Link with the past

Younger musicians believe that listening to senior artistes like P. S. NARAYANASWAMY is a fruitful experience for their own creative growth.

``MARUBALKA PADUNGO SAAR!'' (Please sing Marubalka) says one. Somebody else wants ``Chakkaniraja''. A strong voice asks for Syama Sastri's Yadukulakhambhji swarajati. As the performer gets ready for his main alapana, there is a demand for Nattakurinji...

You may be surprised to know that the requests are from Carnatic vocalists T. M. Krishna, Vijay Siva and Sanjay Subrahmanian. Next to Sanjay you can see Unnikrishnan with child on lap. Mridangist Arun Prakash, violinist R. K. Sriramkumar, flautist Shashank, Bombay Ranjani and Gayatri are all seated on mats up in front... Sangeeta Sivakumar comes in late with infant in arms. Bombay Jayashree has found a corner at the back.

The present generation of frontline Carnatic musicians have developed their own modes of presentation to suit their times. But their respect for the traditional practitioners of the art is unmistakeable.

Why else would all these musicians from different schools make it a point attend the monthly house concerts of senior vidwan P. S. Narayanaswamy? After all, he is better known as a teacher than as a performer.

``What draws you month after month to listen to PSN?'' I ask. ``I would call it verveful classicism,'' says Vijay Siva. ``This is not rhythmic jugglery but an exciting play of the imagination. Keeps you rivetted for two and a half hours.''

``His confidence and control in expanding a raga step by step,'' Sanjay Subrahmanian cuts in. ``The raga gets rounded treatment, it is never merely a swara-based exercise. And what rich phrases we get in a Varali or a Ritigaulai!'' T. M. Krishna is impressed by the intellectual approach to music which is so firm in its roots that it sets definitive, prescriptive standards.

``The amazing thing is that he is able to bring the same depth to a Saraswati as to a Begada,'' exclaims Bombay Jayashree. ``Enna manodharmam!'' enthuses Sriram Kumar.Vijay Siva explains, ``We have a tendency to jump from swara to swara in ragas like Sriragam. But listen to PSN and you will learn how to string the phrases in a continuous and spontaneous way, exploring every area's potential for beauty. True, he doesn't use karvais and relies more on the lower and middle octaves, but his combination of traditional sangatis with inventive ones unfailingly grips you.''

PSN's swara singing comes in for special mention. ``He can sing a hundred avartanas in sarvalaghu, all freshly conceived. Mind you, he does this without karvais (dwelling on a single note) and kanakkus (calculated patterns),'' says Sriram Kumar. ``He is so deft you don't even realise that his voice does not possess great melodic potential,'' remarks Vijay Siva.

Jayashree is struck by PSN's capacity to mould every song he learns into the stylistics of his own school. For Jayashree this is a vital lesson in acquiring identity. ``He imparts the sheen of an antique tradition we find in an ``O Rangasayi'' to a newly- learnt kriti in Purnachandrika. Today we are not able to achieve that, perhaps we don't have the inclination to try...''

Usually artistes with a highly creative approach to raga are haphazard with compositions. But ``PSN's kriti rendition is superb,'' says Krishna. Siva explains further, ``His kriti singing is neat rather than awesome or glittering as we notice with D. K. Pattammal or M. S. Subbulakshmi. But he never uses the kriti as a peg to string melodic expansions.''

The younger musicians believe that listening to senior artistes like T. K. Govinda Rao, T. M. Tyagarajan, Nedunuri Krishnamurthy and Chinglepet Ranganathan is a fruitful experience for their own creative growth. Live music of high quality is the best inspiration, their link with the older generation of grand stalwarts. Sanjay Subrahmanian sums up, ``You know, when we go too far with experiments, we hear a very good Bhairavi from someone like PSN and it stops us in our tracks. ``Where am I going?'' we ask. And well, we come back to the roots. The search starts all over again...''

- G.R.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Entertainment
Previous : Two sides of a coin
Next     : Fountainhead of Carnatic music