The classical scene

Astute performances and an enlightening healing music concert delight Melbourne’s thriving classical scene, discover CHITRA SUDARSHAN and TIM BLIGHT

The long weekend in Melbourne from March 11-13 was packed with events that made it impossible to do justice to every one of them, but it was a veritable feast of classical fare. 

The weekend began with back-to-back with Carnatic Music Circle’s Local Artiste concert, featuring vocalist Uthra Vijayaraghavan accompanied by Murali Kumar on the violin and Sridhar Chari on the mrudangam.  On the same day, the statuesque and accomplished dancer and actress Shobhana gave a bharatanatyam performance. 

The next day, March 12 showcased a violin duet by the Lalgudi siblings Vijayalakshmi and Krishnan at the Alexander Theatre. They are the talented children of the legendary virtuoso composer and violinist, Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman.  The concert was organised by InConcert Music of Sridhar Chari.

The duo began with a varnam in Kalavati, followed by kritis in Hindolam, Rasikapriya and Madhyamavati, all of which bore the imprimatur of the Lalgudi bani or style: one could actually hear the lyrics oozing out of the duo’s violins.  They took up thodi ragam for detailed and in-depth treatment – complete with an elaborate alapana, kriti rendition, niraval and kalpana swaras. 

The ragam-tanam-pallavi was soaked in classicism – yet the knowledgeable audience appreciated every moment of it. Krishnan explained later that this RTP was the same one they had performed at the Madras Music Academy during the recently-concluded music season in Chennai: the most hallowed venue for carnatic musicians where all artistes who perform there give their best. In fact the kind of audience that wants nothing but the best in classicism flock to performances in the MMC, hence producing a kind of synergy that is not often seen elsewhere.  For classical music purists, this violin duet performance was a treat for their ears and soul. 

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The Indian Arts Academy and Sungeertana Music School (led by directors Yogaraja Kandasamy and Srikanti Satgunam respectively) organised the Tamil Mummoortigal music festival over the long weekend which included a carnatic music concert by young Kashyap Mahesh, a child prodigy who at a tender age is already an accomplished artiste; congregational singing of some of the great Tamil compositions by several music teachers of Melbourne; and a talk by Prema Vinayagam on the music and lyrics of the ‘Tamil Trinity’. The three great Tamil composers pre-date the more revered and better known carnatic composers Thyagaraja, Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri, so it is fitting that a festival pays homage to the earlier Trinity. They are Muthu Thandavar (16^th century), Arunachala Kavi and Marimutha Pillai (18^th century). 

The highlight of the three-day festival was a dance performance by Padmabhushan Professor Sri Chandrasekhar, who at 76 years of age is a role model for all dancers. He performed a complete bharatanatyam repertoire including a long and demanding varnam – the evergreen ‘Sami naan undan adimai’ not once shirking from the physically challenging teermanams, tattu-mettus or adavus during his three-hour long concert.  He began with an Alarippu and a Ganesha vandanam, followed by the varnam; his rendition of Arunachala Kavi’s ‘yaro ivar yaaro’ in bhairavi captivated the audience with his elegant, sensitive, yet majestic portrayal of Rama’s first sighting of Sita in Mithila.  The Muththu Thandavar composition ‘Kaalai thookki’, followed by Marimutha Pillai’s kriti in Yadukula Kamboji were all immaculately rendered.

The tillana in Simmendra madhyamam – a musical composition of the Professor himself – brought up the finale, and the audience gave this doyen of Indian dance a standing ovation at the conclusion of the concert.  

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Veena Kadayaprath’s arangetram was held at the Alexander Theatre on February 26.  She is the student of Anusha Gyanachelvam, who was an accomplished dancer in Sri Lanka in her youth.

Since most dance schools in Melbourne follow the Kalakshetra bani or style, seeing another noticeably different bani was refreshing.

The varnam, a composition of Muralidharan, was superbly choreographed by Smt Gyanachelvam, and Veena did it complete justice.  The stories of Draupadi’s vastraharan and that of Karna’s giving away of his ‘kavacha’ were meticulously portrayed, and could be understood even by the lay audience.  Veena’s ability to bring out the dramatic element and tell stories was her greatest strength.  Every story she depicted, every sanchari she performed was clear and impeccably done. 

The padams in Malayalam, composed by Swati Tirunal, aliveni, in kurinji ragam, and choreographed by the well-known dancer and guru V.P. Dhananjayan, and the ever popular Jagadhodharana by Purandaradasa  (Kapi ragam) also gave Veena ample scope to showcase her nritya and natya skills.  Whether it was the portrayal of a love-lorn gopika pining for Krishna or Mother Yashodha’s astonishment at her son’s revelation of Himself as the Supreme Being when He opened His mouth, Veena’s natya skills were superlative: all the sancharis she enacted and danced were easily recognisable.

The orchestra consisted of guru Anusha Gnanachelvam on the nattuvangam; excellent music imbued with bhava from Smt Uthra Vijayaraghavan, the vocalist; Ramani Thiagarajan on the flute and Murali Kumar on the violin.  Balasri Rasiah and his son rooted the music in strong rhythmic and percussion base with their mrudangams.

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Kersherka Sivakumaran’s bharatanatya arangetram was held at the George Wood Performing Arts Centre on March 5.  She is Nrithakshetra and Shanthy Rajendran’s 52^nd student to present an arangetram. 

It was a lively, brisk and energetic performance, with two kavutuvams in the repertoire – both devoted to Lord Shiva.   From the opening item – homage to the ‘five murthis’ – to the tillana in parasu ragam, Kersherka covered the stage with her dextrous footwork and impressive adavus.  The demanding pushpanjali led on to a dance depicting the dancing Ganesha, and the demanding varnam in raga valaji was about a nayika pining for her beloved Lord Muruga.  The well-known Arunachala kavi kriti “En palli kondeer ayya” dedicated to Lord Vishnu reclining on the serpent was gracefully portrayed, with the dancer bringing out different episodes from the epics well. 

Besides Shanthy Rajendran (nattuvangam), Sivanandan Ahilan was the vocalist, ably supported by Yogan Kandasamy on the mrudangam, Suresh Babu on the violin and N Thiagarajan on the flute. 

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His Holiness Sri Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Swamiji’s recent visit to Australia culminated in a highly spiritual performance on March 12. The free meditation and healing music concert was held at the Robert Blackwood Hall at Monash University in Clayton, south-eastern Melbourne, and attracted an audience of over two hundred devotees and more than just a few curious souls. Supported by the Victorian Datta Yoga Centre (VDYC), the evening was opened by Drs Janardhen Reddy OAM, and Mrs Usha Reddy who presented a garland to the guru. Dr Marc Cohen, Professor of Complementary Medicine at RMIT University, lit the ceremonial lantern, while a souvenir booklet was presented to Sri Swamiji by Srikanth and Soumya. The stage was then set, adorned with candles and dazzling artwork by local artist, Mr Murali.

Swamiji performed on a synthesiser, accompanied on the violin, synthesiser, mrudangam and tabla by a group of able musicians who are members of the Peetham in Mysore.  Swamiji played a number of compositions in ragas Abhogi, Visharada, Nagamani (a new raga) etc., and finished the concert with Simmendra madyamam, the raga of choice of several bhajans. 

Sri Swamiji and his troupe of dhol, tabla, keyboard and violin players encouraged the audience to engage with the music in whichever way they felt appropriate; the hypnotic rhythms sent some to sleep while others nodded to the trance-like tunes. Held a day after horrifying images of the March earthquake and tsunami were flashing around the globe, the guru encouraged the audience to pray for “Japan’s calamity”.  This sentiment was echoed by Inga Peulich, State Member for the South Eastern Metropolitan Region, who spoke of the chilling power of nature and its astounding power to regenerate. Four instrumental compositions followed, the last of which was noted for its calming properties on the nervous system. His Holiness mentioned that it is particularly popular with followers outside of India, in western nations such as the United States.

VDYC is a not-for-profit organisation established under Sri Swamiji’s instruction just four years ago. Active in the field of healing music and natural therapy, VDYC shares Sri Swamiji’s view that music can be used to “lift the consciousness of man from mundane existence to that of divine bliss”.

His Holiness, the pontiff of the Avadhoota Datta Peetham in Mysore, is a spiritual guru who has been able to demonstrate the therapeutic qualities of music to a worldwide audience.  Swamiji has harnessed traditional knowledge about music and its therapeutic qualities, strengthened it with his own research spanning over 30 years, and uses it as a means of calming the mind and as an instrument of healing. Over the years he has shown the effectiveness of music therapy in a wide range of environments: as an auditory stimulus in Intensive Care units; as a means of reducing stress and improving mental health; and in a number of clinical settings. 

Initiated into the world of music by his mother, Swamiji has composed, sung and performed a number of bhajans and other ‘bandish’ (about 5000), which are popular in several schools, educational institutions and hospitals.  His music is based on spirituality and on awakening the energy channels and Shatchakras in us. 

Originally from Mysore, Karnataka, Sri Swamiji is regarded as a spiritual master by his millions of followers. As was mentioned in the opening address by Swamy Manasa Datta, the guru has changed the lives of many through his work with alternative therapy and underprivileged communities. Sri Swamiji’s teachings value all religions and teach that there are many different paths to God; he has composed devotional hymns in various Indian languages including his native Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Gujarati, Marathi, Sanskrit, Telugu, Malayalam and English. Indicative of His Holiness’ global reach and appeal, the concert was simulcast on the website www.yogasangeeta.org

March 2011 marked Sri Swamiji’s second visit to Melbourne, although his schedule this time was much busier than during his 2008 visit. Poojas and bhajans were held at various locations across Melbourne from March 11-14; he also performed the Sudarshana homa and led a kriya yoga session before His Holiness moved on to Sydney. Members of the audience at the highlight concert were presented with a souvenir program containing a message from Sri Swamiji. Meanwhile, VDYC Vice President Nagendra “Nagi” VJ, and Padmashree Nagendra presented Sri Swamiji with some of Mr. Murali’s captivating pieces. By the end of the evening, the jubilant audience clapped along to the upbeat final piece; a fitting conclusion to an uplifting evening.