Amritha Murali with R.K. Shriramkumar (violin)
and H. Prasanna (ghatam). PHOTO M. SRINATH
G. Swaminathan
mritha Murali has carved
A a niche in the way she
designs her concerts that
brim with profound musical
wisdom.
The highlight of Amritha’s
concert was her creative multi
ragam­pallavi. Amritha had
chosen three ragas — Kannada,
Gowla and Kannada Gowla, in
that order. She presented crisp
essays of each, and sang the
tanam in that order too. The
pallavi ‘Kannada salupataguna
sarvesha gowlanga gowrisha
paremesha Kannada gowladi
desha mahesha’ was set to
Khandajati Triputa tala, khanda
long rallies in the middle and
upper registers. The pace
increased, but never sounded
animated. Gayathri brought
out the essence of Hemavathi
in her solo response of five
minutes, which was only
one­third of the vocalists’
alapana span.
The tanam opened to short
phrases and proceeded to a
phase where both vocalists
sang together. This, however
brief, was somewhat
cacophonic. The grand
winding­up arcs weren’t
attempted. ‘Shri kantimatim’
was a bit brisk for its slot, yet
neatly delivered. The
Dikshitar kriti took a grand
pause at ‘Shukashounakadi’,
churning up a reposeful
niraval.
Into the tani avartanam,
Srikrishna prompted the
gathering to join in by
tapping for the two­kalai Adi
embellishment is now part of
the sisters’ template.
One more laudable feature
in the concert is the respect
and space given to co­artistes,
who are not yet in the same
‘superstar’ category but are
competent on their own. M.
Rajeev’s maturity was palpable
in all raga alapana segments,
especially in Nalinakanti.
Manoj Siva played a
complementary role, as he
always does. The tani with
Chandrasekara Sharma
(ghatam) was bright and
skillful, without being
overwhelming. A virutham in
Mohanam was followed by the
nadai. The swara segment was
packed with ragamalika swaras
apart from the main three ragas —
Sri, Ranjani, Sriranjani, Kapi,
Narayani and Kapi Narayani. R.K
Shriramkumar added more pep
by bringing in Kuntala, Varali and
Kuntalavarali. It was, indeed, a
complex and cerebral exercise.
Amritha started her concert
with ‘Swaminatha paripalaya’ in
Nattai adding a few strands of
swaras on the pallavi. She chose
to follow it up with Tyagaraja’s
‘Entaninne’ in Mukhari adding
niraval at ‘Kanulara sevinchi’. The
refreshing Lalitha raga essay was
appended with ‘Nannu brovu
lalitha’ (Syama Sastri). She added
a swara section on ‘Uma sri
meenakshi’.
tala. Mohan and Sankar
explored a bit of the
tisra­nadai prospects in the
16­beat cycle before
co­travelling from their
meeting point.
The charm of the Carnatic
swara patterns was unveiled
around the first­half piece in
Varali. Stringing together
korvais and culminating in a
BHARATIYA
VIDYA BHAVAN
pleasing kanakku, the notes
came as a beautiful
ornamentation to ‘Ka va va’.
Interspersing glides with
frills, the kriti was rendered
closer to the Semmangudi
style — the brothers have had
their chief mentor in late P.S.
Narayanaswamy, who learned
THE HINDU
Chennai
e1402090
Papanasam Sivan kriti,
‘Nambikketavar evarayya’ in
Hindolam. Despite the clock
ticking away, an abhang could
not stay unrendered in their
concert!
Ranjani and Gayatri are not
just setting and maintaining
new standards, but seem to
have stitched in a better
balance to the tempo that
captures the musical nuances
more profoundly. That
progression is welcome and
perhaps the gauntlet is thrown
down for other seniors to think
about encompassing a
conscious ‘sowkhyam’
constituent.
The sobriety set in again with
Yamuna Kalyani, the composition
being ‘Maduradeeswarim’ in
Sowkya kalam.
The brisk ‘Nenarunchi naanu’
in Malavi (Tyagaraja) prefaced a
detailed Thodi. Tyagaraja’s
‘Kolvuvamare gada’ was an apt
choice. The niraval centred on
gunamula jeluvonda badagu’. It
was followed by an engaging
swara section.
An erudite scholar,
Shriramkumar’s support and
guidance always add value to a
concert. His contributions in raga
essays, swara sections, and
especially in the RTP were quite
significant. The Yamuna Kalyani
composition on Meenakshi and
the pallavi were his creations.
The concert concluded with
Ramalinga Swami’s ‘Sharana
patthu’ in ragamalika format
covering Yamuna Kalyani,
Pantuvarali, Dwajavanti, and
Sindhubhairavi (set to tune by
Shriramkumar).
Apart from an exciting tani, B.
Sivaraman on the mridangam
and H. Prasanna on the ghatam
extended meaningful support.
from Srinivasa Iyer. This song
was preceded by another
from Papanasam Sivan:
‘Maaramanan’ in Hindolam.
The concert began with the
‘Chalamela’ varnam in
Sankarabharanam. The short
alapana was plain, suiting the
aesthetics of Swati Tirunal’s
Ata­tala composition that has
a penchant for sounding
western in parts. As if with a
cascading effect, the
subsequent Nattai bore a
slant towards the Hindustani
Jog. ‘Sivatraya
mahaganapatim’ gave way to
kalpanaswara, giving the
violinist her first chance to be
noticed.
The post­tani section
featured ‘Narayana te’ and
‘Harivarasanam’. The latter in
Madhyamavati was an apt
swansong, also because it was
the Mandalam pilgrimage
time at Sabarimala.
A CH-CHE
 Friday, January 5, 2024
THE HINDU
3
Chennai

KARTIK FINE ARTS

Sundareshwara for the chalatha ramachandra’ in

first time it was a
Y defining
Eloquent moment; the
Anwesha dancer held
Das. PHOTO: her gaze for long, slowly
M. SRINATH dropping her arms and
finally her gaze shyly to
realise the third breast has
disappeared. The subtlety
she has developed was
showcased in the Kapi
javali
‘Sarasamuladetanduku’
(Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar)
when she plays a sweeya
nayika dealing with an
impatient husband. She is
nervous of being seen by
Misra Khamaj may have
been close to the daru
theoretically but was
handled differently in
musical terms by Binu
Venugopal (vocal), with
the help of Ishwar
Ramakrishnan (violin) and
Muthukumar (flute).
Urmila (nattuvangam)
guided the musicians and
dancer with skill, along
with Nagai Sriram
(mridangam), who kept
her company in the
rhythmic finishes. The
team went back to the
theme of Narasimha and

Best foot her family and is yet

flattered by his attention.
She agrees on a time, gives
closed with an animated
Annamacharya kriti in
Atana, Adi ‘Kadiri

forward
him a peck and runs away
with a glint in her eye —
the scene said it all.
Tulasidas’ ‘Tumaka
nrsmhudu’ on the story of
Prahlada and Narasimha
and a Narasimha
mangalam.

Anwesha Das impressed

with her mature and
e1402090

e1402090
imaginative approach
effortlessly as the
Rupa Srikanth choreography went
through a series of
nwesha Das, a slower and faster tala

A disciple of
Urmila
Sathyanarayanan, is
cycles.
The melodious
Khamas Daru varnam by
graceful, expressive and Harikesanallur Muthiah
hardworking. So how Bhagavatar dedicated to
does a good student Devi in Kannada, which
improve? Once the lasted more than 30
basics are covered, a minutes, had some
dancer’s maturity comes taxing parts with the
into play. This happens fast­paced tisra jathi, the
with time and Chamundeshwari
experience and a episode, the mukthayi
continued engagement swara, and sahitya. The
with the art form. pace appeared good but
In the opening had a fallout in
Narasimha Misra incomplete finishes.
alarippu from ‘Yadagiri Anwesha can improve
Narasimha on her groundedness, if
Suprabhatham’, one she can be lighter on her
could recognise the feet. However, her
dancer’s progress — she energy level sustained all
is maturing in her bhava. through.
She kept rhythm When Meenakshi sees

CM A CH-CHE
YK
 4 Friday, January 5, 2024
THE HINDU
Chennai

Lakshmi Sreeram

oes dance, more than

Creative X
Accent on bhakti (Left) Aditi
Mangaldas. (Below) Lakshmi

D triggers
any other performing
art, offer us the
alaukika experience
that Abhinavagupta wrote about?
Welcoming the audience at
Kalavaahini’s Dance for Dance
festival, Malavika Sarukkai spoke
about the mismatch between the
“staggering beauty” that dance
brings to us and the rewards of
those who take to the path of
dance. Kalavaahini, she said,
seeks to foster an environment
where artistes get opportunities
and are paid professionally for the
conception, choreography, and
execution of new dance
productions. There is much to be
said for a professional dancer of
her repute to invest in such
“giving back” to dance.
Classical dance is stylised
movement conceptualised and
nurtured with music and
presented with the dramatic
impact of that music, costume,
and lights. All traditional art forms
offer an enabling structure – both
for conceiving and creating works
and for connecting with an
audience. So, when a
e1402090
Parthasarathy Athreya.
PHOTOS: R. RAVINDRAN
be resolved and experienced as
befitting.
This piece was preceded by a
performance of Swati Tirunal’s
The Dance for Dance festival Chaturraga varnam and followed
by an ode to Ganga — a lament at
showed how artistes constantly contemporary insensitivities to
our water bodies and
look for new ideas and environment. Music for the latter
was set appropriately in
inspirations Amrithavarshini by Rajkumar
Bharathi.
The overall theme of
‘Prabodhan’, or awakening, was
thus conceptualised and explored
through the three pieces.
Lakshmi’s performance carried
much impact also due to the
excellent team of supporting
artistes that included Vidya
Ravindranathan (nattuvangam),
Murali Parthasarathy (vocal),
Shaktivel Muruganandam
(mridangam), T.V. Sukanya (violin)
and C.P. Satyajit (lights).
As an observer of the changing
climate and fashions in
Bharatanatyam, one certainly
Classicism,
his hallmark
O.S. Thiagarajan, who passed away recently,
was known for his awe­inspiring fidelity to
sruti and modulation of the voice
Lakshmi Anand
hen I started lessons
W with O.S. Thiagarajan
(OST), I was a young
child, completely unaware of his
musical skills or pedigree. The
first piece he taught was
Muthuswami Dikshitar’s ‘Maha
Ganapate’ in Natanarayani — he
was kind and patient. He would
come by bus to our house in
Besant Nagar directly from a full
day’s work at Shalimar Paints,
before heading back to
Kodambakkam. He was peaking
in his career then and extremely X
popular, receiving awards from

Bharatanatyam dancer erupts into
a bright jathi after emoting the
nayika’s lovelorn state, the
audience is not bewildered. That
is the form – we know it and
accept it.
Creating a new production
within the bounds of such a
tradition is always going to be a
challenge. What newness can be
brought in? Often, it is the
possibilities presented by a
hitherto unused literary source.
And so dancers look for new
poetic works and new music for
content and inspiration.
Both presentations on day one
of the Dance for Dance festival
breathed and celebrated Bhakti,
drawing upon the vast bhakti
literature, both old and new.
With undiminished brilliance
and virtuosity in the decades of
her dancing career, Aditi
Mangaldas presented a whirlwind
of electrifying choreography
executed with stunning power
and precision. Excerpts from her
production ‘Immersed’ had her
exploring the abstractness amidst
the lore of Krishna – “Who are
you, Krishna? Are you Giridhar?
Or Yashodanandan? Or Gopinath
or Jagannath? ‘Jit dekhoon titha
Krishna’– wherever I look, I see
Krishna.
Aditi wove her dance around
poems by Bharatendu
Harishchandra and Cheetswami in
Hindi set in ragas like Jhinjhoti,
and Kafi by Shubha Mudgal and
Aneesh Pradhan. The tatkaar was
repurposed to an exquisite
moment to suggest Krishna in the
breath and as breath ­ long, short,
sharp, soft, always yearning. The
all­pervading mystical presence of
the divine in the midst of the
reality of an absence, evoking
playful love, sensuous love,
surrender and quiet – all came
together in a wondrous tapestry of
movement. Her costumes were as
aesthetic as they were beguiling
for the quick changes.
KARTIK FINE ARTS
Music support came through
very well. The Jhinjhoti and the
Kafi renderings of the poetry by
Faraz Ahmed were a treat. Tabla
(Mohit Gangani) and Pakhawaj
(Ashish Gangani) subserved well
the needs of the dance even if the
tabla was a trifle loud, with an
edgy sharpness. The team,
including Ravinder Rajput on the
flute and Govind Singh Yadav on
lighting design, enabled the
profound experience that dance
can offer us.
Lakshmi Parthasarathy Athreya
has a lovely and winning stage
presence topped with grace and
sound footwork. She premiered
‘The dot that moved’ which used
the Shiva Tandava stotram. The
innovative narration depicted
Ravana lost in a dense forest;
he bursts into rapture upon
discovering that he was lost
in the tresses of Lord
Shiva.
Alternating between
song and recitation,
Lakshmi danced with
abandon. The vachika
included unusual elements
such as whistling and
Lakshmi’s own voice. A
sudden scream erupted from
the stage when Lakshmi
depicted Ravana’s hand being
crushed by Shiva with the very
same Kailasha mountain that he
arrogantly tried to lift. Extending
the scope of various elements of a
performance is to be welcomed
but is risky. The whistling and the
yelling were somewhat disruptive
as attention was diverted towards
discovering where they were
coming from. The significance of
the title, too, did not come across
through the dance. As a dancer
tries to push boundaries such
moments of bewilderment are
inevitable, but ideally, they should
misses the jathis of a decade or
two ago. Today’s jathis are less
formidable in terms of physical
challenges and complexity of
patterns but score on flow and
flowery accessibility.
Other thoughts were triggered
by Lakshmi’s surprising inclusion
of the dhrupad composition 'Shiva
Shiva Shiva' in raag Adana to
depict Ravana’s adbhuta at the
Tandava — another testament to
the South being more receptive of
the North. On the other hand, one
acknowledged with some sadness
that when Aditi danced of the
all­consuming presence of
Krishna, there was very little
likelihood that she might
reference Bharati’s 'Kakkai
chiraginile nandalala', which too
speaks of Krishna everywhere.
“Your dark hue is what I see in the
crow’s feather and the green of
the trees; every sound is the
sound of your flute; the scorch of
the flame is your love.” Cultural
integration continues to be
one­sided.
Dance for Dance is important
for its agenda and the
professionalism with which it is
mounted. Perhaps, the organisers
should address audience
members walking in and looking
for seats in the front rows as the
dancer is trying to create magic
on the stage. Surely, the
courtesy of waiting for
a piece to end is not
too much to expect.
And, it is generally a
good idea to present a more
seasoned artiste later. When
Lakshmi came on stage, she had
the unfair and formidable task of
matching up to the much more
senior dancer’s energy and
experience. That she still
acquitted herself creditably is
another matter.
The writer is a faculty member
at Ahmedabad University.
e1402090
O.S. Thiagarajan.
various sabhas. PHOTO: LAKSHMI NARAYANAN
O.S. Thiagarajan made
everything he sang seem a even the hint of a tremor – the
cakewalk that I was convinced the transition following it would be the
artform itself was an easy one! I silkiest and gentlest glide.
remember one concert where he Absolutely routine for him and
sang Narayana Tirtha’s ‘Govinda executed with consummate ease,
gataya’ in Bhairavi and ‘Sama it unfailingly excited audiences.
gana priyakaram’, a Swami OST modulated his voice
Surajananda piece in Kiravani. I enviably, neither shouting nor
requested him to teach me both crooning. He could render any
the pieces. Years later, I realised briga or gamakam with the same
that he could have easily (and felicity as a long stationary note,
very rightfully) said that I was not both combined in perfect balance.
ready for a more complex raga His kriti rendition followed the
such as Bhairavi – I had barely Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer style
learned some 10 kritis then. He for the most part, but the ease
taught any piece I ever requested with which he sang was
unhesitatingly including in Varali reminiscent of K.V.
(his ‘Kaa va va’ made this raga a Narayanaswamy. The most senior
lifetime firm favourite), which, and storied violinists and
traditionally, was not taught. It percussionists accompanied him
was only during but he was also
practice sessions that extremely encouraging
I realised what an He had a fondness of juniors. Several
enviable corpus of for Telugu and youngsters listed him as
pieces he had Tyagaraja kritis in a senior musician they
imparted – many had played for, and he
particular –
were magnum opuses was a sought­after
and/or in performing many vocalist for
nuanced/rare ragas concerts of only arangetrams.
such as Yadukula Tyagaraja He was articulate in
Kamboji, Urmika, compositions English and it was an
Madhyamaravali and absolute pleasure to
Kedaram. He never told they were hear his excellent Tamizh. He had
tricky ragas. Neither did he say a fondness for Telugu and for
that Kiravani and Gowrimanohari Tyagaraja kritis in particular –
or Devagandhari and Arabhi or performing many concerts of only
Purnachandrika and Janaranjani Tyagaraja kritis, later in his career.
or Surati and Kedaragowlai were His three daughters, Archana,
closely allied, though he taught Aparna and Bhavani were
compositions in all these ragas. musically talented, but he never
Instead, he taught it like any other used his stature to promote them.
piece – the raga swaroopa was Once he taught me a simple
thus automatically maintained. piece, saying he learned it from a
O.S. Thiagarajan’s fidelity to seven­year­old who sang it at his
sruti was awe­inspiring – veteran home the previous evening, telling
violinist TKV Ramanujacharlu, me that one should learn good
with 40 years of association, says, things from everyone regardless of
“He had a sruti suddhamaana age. He lived simply and took joy
tambura inside his voice.” I have in the small pleasures of life –
heard him hold notes at all sthayis enjoying chinna vengaya sambar
for 1.5 to 2 avartanams of 2 kalai and potato roast and remembering
Adi tala numerous times, without the smallest things about people.

Steeped in bhava
continued with the alapana of
Surutti, transitioning to Desh,
with pleasant interludes on the
violin. A standout moment
emerged with the mel kala tanam
Saketharaman’s rendition brought out the essence of the lyrics in Desh, while the dwi raga
pallavi unfolded in Khanda
Triputa — 'Mohamagudhe shyama
sundara! Un suruttiya kuzhal
Revathi R. kandu', alternating between the
two ragas in the lyrics and
aketharaman began his swaras. The Ragamalika section

S concert with the Kalyani

raga composition
‘Vasudevayani’ by Tyagaraja. He
went straight to the heart of the
song, which sparkled with
percussion brilliance when the
vocalist rendered the line ‘Raga
tala' in charanam and at the
fast­paced kalpanaswaras.
Transitioning from Dhanyasi,
the singing of Papanasam Sivan’s
‘Balakrishnan padamalar’
conveyed the beauty of the word
'thavazhum' (crawl). He skillfully
picked up the madhyamakala
charanam line, ‘Mazhai tadukka',
and returning to the pallavi drew
a colourful portrait around
‘Balakrishnan.’
Lathangi raga set the stage for
Tyagaraja's ‘Apàradhamulanniyu’,
marked by niraval at
'Krupajesina.' Despite a sore
throat affecting his briga­singing,
there was no let­up in bhava. The
Mukhari raga alapana showcased
commendable rakti pidis, and the
subsequent 'Entani ne
varninthunu shabari bhagyam', a
CM
YK
SRI THYAGA BRAHMA
Tyagaraja composition, extolled
Sabari’s fortune in being able to
serve Rama.
What followed was an
energetic Hindolam that began
featuring Sama, Darbari Kanada
and Sindhu Bhairavi offered a
rich musical tapestry.
The tani avarthanam had
Neyveli Narayanan displaying his
prowess, particularly his
single­handed technique and
adept use of left­handed gumkis.
Guruprasanna on the kanjira
matched this vigour, and gave a
X peek into his remarkable rhythm
Saketharaman. grammar.
PHOTO: R. Post­tani, a brisk rendition of
RAVINDRAN 'Kannanai kanbadeppo,'
popularised by G.N.
Balasubramanian, kept up the
tempo. Gopalakrishna Bharathi's
'Ayye metthha kadinam' in
Punnagavarali was replete with
emotions.
GANA SABHA The concert included many
more songs such as ‘Muddugare
Yashoda' in Kurinji
(Annamacharya), 'Akka kelavva',
with 'Ambuli gangai anindha,' at a vachana of Akka Mahadevi, in
the anupallavi lines of 'Nambi Pahadi raga, and Oothukkadu
kettavar evarayya' by Papanasam Venkatakavi's timeless ‘Aadathu
Sivan. asangadhu vaa Kanna' in
The melodic journey Madhyamavati.
A CH-CHE
 Friday, January 5, 2024
THE HINDU
Chennai
Stirring new-age
narrative
e1402090
‘A Million Sitas’ created a connect between the
epic and women from across the globe
Hema Iyer Ramani
T
here is a sense of
appealing
timelessness
about epics,
particularly the Ramayana.
As part of the Kutty
Kutchery series, Rasoham
and Arangam Trust
presented ‘A million Sitas’ at
the Narthaki studio. The
expanse of the lawn became
the stage and the garden
also lent itself beautifully to
become the entry and exit
points, as also to become
the extended “different
scene/ different location”
metaphor.
That Anita Ratnam was at
home sank in deeply — for
CM
YK
X exposure. And Anita has
Beyond the text Anita
Ratnam and Uma
Satyanarayana.
PHOTO: PARALLAX PICTURES
three decades and three
years, I have watched her in
various avatars, and in this
performance, she brought
together all her life
experiences. As she
symbolically filled the
cauldron of Sita, I felt an
overwhelming sense of
being that woman from the
audience who was once
called Sita.
Uma Satyanarayana as
the younger woman added
layers to the pace set by
Anita, and as she acted and
sang, there was the gap they
bridged in their
understanding of women.
As someone passionate
about theatre, I feel emotion
and dialogue delivery are
important. What appealed
SRI KRISHNA
GANA SABHA
the most in ‘A Million Sitas’,
which was staged in a longer
version at Sri Krishna Gana
Sabha, was the absence of
the cultivated accent, and
what caught one’s attention
was the manner in which
the two artistes got under
the skin of the characters
and the easy camaraderie
they shared on stage.
Many of us would have
watched this production
before, yet it retains its
appeal because the
performance represents the
fact that Sita herself
continues to evolve — from
child bride, princess, hermit
and a woman abducted to
being a woman deserted
and a single mother.
The interweaving was
complete at various levels —
the stage itself was the finest
representation of the
Outside and the Inside
(especially when performed
at the studio space). And,
this played out in the
characters as they
internalised and then
expressed externally.
Even though
participatory theatre would
involve direct dialogues
from the audience, this too
felt participatory because
there were many unspoken
questions, comments and
dialogues from the
audience. This was a fine
example of contemporary
theatre from the point of
view of dialogues, props,
costumes, stage and the
narrative.
Travelling internally and
externally are crucial for
growth. To observe, absorb
and adapt jewellery,
costumes and stories from
across cultures and pour in
those influences with an
understanding and
sensibility definitely call for
experience, not just
both in abundance.
The use of props and the
collectibles from different
parts of the world spoke of a
global outlook that will also
make it more inclusive to
audiences everywhere.
Among the more
interesting props was a
long­stemmed lotus, which
doubled up as a walking
stick or a Chettinad basket,
which when placed over a
bent Mantara became the
hunch.
The 10 baskets with 10
mangoes lent a sense of
boundary, symbolising
different cities and the
bridge to reach Lanka. The
interpretation of the 10
pairs of eyes to reference
Ravana also reminded one
of Indra, who was cursed by
Ahalya.
In their mesmerising
performances, Anita and
Uma narrated a
much­known story in a
million ways, with a million
adaptations, representing a
million Sitas across cultures
and boundaries. Two
women representing
different generations, yet
tied by classical dance and
music, wrapped themselves
into the known pains of
womanhood as single
mothers and lived the
experience of Sita in a
million ways.
The irony was not lost on
me when they spoke aloud:
Have not mothers refrained
from naming their
daughters Sita, simply
because they did not want
their own daughters to
suffer!? I remembered my
own birth name of Sita
being altered to Hemalatha.
The lighting by Victor
Paul was poetic and added
so much depth and magic to
the evening’s performance.
Live and recorded music lent
an additional dimension.
Evolving as an artiste is
about personal growth,
understanding one’s
strengths and making the
most of it. This performance
was about one such
evolution.
KARTIK
FINE ARTS
The love angle
Meenakshi Chitharanjan’s ‘When the arrow strikes’
was about the myriad shades of Manmatha
V.V. Ramani
anmatha with his
M ‘Kama bhana’ has
pierced the hearts of
the nayikas in many of the
Padavarnams that form an
intrinsic part of the
Bharatanatyam repertoire.
Irrespective of whether the
nayaka in the varnam is a god or
king, he is sure to cast his spell
on the heroine. Meenakshi
Chittaranjan presented a
thematic margam, ‘When the
arrow strikes’, highlighting this
emotion.
Verses from the
‘Soundaryalahari’ delineating
X nattuvangam, Gomatinayakam
Thematic
Meenakshi
Chitharanjan.
PHOTO: M. SRINATH
5
the attributes of Manmatha was
the opening number. Set to
music by K. Srinivasa Aiyangar
in ragas Malayamarudham,
Vasantha, Arabhi and
Vijayanagari, it offered the
dancer enough scope to
explore the verses. Her
depiction of his form and the
beauty of nature in Vasantha
Ritu, danced at a leisurely pace,
was suggestive and graceful.
In the padavarnam ‘Kana
avalanen kamini en thozhiye’
composed by Ponniah Pillai of
the Thanjavur Quartet
(Kamboji), the pining heroine
was portrayed by drawing
comparisons to the lotus
waiting for the rays of the sun,
crops waiting for rains and so
e1402090
on. Meenakshi movingly
depicted this state through a
single sequence. The jathis
were woven seamlessly into the
composition and the dancer’s
stances and nadai to portray
Manmatha in the lines ‘Ma
madhanan sadha vidum
bhanam’ had finesse.
‘Mandodari pulambal’ was
about Mandodari’s emotional
outpouring on seeing Ravana
lying dead on the battlefield.
She is seated as she describes
his formidable form and
stature. Meenakshi’s
experience came through
powerfully in this sensitive
delineation.
‘Aazhi mazhai kanna’ from
the Tirrupavai was the
concluding piece. The
orchestral team consisted of
Pandanallur Pandian on the
on the vocals, Shaktivel
Muruganandam on the
mridangam and Kalaiarasan on
the violin.
A CH-CHE
 6 Friday, January 5, 2024
THE HINDU
Chennai

A little more Venkatanagarajan.

PHOTO: M. SRINATH

spark a promising style and anticipated

the laya moves of the vocalist. His
tani, a tad disproportionately long,
had a good structure.
Venkatanagarajan’s voice has
Venkatanagarajan’s strength and tone and he will need
to find the finesse required for
voice has strength and sensitive singing. His full range of
tone but he needs to capabilities could not be assessed
as the concert turned out to be a
find the finesse uni­tempo one, with minimum
kalapramana variations. A brisk
Bala Shankar concert is what the audience
generally likes, but not just that.
mong the younger talents with They need something more too.

A a concert­ready style is
Venkatanagarajan, who shows
good grooming. His concert
showed musical poise and self­assurance.
On certain aspects, however, he is
THE INDIAN FINE
ARTS SOCIETY
Venkatanagarajan’s traditional
bent, however, must be
appreciated and this will enable
him to progress well.

perhaps in the work­in­progress category

as the short concert lost some purpose at
some point.
The Nattai varnam (‘Ela danu’, M.
Balamuralikrishna) in two speeds was a
confident opening rendition.
‘Chalamelara saketharama’
(Margahindolam, Tyagaraja) in a vibrant
kalapramana with swaras pitched
Venkatanagarajan’s music at a competent
level. He gave a good exhibition of Asaveri
raga with the kriti, ‘Janakaja sametha’
e1402090

e1402090
(Tyagaraja, Rupakam). The niraval at
‘Syamasundaranga’ was skillful, bringing
out some laya competencies as well.
The brightest spot in the concert was
the Ritigowlai piece. In the raga alapana,
Venkatanagarajan ensured that all the
raga lakshana elements were brought out
in the short duration. One expected a
different rhythmic pattern (like a Misra
Chapu) but Venkatanagarajan chose
Tyagaraja’s ‘Cheraravathe’ (Adi) that was
rendered well, but the opportunity to
change course was lost. The swara korvais
of both the vocalist and the violinist were
elegant but not complex.
Mayamalavagowla (‘Merusamana’,
Tyagaraja) was intended to be the
centerpiece of the concert. The raga
alapana was placid. The kriti rendition
was adequate but travelled tamely
without giving a boost to the proceedings.
‘Yarendru raghavanai’ (Arunachalakavi,
Yadukula Kamboji, Misra Chapu) was
bright and evocative, but, perhaps,
deserved a place in the earlier part of the
concert.
Violinist Karaikal Venkatasubramaniam
accompanied appropriately at various
moments, but was tentative in Asaveri.
Mridangist M.S. Venkatasubramaniam has

CM A CH-CHE
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