by .....Sivapriya Krishnan
What is the human emotion after witnessing and being through a torrential downpour for three hours at a stretch? What is the feeling when you watch a half hour cracker bursting session? What happens when you are on a zig zag roller coaster ride?
A sense of awe and bewilderment ! One is stupefied and also maybe a trifle shaken! Sense of sparkle and dazzle! High spirited adventure trip?
These are exactly what we could describe of Abhishek Raghuram's concert last evening at the Music Academy.
Unbridled imagination translated into torrential spells of raga and swara phrases. Unstoppable brikhas catching up with one another left one stupefied! To such an extent, that even the mangalam 'pavamaana suthudu pattu ' was not spared !
Abhishek is blessed with a voice that can traverse easily and an imagination that charters unchartered territories. The Vasantabhairavi followed by Needaya Ra dhaa and the Kalyani followed by RTP - un darisanam kidaikumo nataraja dayanidhe, set in chatusra triputa, atheetha eduppu, witnessed all of that which has been said above.
Its amazing to see this young lad being gifted with so much of the musical sense that can be translated much beyond an average thought process. However as in the Kalyani raga, there were more of flashes upon flashes, with little of Kalyani to soak into.At times when he used to land on a traditional phrase format, one heaved a sigh of relief as though one has landed from a roller coaster, only to be lifted into a zig zag again !
As time goes by , without getting too lost into the mechanics of the swaras , if Abhishek lost himself in the ruchi or the flavour of music along with his sparkling imagination, one would see a stupendous artiste non-pareil, blooming prettily for posterity.
Akkarai Subbhalakshmi, is one violinist who has by now demonstrated as to how to maintain fidelity to the main artiste. Her violin transforms into that style and the effect of the concert just multiplies. Kudos to her on her ability to match Abhishek phrase after phrase.
Neyveli Narayanan, needs no introduction. A thoroughbred professional he led the show with equal gusto, ably supported by Guruprasanna on the Khanjira.
