Nagaswaram artistes bring training and imagination into play

The sound of tradition

Veteran nagaswaram player Vyasarpadi G Kothandaraman presented a sublime recital along with his disciples, Tirupati B. Kesanna and Chittoor R. Devarajulu. A thorough stickler for tradition, Kothandaraman is uncompromising in his approach to practicing and performing the instrument.

Briskly beginning the recital with Tyagaraja’s ‘Janaki ramana’ in Shuddha Seemanthini, the trio presented some swift swaras at ‘Rakta nalina’. Throughout the recital, Kothandarman’s disciples complemented him, leading to perfect coordination among the three instrumentalists. This was followed by Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar’s ‘Saraguna paalimpa’ in Kedaragowla. Every sangati carried the stamp of the instrument in highlighting prayogas using long-winded phrases with impeccable sruthi shuddham. ‘Paraloka bhayamu’ in Mandari was rendered next. The alapana that preceded the kriti stood out for its clarity.

Begada, a raga that is traditionally favoured by nagaswaram artistes was chosen for an elaborate alapana. A rare kriti of Papanasam Sivan ‘Bhuvaneshwari padam ninaindu’ was played. This proved to be engaging for the audience as many kept guessing what the kriti could be.

The main song of the evening was ‘Janani ninuvina’ in Reethigowlai that had an appealing swarakalpana section.

One of the best parts of the recital was the faceoff between Tirupungur T. G. Muthukumaraswamy and Adyar D Senthil Kumar, the thavil vidwans. In a thani that lasted more than 20 minutes, the two artistes truly demonstrated the potential of the underrated instrument by thoroughly charming rasikas with their competitive playing. The recital ended with ‘Enna Thavam seidhanai’ in Kapi.

S P Palanivel and Prabhavathi Palanivel

Balanced, sincere and traditional are the words that come to mind when describing Bangalore S. P. Palanivel and Prabhavathi Palanivel’s duo nagaswaram performance. The couple, who are based out of Bengaluru have won several awards and are A-graded AIR artistes. They were accompanied by Velliambakkam V. M. Ganapathi and Bikkampatti B. R. Venkatesh on the thavil.