Kartik Fine Arts expands its cultural activities to Chennai’s suburbs

K. Gayatri accompanied by B. Ananthakrishnan on the violin and Praveen Sparsh on the mridangam performing at Kartik Fine Arts’ outreach programme.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

For far too long, it has been a common complaint that only those living in the cultural nucleus of South Chennai — particularly Mylapore and T. Nagar — are blessed with an abundance of opportunities to immerse themselves in live performances, because a majority of sabhas are clustered in and around these localities.

Now, Kartik Fine Arts, one of the major sabhas, plans to reach out to rasikas in the suburbs.

“There is an immense interest among rasikas residing in distant areas of Chennai, but they often find it challenging to attend performances by eminent artistes,” says S.N. Srikanth, president, Kartik Fine Arts. He adds that this will be followed by similar programmes in North Chennai and other areas.

The inaugural ‘outreach effort’ of the sabha was held in collaboration with Babaji Vidhyashram, Sholinganallur, and featured a Carnatic vocal recital by K. Gayatri. Sharing the stage with her were B. Ananthakrishnan on the violin and Praveen Sparsh on the mridangam.

It was the concluding day of Navaratri, and Gayatri opened with a sprightly ragamalika varnam ‘Gananayakane thunai varuvaay’ in Adi tala, composed by her guru Suguna Purushothaman. She then sang five Devi kritis on the trot.

‘Amba vaani nannu’, a Muthiah Bhagavathar kriti in Keeravani (Adi), was the first of them. After a crisp rendition of the song, Gayatri chose the charanam phrase ‘Varaveena paani’ for an extensive niraval and kalpanaswara presentation, a highpoint of the concert. While the two-kaalam niraval had her stamp on it, the swara passages in the second speed were deftly handled too. Ananthakrishnan’s responses with the bow were delightful in both sections, seamlessly blending with Gayatri’s melodic flow.

A sedate raga essay in Sriranjani was a perfect prelude to Papanasam Sivan’s pleading to the goddess of Thirumayilai in the form of ‘Maatha innum vaadha’ in Adi tala. The bhava of her rendition, too, matched the connotation, and Gayatri did well to skip the niraval or swara exercise. She followed it up with another evocative kriti, ‘Brovavamma taamasamele’ by Syama Sastri (Maanji-Misra Chapu) in the ideal kaala pramanam. However, two songs in succession with similar theme and tempo could have been avoided.

Periyasami Thooran’s ‘Thaye Tripurasundari’ (Suddha Saveri-Khanda Chapu), a brisk song extolling the deity of Thiruvanmiyur, livened up the proceedings with Praveen playing with agility for the pacy chittaswaram. The main piece of the day was Swati Tirunal’s ‘Pahi Jagajjanani’ in Vachaspathi, set to Adi tala. After a neat presentation of the raga and the song, Gayatri dealt with kalpanaswaras with finesse at ‘Mohanadaragaatri’ in the anupallavi in two speeds before Praveen took over for tani.

It was a consummate team effort, with Ananthakrishnan and Praveen lending admirable support with aesthetic and sensitive display throughout. The former’s delineation of both Sriranjani and Vachaspathi matched that of the vocalist, while the latter’s two-kalai Adi tala tani brimmed with style and energy.

Interestingly, Gayatri signed off with two songs — Tyagaraja’s ‘Hecharikaga rara’ in Yadukula Kambhoji and Veena Seshanna’s Senchurutti thillana — both having the phrase ‘Sugunasaandra’ (one replete with virtues), probably as a tribute to her guru. A notable feature of the concert was that all the eight songs presented were that of different composers.

Kartik Fine Arts has made a beginning in earnest. Though the turnout was modest on the day, the sabha expects it to grow once the venture takes root.