Every Ranjani-Gayatri concert is a sacred space for the arts – Kalaalaya. Once they begin their music, the soul has no option but to quieten and listen. To behold RaGa after RaGa.
The listening began with the beautiful Kalyani kriti Ganapathe Mahamathe, with swarams for Ganapathe and Maam Paahi. When I visited the temple a while ago, I couldn’t see Kapaleeshwarar, because of the crowds, but no worries, he came for us in the favourite Papanasam Sivan’s kriti in sweet Valachi – Paadame Thunai Paramashiva!
One of the Pentatonic gems next – Shuddha Dhanyasi! Ranjani ma’am’s alapana was one full of delight as she revealed the different sections of the raga in fun-filled bursts of phrases. In a raga as popular as this, kriti glimpses were extra joyous. Five notes but enough flavours in each to create an undoubted sense of completion. The awesome Vid Charumathi Raghuraman played a rich, gripping yet unbelievably sweet alapana. The classic, Enta Nerchina was rendered with RaGa-aplomb followed by a shower of playful swarams by the three, while the amazing Vid Manoj Siva and Vid Anirudh Atreya anchored and enriched with their sensitive, anticipative percussion.
How do they manage to throw in a surprise like this! What I thought was going to be just a glimpse turned into a full fledged alapana by Gayatri ma’am. How to describe Her. Thousand names don’t suffice. I just feel like worshipping… Every choice, every decision a representation of the highest aesthetic sensibilities. Can Lalitha get any more Lalitha than that alapana? The bubble that never bursts engulfed us and kept us floating as the waves of Lalitha tossed us gently, swept us from one note to the other in disarmingly pure glides, swirls, eddies, the currents changing speed in her perfect design. Truly blessed to hear this voice, to hear such music, to behold such an infinite Lalitha. How compassionate, how gentle, how fierce, how powerful. The fulcrum of all polarities and contrasts. And Thank God for a violinist like this. She recreated not phrases, not ideas, but the very soul and essence of this one-of-a-kind alapana. How much care and love these artistes have for us, to give us something so pure and precious. With such uncompromising music, unflinching devotion comes so easy.
This ragam makes me fear closing my eyes. The images of Her that pull, that make me feel like I’m falling endlessly. But with this kriti, I couldn’t resist. Spoilt between opening the eyes and seeing the Goddesses in front, and closing them and seeing the Goddess within. What a beautiful predicament. Every word, every line of Shyama Shastri’s exquisite gem soaked in the perfect melody, every phrase, every plain note so hauntingly beautiful. Who else to seek refuge in, but Her. Neraval. Ninnuvina Evarunnaaru Gati Janani! Eyes well up to even type this. The slow speed made each word soar in emotion, suspended in the most majestic Mishra Chapu. And then some unreal faster neraval between the two of them, so seamlessly flowing through connected hearts. I’m going to miss Margazhi so much. Makes me choke up, sometimes I wish I could just write paragraphs and paragraphs about one piece. But how can I do that, when there’s so much beauty left to be written about… Nannu Brovu Lalitha!
A special day of coincidences, I’d just seen the Thiruvanmiyur valar Tripura Sundari in the morning! They celebrated her in that evergreen Shuddha Saveri composition in Khanda Chapu with its charming chittaswarams.
Some ragas just seem to defy all conceptions anyone might have about Vivadi ragas. How can so much beauty be called “dissonant”? Words mean nothing in the face of experience. (Yup, I can see the irony here) Ranjani ma’am began her alapana in the gorgeous raga with a perfectly grand name. Such unique bliss and poise in her long, drawn out curves. Those chiseled runs executed with finesse. Of course, the violinist played a super-sweet alapana replete with the raga’s beauty. Then came the limitless one. What was that alapana?! How much sadhana has to go in for a being to express so freely and convey the most beautiful things a raga has to say? Everything she showed us was the absolute truth in the sweetest nectar. Utterly divine. Truly Vaagadheeshwari. What unearthly prowess to flow between notes and octaves! How artfully the vivadi embedded in each sweeping run to make the heart do a somersault and sigh and gasp. Can a jantai be so beautiful? Can a single note be this complete? The purity of each note, each movement, each moment in the higher octave leaving the ears in speechless ecstasy. What an ideal. What an idol. That fleeting Kurinji! You know a Grahabhedam is extra magical and truthful when long after it’s over every nyasa around ma makes you hear the parallel raga. Imagine that – instead of trying so hard to switch on and hear the parallel, the parallel happens naturally and you have to switch off to stop hearing it! How true and pure, this music! And how lucky we are, to experience!
After delightful rounds of raga-filled Tanam came the pallavi in Khanda Triputa, Trimukhi –
Ishwari Vaageeshwari Vaagadheeshwari!
Nee Samaanamevaru Kalaadhari
Their concert with Vaagadheeshwari RTP at Academy was my first ever live RaGa experience. Sigh, seven plus years of madness and awe, only growing exponentially. Neraval drowned the beautiful words in hand-picked, quintessential Vaagadheeshwari across both the speeds before swarams began. Each spot in the pallavi was highlighted in the gripping second speed pallavi with crisp fire-cracker swarams. The last round! Violin! A lovely Arabhi bloomed as the first ragamalika swaram followed by the absolutely magnificent melancholy that is Bilaskhani Todi. The pallavi was followed by a fantastic Thani. The koraippu in THIS talam!!
Who can sing Viruttham like this! Punnagavarali’s unsettling beauty, Nadanamakriya’s utter surrender and Chenjurutti’s playfulness! Kuyile! Kannanidam Edutthu Solladi. Priceless gem. The concert ended with the evocative Bairagi Abhang. The glimpse, each improvisation at the heights of emotion.
It’s truly unbelievable that anybody can give one unmissable concert after another, over time, so consistently. There’s no ordinary, no kutcheri or audience treated “lightly”. And come Margazhi, Ranjani Gayatri’s levels of magic are taken up a notch. A new, higher plane of experience. An upward spiral of musicality, creativity, beauty.
Well, no time for removing the seat belts, the next flight soon to take off. The next Goddess awaits, atop the hills in Mysore! ❤️
Notes on Ra-Ga 