KOCHI: It was a rain of rhythm when Karaikudi Mani and his team presented a unique fusion of string, wind and percussion instruments at ‘Sruthilaya’ staged at the Government Sanskrit College auditorium, Tripunithura. The programme was held to mark the 50th year of renowned mridangam maestro Parassala Ravi’s music saga.
The rhythm-oriented orchestration compiled and conceived by Karaikudi Mani stressed on the intricacies of complicated thalas in carnatic music. The stage setting was such that the mridangam player was at the central stage with the flute and the mandolin artists on either side. The ghatam and ganjira players at the two extremes of the stage gave a sonorous accompaniment. The setting conveyed to the listeners the prominence of percussion in the orchestration. The nearly two-hour long thala conglomeration unearthed the potentiality of the mridangam in the orchestration dominated by percussion ensemble. The music that oozed out of Balasai’s flute and Raju’s mandolin deserve special mention. Balasai presented a beautiful narration of raag oormika. The scintillating notes of the raag were recreated in a charming style by Raju on his mandolin. The composition selected by the duo was also a rare one - ‘Ethani’ composed by Poochi Sreenivasan.
After delineating the sweetness of the pallavi through the flute and the mandolin, Mani’s fingers started to craft magic on his mridangam. For each innovative rhythmic pattern presented by the maestro, fitting beats were presented by young Amruth and V Suresh on their ganjira and ghatam respectively. The opening piece portrayed the infinite possibilities of rhythm in tune with the mellifluous flow of music from the flute and the mandolin.
The trio - Mani, Suresh and Amruth - together with Balasai and Raju, soon turned to the crux of the concert, ‘Ragam Thaanam Pallavi’. Here also Balasai and Raju selected another rare raag, sallaapam. While exposing the ragabhavam, they experimented on the chemistry between the sedative notes on the flute and the mandolin and proved their mettle. The garland of ragas presented in the ‘Raagam Thaanam Pallavi’ was heartwarming.
After unveiling the emotive mood of sallaapam, they moved on to abhogi. The narration of the unique elements of abhogi in the flute and the mandolin created a divine feel. The percussionists did indeed weave a rhythmic splendour. By giving a novel twist to the conventional thaniaavarthanam, Mani experimented on the unexplored possibilities of the mridangam in tune with the ghatam and the ganjira. While performing shanmukhapriya, Raju synchronised the strings of the mandolin vivaciously to add a devout mood to the raag. The tempo entered a new vista when Balasai played the bahudaari on the flute.
The performance concluded with the scintillating presentation of the amruthavarshini. Balasai’s bansuri added a Hindustani flavour to the concert when he played the slow-paced gurjari thodi. When he played a bhajan to explore the devout mood of the raag, Mani gave the perfect accompaniment on the mridangam.
Sruthilaya was indeed a fitting tribute to Parassala Ravi.
kochi@expressbuzz.com