Recently I had the wonderful opportunity to attend two fabulous concerts. Both were presented by two wonderfully accomplished women – one in Carnatic and one in Hindustani. Being a student of Carnatic classical music, and a music lover and activist, it was a wonderful experience for me to witness these two concerts and experience the oneness of music.
The first concert I attended was of Padma Bhushan Sangita Kalanidhi Smt. Sudha Raghunathan. Having followed her from childhood, and having listened to all her creative projects, it was truly a dream come true for me to attend her concert. This concert was organized by the local cultural committee here in Dallas called IFAA and GHHF. Padma Bhushan Sangita Kalanidhi Smt. Sudha Raghunathan was accompanied by :- Shri. Kamalakiran Vinjamuri on violin, Shri. Akshay Anantapadmanabhan on Mridangam, Shri. Soumiya Narayanan on Ghatam and Sai Shruti on Tamburi.
Smt.Sudha Raghunathan opened the concert with the famous Daru Varnam – Mathe Malayadhwaja set in Raaga Khamas. Then she rendered a short alapane, and rendered Gajavadana Beduve in Hamsadhwani raga. She followed these with Nee Daya Raada, a very enthralling alapane of Reethigowla, and a composition in this raaga called Janani ninnu vina, detailed alapane of Pantuvarali and Kriti Raghuvara. She followed this up with Sri Oothukadu’s Alai Payudhe in Kaanada raaga, and another short ragam tanam pallavi starting in Brindavani raaga and transitioning via Gruhabhedam to many related raagas. Next she presented many more popular kritis.
Every aspect of the raaga, nuances, the technical skills needed to transition in gruhabhedam, the expansion of raagas to reach some interesting notes, were all skillfully explored. These interesting explorations were further enhanced by the percussion and violin renditions. At one point, the music truly became the sole entity in the performance hall – there was no vocalist or violinist or Mridangist. There was no singer or audience. There was only music!!
It was a fulfilling experience witnessing this concert.
After a few days, I had the opportunity to attend a hindustani concert by Smt.Kaushiki Chakraborty. This concert was organized by IndianOctaves. Smt.Kaushiki Chakraborthy was accompanied by Shri. Murad Ali Khan on Sarod, Shri. Tanmay Deochake on Harmonium and Shri. Sandip Ghosh on Tabla. I have been following Smt.Kaushiki Chakraborty for quite some time now, and her women’s musical group called the “Sakhi”. So it was again another dream come true moment for me.
In this concert, due to the fact that there were many Carnatic musicians in the audience, she chose to render Raags from Hindustani music, which are also predominant ragas in Carnatic music. She very artistically and intelligently elaborated Raags like Madhuvanti, Sindhu Bhairavi , Rageshri etc. Each raag she chose and rendered were crafted into masterpieces! One by one each raag took a beautiful shape on the canvas of the audience’s mind, and left after creating a lilting imprint. She demonstrated how Raag can be sung with multiple characteristic traits by emulating a chit chat between two friends – One bold and another shy, yet they have this friendly banter! She was full of humility for her great masters, and her audience and her accompanying artists. The accompanying artists were also very accomplished who easily matched her speed and creativity.
So all in all both these concerts were truly magnificent. Both were presented by two highly accomplished women – like mentioned earlier one in Carnatic and one in Hindustani. But both of them had some very common aspects – Both of them have achieved a very high position in their own art forms, but still continue to improve themselves. They respect their art, and treat it with utmost reverence. They respect their audience, their accompanying artists and of course their Gurus. I marvel at their brilliance in innovation, and not sticking to a comfort zone. There is a fire in the belly , yet having a calm demeanor to bring about something new, something innovative to the audience. Whether it is the Gruhabhedam in Smt.Sudha Raghunathan concert or the banter of the strong and shy Raag nuances by Smt.Kaushiki Chakraborty, brilliance and innovation shines through. Brilliance of technicalities apart, what really touched me was the fact that it brought in so much of beauty and hope to my soul.
Many times we wonder about the future of classicism not only in classical music, but also in our approach to life. But witnessing such concerts gives a hope that classicism still can thrive, maybe with a little more thoughtfulness and innovation. It also shows that women can achieve whatever they want, if they put their determination and hard work into it. So I drove back home from both concerts humming those tunes, and full of hope and inspiration in my heart.
Audio Version:
Kannada Version:
This article is originally published in Udayavani Desiswara in Kannada and written by Sushma Bhat.
