In praise of his guru
S. RAMACHANDRA IYER
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Sreevalsan J. Menon’s superb recital paid tribute to his guru, the late Neyyattinkara Vasudevan.
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Photo: S. Mahinsha
Musical feast: Sreevalsan J. Menon kept the audience spellbound with his performance. Accompanying him on the mridangam was Umayalpuram Sivaraman.
The Koothambalam of Vyloppily Samskriti Bhavan was the venue of a Carnatic music recital by Sreevalsan J. Menon to pay tribute to his guru, Neyyattinkara Vasudevan. The three-hour-long performance by the artiste was a veritable musical feast.
The concert began with ‘Sarasijanabha,’ the popular Ada tala varnam in Kambhodhi, composed by Swati Tirunal. Thanjavur Ponnayya Pillai’s ‘Ranganathude’ in Sourasutram was the next piece and it was appreciated by the listeners for the beautiful rendering of this sweet raga. Swati Tirunal’s ‘Jaya jaya Padmanabha,’ in raga ‘Manirangu’ (a janyam of Khara Harapriya), followed.
Dwijavanthi (Jayjayvanthi in the Hindustani style) raga was popularised by Muthuswamy Dikshitar. ‘Akhilandeswari Raksha Mam,’ a Dikshitar kriti, was sung with aplomb and the listeners were absorbed in the scintillating rendition. ‘Sambho Mahadeva,’ a Tyagaraja keerthanam in Panthuvarali (‘Kamavardhini’), was next.
Sama was another raga that Dikshitar seemed to have liked very much. Who is not familiar with ‘Annapoorne Visalakshi,’ the evergreen Dikshitar composition? The vocalist did full justice to this composition and the listeners were in raptures.
Thodi was chosen for elaborate treatment and ‘Gajavadana Sampoojithe,’ composed by Kumara Ettendra (Maharaja of Ettayapuram), was chosen for niraval and swaraprastharam. T.H. Subramaniam on the violin superbly accompanied the main artiste. The thaniavarthanam by Umayalpuram Sivaraman (mridangam) and Thripunithura Radhakrishnan (ghatam) was applauded by the audience.
Highlight of the concert
The piece de resistance of the concert was the ragam, thanam and pallavi in Reethigowla. The pallavi was ‘Vasudeva Mam Pahi,’ an apt choice to pay homage to Neyyattinkara Vasudevan in whose memory the programme was organised.
Following the main raga, there was a ragamalika comprising Hameer Kalyani, Kanada, Revagupthi and Shanmukhapriya. Both the vocalist and the violinist kept the audience spell-bound with their superlative performances. They were admirably supported by Umayalpuram Sivaraman and Thripunithura Radhakrishnan.
Some Hindustani ragas have been beautifully adapted to Carnatic music. Three of the last four items of the evening were examples of this adaptation: MDR’s ‘Sagarasyana Vibho’ in Bagesree , ‘Eppo Varuvao’ in Jonpuri by Gopalakrishna Bharathi (one is reminded of the inimitable Madurai Mani Iyer) and Thillana in Dhanasree, a Swati Tirunal composition. ‘Alasara’ in Suruti, again by the royal composer, was well received.
Blessed with a melodious voice, Sreevalsan’s style of singing is akin to that of his illustrious guru, Neyyattinkara Vasudevan, who was one of the all-time favourites of music lovers. The musical evening was organised by ‘Swaralaya’ in association with Vyloppilly Samskriti Bhavan and Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Akademi.
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