ARR of Carnatic music - Abhishek Raghuram

ARR of Carnatic music .. Abhishek RaghuRam 

I have seen Abhishek Raghuram as a 16 year old lad on stage and knew it then that this boy will go far in Carnatic Music . Now watching him sing at Bharati Vidya Bhavan, I realised I was not wrong ! 

He started the concert with a Varnam in Ragam Nattaikurunji ‘Chelamela Jessevayya’ composed by Mullaivittu Rangaswami Nattuvanar. He followed it with a Muthuswamy Dikshitar composition ‘Siddhi Vinayagam Anisham’ in Ragam Shanmugapriya or Ragam Chamaram, as it’s called in Dikshitar Paddhati. Ragam Shanmugapriya is known as Ragam Chamaram only for his krithis. Now don’t ask me why this exception, because I simply don’t know ! But I guess what could have been the possible reason, is that all these great geniuses while having infinite devotion to the Almighty may or may not have been completely humble. Probably, they were detached from worldly matters but not detached from their own creation which in this case was their compositions. They all had their own signatures or mudras, what we call trademarks & patents these days. If it is their offering to God then it shouldn’t matter who claims ownership after that ... it’s no more yours ! 
I maybe accused of the same for using my own name for these blogs or reviews. That is because I wish to take responsibility for my views and anyway I am neither great nor are these reviews an offering to God.

Abhishek went on sing Saint Thygaraja’s ‘Narasimha Nannu Brovave’ in Bilahari Ragam. I have never heard this krithi before, which goes to prove how little we know and how much more I need to learn in music and in life. I have heard Abhishek sing so many times and I am convinced he is a genius but this particular concert had some tiny thing missing. That little thing which made his concert short of being magical. Now, to make myself clear, he was perfect and truly amazing by normal standards. But by his own standards, or going by his earlier performances, there was something intangible that was missing. Guess, even geniuses have their good days and better days ! 

It was with surgical précision that he rendered Papanasam Sivan’s Sadashiva Bhajaname Janma Sabalyame’ in Todi Ragam. Then came another lovely song composed by Gopalkrishna Bharati ‘ En Neramum Udan Sannidhiyille Naan Irukkka Vendum’ in Devagandhari Ragam for which his Virtham was beautiful. He concluded his concert with Papanasam Sivan ‘s ‘ Aandavane Unai Nambinen’ in Ragam Shanmugapriya. Infact he quipped, that it was the second Shanmugapriya for the day, but that he simply couldn’t resist singing this song. Candid & guileless that is what Abhishek comes across as . I hope to catch atleast two more of his kutcheris this season and if you wish to know if I find the missing ‘something’.......keep following this space ! 

About the Author:

Sandhya Shankar belongs to a well respected business family in Chennai. She is a Life Skills & Corporate Trainer by profession. She is an avid reader and a natural writer, who has written several poems and articles. She even presented her poems as a reading at the British council. She has keen interest in all art forms  and has explored many different forms of painting like stained glass and Tanjore being among them. 

Music being her first passion, she had her formal training under Terakotti Chandrasekharaiah at Bangalore and later briefly under Mrs Champa Kumar. She is a regular visitor of concerts, theatre and other live performances. Her witty reviews have gained a loyal and interactive readership for their sound technical commentary and relevance for every kind of melophile, from the casual-goer to the ragam expert, frequenting Chennai’s rich music scene.

(*The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and not necessarily those of Music of Madras.)