TNS creates magic once again

Maestro Madurai T.N.Seshagopalan presented an enthralling concert on the 18^th of December, 2012, in the company of Mannargudi Eswaran on the mridangam, M.Chandrasekaran on the violin and Purushothaman on the kanjira. It was one of those very rare concerts where all the four – the vocal, mridangam, violin and kanjira artists are equally competitive and wonderful. The concert started off briskly with the ‘Ninnekori’ varnam in Vasantha. He sang kalpana swarams in two speeds and they were very interesting. It was as though Lord Parthasarathy himself had come down to Earth, when TNS sang the ‘Pannaga sayanudou sri parthasarathy deva’ line so well. Though the sound from the violin was a bit hoarse, it became normal during the second half of the concert. The next song was ‘Raja gopalam bhaje ham’ composed by Dikshithar, rendered in Mohanam. It was sung really well. But one minus was that the mike systems in the sabha were not proper. The sangathis were mind-blowing and the swarams were sung in the anupallavi. It was very sad to see that not many people were present for such a good concert.

The next song was ‘Sarasad dala nayana’ in Behag. Though the alapana was heart-melting, it hardly received any claps. The violin was really good --- the literal comparison would be ‘Konjardhu’. The kalpana swarams were sung at the pallavi and were really good. Though, at times his voice seemed to be straining to reach the upper notes. He sang swarams in the second speed too and the shifting of swarams from the lower – upper notes was awesome. The violinist, Chandrasekaran, seemed to be enjoying TNS’s swarams a lot! So what if he’s blind? He’s a master with the violin. Next was a vritham – ‘Anna vayal pudhuvai andal’, followed by the third thiruppavai – ‘Oongi ulahalandha’ in Arabhi. It was slow-paced and really splendid. Next, he sang the main in Subhapanthuvarali. The ragam was wonderful and filled with brihas. The violin was also excellent. The alapana by both TNS and Chandrasekaran created a very sad and heart-melting atmosphere. The song was ‘Sri sathya narayanam’ by Dikshithar. The sangathis were really good too. The swarams were sung so well, that it was like floating in a lake of Subhapanthuvarali. At one point of time, the swarams were so good that CHandrasekaran started laughing and enjoying them and he didn't play for a particularly tough line that TNS sung. One could sense a great deal of co-ordination and mutual understanding among the artists, in this concert. He sang the swarams in the second speed too. Here Cahndrasekaran said – “Adhu vandhu, nee karpanai la kalpanam pramadhamaa padre…neeye paadidu” and he started enjoying the concert so soulfully. There are no words to describe the feeling the swarams created in you. The thaniyavardhanam(2 kala rupakam) was super and innovative. It was as though the percussionists were creating swarams with their instruments! TNS is an extraordinary example of how a very ordinary voice can be trained to sing at such great heights! The next was ‘Parthasarathy nannu’ composed by Ramanathapuram Srinivasa Iyer in Madhyamavathi. It was rendered well.

After this, he moved onto the ragam – thanam – pallavi in Varunapriya. The ragam was extraordinary. TNS did brihabedham and Varunapriya truned into Ragavardhini, for a short span of time. The warm atmosphere on the stage which caused a few sweat droplets to form on his forehead, did not stop him from singing the thanam very vigorously. The thanam was very, very fast-paced and all Chandrasekaran could do was give a single-swaram follow up for that!! The pallavi was – ‘Azhi mazhai kanna nee tharunamidham karunai pozhi Varunapriya’ set to khanda jathi tiruputa talam. TNS said that he felt that since there were no rains in Chennai, this was the apt pallavi. None can deny, that TNS HAS got style! He sang the swarams in two speeds in Amritavarshini, Varali, Kapi, and came back to Varunapriya. It was really breath-taking. Last but not the least, he sang a thillana and concluded the concert with the mangalam. A lot of happy and awe-struck faces could be seen leaving the venue.