Pattabhiram Pandit’s concert was a tribute to the KVN bani

Pattabhiram Pandit enthralled with his choice of kritis

T.S. Pattabhiram Pandit, disciple of Palghat K.V. Narayanaswamy, regaled the audience with his Carnatic vocal concert at the valedictory function of Mangaluru Sangeetha Parishad’s ‘Thrimshath Sambhrama’ (30th year celebrations). The Parishad had organised it in association with Karnataka Government’s Department of Kannada and Culture, the local chapters of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and Ramakrishna Math.

Pattabhiram exhibited a spirit of camaraderie with co-artistes and a good rapport with the audience throughout his concert. He began well with Pallavi Gopala Iyer’s Ata tala varnam ‘Vanajakshi’ in Kalyani. Sustaining the momentum, he continued with Tyagaraja’s ‘Bala kanakamayachela’ in Atana. In this kriti the composer enlists the numerous attributes of Rama and extols his greatness. As Pattabhiram went on with the niraval and swara session, one could experience the KVN style.

Next, Pattabhiram delineated g Nattakurinji, and as the audience kept guessing the kriti , he sang the rarely-heard ‘Pahi janani santatam’ by Swati Tirunal. In this exquisite composition, the composer describes the Devi residing in Kanyakubjam, (now known as Kannauj), using the choicest of phrases. The niraval for the line ‘Kamaneeyatama roope, kanyaakubjavasinee’ and the swara session with the refrain ‘ma ga ma ni da ni pa da ni sa’ were delightful.

After discussing with the audience, Pattabhiram decided to present his main kriti in Vagadheeswari. As he went on with the alapana, the raga swarupa slowly unfolded itself . As expected, he rendered ‘Paramathmudu veligae’, in which Tyagaraja looks at Rama not as the son of Dasaratha or the consort of Sita, but as Paramatma, the formless lord. He conveyed effectively the kriti’s emotion and embellished it with sprightly swaraprastaras.

The lighter session had a few shlokas, ‘Chinnanjiru kiliyae’ by Bharathiyar, ‘Thaarakka bindige’ (Purandaradasa) and ‘Kandu dhanyanadhe udupi krishnana’ (Kamalesha Dasa). After the moving ‘Varugalamo Aiya’ in Manji, he sang a thillana in Paraju, before concluding his concert.

Trivandrum Sampath’s violin playing was imaginative and supportive. Veteran mridangist Bengaluru V. Praveen gave a solid and sparkling support to the vocalist . The audience enjoyed the tani avartanam, during which, the mridangist encouraged young Kanjira artiste Sumukha Karanth to bring out his best.