M S Sheela again shows why she is regarded as one of Karnataka’s stalwart musicians.
M S Sheela is a household name in Karnatak music. She is equally acclaimed as a sugama sangeeta and bhakti sangeetha exponent. An impressive confluence of bhava, rasa and laya is always assured when she sings. She is also a well-trained Bharatanatya dancer.
Music runs in her veins. Her mother M N Rathna, a noted singer of her time, laid a formidable foundation for Sheela’s music learning. It was reinforced further when legendary vocalist R K Srikanthan imparted training to her.Sheela obtained a post-graduate degree in music from Bangalore University with a gold medal.
Soon she rose to become the first-ever woman to be graded a top rank musician both in Karnatak music and sugama sangeeta. She has been invited to many music festivals across the world, and has been training a large number of students. She has brought out audio albums featuring the compositions of the great vaggeyakaras, the Lalita sahasranama, and suprabhatas. She holds festivals and workshops, and honours musicians under the banner of her Hamsadhwani Creations.Sheela presided over the music conference that concluded last Sunday at the Samaja, and was presented with the title of Sangeeta Kalaratna. She captivated the packed audience by singing a varied selection in her inaugural recital. Her tone was beautifully pearly, and her phrasing eloquent. It was a lyrical, flexible and technically sound performance which embraced the classical and traditional nature of Karnatak music. Her powerful voice emerged most persuasively in a repertoire that allowed her to unleash a full-throated flood of sound.
Audio delight
The opening grand varna by Mysore Sadashivarao was engaging. A rare, beautiful Mysore Vasudevachrya kriti on Ganesha, Lambodaramavalambe in Kambhoji raga, set the tone for the concert. The neraval at the charana portion (Sura bhoosura samsevitha) mesmerised the audience.
Thyagaraja’s Pattividuva raadu (Manjari) and Vijayadasa’s Sharadeye karunaa vaaridhiye kept up the lively tempo. The first elaboration came in raga Mohana. She wove a wonderfully seductive tapestry of the melody. The delineation in the form of alapana, kriti (Evarura ninnuvina), and neraval (at Savana rakshaka nityotsava Seethapathi), followed by scholarly swaras, culminated in a grand drive to the song’s high climax.
Demonstrating her unique versatility, Sheela transitioned beautifully between the upper and lower registers in the rendition of the raga, tana and pallavi in Kharaharapriya, set to khanda triputa tala. In the taara sthayi, her tone was brilliant and glistening, and in the mandra, her voice remained powerful. She used the big canvas of the pallavi to deliver her finest work. She added kalpana swaras that were entertaining, stunning and vocally profound.Veterans Charulatha Ramanujam (violin), Anur Anathakrishna Sharma (mridanga) and Guruprasanna (khanjira) were superb partners throughout, playing with nimble precision and sensitivity. They adorned Sheela’s music with their commanding and powerful play.
Brilliant Bharatanatya
Kushala Narasimhamurthy, trained by young but seasoned Bharatanatya exponent Sneha Devanandan, showcased physical power as well as easy stage dynamics at the JSS auditorium on Saturday. Able and brilliant accompanists Sneha Devanandan (nattuvanga), Balasubramanya Sharma (vocal), Shankararaman (veena), Vivek Krishna (flute) and Srihari (mridanga) tackled everything magically. They were as professional as ever and played with assurance and conviction. This was the second student of Sneha Devanandan giving a successful debut performance.
Kushala began traditionally with a Pushpanjali (Nata, aditala). Blessings of Ganesha were invoked with Purandaradasa’s Gajavadana (Hamsadhwani). The Tanjavur Quartet’s Khamach varna Swamini rammanave sang the glory of Lord Shiva. The virahotkhanditha nayaki praises her Lord Shiva. The jatis, swaras and adavus were in the right place, enriching the nritta segment.
Lord Brihadeeshwara’s eulogy and Tanjavur Brihadeeshwara’s great deeds were portrayed magnificently. Mella mellane bandane (Mohana), woven around child Krishna, vouched for the abhinaya talent of Kushala. Goddess Saraswati was visualised on the basis of Mysore Vasudevacharya’s famous Hindola kriti Maamavathu Sri Saraswathi. Kushala also demonstrated her skills of veena-playing by rendering a few lines of this song on the veena. She concluded with a fast-paced tillana in raga Simhendramadhyama.
— Dr M SURYA PRASAD
drmsuryaprasad@gmail.com