It is a good thing that Moammar Gaddafi is out of power in Libya. Ending his life in a gutter is a fitting end to this ruthless tyrant. It is hard to believe even after centuries since tyrants like Narakasura received their brutal end, we still got them ruling sections of this world. So called civilization is yet to have its complete hold when it comes to forms of government and how we accept being ruled. Anyway, for those of us celebrating Diwali to commemorate the death of Narakasura at the hands of Krishna, it got a little sweeter with the end of Gaddafi. Though I will admit it is difficult to imagine how an Indian sweet can be sweeter. Wish you all a Happy Diwali season moving right into Kanda Sashti celebrations.
Sri Abhishek Raghuram’s concert was very different from the beaten path. Not that there is anything wrong with the path we have been. I came out of the concert a bit confused. How come Hindolam did not sound like Hindolam in a few places and the same with many other songs and alapanas. I discussed with several musicians among the audience to find out about the Sruthi Bhetham or Graha Bhetham. It is a deliberate attempt on the part of the musician to go off track and come back in. It takes incredible talent to perform this feat. I understood that stalwarts do this only for a few seconds and snap right back. Also, they do it for one or two songs in a concert. But many in the audience believed that Sri Abhishek did the Shruthi Bhetam for longer and also too many times in one concert. Beauty is very subjective and in my own subjectivity this took the beauty away from the concert.
Mridangam by Sri Anantha Krishnan (aka Anand) carried the entire show. Anand and Abhishek are cousins and they are both grandsons of Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri Palghat Raghu.
Not everyone felt that way I felt. Here are the comments from a local supporter, singer Sri Prasanna Padmanabhan. Prasanna Wrote:
Abhishek Raghuram started the concert with a brisk Tyagaraja keerthana, Nadatanumanisam, in the rare ragam Chittarajnani. In a small but creative aalapanai, he was able to bring out the subtle prayogam differences with its almost identical twin Karaharapriya. This was followed by Muthuswami Dikshitar's Suryamurthe in the ragam Sourashtram (moola kriti in the Navagraha set of kritis). What better song for a Sunday afternoon in the Sunshine State (ironically, it was raining outside.. but we do need the rain here in South Florida, so I am not complaining)!
Next was an elaborate aalapanai in Hindolam which he seemed to explore in a refreshingly unconventional way (with a touch of the Hindustani Malkauns) as the basis for Tyagaraja's keertana Manasuloni. Vittal Ramamurthy on the violin responded well to Raghuram's intricate and mathematically brilliant kalpana swarams.
He then went on to Dwijavanti. For the aalapanai, he did something very creative - he used an interesting iPad/iPhone app called iTanpura (Incidentally, I had stumbled upon the same app and download the "Lite" version, just a few weeks back) which not only gave a nice dual-tanpura effect but also soothingly interspersed the aalapanai with interludes of the raag played on a santoor (or some sort of similar stringed instrument). While Dwijavanti/Jaijaivanti is originally a Hindustani raag, his aalapani was uniquely Carnatic. I felt he could have slowed down a little to bring out the essence of the Hindustani style. While the audience seemed to be holding their breath for Akhilandeshwari Rakshamaam, he pleasantly surprised us all with another genuinely Dikshitar composition - Chetasri Balakrishnam. Again, I felt with a little more slowness, he could have done better justice to the vilambit style in which the song was probably conceived by Dikshitar. However, Vittal Ramamurthy, brought out the grace of the raag through deliberate slowness in his aalapanai. So overall, the entire song was a nice treat to our ears.
For the next piece, Raghuram intelligently substitued a request from one of the audience members for Tyagaraga's Ksheera Saagara with another (perhaps less heard of but very beautiful and fast-paced) composition of Tyagaraga in the same ragam, Devagaandhari, called Koluvai Unnaade.
The main piece for the concert was Muthuswami Dikshitar's Sri Krishnam Bhaje in the raagam Thodi. After a very elaborate and somewhat complex aalapanai (whereas the violinist seemed to respond in a more traditional and simpler style), he started the song with a slight twist - starting with the anupallavi (Paakashaasanaadi vinuta charanam) and then going on to sing the Pallavi. I am not Mridagnam expert to talk about the intricacies, but for sure, Anantha Krishnan's ThaniAavardhanam kept the audience fully engaged.
The thukkada section of the concert was filled with songs like Purandara Dasar's Chandrachuda Shiva Shankara (in Darbari Kaanada - which he nicely elaborated in a short aalapanai), Manadirkku Ugandadu in Sindhu Bhairavi (there seemed to be a slight but intentional diversion to subhapantuvarali in the aalapanai.. not sure why he did that!) and Yenna Tavam Seidanai (Papanasam Sivan's masterpiece, which again, he started with anupalllavi first).
Overall the concert was a feast to everyone's ears. Although only 26, Abhishek Raghuram's brilliance and prodigy was clearly evident. He was somewhat unconventional in his style, but that made it quite refreshing. With some more clarity and crispness in his presentation style, there's no stopping him from reaching the stars.
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