There's only one way to excellence

IN RECENT times, functions are arranged to place before rasikas the contributions of great vidwans, about whom the younger generation knows very little. Such functions serve the twin purpose of regaling the old generation listeners who had the opportunity to hear the music of the veteran to recall the olden days and to inform the new crop of musicians and rasikas as to what quality in their music helped them reach such heights of achievement.

The launching of the Parur Sundaram Iyer Trust by the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam head Sri Jayendra Saraswati and the tributes that today's senior artistes paid to the violin maestro Sundaram Iyer provided the opportunity to understand how the progeny of Sundaram Iyer - M.S.Anantaraman and M. S. Gopalakrishnan - have come to occupy the eminent position in the music field today.

Sundaram Iyer's time was not an era of publicity as it is prevalent at present. If his sons induce the people to remember Sundaram Iyer, it is the stern discipline that the father inculcated in his sons. This has a message to musical aspirants that excellence can be gained only by hard work. In this respect the doubt arises if the easy and prolific publicity that is given by competitive organisation has not done more harm to the aspirants than the complacency of having encouraged the young which was not the case in Sundaram Iyer's days. If the past has given us such veterans as Sundaram Iyer, is there any indication now that the profusion of opportunities alone can make veterans of youngsters in the absence of such Spartan discipline as Sundaram Iyer subjected his sons to undergo? The function, if it carried any message, was to convey that the music profession demands hours of sadhaka and not any ``this-will-do'' soft approach.

The function concluded with an ensemble of violins in which Anantaraman, his sons Sundareswaran and Krishnaswamy, his grand children and disciples participated by playing ``Giriraajasudha'' (Bangala),``Guruleka''(Gowrimanohari) and a bhajan in the raga Desh.

Charmingly subtle

The process of an inner involvement in the sensitivity of music marked the solo violin concert of

V. V. Subramaniam for Saraswati. The subtlety that adds charm to a raga elaboration- namely the measured silences between sancharas - provided a measure of the years of experience of Subramaniam. The synchronisation between the aesthetics and bhava of Kalyani in his raga exposition and similarly between sahityas of kritis and sangatis characterised the overall mood of the performance.

Of the ragas he essayed -- Kalyani, Hindolam and Natabhairavi -- Kalyani tunefully designed, melodically rich in expressiveness, mature in concept and precise in technique was the best piece in his recital. In the alapana there was delicacy of form and spontaneity. The Yadukulakombhoji in the mandhava sthaiyi was passionate. Instead of a varnam, Subramaniam chose to play telling tanam in the ghana raga panchaka -- Nattai to Sri and in the reverse -- which to a great extent revealed where his appreciation of music resided. The kirtana list included``Maha- Ganapatim''(Nattai) "Teliyaleru-Rama- Bhakti''(Dhenuka)``Biraanavara''(Kalyani) "Govardana- Gireesam''(Hindolam)``Hechchariga''(Yadukulakambhoji) and``Sri- Valli-Devasenaapate''(Natabhairavi), a good representation of eminent vaggeyakaras. In rendering them he got absorbed in the spirit of the kirtanas.

Tiruchur Narendran played with such dexterity to support the music and not submerge it. There was rhythmic mobility in his laya phrasings well responded by the ghatam artiste Vaikom Gopalakrishnsn. Overall, the three made the cutcheri soothing.

Clear rendition

The performance of Dwaram Lakshmi for the Sri Thyagaraja Seva Samiti on the Bahulapanchami day was good in the sense the sahityas of Thyagaraja Kirtanas were rendered with clarity and to that extent the contents of the songs could be well taken by the listeners. Though there was strain in the higher octave, the raga alapanas of Pantuvarali and Todi registered with her broad articulation in the madhyama sthayi. It was the rendering of kirtanas --``Endaro-Mahaanubhavulu''(Sri Raga pancharatna) "Brova-bhaarama''(Bahudari)``Siva-SIva-Siva-Enaraadha'' (Pantuvarali)``Evarura-ninnu-vina''(Mohanam) and``Munnu-Ravana'' (Todi) -- that created a favourable impression. Meera Sivaramakrishnan on the violin was just adequate. Neyveli Skanda Subramaniam (mridangam) was energetic without being percussively aggressive.

SVK

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