A memorable “ Laya Raga Sangamam” was staged in ISC Abu Dhabi

By Alphonse Mendonsa
Bellevision Media Network

Abu Dhabi, 17 Jun 2012: 15th June 2012 was a most memorable day for the classical music lovers in Abu Dhabi.  It is said: Judge people by what they can do, not by how they look!.  At a first glimpse of these five ladies gave anybody an impression that these are very ordinary house-wives but when these Pancha Vidhushi’s performed on stage proved it all wrong.  When they took their instruments and started to play it was altogether a different story.  It was one of the finest classical performances presented by any one in their field and they performed a most mesmerizing memorable Carantic Instrumental Fusion any one could ever imagine.  Every time they performed a Rag they received a standing ovation and huge applause from the fully packed audience assembled at the India Social and Cultural Centre on Friday evening.  The musical concert titled: “ Laya Raga Sangamam “ was organized by Cultural Wing of Embassy of India in association with Ragamalika, Abu Dhabi.  “Ragamalika” is a cultural association began in 2004 with an intension of providing service to the cause of classical/carnatic music in Abu Dhabi and it is entering the 8th year of its inception and this is their 75th musical presentation.

 

The Pancha Vidhushi’s of “Sthree Thaal Tharang” all women group were Smt. Sukanya Ramgopal on Ghatam, Smt.Yoga Vandana on Veena, Smt Soumya Ramachandran on Violin, Smt. Rajani Venkatesh on Mridangam and Smt. Bhagyalakshmi on Morsing and they played the most wonderful and melodius songs or Ragas enjoyed thoroughly by the audience: were 1)  Varnam  - Ragam Valaji  - Composer  Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman,  2) Song Vatapi Ganpathim - Ragam Hamsadhwani - Composer Sri Muthuswami Dikshitar,  3) Song Anandam - Ragam Kuntalavaraii - Ghata Tharang,  4) Song Paratpara  - Ragam Vachaspati  - Composer Sri Papanasan Sivan   5) Song Bhagyada Lakshmi  - Ragam  Madhyamavati  - Composer  Saint Purandaradas  and also 2  Ghata Tharang ensemble in  Ragam Madhyamavati,and Madhukaun and one english note in Ragam Shankarabaranam.

 

Earlier Mrs. Aparna Suresh from Ragamalika welcomed all the artists on the stage and gave a brief intro and highlighted their achievements in their respective musical field.  Smt. Anuja Chakravarthy (Second Secretary Culture – Indian Embassy felicitated the artists with floral bouquets.  Mr. Sudhir Kumar Shetty – COO – Global (UAE Exchange) felicitated Smt. Anuja Chakravarthy with a floral bouquet.  The honorary guests present at the event were Mr. Sarvotham Shetty (President – Karnataka Sangha Abu Dhabi), Dr. Mohammed, Chairman - Global Asset and Mr.Abdulla  Managing Director - Global Asset.

 

All the ragas they presented were of super melodies and at the end of every raga there was a jugalbandi/Intrumental Fusion between all the artists and it was really a world class presentation and a treat to watch and listen.  The rapport between artists was very friendly and pleasant.   Smt. Sukanya Ramgopal, the main artists played seven Ghatams at a time which was a remarkable performance by a lady artist and equally competitive were the other artists and it was indeed a great and most mesmerizing Instrumental Fusion to be watched and enjoyed.  For those who missed out this super performance there is another chance in Dubai as it will be held at the Indian Consulate Auditorium in Dubai on 17th (Sunday) June at 7.00pm.

 

Prior to the final Raga all the artists were felicitated with traditional shawls and fruit baskets by Mr. Sarvotham Shetty, Dr. Mohammed and Mr. Abdulla. Mr. Kumar Iyar of Ragamalika spoke on the occasion and thanked all the artists for their willingness and accepting the invitation to come to U.A.E. and perform.  He highly spoke of them and their abilities and explained how Smt. Sukanya Ramgopal used to carry a ghatam in TVS scooter in Bangalore and attend the programs and her dedication to the classical music and her team.  He praised for their wonderful performance and wished them good luck for their future programs.  The wonderful event ended at about 10:30pm.

 

 

Here below is a brief info on “The Sthree Thaal Tharang” and the qualifications and achievements of all the artists:

 

“ The Sthree Thaal Tharang “ All women musicians:

In 1995, Sukkanya gathered a group of young and talented women artistes and formed the ‘Sthree Thaal Tharang’’ – an instrumental ensemble of women artists playing the veena, violin, mridangam and morching along with the ghatam, ghata tharang and Konnakol. The ensemble is one of the handful of women’s ensembles in the country. The artists of ‘Sthree Thaal Tharang’ are all talented musicians in their own right and when they play together there is a delightful exuberance and a magical charm.

 

Sthree Thaal Tharang’s ‘Laya Raga Sangamam’ concerts are structured on the lines of a conventional Carnatic music concert. They are a blend of traditional Carnatic pieces where that ghatam accompanies the veena and violin; then there are special compositions that are created for the Ghata Tharang, where the melody is played on the ghatam and the other instruments. The concerts range from one to three hours and have greater rhythmic orientation with the Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi on Ghata Tharang forming the highpoint of the concert.

 

Under Sukkanya’s able leadership, ‘Sthree Thaal Tharang’ has gained immense popularity in India and has received wide critical acclaim, awards and accolades. The group has to its credit a music album called ‘Rainbow’.

 

“The Ghatam Artist “ Sukkanya Ramgopal is one of the frontline musicians and the first woman ghatam artist of the country. Over the past 35 years, she has mastered the art of playing the ghatam in Carnatic music. Percussion instruments, in general, have always been considered as ‘masculine’. The ghatam in particular, is a heavy instrument and producing sound on it can be a great challenge to anybody trying to master it. It is by virtue of unshaken determination and perseverance that Sukkanya has today not only mastered the art of playing the ghatam but has also created a revolution by bringing this ‘accompanying’ instrument on to the centrestage.

 

Sukkanya is one of the prime disciples of ghatam wizard Padmasri Vikku Vinayakaram. She initially began training in the mridangam at the tender age of 12 and was also accompanying on the mridangam for Carnatic music concerts. She also learnt the violin from Sri Gurumurthy, brother of Sri Vinayakaram. However, it was the ghatam that was her true calling. Under the able guidance of Sri Vinayakram, Sukkanya has mastered the unique ghatam fingering techniques and is today considered as one of the true torchbearers of the Vikku baani of ghatam playing. She is also an amazing performer on the Konnakol (Vocal percussion). Sukkanya hails from a family of musicians and Tamil scholars. She is the great granddaughter of Mahamahopadyaya Dr. U.V.Swaminatha Iyer, fondly known as ‘Tamil Tatha’ (grand old man of Tamil).

 

The Ghata Tharang is a unique idea conceptualized by Sukkanya and is truly a revolution in the field of Carnatic music. While it is can be a challenge to play even one ghatam, Sukkanya’s commitment to breaking new ground has inspired her to play the Ghata tharang with 6 - 7 ghatams of different shruthis, thereby creating melody on a percussion instrument. This is the first time that a percussion instrument has come to occupy the Centre stage in a Carnatic concert. Sukkanya was awarded the best lecture demonstration award by the reputed music institution The Music Academy, Chennai for a presentation on this concept. Sukkanya also heads an all women’s instrumental ensemble ‘Stree Thaal Tharang’ that has performed at several prestigious venues across the country.

 

Sukkanya has provided ghatam accompaniment to many senior Carnatic musicians and she is a globe trotter with this instrument with Dr. Balamurali Krishna, Lalgudi Sri Jayaraman, Smt Sudha Raghunathan, Sri T.M. Krishna, Sri Kadri Gopalnath and so on. She is regarded as one of the finest exponents of Carnatic percussion and has been an inspiration to several women artists.

 

Sukkanya is an ‘A top’ grade artiste of All India Radio. She is also empanelled by the ICCR as an ‘Outstanding artiste’ - the topmost category of performing artists of the country. Sukkanya has many awards to her profile.

 

Veena Artist Smt Yoga Vandana

Smt Vandana, post-graduate in Zoology from the Osmania University, Yoga Vandana received training under Smt. Subhashini Sastri, and later under Vidwan Sri V.S. Anantha Rao of Hyderabad. An ‘A’ grade artiste of the All India Radio, she holds a diploma in music from the Goverment of Andhra Pradesh and an Alankar degree in music from Akhila Bharathiya Gandharva Maha Vidyalaya, Miraj and has performed extensively across India. She also give solo performance on Veena and has many citations to her credit.

 

Violin Artist: Smt. Soumya Ramachandran

Smt. Soumya initially learnt vocal music from her mother Smt. Raji Subbaraman and later from Smt. Balamani of Mumbai. She was trained in the violin by Sri Shivakumar of Mumbai. A recipient of the government of India junior and senior scholarships for violin, Soumya is a ‘B High’ grade artiste of All India Radio. She received the best violinist award at the Music Academy Chennai in 1990 and has also been conferred the title ‘Surmani’ by the Sur Singar Samsad of Mumbai.

 

Mridangam Artist: Smt Ranjani Venkatesh

Smt. Ranjani is a vocalist and a mridangam player and is a disciple of Sri H S Sudhindra and Smt Neela Ramgopal. A rank holder in the mridangam proficiency examination, she has won a number of awards and is a ‘B’ grade artist of the All India Radio. She has performed in music festivals in Bhopal, Patna, Mumbai, Calicut, Trivandrum and other places. She has also performed at the International Festival of Music and Dance at Bangkok in 2007.

 

Morsing Artist Smt Bhagyalakshmi M. Krishna

Smt. Bhagyalakshmi trained under her father Sri. L. Bhimachar, who is the finest exponents of the morching in the country. She is ‘B-High’ grade artist of the All India Radio and has performed widely within the country. She had participated in the 5th International Jew’s Harp Festival held at Amsterdam, Netherlands in July 2006. Bhagyalakshmi has also performed with Anuradha Pal’s ‘Sthree Shakti’ at the 9th International festival of Dance & music in Bangkok in 2007 and at the SAARC Summit in New Delhi in 2007.