Just back from the concert by Trichur Brothers at Parthasarathy Sabha, Chennai. At the end of the concert, there was a spontaneous standing ovation! Such was the impact!
The concert started with Ganesha stuti "vakratunda mahakaya" in Nattakurinji raga. This was followed by a brisk varnam in Nattakurinji. That set the stage for the rest of the concert- a concert where the same momentum was maintained right through and not one moment of boredom or distraction!
The next piece was "Ninne Bhajana" in Naattai raga, that was rendered with enthusiasm.
Shuddha Dhanyasi raga was well developed. The moment the Dikshitar kriti "Subramanyena" was started, there was a buzz in the audience. Shuddha Dhanyasi has many sibling ragas and the audience required this well known piece to confirm their answer!
Shyama Sastri's masterpiece "Amba Kamakshi" was sung beautifully. This piece is a veritable "shabda-avatara" of Kamakshi, as though, She is in front of us, in sound-form. The kriti is structured like a gopuram, with each line starting in succeeding swaras. It is here that the Brothers excelled. They embelished the piece with one vocalist singing in the lower octave and the other in the higher. The result was sheer magic!
"Sabhapatikku vera daivam samaanam aagumaa" in Abhogi raga was soulful. The way this song implores us- "It is enough to say Shiva's name even once!" (oru daram shiva-chidambaram endru sonnaal podumey) was touching. We were reminded of Shiva's majesty as the recluse "a-bhogi" and as a maha-grhastha "aa-bhogi" with Parvati and children! It is as though, through the choice of the raga, both aspects of Shiva are conveyed.
The tempo was further enhanced with a quick piece "Garuda Gamana" in the rare raga Naagaswaraali.
The main piece was a ragam-thanam-pallavi in Shubha-Pantuvarali. The raga conveys many moods- of pathos, of sadness, of anguish. All these feelings poured forth, as the Brothers elaborated the raga. Shades of Hindustani Music, where this raga is called "Todi" could be discerned. The way the lower "shadja" was touched, brought an instant applause from the audience.
The thanam was brisk. The Pallavi had the line "Tirupati Venkataramanaa....sankata haranaa!" This was followed by ragamalika swaras in Saama, Behag, Kaanada and Revati.
The thani-avartanam was enjoyable. The mridangam artiste (father of the Brothers) and ghatam artiste enthralled the audience and not one person stirred- so rapt was the attention!
The penultimate piece was Vande Mataram rendered in Desh. They egged the audience to sing along with them. The final piece was the famous "English Note".
The violinist excelled in the Shuddha Dhanyasi alapana and in the Shubha-Pantuvarali piece. The Kaanada in the ragamalika section was the violinist's choice and later picked up by the Brothers.
What is written above is a factual account. But words are terribly poor. They cannot convey feeling. It has to be experienced. How can I write about what I "felt" throughout the concert? At times, it was a thrill, at times, it was undiluted happiness, at times, goosebumps ran down my forearms, at times there was an involuntary shake of the head and at times, a spontaneous shout of "baley" escaped from the lips!
There were several places where the Brothers sang either in different octaves or created the Western music effect of "harmony", when their individual singing merged to form a composite whole. How do you write about this effect in words?
Recorded music cannot create this magic. Online concerts cannot create this magic. You have to be present "live" in a concert atmosphere to experience this.
It was almost 3 hours of happiness- where the entire work-a-day world vanished and we were transported to some "gandharva nagari"!
We owe a standing ovation and so much more to the Trichur Brothers!
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