‘Tis the Season – 2021 : Mangala Margazhi

The year 2021 saw a collaboration between Layyasaaram Institute of Indian Arts (Minnesota, USA) and Ragamalika TV. This festival took place in the second half of December. Like many others, it was completely online. The concerts were all a pleasure to listen to and of course, there were some that stood out.

The highlight of 18th December was a violin concert by one of my favourite violin duos. Lalgudi G. J. R. Krishnan and Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi began their concert on a melodious note and were well supported by R. Sankaranarayanan on the mridangam and Alathur Rajaganesh on the kanjira. Tyagaraja’s ‘Manasa Etulortune‘ in Malayamarutam brought back many memories of music lessons some years ago. The music was delightful – sometimes brisk, sometimes slow, but soaked in melody and bhava throughout. It is always difficult to name a favourite in any good concert, but Shyama Shastri’s ‘Nannu Brovu Lalita‘ would certainly be one of mine. The artists explored the raga for a few minutes and then seamlessly flowed into the composition. Sections of the song were played on two octaves simultaneously and this brought out the grandeur of the composition in a way that isn’t commonly heard. The concert ended with a Thillana in Dhanasri and a Mangalam. Another concert which brought back memories of music lessons was J. A. Jayant’s flute concert a few days later. He was accompanied by H. N. Bhaskar on the violin, Praveen Narayanan on the tabla and Neyveli Venkatesh on the mridangam. The concert began with Karur Devudu Iyer’s Adi tala varnam – ‘Sami Ninne – in Sri ragam. The varnam was enthralling and rendered with meticulous attention to detail. It was in fact an excellent indication of what was to come – for ‘enthralling flute music with meticulous attention to detail’ is a good description of Jayant’s concerts, including this one. This concert had elements of everything – from the brisk and lively ‘Nenarunchinanu‘ (Tyagaraja’s composition in Malavi) to the more relaxed ‘Karedare Barabarade‘. The Thani Avarthanam on the mridangam and the tabla was quite energetic and was enjoyed by everyone both onstage and off-screen.

At around the same time was a concert by S. Sowmya. She was accompanied by Embar S. Kannan on the violin and Neyveli Narayanan on the mridangam. The concert began with a beautiful varnam – Patnam Subramania Iyer’s ‘Valachi‘. Starting with Kedaram in the pallavi, moving on to Shankarabharanam in the anupallavi and featuring two chittaiswarams (in Kalyani and Begada), this varnam is a Navaragamalika with Kamboji, Yadukula Kamboji, Bilahari, Mohanam and Sri making up the rest of the ragas. After Valachi came Tyagaraja’s ‘Janaki Ramana‘ in Shuddha Seemantani and Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Gnana Shabhayil‘ in Saranga. Muthuswami Dikshitar’s ‘Sarasijanabha Sodari‘ in Naga Gandhari came next and was followed by nearly twenty minutes of Chalanattai – Kotishwara Iyer’s ‘Eddaya Gati‘ rendered in detail. The other main item of the concert was Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Janakipathe‘ in Kharaharapriya, and this featured a brief but lively thani avarthanam on the mridangam. The concert ended with ‘Sennikula Nagar‘ by Annamalai Reddiar.

Sikkil Gurucharan’s concert took place a few days later, on 24th December. He began with A. S. Panchapakesa Iyer’s varnam in Kalyana Vasantam, with tasteful accompaniment by Sayee Rakshith on the violin. The varnam was followed by an elegant and unhurried rendition of Tyagaraja’s ‘Sarasa Samadana‘ in Kapi Narayani. Next came an alapanai which quickly revealed itself to be in Saramati. The composition chosen was Dandapani Desikar’s ‘Arulavendum Thaye‘. A few minutes of Saranga with Tyagaraja’s ‘Nivada Negana‘ led to the main piece of the concert – a majestic rendition of Swati Tirunal’s ‘Kripaya Palaya‘ in Charukesi, spanning nearly an hour including a quick Thani Avarthanam by Shertalai Ananthakrishnan on the mridangam. Ten minutes of tranquillity followed in the form of ‘Gangadishwaram Shankaram‘ in Sindhu Bhairavi, and the concert ended shortly after with a Thillana in Purvi. 

Veena concerts are always enjoyable and Nirmala Rajasekar’s concert on 26th December was especially so. She was accompanied by R. Raghul on the violin, Tanjavur Murugabhoopathy on the mridangam and N. Guruprasad on the ghatam. Brisk from the beginning, the artists began with ‘Sami Idi‘ – an Adi tala varnam in Kannada by Patnam Subramania Iyer – and ‘Ganesha Kumara Pahimam‘, a composition of Muthuswami Dikshitar. Two compositions of Tyagaraja came next – a detailed ‘Gnanamu Sagaradha‘ in Purvi Kalyani and a quick ‘Entha Vedu‘ in Saraswati Manohari. Bhairavi was in the limelight in this concert, with more than forty minutes spent in a majestic alapanai and tanam followed by ‘Mugathai Kattiya‘, a composition of Papavinasa Mudaliyar. The thani avarthanam on the mridangam and the ghatam was quite engaging. Sadashiva Brahmendra’s ‘Manasa Sancharare‘ was featured next. As with the rest of the concert, the accompaniment on the violin was exquisite, matching and complementing the veena beautifully. A composition of Purandara Dasa followed by a rousing rendition of Subramania Bharati’s ‘Nenjukku Neethiyum‘ brought the concert to an end.

The series of delightful concerts continued with a violin solo by R. K. Shriramkumar on 28th December. This was a concert filled with classics – starting with Tyagaraja’s ‘Nada Tanumanisham Shankaram‘. Andal’s Tiruppavai ‘Aazhi Mazhai Kanna‘ in Varali came next and was so powerfully rendered that it was ringing in my mind long after the concert ended. The concert took on a softer tone with the next composition – Shyama Shastri’s ‘Marivere‘ in Anand Bhairavi, which was followed by a lively rendition of Tyagaraja’s ‘Brova Bharama‘ in Bahudari. Bhairavi was once again in the limelight, this time with Muthuswami Dikshitar’s ‘Balagopala‘ presented in all its glory. Soul-stirring renditions of Swati Tirunal’s ‘Vishweshwara‘ in Sindhu Bhairavi and later ‘Vande Mataram‘ in Desh ensured that the concert ended on a tranquil note. Arun Prakash and Anirudh Athreya provided splendid accompaniment throughout on the mridangam and the kanjira respectively.

Towards the end of this series was a concert by Amritha Murali on 30th December, with H. N. Bhaskar on the violin, Patri Satish Kumar on the mridangam and Anirudh Athreya on the Kanjira. A trio of pleasing ragas – Paras, Kanada and Bilahari – ensured a smooth beginning to the concert. The compositions chosen were ‘Nilayatakshi‘ (Shyama Shastri), ‘Sri Narada‘ (Tyagaraja) and ‘Smara Sada Manasa‘ (Swati Tirunal) respectively. Then came a song that isn’t commonly heard – Muthuswami Dikshitar’s ‘Shringaradi Navarasangi‘ in Dhavalangam. ‘Malmaruga Muruga‘ – a composition of D. Pattammal – led to the main item in the concert which was a grand rendition of Tyagaraja’s ‘Enduku Dayaradura‘ in Todi. The violin accompaniment was brilliant, as was the thani avarthanam on the mridangam and the kanjira. Margazhi concerts that feature Andal’s Tiruppavai are always special, and this time the Tiruppavai chosen was ‘Thoomani Mandathu‘ rendered in Hamir Kalyani. An abhang by Tukaram brought the concert to an end.

It goes without saying that concerts presented online do not come close to concerts held in person to packed halls. However, the fact that these aren’t too different from television and radio broadcasts made an online Margazhi festival a lot less alien than it might have been. The effort put in by the artists and the organisers combined with the excellent audio quality made the entire series a pleasure to watch and listen to.