CHENNAI: Nelayatakshi in ragam Paras, talam Tisra Triputa composed by Shyama Shastri, Dwaithamu Sukhama in ragam Reethigaula and talam Adi composed by Thyagaraja, and Ranga Baro in ragam Maand and talam Adi composed by Purandara Dasa. On day-5 of Madras Music Academy’s (MMA) 94th Annual Concerts (Digital), vocalist Vignesh Ishwar along with B Vittal Rangan (violin) and K Sai Giridhar (mridangam) took rasikas on an hour-long enchanting musical journey.
“Performing at MMA is always special. An auditorium filled with rasikas and artistes, the sound of the bell before the beginning of a performance, the grand stage — there is always both excitement and a certain sense of nervousness while performing at the Academy. This year I missed all these tangible experiences. However, the experience of recording the performance was nonetheless new and memorable,” said Vignesh, who has been a performing artiste for over a decade now.
Talking about his newfound respect for recording artistes, videographers and editors, he shared, “I did a few virtual live performances during the lockdown and recorded a few for other organisers. The process of engaging with editors taught me a lot. To get the output right, for the video to be balanced and in sync requires time and effort. It was a valuable lesson.” With a handful of recordings lined up for 2021, Vignesh is looking forward to exploring new horizons in the field of performing arts.
“I am currently conceptualising something and it’s in the nascent stages. We were all cooped up for eight to nine months and this time we couldn’t go sabha-hopping. But I am thankful to have been able to meet friends and fellow artistes while venturing for concert recordings. I am looking forward to the next year,” he added. Day-5 of the event also featured performances by Ramana Balachandran (veena) and Kishore Ramesh (mridangam); Sudha Ragunathan (vocal), Charumathi Raghuraman (violin), Patri Satishkumar (mridangam), R Raman (moharsing), and Sumithra Vasudev (vocal) along with M Narmadha (violin), B Ganapathyraman (mridangam), and Papanasam S Sethuraman (kanjira).
The sixth day of the event featured Carnatic vocalist and Harikatha proponent Vishaka Hari narrating the tale Azhvarum Arangannum through the eyes of the azhvars (poetsaints). “The tradition of the Margazhi utsavam is not just a century or two old. It dates back to the time of Thirumangai Azhvar (8th century), and it is this age-old tradition that we are continuing today, after thousands of years, even amid a pandemic. This is an example of India’s glory,” said the storyteller while interspersing the performance with songs and verses.
The kathakalapshekam was accompanied with music by B Anantha Krishnan (violin), SJ Arjun Ganesh (mridangam) and Tiruchy Dr K Murali (ghatam). Vocalist Aishwarya Shankar accompanied by Sindhu Suchetan (violin), DV Sivaraman (mridangam); Aishwarya Vidhya Raghunath accompanied by M Vijay (violin) and KH Vineeth (mridangam), and Ramakrishnan Murthy (vocal) along with by RK Shriramkumar (violin), Sumesh S Narayan (mridangam), and KV Gopalakrishnan (kanjira), too were part of the annual concerts on Tuesday.
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