 “Talented
youth who are bound to shine must be given due encouragement,”
said mridangam maestro Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman at the
arangetram of his disciple R Charan on July 14 at Thiagaraja
Vidwath Samajam, Mylapore. He recalled how wizards like
Ariyakudi, Semmangudi and others encouraged him when he was in
his teens.
Charan, a
class-12 student of PSBB Higher Secondary School, made his debut
ring in the ears of vidwans and rasikas of Carnatic classical.
Accompanying the popular Bhairavi Ata Thala Varnam, when it is
rendered in two speeds, that too in an arangetram, brought the
very first impression about Charan to remarkable heights, which
continued to be there throughout the concert.
 |
| T V Sankaranarayanan |
'Vathapi
Ganapathim' in Hamsadhwani and 'Dheva Dheva' of Swati Thirunal
were rendered with T V Sankaranarayanan’s touches by Madhavan
Namboothiri who sang a brisk and crisp alapana in Kalyani after
that. M A Sundareswaran’s blend of the essence and the
varieties of bowing skills were colourful.
'Janani
Ninnuvina', set to a slower pace Misrachapu, was enveloped with
bhava and finer points of Reethigowla. Charan played with ease
and handled gently the short phrases in Mel Kalam (bgho brhy;Y)
and gap fillings successfully owning credit to his guru. 'Ninnada'
in the raga Kaanada, added spice with a Madhyama Kala tempo and
was well-received by the crowd. The main piece was 'Rama Neeyada'
in Karaharapriya with a convincing alapana packed with niceties
and brukas, especially the Mandhra sthayi sancharas by
Sundareswaran.
Unlike the
common scene of Adhi thalam samam in Arangetram, Charan played
the Rendu Kalai Edam of Adhi thalam with confidence and
creativity. It appeared that he is an artiste with four to five
years of stage experience. He was free from nerves and found
himself very much relaxed to accompany, as well as to play the
thani with veteran E M Subramanian on the gatam.
 |
|
Umayalpuram
K.Sivaraman |
His thani
included a kanda jathi korvai in thrikalam (3 speeds) and a
chathusra jathi korvai of complex variety in the first part. The
approach to Gathi Bedhams was good, instead of landing in them
directly. He played Thisra Gathi, Kanda Gathi and a short Misra
Gathi followed by an interesting Misra Kuraippu with tricky
varieties owning credit to his guru. The pharans he played along
with Subramanian and the rare mora of Sakkottai Sri Rangu
Iyengar, (4th guru of Umayalpuram K.Sivaraman), the mridangam
maestro and the embodiment of layam raised the tempo of the
thani. Subramanian was encouraging Charan with gentle strokes
and pharans all the way.
The chief guest
of the evening, Rashmi Y G Parthasarathy, dean & director,
Padma Seshadri Group of Schools, was felicitated by Umayalpuram
K. Sivaraman. Rashmi praised him for his contribution to the art
and his passion to develop many youngsters like Charan. She
congratulated Charan on his wonderful performance and said the
concert did not have any semblance of an arangetram and was
totally professional. She also promised him a slot for the
December season in Bharat Kalachar.
'Manasa
Sancharare', 'Parukkulle Nalla Nadu' and a thillana in
Hamsanandhi provided a filling finale to the concert.
R.Srinivasan
|
Mridangam arangetram
