Those who have heard Vishaka Hari would readily agree when I say that 'Harikatha' and Vishaka Hari are synonymous and the words could be easily interchanged to mean the same. Such is the beauty of the format of story-telling and the way Vishaka handles it so fluently. So, when the opportunity presented itself to hear her in person at a theatre so near by, I grabbed it both hands. What's more, it was a children's special show which meant that I could introduce R too to this wonderful story format!
What a spell-binding, mesmerising 90 minutes it was! I am unsure now whether her music skills enchanted me more or her master story-telling skills or her grasp over the nuances of the scriptures. All in all I was held captive for all those moments; transported temporarily into a ecstatic state. She was ably accompanied by each of those on the Violin-B Ananthakrishnan, Ghatam-Sukanya Ramgopal and Mridangam-H S Sudheendra.
I had had the privilege of hearing Smt. Sukanya Ramgopal earlier at the same venue during a Sthree Thaal Tharang programme-an all woman troupe of percussionists headed by Smt.Sukanya herself. A great artiste herself, she brought in even more joy and momentum in Vishaka's journey. And, so did the Violinist and Mridangist who were equally good with their chosen instruments.
Coming back to Vishaka Hari, she has all the skills that a story-teller should have- a capability to engage all kinds of audience, a very pleasant disposition and a thorough grasp of the subject-matter. She seems such a complete package as she exhibits complete command over every aspect of Kathakalakshepam. The spirituality, passion, devotion and dedication is so evident that there is a charismatic glow on her face and you almost want to fall at her feet for letting you experience-even if for just some fleeting moments-the power of devotion and music.
Kudos to Jagriti for putting together such wonderful programmes.
P.s. do visit the links mentioned here to know more.
Bollywood has given us some of the best songs that are either
purely or partly based on a classical raaga. Composing songs based on classical
raagas was the forte of yesteryear composers like Naushad, S.D.Burman,
Madan Mohan, Vasant Desai to name a few. Even R.D. Burman who first
introduced us to western beats gave us splendid songs that were purely
based on raagas. The era of classical melodies in Bollywood ended with
the beginning of
the late 70s action-oriented movies and later the advent of techno-pop
and dhinchak beats. Nowadays, in most songs, it is the rhythm that
lingers
longer than the melody, if at all. Total Recall on Times Now this Sunday
brought back the memories
associated with those classical gems that were my best companion not
very long ago.
Being born in a musical family and also a student of classical music, I was used to the game of "identifying/guess the ragam" of a song in my childhood. Mother would have a proud smile on her face when I'd hit the bulls-eye even with some difficult-to-guess ones. Later, when my interest in music bended towards light music/film music, I'd try to find similarities between the Carnatic and Hindustani ragas. Come any competition and my choice for song always tended to the ones that had a classical touch to it.
SA RE GA MA (of the times when Sonu Nigam used to host it) was the first music show that promoted real talent. I'd remain glued to the T.V set for the slotted hour, nodding away in awe at the extraordinary singing talent displayed by most of the contestants. The rounds were truly competitive at that time. Be it the classical song round, where the participants had to choose a song that truly tested their caliber in the song rendition while adhering to the sur and taal along with the finesse with which they handled the harkats (movements or variations). If they could bring in a touch of their originality, they got extra brownie points. The Taal round on the other hand was truly a mind boggling one that put even the top-notch contestants in a spot. The original taal would be changed (either in the tempo or the number of beats itself ) and the participant would be required to sing to the changed taal without making the song sound out of rhythm! Clearly, a test of how well a person understood the maatras and percussion. Every round would be a learning material for aspiring singers and the audience too.
And, when like-minded people got together during weddings or other occasions, we would spend many an hour debating on who was a better singer in a particular episode, the debate reaching ridiculous degree of intensity with each side passionately advocating their choice of contestant. I can still recall the names of many of the participants whose exemplary singing remained in my heart long after. Such was the high-standard. The judges were revered names from the classical and film industry and there were no staged squabbles among them to increase the TRPs.
The mushrooming song and dance reality shows that have come to replace shows like SA RE GA MA are an extremely watered down version with more emphasis on the TRPs rather than the actual talent hunt. The talent today is no less, on the contrary, is in on a all-time high. However, I feel, the bar to test them has been lowered many times over. Also, with new age technology, any blemish in the pitching or in the rendering of the song can be corrected. You don't really need to be a classically trained as every thing is digitized and an off-the mark note can be tweaked to attain the perfect output. On a recent interview of Shreya Ghoshal in a newspaper, she had remarked that during the times when she
was a contestant on SA RE GA MA, they (the contestants) were free to choose a difficult
song that none had heard of, for rendition, but now the songs have to be ones that are
popular with the masses to gain viewership.
It is a pity that music of such kind is no longer a preferred option. Is it too technical for this generation to appreciate? Will melody slowly fade away into oblivion? Will classical music be left to be explored only on a pure platform through concerts? Can the present and next league of composers not recreate the confluence of popular and classical music like their predecessors? These are some questions that may perhaps be unanswered.
I'll leave you with some of my favourite songs that were played on this Total Recall episode:
Laaga Chunri mein daag based on Bhairavi in Hindustani or Sindhu Bhairavi in Carnatic music
Naino mein badra based on Ragam Aberi of Carnatic or Bhimpalasi in Hindustani
Raina beeti jaaye based on Todi of Hindustani or Shuba panthuvarali of Carnatic
Beeti na bitayi raina based on Yaman kalyani of Hindustani or Kalyani of Carnatic
The list can go on and on but since the post is already long enough, I'll put a stop here. Are you also a fan of classical based songs? Do share your views/favourite songs?
