Sivanin Vijayam - N.Vijay Siva

SIVANIN VIJAYAM

Yes, it was a definite victory for Vijay Siva as he held a large audience captive at Narada Gana Sabha on 4th December for KARTIK Fine Arts. He was ably accompanied by Manoj Siva on mridangam, R.K.Shriramkumar on violin and Sunil Kumar on Kanjira. 

He started the concert with Saint Thyagaraja’s ‘Nenarunchara Na Pai Nichola ’ in Simhavahini Ragam. His swaraprastaram was very interesting. This ragam sounds so much like Sarasangi that one can get confused. I have found musicians entering into allied territories when they are singing the swara alapana but such was not the case with Vijay Siva who delivered it with classical purity.

Have you ever enjoyed a neat, pure, genuine, appropriate and  wholesome home cooked meal (although it may appear simple) more than a lavish 8 course meal with 380 odd items greasy and rich in calories  ??? 

I have often had this experience when I go to some wedding where there is an obscene display of wealth and it's all about making a statement ! The menu will be so elaborate but nothing will be appealing and just seeing so many varieties of multi cuisine  food, I lose the interest & appetite not knowing where to begin and soon after can't remember what I ate ! Whereas, a tasty, wholesome meal prepared and served without much ado and fanfare has often proved very satisfactory and enjoyable !

Probably, the same logic applies for other things, like Carnatic music .

Sraightforward, sensible, pure and this was one such concert which was bereft of gimmicks and at no point of time anyone felt the artiste was above the song ! Vijay Siva’s singing was like simple satvik food !! Just so that I am not misunderstood, simple doesn’t mean basic or elementary ! It means unadulterated. Where a Palak Paneer will be authentic and not like a overcooked Keerai Kootu with the tiniest pieces of paneer floating somewhere or so also a Keeravani Ragam sounding like itself and not Kalyanavasantham Ragam ! 

His next song was a rare composition of Annaswami Sastry’s ‘Sri Kamakshi Mampahi’ in Saranga Ragam. I noted that he gave his student Vignesh (I think that is his name) so much time to sing which was magnanimous of him. I know some very senior artistes who keep their students only to strum the tampura, sometimes even worse they are just there to pour something from the flask. Occasionally they are allowed to feebly sing along  but here Vijay Siva gave the boy individual singing time quite a few times during the concert. Vijay Siva’s confidence was not misplaced since the boy was really good. 

The next song was from Narayan Theertha’s Krishna Tharangini ‘Sharanam Bava Karunamayee’ in Ragam Hamsavinodhini.  What followed was a combination of beautiful elaborate swaras and alapana during what we call the ‘Main piece’ which was in Ragam Kaapi. It was understandable as to why he had his loyal audience base. The song was Thyagaraja’s ‘Intha Sowkhaya Manine’.  The composer’s devotion to Lord Rama is an established fact and in this song Thygaraja asks ‘What kind of thing can give him more happiness than Rama Nama? What  can be sweeter than this nectar? ‘ 

I feel the same way about music ..... once you have enjoyed it, you are almost drugged and after that there is no escape ! 

He started the next song as ‘Shyamkrishna Andre Jagan Mohana Lavanyam,’ and while I was wondering what the song was, it happened to be the anupallavi. Today many stage performers like Shreya Goshal, Sonu Nigam tend to start from the middle. I suspect this is for two reasons, one is to let the audience guess the song and the second reason is to get the right pitch, so that they are not embarrassed with the wrong pitch. Anyway, it cannot be the second reason in Vijay Siva’s case because there is no doubting his expertise and experience. The song that followed was Papanasam Sivan’s ‘ Swaminikku Sari Evaru’  in Kedaragowla again rendered well.

Next came ‘Kamalambike Ashrita Kalpalatike Chandoke’ in Ragam Todi composed by Muthuswamy Dikshitar, incidentally Vijay Siva played the role of Dikshitar in Madras Players stage production ‘Trinity’. 

This was one of the 11 Navavarana Dhyana Keerthanam, which are so brilliant that they have been compared to major western symphonies. All the krithis are praising the Goddess Kamalambika of Tiruvarur, and they are based on the Advaitha philosophy and the interpretation of the 9 layers of the Srichakra. These legends were not just composers but also philosophers.

Towards the end of the concert it was again Dikshitar’s ‘Gajambo Nayako Rakshatu’ in Ragam Senchruti. Lot of people have mistaken this song to be about Lord Ganesha because of the starting word ‘Gaja’ but it’s about Lord Muruga the presiding diety of Tiruparrakundram. 

So that was two Dikshitar krithis in succession towards the end of the concert. On a lighter note, maybe he has taken his role as Muthuswamy Dikshitar in the play ‘Trinity’ little too seriously ! 

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.)