Veena- Nirmala Rajasekar
Violin - VVS Murari
Mridangam - Thanjavur Murugabhoopathy
Kanjira – Dr. S. Ramakrishnan
We had to miss the 2017 Navarathri in South Florida as we
celebrated our Shashti Abda Poorthi in India during that time. So, how is life after 60? Our good family friend Dr. Shanthi Sundaram told
me “A new life starts after 60 and this part of your life is really the most
important part”. Wow, really? The truth in that statement hit me quite
hard. Till now we built a family, brought
up the kids, built a career, took in a lot of stress, music/dance/Tae Kwon Doe
lessons for the kids, arangetrams and performances, traveled several million miles,
chased growth at the expense of the health etc. – basically the usual stuff
everyone goes through. In spite of all
these activities, thankfully, we found some time for religion and spirituality. But now it is time to clearly refocus my life. After all, how many more years in this
planet? Clearly, the road traveled is longer
than the road ahead in this life. So, make
every step count. I am thankful to all
the Guru’s in my life, in person or virtual, who laid the foundation for my
spiritual path and religious path. Over
the years, these Gurus have built an unshakeable faith in Advaita Vedanta and Hindu
Religious practices within me. It will
be up to me to fan the spark, grow within and prepare for next life. I seek the blessings of all those who are further
ahead of me in the path and I want to draw inspiration from everyone I meet. Ok, let us go to the concert.
Veena concert is a rare occasion, especially for those of us
living outside of India. In talking to
the artists and other musicians I learned that Thanam has a special place in
Veena concerts. If I may say so, Nirmala
played Ragam-Thanam-Krithi in place of Ragam-Thanam-Pallavi in Purvi Kalyani as
the main piece. The Thanam part was elaborate
and the percussionists joined in to give us a treat. Overall, the concert had captivated the
audience – where did the stress go. When
a musician connects with the audience you know it is going to be divine. The artist was able to express the emotions
within the song with the instrument which made all the difference. It had a good mix of melodious songs, fast
songs and popular songs. It was nice to have
both Mridangam and Kanjira – the transition between Veena/Mridangam to Violin/Kanjira
was seamless and flawless. There were
times they mixed it up as well – nice. Everyone
went away with a smile on their face – great job. Let us go to song by song.
Sahana varnam/Adi - Beautiful choice of ragam to start the
concert. Very captivating rendition. Fingers flying through the instrument at
the second speed. With seasoned accompaniments it was a treat
Jaya jaya in Natai/Khanda Chapu – beautifully gliding
through the notes. She suddenly picked up the microphone to sing a few lines – it
was a pleasant surprise. Later we found
out that she is a seasoned vocalist as well and it clearly showed. Mridangam and Kanjira fell in sync from the
get go. Great to see the musicians enjoying themselves a sure sign of a good
concert. Very elaborate swarams with seamless handoffs between veena and violin
and correspondingly between mridangam and kanjira.
Raghuvamsa Sudha in Kadana kuthuhalam/Adi – Veena is probably
the best instrument for this song. Made the audience happy with this
toe-tapping number - beautifully rendered.
Rama nee samanam Evaro in Kara Kara Priya/Rupakam – I will
be honest here – this is not exactly my favorite ragam. This ragam and song made a lot of musicians and
hard core music lovers very happy. One of these days I grow enough in appreciating
music to develop a taste for this ragam, sorry for now, I muscled through the song.
Meenakshi mamava in Purvi Kalyani/Adi – Very enjoyable
alapana with some beautiful phrases. Violin rose to his full height during alapana.
Some parts of the alapana was very meditative and touched many hearts. Unexpectedly she went to play Thanam and Mridangam/Kanjira
joined in. Very enjoyable interaction
between the percussionists. When she went into the Krithi we were just
spellbound. At many places she sang along with the Veena - great. Neraval and swarams took us
to a different level – no sign of stress.
Enna thavam seithanai in Kapi/Adi – Effortless playing. Brought out the emotions of the song.
The concert ended with an Annamacharya keerthanai in Revathi
followed by the ever popular Ragee Thantheera and finally a Thiruppugazh.
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