BHARAT KALACHAR
Clear diction,
emotionally appealing
Reminiscent of Mali
A seasoned performer attaches the highest
importance to the smallest detail of the performance. On Sunday, the
little master on the flute, S. Sashank welcomed his audience and
introduced the accompanying artists — Mysore Manjunath on the
violin, Mannargudi A. Eswaran on the mridangam and Thirupunithura
Radhakrishna on the ghatam and Govindaprasad on the morsing. This
may be somewhat unusual in a kutcheri. But such gestures will no
doubt bring rich dividends in the long term. After observing these
niceties, Sashank was completely immersed in his music for the next
two hours.
His opening piece was a varnam in Darbar, played in
the madhyama and dhurita kalam. The Lathangi kriti ``Aparadhamula"
was brilliantly ornated with alapana and svaram.
He introduced the bass flute selectively for
effects and his short halting phrases were reminiscent of the
inimitable T. R. Mahalingam. ``Janani," the Reethigowla kriti of
Subbaraya Sastri, seems to be heard all too frequently in recent
times. It was somewhat tedious listening to it yet again.
The main ragams of the evening were Lalitha and
Dharmavathi. Sashank's command over the three octaves and remarkable
breath control were in sharp focus in the rendition of the thanam.
The violinist improvised phrases, which sounded like a western
symphony. Listeners can look forward to more performances by
Shashank in the current season.
GARIMELLA SUBRAMANIAM
Printer friendly page
Send this
article to Friends by E-Mail
Entertainment
