‘Ageing is only for the artist and not for his art’ was the impression one got while listening to this year’s Sangita Kalanidhi-designate T.V. Gopalakrishnan. TVG could touch the base of the manthra sthayi and the pinnacle of tara sthayi with ease. However, it is true his booming voice in the lower and middle regions suffers cracks at the ati tara sthayi. But, that has not affected his fertile imagination. He encapsulated every phrase and nuance of the ragas chosen in his rendition, be it Dhanyasi, Kalyani, Thodi or Behag, which came as the end piece.
The opening ‘Vatapi Ganapatim’ found TVG going in for an exhilarating journey of swaras. He presented a soulful Dhanyasi and equally poignant ‘Meena Lochana Brova.’ He touched a vivacious Kalyani and elaborated it in its full range. Tyagaraja’s ‘Amma Ravamma’ and the swara sequel on ‘Tamarasa Dalanetri’ went with zest. TVG added a vintage flavour for Tyagaraja’s ‘Pariyasakama’ in Vanaspati.
It was time for the major raga treatise and TVG opted for Thodi. The kriti was, indeed, Pallavi Gopala Iyer’s ‘Amba Nadu.’ TVG presented a remarkable niraval on ‘Varahi Bhairavi’ and adorned Devi with vivacious swarakalpanas. This was suffixed by a peppy thani by Patri Satish Kumar and Thirupunithura Radhakrishnan on the mridangam and the ghatam respectively.
TVG was all sport with his team, allowing them to have equal participation with appreciative nods, smiles and words like ‘Bale, Besh.’ Being a multi-talented maestro, he could relate to the supporting artists and this was evident in every gesture of his. It would be unfair if the performance of S. Varadarajan on the violin is not mentioned. Varadarajan and TVG struck a special rapport. The raga essays, the swara sallies and especially in the final long swara spree in Thodi, Varadarajan was simply marvellous.
Something different and novel? Yes. TVG indulged in the elaboration of Behag with all seriousness and sincerity after Thodi. An RTP? Nope, he bowled over everyone with the leisured rendering of ‘Saramaina Mata’ (Swati Tirunal) relishing every line of the javali. He added a bit of Sindhu Bhairavi picture too for ‘Manadirkugandhadhu Murugan Roopam’ (Thanjavur Sankara Iyer). Who says the older generation cannot spring surprises?
