Handsome Twosome.... - Trichur Brothers



HANDSOME  TWOSOME….




Trichur brothers   Srikrishna Mohan and Ramkumar Mohan gave a wonderful concert held under the aegis of MEENAKSHI SUNDARARAJAN FINE ARTS ACADEMY held at the K.R.S, Auditorium, Meenakshi College for Women, 363 Arcot Road, Kodambakkam, Chennai-600 024 on Thursday the 5th December 2019.
The duo presented a brief raga aalapana of Begada with freshness that was followed by M.A.Sundaresan on the violin with brilliance. He packed the essence of Begada and quickly offered the rasikas a wonderful recipe in no time. The exquisite piece was “Sankari Nee ve..”
Then came the magnificent krithi of Swati Tirunal in Bhoopalam in Misrachapu talam. Needless to say the piece was “Gopaalaka Paahimaam Anisham..”The duo developed the inherent  rhythmic beauty of this song  in all the dimensions, painting with vibrant swara patterns. The petals of the flower slowly opened and the nectar began to flow down so mellifluously and effortlessly at the Charanam.”Saa rasa rasa suvachana  sarojanabha.”
Then came the majestic composition of saint Thyagaraja..”Koluvaiyunnaade.Kodandapani” in Devagandhari ragam set to Aadhi taalam. That was in quick succession with a neat performance.
The concert then moved on to the Sudhdhaseemanthini kruthi of Thyagaraja “Janaki Rammana..” The duo did full justice at “Ratna nalina dala nayana nrpaala.” ..describing Lord Rama as the possessor of eyes like the petals of red lotus and beautiful mirror like cheeks.and so on.
The Trichur brothers then took the rasikas on a holy trip to Thiruvallikeni to have a darshan of Lord Parthasarathy. Sri Muthuswamy Deekshithar’s “Sri Parthasarathy na Paalithosmyaham sadha” was the beautiful song presented highlighting the intricate beauty of the raag Sudhdha Dhanyasi.
The main item for the day’s concert was “Sankari Ninne” in Panthuvarali set to Misrachapu taal. The duo carved out an exquisite Panthuvaraali aalap that sounded like a Shehanai jugalbandhi. The deep rooted Paatanthra backed by vigorous voice culture training was crystal clear in the exsecution of this song. Whatever quantity of raag that was offloaded by the duo was given in a nutshell in just 5 minutes by Violinist Parur M.A.Sundareswaran.what a bowing technique..! Richly he deserved the several round of applause that reverberated in the hall. After a detail delineation of Panthuvarali at “Kaami dhaartha dhayani Kaathyayani Gowri…” the thani avarthanam followed. Trichur R.Mohan on the mridangam and S.Venkataramanan on the Kanjira gave a sparkling laya vinyaasam.
On the whole the duo’s presentation was a Handsome Twosome with excellent support by all the accompanists.

About the Author:
SHANKAR VENKATRAMAN, a practising company secretary by profession, hails from a family with musical lineage. On the maternal side, his mother’s great grandfather Nemam Subramania Iyer was one of the last disciples of Saint Thyagaraja Swamigal. His maternal grandfather Nemam Nataraja Bhagavathar was the disciple of Mahavaidhyanatha Sivan and an Asthana Vidhwan of Sringeri Samasthanam. His son “Kalaimaamani” Prof N.S.Ramachandran was the Director of different  Kendras of All India Radio and the  Dean and Director of Music Department, University of Delhi. He had composed many kruthis out of which “Sri Chandrasekhara Yatheendram Aashrayae”on Sri Kanchi Paramacharya in Sankarabharanam popularized by Dr.M.S.Subbulakshmi and “Sree Maha Ganapathae..” in Aabhogi an evergreen hit of M.L.Vasanthakumari are very popular.
Shankar Venkatraman’s father (Late) K.V.Venkatraman, son of Kanjanur-Kottur S.Vaithyanatha Swamy Iyer was an ardent devotee of Sri Kanchi Paramacharya and had served as the Correspondence-in-charge for Sri Paramacharya while Shri Periyavaa was camping in Kumbakonam during 1930-31(When Periyavaa was referred as Kumbakonam Periyavaa). Sri Sengalipuram Anantharama Deekshithar is Vaithyanathaswamy Iyer’s maternal cousin.
Shankar did his schooling at Vidya Mandir, Mylapore (1968-1982) Chennai and obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from Loyola College, Chennai. He did his Company Secretary course from the Institute of Company Secretaries of India, Chennai-600034.
(*The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and not necessarily those of Music of Madras.) 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mridangam Maestro stole the show....! - Sandeep Narayan

Image
Mridangam Maestro stole the show....! Sandeep Narayanan commenced his concert with Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar’s Ata Taala varnam in Kaanada “Nera nammithi”.  Then came a rare composition of Thyagaraja in Gaanavaridhi ragam….”Dhaya Juchuta..” The violinist portrayed a beautiful Gaana varidhi. Muthuswami Dikshithar’s Dwijavanti kriti “Chetha Sri Balakrishnam Bhajare” was very pleasing. A quick and vibrant Kuntalavarali followed. Swati Tirunal’s “Bogeendra Saayinam…” had a marvelous mrudangam support by maestro Dr. Umayalpuram K.Sivaraman. His touches gave a dance recital effect to this particular song. The vocalist made a passing reference of M.K.Thagaraja Bhagavathar’s “Maname Nee Eesan Naamathai..” set in Kuntalavarali in the film “Ashok kumar” during his raga exploration.  An elaborate Thodi was captivating. The violinist’s version was effective. The vocalist traversed through Karnaranjani and Kurinji interludes innovatively. “Kaarthikeya Kaangeya Gowri Thanayaa” was
Read more

DICTION….DEDICATION…..DEVOTION……….AND DISTINCTION - N.Vijay Siva

Image
DICTION….DEDICATION…..DEVOTION……….AND  DISTINCTION Dedication, devotion, wide range of repertoire, concrete commitment to classicism without compromise and clarity in presentation make N.Vijay Siva stand out as  a distinct classical musician in the realm of carnatic music.  Vijay Siva commenced his concert with a heartwarming “Pagavari…” Hamsadhwani varnam composed by Patnam Subramania Iyer. That was followed by a clear-cut Jayamanohari raga krithi of Thyagaraja “Nee Bhakthi Bhagya Sudha..” The beautification at “Naadhathmaka Thyagaraja Nadha Aprameya sadhaa..”was so clear with a wonderful diction that it was easy to note down the entire song. That proved Vijay Siva is undoubtedly the torch bearer of DKP/DKJ legacy presenting the song with utmost clear diction in his own inimitable style without producing any mirror images of his mentors. Mysore Vasudevachariar’s Kalyani raga krithi “Kailaasa pathe maam paahi…Boo kailaasa pathe…” received a regal treatment with a good
Read more

Parampara…a myth or reality ? - Dr. Ritha Rajan

Image
Parampara…a myth or reality? Dr. Ritha Rajan hails from a family of musicians closely associated with Veena Dhanammal and Kancheepuram Nayana Pillai.  She had  initial training in music from her mother and grandmother.  She underwent intensive training from Sri Ramnad Krishnan for 6 years, then from Smt T.Muktha and also from Sangita Kalanidhi Smt T.Brindha. Smt Ritha Rajan had also accompanied Smt. T. Brindha in her concerts. Further she had special training under Shri Maruthuvakkudi Rajagopala Iyer. She was awarded Ph.D degree by the University of Madras for her research work on “Paatanthara-s in the compositions of the Musical Trinity”. A teacher par excellence she retired as Professor and Head of the Department of Music, Queen Mary’s college, Chennai. She is also a Member, Advisory Board of Experts, The Music Academy Chennai.  “Samudhra” magazine an offshoot of Mudhra, conferred the prestigious tittle “Gnana Samudhra” on Dr. Ritha Rajan on Saturday the 30 th N
Read more