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News - Views - Reviews |
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MADRAS MUSIC MELA 2001 |
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Rama Ravi - STANDS TALL |
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It is a topsy-turvy world we live in. The lopsided nature of the Madras music season is sufficient reason to believe so. Rama Ravi’s concert on December 20 for Nada Inbam reminded me of the poet who bemoaned the fate of “full many a gem of purest ray serene”. Here is a musician of rare caliber, who gets to perform only at one or two venues. One wonders what the major Sabhas, the acclaimed citadels of art and culture, are doing when they do not feature artistes like her. These organisations should not claim to be patrons of music if their eyes are only on the gate collection. If any remnants of Indian culture are still available to us today, it is thanks to people like Rama Ravi, who follow the tradition without cheap compromises. It was gratifying to note that at least the members of the audience were only what could be described as the cognoscenti. Naada Inbam deserves sincere praise for providing listeners with a chance to listen to her on stage. Rama
Ravi's concert on December 20, 2001 featured rare and weighty compositions like
Koteeswara Iyer’s Ayyane
(Kambhoji) and Tyagaraja’s Manasavrita
(Abhogi) and Karunajuda (Todi).
These choices were backed up by highly classical raga
alapana-s and neraval-s,
which were very creatively rendered. The Kambhoji alapana was rendered in
the form of a viruttam, which presented a distilled essence of the raga.
However, in the pallavi of the kriti, the phrase s n d r featuring the Kakali
Nishada could have been avoided. The kriti itself was a masterpiece with a
beautiful structure, set to Tisra Triputa. The Todi kriti also received
handsome treatment at her hands. The padam, Rama Rama (Bhairavi)
and javali-s, Entati kuluke (Kalyani) and Narimani (Khamas)
rounded up a veritable musical feast. Rama
Ravi’s style of singing is unassuming, yet full-throated. Her knowledge
of the nature of different raga-s and her delivery are of a very high
order. In this aspect, as in others, she reminds one of T Brinda, in fact more so
than most of those who have learnt directly from that late legend. R K Sriramkumar and Tanjavur Kumar accompanied Rama Ravi on the Violin and Mridangam respectively. Both artistes did a competent job, in terms of providing sensitive and unobtrusive accompaniment. However, Sriramkumar's Todi needed more finesse. The Ri and Dha were played in a plain manner with a higher frequency value than necessary, which jarred on the sensitive ear. And there were many sensitive ears in the audience that day! Nandita Ravi provided vocal support. General remarks: Rainy
day, hall about half-full Voice:
Strong, yet not overbearing. Pliable and sensitive in delivery. Ratings: Sruti
- 90 % Overall
effect: Vocal
- 85 % Concert
- 90 % Estimated
audience ratings: Audience
in hall - 50 % capacity, discerning audience. |
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Posted on December 24, 2001 |
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