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Swaranjali 2007 classical sitar concert:
Enthralling spell of classical music
Reviewed by Indeewara Thilakarathne and Ranga
Chandrarathne
 It was one of the rare occasions that Sri Lankan concert goers had
when they watched Swaranjali 2007 classical sitar concert by Dr. Nirmala
Kumari Rodrigo and her students at the Elphinstone theatre recently.
Although the turn out for such a classical music concert was often
limited to a handful of invitees and well-wishers, this turned out to be
a notable exception as Elphinstone theatre was peculiarly crowded. Rows
after rows of seats were peopled with men and women made up the decent
audience.
The audience was a marked contrast to that attended at
Dayaratne-Amera Abhinanda concert held on previous day at the BMICH. The
unruly audience at BMICH, mostly made up of, perhaps, housewives, was
engaged in conversation with one another totally disregarding the
performance on the stage.
A woman in the audience let the child to urinate inside the BMICH
auditorium despite there being toilets. If the organizing committee had
the least understanding of art, they should have invited persons of a
standard and who could appreciate works by the remarkable duo, Prof.
Amera Ranatunga and Dr. Dayaratne Ranatunga.
 The concert commenced with a Sitar item based on Rag Pooriya Kalyan.
The time of Theory (Gayana Samaya) is in the early (4 p.m. -7 p.m.)
evening or at sunset (-Sooriaste Samaya). The exacting feature of this
Rag is that it is a combination of two Rags Kalyan (Yaman) and Pooriya.
This Rag evokes pain of separation and jubilant of union.
Figuratively speaking, it is the pain of the end of the day and the
bliss of the arrival of the night.
The Rag is set to Vilamba Teental, Madhyalaya, Char tal ki sawari (11
beats), Drutha Teental. The Solo Sitar Recital by Dr.Nirmala Kumari was
accompanied by Dharshanapathi Chanaka Peiris on Tabla. However, the
introduction to Rag, Alap Jod, was played without an accompanying
instrument.
The exhilarating setting with Araliya flowers hanging on; the stage
with artistes dressed in colourful attire and the blue background and
red carpet set the theme for a tremendous evening.
The first item was received with much enthusiasm and was marked by
the showcasing outstanding talents of the performance of Dr.Nirmala.
Almost all the items of the evening were from celebrated works of North
Indian classical music and meant for matured and cultured audience of an
elevated taste. All the items were especially chosen so as to appreciate
in an evening concert in a calm and quiet milieu.
The impressive item was followed by the second item Rag Ragesri. The
time of Theory of Rag is late evening (8.00 p.m.-10.00 p.m.) and evokes
romantic feelings. For this item Dr. Nirmala Kumari was accompanied by
her students, Bhagesri Fonseka and Jagath Mapalagama.
The Rag is set to Madhyalaya Ek Tal (12 beats) and Druth Teental.
This is also preceded by an introduction to the Rag, an Alap.
The next item, perhaps, the most innovative of all of them is Sitar
ensemble composed by Dr.Nirmala Kumari. It is based on Rag Kalawathi and
played on rhythm scheme Madhyalaya Teental. Thirteen Sitars were used
for the performance. The time of theory is night and evokes romantic
feelings.
For this item which is the zenith of the performance Dr. Nirmala
Kumari was fastened together by her students Yamuna Uswatte, Vajira
Wijesinghe, Savithri Wijeratne, Neranjana Thathsarani, Prabshwari
Anuradha, Lalith Shanthapriya, Mahesh Pathmakumara, Sachini
Abhayawardena, W.G.Samitha, Chathura Dineth, Mihidu Jayasooriya and
Tania Karunaratne. Kalawathi is a popular Rag which has been widely used
as a basis for composing music for songs.
On Tabla, Dharshanapathi Chanaka Peiris and Shasthrapathi Chandralal
Amarakoon contributed. The last item was a Sitar recital on Dhun style
is based on Rag Khamaj. The concert was marked with its spell-bound
performance on the part of Dr. Nirmala Kumari and her students.
With its musical extraordinaire, concert effectively lifted away the
otherwise lonely evening. One of the significant features that we
noticed throughout the performance was the audience which enjoyed the
evening, focused and without talking to one another during the
performance.
The audience amply testified to the notion that there is an audience
who appreciates serious and original works of art and that it is the
responsibility of the artistes to produce original and authentic works
of art in order to uplift the public taste. They who are men and women
of substance should not let themselves be swept off by transient cheap
wave of entertainment and fake work.
Nirmala is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Visual and
Performing Arts and teacher of Sitar at the Indian Cultural Centre.
Shawathi, a non-profitable organization which organized the Swaranjali,
is dedicated to the promotion of Eastern Classical music in Sri Lanka.
Shawathi is headed by Nirmala. In this concert, she is accompanied on
Tabla by Dharshanapathi Chanaka Peiris and Shastrapathi Chandralal
Amarakoon, Lecturer of the University of Visual and performing Arts.
One of the important facets of Nirmala's outstanding career in music
is her extensive exposure to diverse traditions of music such as Western
classical music and her experience as a teacher of music.
It should be mentioned here that after earning her Music Doctorate
from Benares Hindu University, she had the opportunity of teaching at
the University of Cologne in Germany.
For two years, she taught North Indian Classical music at the
University while attending workshops on diverse music traditions and
held myriad of concerts in classical music. She received a large number
of awards and holds the record of scoring the highest marks at
examinations held from 1973-1981 at Batkhande College of Music. She
believes that purity of rag should preserve and played true to the
original tune.
Dr. Balaji once said referring to her ability to preserve the
original characteristics of rag, that "You are like a fish without
water". It is indeed a fitting tribute to her efforts to preserve
authentic form of Rag. Preserving original form of Rag outside the pool
of talents and its milieu is challenge which Dr. Nirmala Kumari had
successfully confronted with.
Dharshanapathi Chanaka Peiris earned the Degree of Bachelors of Music
from the Indira University of Music, India with a first class. He also
obtained the Visharada Degree (Tabla) from Batkhande College of Music
with a First Class Division. Currently he is a Lecturer at the
University of Visual and Performing Arts.
After a brilliant academic record at the University of Kelaniya,
Shasthrapathi Chandralal Amarakoon won the Dr. Rajan Abeysinghe
Scholarship and completed his Master's Degree in Tabla at the Benaras
Hindu University in 2003 with a First Class. Currently he is a Lecturer
at the University of Visual and Performing Arts.
The concert was compered by Dr.Praneeth Abeysundara. It was organized
by Shaswathi, a non-profitable organisation dedicated to the promotion
of North Indian Classical Music in Sri Lanka. Shaswathi had previously
held two successful concerts at Kadawatha in 2006 and 2007 with
well-known artist with a classical music base.
Dr. Nirmala Kumari Rodrigo launched her website
www.nirmalakumari.info following the performance. Dr. Nirmala Kumari is
the daughter of Merlyn Rodrigo who was a student of Dr. Lionel
Edirisinghe. She is ever grateful to her mother who is also her mentor
for the guidance and financing her education. |
