KOCHI: The soothing power of maya malavagowlam, the romantic mood of hindolam, the hair raising abheri and the indescribable elation of charukeshi. This was enough to transport those gathered at JT pac to a melody rich world.
The feast in Carnatic ragas presented by violinists Ganesh and Kumaresh at a concert jointly organised by Muthoot Pappachan Foundation and Jose Thomas Performing Art Centre (JT Pac), was well received by connoisseurs of art as it unveiled the possibilities of an instrument in revealing the many moods of ragas.
“Raga pravaham sprouted from the idea that an instrumentalist can attain perfection by presenting a composition set to a particular thal and raga, without reflecting the core of the sahithya bhavam (lyrical beauty), which composers often weave into the very structure of the composition,” said violinists, Ganesh and Kumaresh, in a chat with Express, just before the mesmerising performance at JT Pac. “The great composers Thyagaraja Deekshithar and Shyama Sasthri scored innumerable keerthans, which contained ultimate philosophical truths. A vocalist can do justice to the classic works by conveying the message hidden in those compositions through his or her voice. However an instrumentalist, whether it be a violinist, flute player or a saxophonist, should strive to portray the indescribable raga bhavam of a particular raga, said the duo. With this challenging dream in their minds they ventured to showcase the myriad moods hidden in the sensitive ragas, and the result was exhilarating.
The duo started the concert by highlighting the endearing maya malavagowlam, a raga for beginners in music. The slow paced delineation of the raga bhavam was a mind setting performance for listeners.
A versatile version of the raga hindolam brought out its little known romantic nuances.
Interestingly the composition was named srungaaram (romance).
Then was the stimulating presentation of the special composition, which they titled as ‘Flights of Fantasy’. The vibrant yet subtle elements of janaranjani raga were brought forth through the piece.
To add flavour to the musical fantasy, novel rhythmic patterns were experimented with on the mrudangam and tabla by Pathri Satheeshkumar and Shubhanker Banerji respectively. By keeping the conventional structure of a concert both Ganesh and Kumaresh narrated the classical beauty of the raga, charukeshi, through a dazzling presentation of ragam-thanampallavi.
The traditional structure of the composition demands the revelation of sahithya bhaavam (lyrical beauty) of the composition during the third phase, Pallavi.
Ganesh and Kumaresh skillfully used the tonal variations of the strings to delineate the versatility of Charukeshi. Even the minute elements of this rare rag could communicate with the listeners as the duo presented it in an easy and enjoyable style.
The rhythmic synchronisation of the north Indian percussion instrument with a traditional south Indian one was portrayed well by a poignant performance by Shubanker (on tabla) and Satheesh (on mrudangam).
Then was an experimental presentation of abheri with which the young maestros tried to give an alarming message about the disastrous global warming.
The pulsating notes of abheri raga were used in a scintillating manner to expose the frantic state of human mind expecting a set back from nature.
Before concluding the concert the duo presented short compositions with the sweetness of some rare ragas like nasika bhooshani.
The elite audience, including JT Pac chairman Mohanlal enjoyed the vividness of the unique concert. Unlike a conventional violin concert the listeners could connect well with the young artists whocommunicated with them through the several rags.
Earlier, theyyam artist Athiyadan Kannan Peruvannan was honoured by JT Pac, for promoting the languishing traditional art forms of the state.
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