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Kalpakam Swaminathan Weaves Divine Spell On New Jersey Rasikas
By Ram Ramaprasad
Kalpagam Swaminathan with Palghat Rajamani (Bhavani Rao in
the background) Kalpagam Swaminathan (Veena); Palghat Rajamani
(Mridangam)
Viriboni - Bhairavi - Adiappa - Usi thalam
Panchamathanga - Malahari - Dikshitar (S)
Yochana - Darbar - Thyagaraja (R)
Thyagarajaya Namasthe - Begada - Dikshitar (R, S)
Purahara Nandana - HameerKalyani - Dikshitar (R)
Inkevarunnaru - Sahana - Annaswamy Sastri (R, S, followed by
Thani)
Meenakshi Memudham - Poorvikalyani - Dikshitar (R, T)
Sree Subramanyo - Thodi - Dikshitar (R)
Viswanathena - Samantha - Dikshitar (R, S)
Sree Venugopala - Kuranji - Dikshitar
Pranatharthi Haram Aham - Chenjuruti - Mysore Vasudevachar (R)
Ambara Chidambara - Surati - Gopalakrishna Bharathi (R)
When Dikshitar composed "Veena Pusthaka Dharini",
he had in mind the celestial Saraswathi. Some times, Gods come
down to earth taking a human form, so that mortals can feel
the divine right here. Saraswathi is no exception, and listening
to the octogenarian Kalpagam Swaminathan, la
grande dame de Veena, one can't help but feel that we are being
enthralled by a divine presence. As a friend of mine put it
so aptly at the end of the concert, "I will talk to you
later. I don't want this trance to be broken!"
It could almost be called a miracle when some rasikas, against
all odds, managed to organize a house concert in New Jersey
on March 30, 2008. This could also be termed an historic event,
when, for the first time, on a sunny spring morning, the stage
in the basement of a house in NJ was adorned by two great musicians
in their respective fields - Kalpagam Swaminathan, on the Veena,
and Palghat Rajamani, on the Mridangam.
The concert started with a majestic rendition of Viriboni varnam.
Kalpagam Swaminathan, at the end of the concert, gave almost
a mini lec-dem on the laya aspect of this piece, and what she
had learnt about it from Mysore Vasudevachar. The rest of the
concert almost turned out to be a Dikshitar retrospect (after
all, who is better qualified to do this?). The second piece,
Panchamatanga in Malahari, was delicately nuanced, bringing
out the rich melody of this pleasing raga. After a brief alapana
in Darbar, followed by Thyagaraja's Yochana, it was back to
Dikshitar.
For those present, this meant exposure to the authentic pathanthara
of Dikshitar krithis. Kalpakam Swaminathan's singing of some
phrases as she played on was further evidence of the veena tradition
of Dikshitar. Begada and Sahana are rakthi ragas, which contain
the essence of Carnatic music. Kalpagam Swaminathan, performing
some of the "pracheena" phrases in these ragas, brought
sheer delight to the assembled rasikas. Thyagarajaya Namasthe
was rendered in the leisurely style with all the grandeur of
Begada.
The artiste must have a fondness for Hamir Kalyani. The raga
interpretation and the kriti rendering were truly out of this
world (she played the same raga, but a different kriti in Cleveland,
to the great delight of the audience there). One can only wonder
at the vastness of Kalpakam Swaminathan's repertoire.
The Sahana piece composed by the grandson of Shyama Sastri was
a gift to the rasikas assembled. The succeeding kritis, all
composed by Dikshithar, were played with a vistharam, befitting
the quality of the composer's works, with authenticity and authority.
Both Viswanathena (Samantha) and Sree Venugopala (Kuranji) were
rasikas' choice. It was truly incredible to believe that a rarely
heard raga like Samantha is capable of such a raga elaboration
and swarakalpana. Pranatharthi Haram (Chenjuruti), perhaps,
learnt directly from the composer was beyond description.
The availability of Vidwan Palghat Rajamani on that day to accompany
Kalpagam Swaminathan was indeed a blessing from above. The music
of a Vidhushi of her caliber, with percussion support from mridangam
Vidwan Rajamani can be termed a perfect match.
The assembled rasikas were enthralled by Rajamani's percussion
accompaniment, with the thani a treat that they were looking
forward to.
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