Devi Gayathri (Girish) - Gayathri Girish
Devi Gayathri ( Girish )
For several years now that Jaya TV has been having their own Carnatic Music Festival called Marghazhi Utsavam. It has always starts on December 1st and the venue has always been Chettinad Vidyashram Auditorium. The Chief Guest always been Dr. Rani Meena Muthaiah. They were one of the first to organise thematic concerts which were not ticketed and it used to draw thronging crowds.
Yesterday as I went there, I couldn’t help noticing the dismal crowd which not deserving to an accomplished singer like Gayathri. People there told me that it had been the same case for all the programs some even worse. Many reasons could be attributed such as dismal weather, too many free concerts happening all over the city. The most probable reason could also be that the breakaway faction of Shubhashree Thanickchalam’s own ‘ Marghazhi Maha Utsavam ‘ held at the Youth Hostel at Indiranagar, which coincides with this ‘Marghazhi Utsavam‘. Trust them to insert a ‘Maha’ like the Mahaghatbandhan ! It has to be admitted that Shubhashree had curated the program differently year ago when there was a standard pattern that was followed and she is does better marketing. It’s obvious that Jaya tv is more interested in recording the show and telecasting it later. They are interested in television viewership rather than crowd energy in the auditorium.
Fortunately for them Gayathri carried the entire show on her own merit.
Yesterday the theme at the ‘Non Maha Marghazhi Utsavam‘ was ‘Devi Stuthi‘ and the artiste was an eminent vocalist Gayathri Girish.
She started her concert with a Varnam in Shuddhadhanyasi ‘Raja Mathangi’ composed by Harikesanallur Muthaiah Bhagavathar. A Varnam is a kind of a yardstick to estimate one’s proficiency in Carnatic music. Gayathri was excellent and her expertise was not surprising, she having learnt music from T.N. Seshagopalan, who may have had his detractors but there is no doubting his mastery in Carnatic music. Her next song was my own personal favourite, composition by Muthuswami Dikshitar ‘Kanchadalayadakshi‘ in Ragam Kamalamanohari. If I can sing this song reasonably well, it’s because of my teacher Champa Kumar. She had tremendous patience in teaching me the nuances of this song and most importantly making me enjoy singing it.
Next came a beautiful song by Saint Thygaraja in Sindhu Kannada Ragam ‘Nannu Thalli Na Bhagyamma Narayani Dharmambike’.
It’s a well known fact that Thyagaraja’s devotion borders on obsession for Lord Rama. There are few rare krithis on other Gods or Goddesses. It was Rama and nothing else for him. His reference to Sitamma or Janaki was as his mother. And before you think he has changed his loyalties like politicians and this one was a non-Rama song, he says ‘Ramapati Sodari Karthyayani‘ which means Rama’s sister or rather MahaVishnu’s sister ! How can it be that it’s a Thygaraja krithi and no mention of Rama? It will be like poori without oil, simply impossible not even with Philips Airfryer !
Gayathri went on to sing another Dikshitar krithi in Ragam Lalita ‘Hiranmayee Lakshmi’. She followed it with ‘Kadai kann Vaiythu Ennai Allamma’ in Ragam Begada composed by Ramaswamy Sivan. She did complete justice to it and swarasthanam was very good.
She went on sing ‘Bhuvaneswariye’ composed by Muthaiah Bhagavathar in Ragam Mohanakalyani . I particularly found this appealing because it was Kannada, a language people often ignore in Carnatic Music. They will even include a Marathi Abhang most often to get more eyeballs ( or is it more eardrums) but Kannada compositions are hardly sung, inspite of it being known as Karnatik or Carnatic Music and the Father of this being Purandaradasa all of whose Devaranamas were in Kannada.
It was interesting when she simply glided into the virutham for her next song in the same Ragam Mohanakalyani, that made the move to the next song appear seamless. It was actually a Ragamalika of Bharatiyaar’s ‘Nallador Veenai Seidhen’ which had both Ragam Shivashakti and Mohanakalyani. Bharatiyaar himself often uses the term ‘Shivashakti’ in his poems.
Then came a popular composition by Ghanam Krishnan Aiyar ‘Jagat Janani Shukapani Kalyani‘ in Ragam Ratipatipriya. I am simply fascinated by the number of Ragas we have and also the names that they have acquired. Ratipatipriya is a janya of 22nd Melakartha Ragam Kharaharapriya. She ended her concert with Madurai Shreenivasan’s composition ‘Karunai Deivam Karpagame’ in Ragam Sindhu Bhairavi. What better way than a song dedicated to Karpagambal of Kapaleesswara temple and not the overrated Mess opposite the temple.
Personally I was disappointed that there was no composition of one the Trinity, Syama Sastri ,whose every composition was about Bangaru Kamakshi. After all what Rama was to Thygaraja, Kamakshi was to Syama Sastri. It was otherwise a very well balanced concert with almost all popular Devi krithis. She sang totally 9 krithis in which two were Dikshitar krithis but not even one of Shyam’s Sastri’s. Guess there is no quota system in place for Carnatic Music composers ?
Yesterday as I went there, I couldn’t help noticing the dismal crowd which not deserving to an accomplished singer like Gayathri. People there told me that it had been the same case for all the programs some even worse. Many reasons could be attributed such as dismal weather, too many free concerts happening all over the city. The most probable reason could also be that the breakaway faction of Shubhashree Thanickchalam’s own ‘ Marghazhi Maha Utsavam ‘ held at the Youth Hostel at Indiranagar, which coincides with this ‘Marghazhi Utsavam‘. Trust them to insert a ‘Maha’ like the Mahaghatbandhan ! It has to be admitted that Shubhashree had curated the program differently year ago when there was a standard pattern that was followed and she is does better marketing. It’s obvious that Jaya tv is more interested in recording the show and telecasting it later. They are interested in television viewership rather than crowd energy in the auditorium.
Fortunately for them Gayathri carried the entire show on her own merit.
Yesterday the theme at the ‘Non Maha Marghazhi Utsavam‘ was ‘Devi Stuthi‘ and the artiste was an eminent vocalist Gayathri Girish.
She started her concert with a Varnam in Shuddhadhanyasi ‘Raja Mathangi’ composed by Harikesanallur Muthaiah Bhagavathar. A Varnam is a kind of a yardstick to estimate one’s proficiency in Carnatic music. Gayathri was excellent and her expertise was not surprising, she having learnt music from T.N. Seshagopalan, who may have had his detractors but there is no doubting his mastery in Carnatic music. Her next song was my own personal favourite, composition by Muthuswami Dikshitar ‘Kanchadalayadakshi‘ in Ragam Kamalamanohari. If I can sing this song reasonably well, it’s because of my teacher Champa Kumar. She had tremendous patience in teaching me the nuances of this song and most importantly making me enjoy singing it.
Next came a beautiful song by Saint Thygaraja in Sindhu Kannada Ragam ‘Nannu Thalli Na Bhagyamma Narayani Dharmambike’.
It’s a well known fact that Thyagaraja’s devotion borders on obsession for Lord Rama. There are few rare krithis on other Gods or Goddesses. It was Rama and nothing else for him. His reference to Sitamma or Janaki was as his mother. And before you think he has changed his loyalties like politicians and this one was a non-Rama song, he says ‘Ramapati Sodari Karthyayani‘ which means Rama’s sister or rather MahaVishnu’s sister ! How can it be that it’s a Thygaraja krithi and no mention of Rama? It will be like poori without oil, simply impossible not even with Philips Airfryer !
Gayathri went on to sing another Dikshitar krithi in Ragam Lalita ‘Hiranmayee Lakshmi’. She followed it with ‘Kadai kann Vaiythu Ennai Allamma’ in Ragam Begada composed by Ramaswamy Sivan. She did complete justice to it and swarasthanam was very good.
She went on sing ‘Bhuvaneswariye’ composed by Muthaiah Bhagavathar in Ragam Mohanakalyani . I particularly found this appealing because it was Kannada, a language people often ignore in Carnatic Music. They will even include a Marathi Abhang most often to get more eyeballs ( or is it more eardrums) but Kannada compositions are hardly sung, inspite of it being known as Karnatik or Carnatic Music and the Father of this being Purandaradasa all of whose Devaranamas were in Kannada.
It was interesting when she simply glided into the virutham for her next song in the same Ragam Mohanakalyani, that made the move to the next song appear seamless. It was actually a Ragamalika of Bharatiyaar’s ‘Nallador Veenai Seidhen’ which had both Ragam Shivashakti and Mohanakalyani. Bharatiyaar himself often uses the term ‘Shivashakti’ in his poems.
Then came a popular composition by Ghanam Krishnan Aiyar ‘Jagat Janani Shukapani Kalyani‘ in Ragam Ratipatipriya. I am simply fascinated by the number of Ragas we have and also the names that they have acquired. Ratipatipriya is a janya of 22nd Melakartha Ragam Kharaharapriya. She ended her concert with Madurai Shreenivasan’s composition ‘Karunai Deivam Karpagame’ in Ragam Sindhu Bhairavi. What better way than a song dedicated to Karpagambal of Kapaleesswara temple and not the overrated Mess opposite the temple.
Personally I was disappointed that there was no composition of one the Trinity, Syama Sastri ,whose every composition was about Bangaru Kamakshi. After all what Rama was to Thygaraja, Kamakshi was to Syama Sastri. It was otherwise a very well balanced concert with almost all popular Devi krithis. She sang totally 9 krithis in which two were Dikshitar krithis but not even one of Shyam’s Sastri’s. Guess there is no quota system in place for Carnatic Music composers ?
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.)
(*The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and not necessarily those of Music of Madras.)
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