by Dr. Rama V. Bennur
The trend of Kirana Gharana is silently spreading in Karnataka. After the legendary Sawai Gandharva, Bhimsen Joshi and Madhava Gudi, it is the turn of Nagaraj Havaldar of Bangalore. His son Omkarnath Havaldar learnt both from his father and Pt. Madhava Gudi. A dedicated student who is committed to music, Omkarnath is pursuing Dhrupads from Pandit Indudhar Nirodi of Mysore. He has many accolades to his credit that prove his merit. Bestowed with a soft and attractive voice, Omkarnath is rich in creativity.
On the occasion of Guru Poornima (12.7.2014), he gave a Hindustani classical vocal recital at the Suttur Mutt, which was also a part of ‘Moonlight Music.’ Samir Havaldar and Kedarnath Havaldar accompanied him on the Harmonium and Tabla respectively. All the three young enthusiastic musicians successfully captured the audience for nearly two-and-a-half hours.
Omkarnath chose Rag Marubehag as the opener. A short alap, as is the tradition of Kirana Gharana which started from the Nishada of the lower octave (Mandrasthayi) gave a brief introduction of the rag and he quickly proceeded to the famous bandish ‘Rasiya Aavona’ in vilambitkal. The different shades of Marubehag came alive in a very leisurely manner. The sargams had many permutations and combinations that added colour to it. The melodic combinations of swift and clear akaars made it more interesting. Dhruth reached its crescendo in the lyrics ‘Tarsaagayimoorenainva.’
It was Rag Natmalhar that he chose to sing next though with a short alap. He handled the tricky notes confidently and succeeded in bringing the Rag Bhav in a short span. (Any Rag that belongs to Malhar group is connected to rain or supposed to make it rain). ‘Karuniso Rangakaruniso’, ‘Akkakelavva nanondu kanasakande’ are immortalised by Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Mallikarjun Mansur. Omkarnath presented them with due respect and vigour. Young Sameer and Kedarnath rendered full support to the vocalist.
Basavanna’s vachana ‘Neenolidare koradukonaruvudayya’ and Purandaradasa’s ‘Baarebhagyada nidhiye’ were pleasant to hear. Another noteworthy experiment was a translation of a Marathi abhang which he managed to sing in both the languages. ‘Maazamaaheri Pandari’ which changed to ‘nannatavarurepandari’ was quite interesting.
Raaga Vaibhava
The unique cultural organisation of Mysore ‘Raaga Vaibhava’ celebrated its 10th anniversary by presenting two grand concerts at the Vasudevacharya Bhavana in city on the 12th and 13th of July. A souvenir was also released on the second day by their patron M. Jagannath Shenoy that was followed by a memorable concert by Vidwan P. Unnikrishnan and party. Adithi Krishnaprakash on the Violin, H.L. Shivashankar Swamy on the Mridanga and Phaneendra Bhaskar on the Ghata accompanied him respectively.
Vid. Unnikrishnan is known for his melodious voice. He has even won a national award for his playback singing. (Very few classical singers have entered this arena of film music). However, despite the diminishing lustre in his voice, he enthralled the listeners with pure classical saga. His rich and matured manodharma came alive in every raga alapana and kalpanaswaras. The very beginning was not the usual Varna but ‘Mayateetaswaroopini’, a composition of Ponnayya Pillai in the raga Mayamalavagowla set to Rupakatala. The pace was perfect and the rendering was filled with enthusiasm.
A fantastic neraval at ‘Mayamalavagowla sheshamuna’ enhanced the raga bhava and was followed by rigorous kalpanaswaras. The 70th melakartha raga Nasikabhushini differs from Vagadheeshwari in just one note-Madhyama. It has prathimadhyama while vagadheeshwari has shuddhamadhyama. But the result they produce is something stunning. One has to be versatile in handling these ragas. Unnikrishnan surpassed in the detailed alapana of this fantastic raga Nasikabhushini. Muthuswami Dixitar’s immortal Kruthi “Shree Ramaa Saraswathi” was flawless followed by sarvalaghuswaras.
Yet another detailed exposition of the raga charukeshi was a feast to ears. The phrases were sparkling with innovative ideas that brought new flavour to this ancient raga. The clarity in both the speed and the birkas are striking in his rendering which is effortlessly brought in the manodharma part. Swathi Tirunal’s composition ‘Krupayapalayashoure’ set to Misrachaputala was also enjoyable.
After ‘Paraakumaadade’ of Purandaradasa in Saveri, Unnikrishnan took up the main raga of the day Keeravani. The appropriate gamakas and embellishments unfolded the very soul of this heart-touching raga. His control on the breath was astonishing. The melodic combinations were aesthetically satisfying. Tyagaraja’s ‘Kaligiyunte’ with a neraval at “Baaguga Sri Raghu Ramunipadamula” had a cascade of kalpanaswaras. Young Adithi was at her best and breathed life into every raga she played.
The rest of the concert included ‘Pibare Ramarasam’, ‘Yakenirdayanadeyo.’ ‘Palukebangaramayina’ and ‘Rama Rama Seetharama’ which were rendered with bhakthibhava .Shivashankaraswamy and Phaneendra Bhaskar also gave good support to the vocalist.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / July 21st, 2014