Hyderabad: When Shanmugapriya is in the performer’s list, you are assured of melody. Dr Pantula Rama in her concert for Kalasagaram on Tuesday, raised the standards to a new peak. So much so that the audience was in unparalleled enjoyment in a concert that was devoid of any populist antics.
The back-to-back concerts of pure classicism augurs well for the cause. The near-capacity crowd also was a thumbs-up in favour of the classical approach. The turnout at the event is clearly indicative that Hyderabad still loves the classical approach. Pantula Rama, meanwhile, also added the local flavour. Accompanied by M.S.N. Murthy on the violin their understanding is perfect and the nuances pronounced.
The concert started with a varnam in Abhogi. Starting in the first speed, she obviously was quick in assessing the pitch and went to play the game in her defined, expected, scholastic style. She followed it with a well-rendered Begada – Vallabha NÄyakasya.
At ease with the medium, in immediate comfort with the audience and in command as a purist, she announced the relevance of her choice of the kriti in Kalavati – Ennadu JÅ«tuno. Her mastery of a song, scaled with her style was evident in her unique interpretation of RaghuvamsasudhÄ in Kadhanakudukalam.
She was not in the Sehwag approach. Like Rohit, she said take class and speed, balance them. That she did to a nicety: within about 40 minutes. Pantula Rama gave the audience four kritis including the Tyagaraja Kriti VinanÄsakoniyunnÄnurÄ in Pratapavarali – this too was the choice of the audience. She took up Shankarabharanam ragam as her sub-main.
A detailed essay of BrihadeswararÄja namaste accentuated, if necessary, the proof of her scholastic understanding of Shankarabharanam. Be it the said raga or Abhogi, Begada or Kadhanakudukalam. In every raga, there was the Pantula Rama’s stamp.
Pushing the envelope with grace, more than attitude, she has the audience often in raptures.
She took up Shanmugapriya for her ragam-tanam-pallavi. The pallavi itself was interesting. It read sarigama pa da nisaratham tam namÄmisivakantham.
There are moments that the audience enjoys when a soulful raga is presented in its essence. Doing away with needless gloss, her glossary continues to be musically bibliographic, traditionally dramatic yet contemporaneously engaging.
Suddenly, moments pull you out of your hearing inertia and transport you into moments of eternity. These moments conceived by her genius and supported ably by M.S.N. Murthy transiently transports the listener to zones hitherto unravelled. To say that her RTP was a masterpiece is both an understatement and the limitations of language to describe music par excellence.
She was ably accompanied on Mridangam by Dr. D.S.R. Murthy and Ghatam by Giridhar Udupa. Unlike in many other concerts, the percussionists knew that the thematic speed of the evening would be steady and not a circus manifestation. They delivered just what was expected.
Pantula Rama and party concluded the evening’s concert with MÄvallakÄdhamma, a Chitoor Subramanyam number in Maand. She then threatened to keep the audience in sleep mode with her concluding piece Jo achutÄnanda in Navroj, which she rendered in a style completely different from the normal.
Pantula Rama, a style icon in herself, is a defining part of refined grammar of contemporary carnatic music. Over time, she built for herself a huge reputation. Tuesday evening, the said reputation went up multiple notches.
