Repetition. Repetition.
Such a simple yet powerful device. The joy of repetition was revealed in Ranjani-Gayatri’s first piece itself – the Hindolam varnam by TM Thyagarajan – how the second speed shows the same lines in a totally different colour, varnam! And what a fun charanam! The second piece was the ever-beloved Janaranjaka “Paahim Sri Rajarajeswari” With those fire-cracker fast swarams after some rounds of majestic slow ones.
Chakravaham flowed next, in Ranjani ma’am’s beautiful voice tailor-made for ragas like this, showcasing its poised glides and chiseled beauty to the fullest. What a beauty that kriti glimpse was! Etula Brotuvo Teliya! The grand kriti was rendered gloriously, anchored by the ever so perfect and tight percussion by Vid Delhi Sairam and Vid Chandrasekhara Sharma. The kriti was adorned with gripping swarams before moving to the next piece, a piece that drowned us in its inescapable bliss… Buckets and buckets of bliss poured on our heads from the greatest heights in Dikshitar’s special Anandabhairavi, each sangathi to be relished every time it occured and recurred – Manasa Guruguha Roopam Bhajare.
BGS. Bilahari. A deluge of memories. Gayatri ma’am began her joy epitomized alapana with such play and poise. A beauty like this deserves to be celebrated across all octaves. Those endearing patterns. Isn’t a perfectly timed GPMG enough to tug every heart! Nectar poured forth, as she unraveled the raga’s secrets in different speeds. Those dazzling upward spirals!! All in pristine akaara. Phrases drawn out in taut precision to create that impact. Those runs that screamed glee and abandon. That Yamuna Kalyani… Conjured with no hindrance to the Bilahari, just floating up and then sinking back into it. Wiz. Vittal Rangan’s Bilahari flowed in full spate, a magical outpouring of melody, especially when he launched into those non-stop fast phrases!! A treat of a Swati Tirunal composition followed – Smara Sadaa Maanasa. Last Bilahari had Garudadhwani, this one had Garuda…Turangam! 😀 Neraval drenched this line from the charanam in the ragam in all the speeds, before it was decorated with delectable kalpanaswarams and one thrilling Thani Avartanam. This was followed by a brisk Devamamohari kriti with its lovely twists and turns. How they manage to pack in so much energy in each rendition – Yaarukku Thaan Theriyum?!
Aha, Aha, that beauty when a Prathimadhyamam comes. Not just any, Simmhendramadhyamam itself! Ranjani ma’am began by sketching a rasika-ranjaka portrait of this grand ragam with those long drawn glides, plain notes and heavy weight, gripping phrases. After a poised violin alapana that kept us rooted in the feel of the raga came Gayatri ma’am’s alapana. How a raga like this brings about an air of seriousness, it demands attention with that sense of undefiable authority! And while we gave her our attention, she seamlessly crystallized that spellbinding Nadanamakriya from Pa. What a Grahabhedam. What an expression! A few minutes that changed the entire alapana, that took everything to a different plane and kept it up there. Those superspeed runs made my jaw hit the floor with alarming velocity, crashing and exploding like the mind was.. What prowess. We applauded every chance we got. Then came Taanam, to pour more of this expression amidst rhythmic syllables. Wiz. Vittal left us in awe, once again. And Oh God, the pallavi that was to come…
Valimai! Valimai! Endru Paaduvom!
Endrum Vaazhum Chudar Kulatthai Naaduvom!
Can anyone ever write down what the pallavi did to the listener? What is this madness… How can these words, this ragam, this tuning, this syllable structure, this dwinadai talam make such uncontrollable power course through the veins?! Must be the musicians. Must be the poet. Must be divinity. An utterly special pallavi, in tribute to celebrate the unparalleled Mahakavi. Their bhakti for him so evident in just how this line was set… Repetition. Repetition! Oh what a priceless joy this Repetition! What a world of difference between the first Valimai and the second… A surge in power, conviction You just had to be there, no other way about it. In neraval the line reached out and moved us in impossible ways as they poured their souls into each word. Yet another Grahabhedam, born so naturally, with no intent but to express the deepest and the most intense of emotions. Bowli. You can’t even imagine how powerful it was. The thishram swarams just in purvangam! Then by the Gods of wordless exclamations came that second speed. Speechless. Words. Syllables. Talam. Making the heart race. Truly brilliant. All the five magicians on stage made me literally want to tear my hair out in awe.
In the ragamalika swarams first came a raga that I’ve associated with Tamizh and her beauty – Rageshri, that Ranjani ma’am constructed so beautifully. Then came a Mohanakalyani. The JUGGLING JUGGERNAUT danced atop a triad of parallel rivers, each flowing in full speed and converging and diverging before eyes could blink. Mohanakalyani, Arabhi, Abheri.
Joy. Joy. Joy.
Bharati wasn’t done. Nor was Bharati – Saraswati sprang forth in a Viruttam! Instantly reminded of their other pallavi. Only for a second, for the present moment always becomes the most tempting thing when they sing, so the mind swiftly returned and relished the Nalinakanthi that then blossomed.
Sonnapadikku nadandhiduvai maname!
We obeyed. When that Sindubhairavi entered our ears from that Madhyamashruthi, none of us were ourselves. None of us existed for those few minutes, we didn’t know where we had been taken. Thozhil verillai! Kaan! Just see. Just hear. She was there. What else to do?
Nenjukku Neethiyum.
Shakti Om Shakti Om Shakti Om.
Shakti Vel Shakti Vel Shakti Vel.
Then as if we shouldn’t leave a concert so affected and disoriented and consumed by intense emotion, an Abhang rooted in the purest of love, poured in the sweetest of music.
Is there any point even trying to write about music? Who will ever get to experience anything close to hearing these musicians by reading words? Isn’t this just a very very poor repetition, lost in translation, of something that’s already happened in the best way it ever could! A recap, a recount, a selfish way for this listener to relive some of that magic while he remembers?! But perhaps when something is so beyond beautiful, when something is so powerful, it bears repeating, just one more time, and maybe another, for the heart yearns to go through all of it again, and again.
Because it’s Music. MUSIC! RaGa!
Notes on Ra-Ga 