Vintage concert: Thanjavur Shankara Iyer

'Ranjanimala', a ragamalika in the ragas Ranjani, Sriranjani, Megharanjani and Janaranjani is a very popular piece among many rasikas of Carnatic music. And Mahadeva Siva Sabho in the raga Revati is popular even among dancers. Thanjavur Shankara Iyer, the composer of these numbers, has been known for his creativity from his early years.

When he composed 'Rama namamey' in the Hindustani raga Desh, the Carnatic world woke up to listen to a Tamil song in Hindustani raga, adapted in the Carnatic style. Shankara Iyer is also responsible for introducing the ragas like Manoranjitham and Hamsakalyani to stage music.

A performer and composer, Shankara Iyer's concerts, though of short duration, are known for his quick wits and the anecdotes he shares. He may be old in age and challenged in health, but on stage he is a master. At one such concert for Chennai Fine Arts on Friday evening at the Gokhale Hall, Luz, Shankara Iyer, left the audience spell bound. 'Makelara vicharamu' and 'Sarasa sama daana' in Ravichandrika and Kapi narayani prompted the rasikas also to hum the songs. The Hamir kalyani raga alapana touched different ranges and 'Venkata shaila' flowed woth spontaneous sangatis.

He quizzed the audience after rendering a very short phrase in Sriranjani, if they could identify the raga. He continued with a little longer phrase and again tickled the audiene. And when rasikas responded, he seemed happy. He sang 'Ini orukkanam' in the raga. He did not hesitate to express his surprise, when the rasikas appreciated a padam. 'Charumati upacharamu', a javali in Kanada followed. Shankara Iyer is a rasika himself and kept appreciating the violinist Pakala Ramadoss and mridangist Umayalpuram Mali.

Shankara Iyer did not render any of his compositions. But the concert was followed by Dr. S. Sundar singing exclusively Thanjavur Shankara Iyer's compositions.Nice programme idea. If you didn't catch this grand man on Friday, you are trifle unlucky. He rarely performs nowadays.

Sisters on the Violin

Ranjani and Gayathri don't mind playing once in a while.

Sisters Ranjani and Gayatri gave a break to their vocal concerts and picked up their violins one evening on Dec. 22.

They accepted a suggestion from the managers of Parthasarathy Swami Sabha.

For those who don't know this - the sisters began their music lessons and concerts on the violin.

The sisters did not have a full house but those who came said they should play on the violin more often!

A concert that lasted for two and half hours, included a pallavi in nattai kurunji.

Lakshmi Venkatraman, a rasika, said, 'The concert was really good. I believe they are more aggressive as vocalists. But as violinists they are more subdued and they perform really well.'

Many at the concert were surprised; they were unaware that sisters were equally proficient in violin.

After the kutcheri, Ranjani said, 'We want to keep in touch with the instrument. But this concert was planned well in advance.'

Will such concerts be more frequent?

Chips in Gayatri, 'If sabhas want us to perform on the violin, we would but it won't be frequent. Our main focus would be vocal singing.'

Parthasarathy Sabha secretary Venkatraman said, 'We wanted to be different. The sisters gave a wonderful concert and now, many rasikas are thanking us for showcasing the other side of the sisters' talent.'

Dancing Duo: Srikanth and Aswathy

MS made the colour blue famous with the blue sari she wore. So much so the 'MS Blue' went on to become a fashion element. The electric blue was back this season. In the costumes of two young dancers who are also a couple in life. N. Srikanth and Aswathy. They are making a great impression as duo dancers. Even if they have to juggle dates.

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A surprise call from Narada Gana Sabha a week ago, to perform during the season floored them.

Srikanth and Aswathy, the upcoming dancer couple performed at the Narada Gana Sabha on the Dec. 20.

Trained in the style of Bhartaha Nrithyam under dancer Padma Subrahmanyam, Srikanth is also one of the few to have trained in Bhagavatamela.

They commenced the programme with a Pushpanjali in ragam Nattai followed by 'Muruganin Marupeyar Azhagu' in Behag. The main item was the Papanasam Sivan's Varnam, Swami Naan Undhan Adimai in Nattakurunji. The choreography for the Sahityams was in such a way that Srikant interpreted the lines as a devotee while Aswathy interpreted the lines as a Nayika. But ultimately both surrender to the Lord even though each one's approach was different. Srikant performed a very beautiful Oothukadu Venkata Subbaiyers composition 'Vishamakara Kannan' and Aswathy performed the Javali 'Sarasamuladae' They conclude with a Thillana in Hindolam, a composition of Dhandayudhapani Pillai.

"For a 2 O' clock slot on a weekday, the turnout of audience was amazing. I was happy to see many senior dancers like Leela Samson, Sudharani Raghupathy, Malavika Sarukkai, Shobana among those who had come to witness my performance."

How could he manage a show at a short notice? "All the items were choreograpjed by me exclusively for the season. I had performed the same items at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha on Dec. 12. Rehearsing new items for an unexpected calendar is very difficult. So I chose the known and well-practised items for this show." said Srikanth.

Devi Kritis - Live concert on DVD

Violin Duo M. Lalitha and M. Nandini presented an audio-visual concert on Devi Kritis recently. The screen on the dais explained the kshetrams, while the concert was on. The research on the shrines of Devi by the duo was well-narrated. The effort deserve a documentation for posterity. The sisters realised it and have released the presentation in DVD format.

At a function in Brahma Gana Sabha on Dec. 19, the DVD was released by the well-known ethnomusicologist Dr. S. A. K. Durga and the first copy will be received by 'Kartik' Ramanujam.

"We received a lot of feedback on the explanation about the compositions, we always give in our concerts. When Kartik Fine Arts wanted a thematic concert from us, we came out with this idea", says Lalitha. "We have seen people coming with a notepad and take down the details. That encouraged us."

"Many rasikas know the popular kritis, but they do not know the minute details which the composers have packed into the kritis. We wanted to bring them out for the general public" Nandini says.

This album contains compositions on the different Devi deities from different places like Sivakama sundari of

Chidambaram, Bhuvaneswari of Pudukottai, Kamakshi of Kanchi, Dharmasamvardhini of Tiruvaiyaru, Kantimati of Tirunelveli, Tirupurasundari of Tiruvotriyur, Meenakshi of Madurai and Karpagambal of Tirumylai.

Visuals of the different deities, the temples have also been featured in the DVD. The compositions of different composers like Gopalakrishna Bharati, Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar, Subbaraya Sastri, Tyagaraja, Muthuswamy Diksitar, Papanasam Sivan are featured in this album.

Released by Santhananda Soundscapes is priced at Rs. 150. If you want to have a copy, call 98401 22729

Catch the duo at a repeat show of the concert with multimedia presentation at the NRI festival of Hamsadhwani at Youth Hostel, Indira Nagar on Dec. 23 at 6.30 pm.