Precocious Child

Friday, April 11, 2008

My Last Concert

It had been a long time since i have attended a carnatic music concert. So, when i got that opportunity i didn't want to miss it, thanks to my senior trio (Ravishankar, Siva and Srinivas) who got the tickets. The concert was hosted at Shanmukhananda hall, King's Circle in Matunga, Mumbai. The artiste was carnatic vocalist UnniKirshnan ably supported by Sri Srimushnam Raja Rao in mridangam, Sri S. Varadarajan in violin and Sri N. Guruprasad in kanjira.

Shanmukhananda hall is a grand auditorium with a seating capacity of I think around 800 and when the concert began there were less than 200 people. With such a large South Indian community presence in Mumbai and esp in Matunga area, there was not enough attendance. There was a very brief introduction by the host about the artiste and their ensemble. I would have liked a more detailed introduction highlighting the achievements of the artistes. The crowd was predomaninantly south indians and i could not quite noticing a trio of kannada mamis who were switching between English to local kannada quite easily.

Everyone settled down once the artistes have seated themselves and there is a downtime when everyone tunes their instruments. It is a good 5 min and it would have been a good time to introduce more about the artistes. UnniKrishnan as usual appeared in a crispy blue kurtha and what amazed me was he was wearing a bluetooth headset. It was surprising to me probably because I have stereo-typed all carnatic musicians, to be in their late 40s or early 50s, that they wear only white dhoti and white shirt, that they wear vibhuti on their foreheads, that they don't know aything of computers,laptops,blue-tooths. I realized my ignorance only after I learned that Sri Unnikrishnan is not only technology savy but is a very good crickter who plays for Madras Cricket club also plays professional tennis, did MBA and worked in Executive post in Parrys in Trivendrum. Its inspring to know such a versatile person with so many career options to choose carnatic music as his profession.

He warmed up with Shankarabaranam and then moved on to Sahana ragam in detail. He was technically very strong and did not take any shortcuts. His best came in a composition in Thana Roopi ragam which kept the audience enthralled. The violinist was giving good support, although i felt (from my limited knowledge) he could not keep pace with Unni. UnniKrishnan never eased up with any simple compositions, but kept on with quite challenging raagas. For me, one of the best part in a carnatic concert is the Tanyavarthanam when the percussionists are given a free hand to demonstrate their trade. The high level of skill of Varadarajan (senior artiste) came to the fore and Guruprasad was equal to the task on the khanjira and it was quite memorable for about 15 minutes. Unni finished off with a couple of light numbers and with a thillana at the end. There was a standing ovation from the audience at the end.

The best part about carnatic music i like is its non invasiveness and peace that it brings to oneself. I am still not able to identify the various raagas and it is proving difficult. For the same reason, i like carnatic music than bhajans beacuse in bhajans you dont have to worry about the technicalities and just focus on the spirit. Bhajans have a lot of audience involvement and it is all about creating the right environment and the whole crowd is part of the experience (more like a rock concert). In that sense, carnatic music is more about each person internalizing the music and relating to it.

A faboulous carnatic music concert for two and a half hours.
Note: Not to forget the yummyyy dosa and upma we had at the the refereshment counter in the hall. Mouthwatering ;-)

Phani

posted by Phani @ 8:35 AM

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