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

It has been rightly said by someone that “Age slows down the body, but not the mind.” The same is the case with Usha Ashwath Narayan, who is residing in JP Nagar, for the past 24 years and spent nearly 50 years in preparing gifts given during marriages which we also call as “Maduve Bhagana” in Kannada. Usha indulged herself and started experimenting in various arts. She soon became an expert in making dolls and show-pieces using coconuts, carving dried coconuts, preparing sugar dolls, haththi haara, gejje vastra and wax items. She is now one of the most sought after person in Mysore to get “Maduve Bhagana” ready!

by Phalgunn Maharishi

Born in 1950 in Nanjangud, Usha spent her early childhood in Kolkata and Madras where her father worked as a Liaison Officer for a private company. She soon shifted to Mysore in 1958 and completed her Bachelors in Music from Gangotri Fine Arts College in the city in 1973. She also completed her Rashtra Bhasha Hindi exam in 1969 and got married to Ashwath Narayan, a KEB Senior Assistant, in 1975. The couple has two children; a son and a daughter, both software engineers in Bangalore. Usha is also a MA degree holder in Hindi Language from Mysore University through correspondence.

By profession, Usha was a teacher who managed primary school students and also taught Kannada and Hindi for high school students in various schools like St. Anne’s, Vidhyashankara and St. Marina’s till 1990 after which she was forced to quit the teaching line due to her health conditions. “I was always interested in creativity from my childhood. May be the genes have passed down to me from my grandmother I guess. I always saw her (grandmother) making models of chariots and bullock carts using coconut sticks,” said Usha while speaking about her inspiration behind the art. She also added, “I also love teaching. I handled everything single-handedly be it teaching, coconut carving, marriage gifts, drawing, painting and above all my children and my husband too.”

Usha is a unique person who has so far tried a number of creative arts and gained success in each one of them. When it comes to music, she is a vibrant veena player and a tremendous vocalist. When it’s drawing and painting, she is well-versed in glass painting, fabric painting, oil painting and a lot more. She has also won hundreds of prizes for her paintings and rangoli designs. When you have a marriage in your family and you are in need of a person who can prepare all the traditional gifts and show-pieces for your relatives, Usha is the person you can bet upon.

Usha said, “I started working for marriages in my family and friends circle in the beginning when I was just 10 years. As days passed the word started spreading and today I work for marriages happening in Bangalore, Mumbai and also abroad.” She also commented, “I never knew I would come all the way working alone without any help from any person. But nowadays, as I am growing old, my children help me a little during their free time; not in the process of making, but in the process of online selling through Facebook.”

Usha has recently started making terracotta jewelleries which originated during Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro civilisation. It is the oldest form of jewelleries known to mankind, but had lost its value amidst gold and silver jewelleries. “Recently my daughter had been to South Africa where she found the vast usage of terracotta jewelleries which the Mysoreans had no clue about before. She was the one who forced me to learn the art in Bangalore at Kavaani where I obtained a certificate in terracotta jewellery-making in 2013,” said Usha about her new talent and business. She later added, “The designs of my terracotta jewelleries are not available in the stores and the usual designs found in stores are not available with me. The trend is catching up recently in the city. People are buying the down-to-earth latest fashion jewelleries. They are seeking for a tremendous change from the usual gold and silver jewelleries.”

“I first make models using clay according to the designs and then dry them after which they are baked and painted. I use hacksaw blades, nose pliers, cutters and also waste pens and broken scales and water bottle caps to prepare the designs,” explained Usha while speaking about the procedure she follows to prepare terracotta jewelleries. She also added, “It takes nearly 15 days for me to complete a necklace set.”

Usha is by far the only person in Mysore who prepares such terracotta jewelleries. She has also been an avid social worker in her young age. She has been responsible for bringing street lights and frequent buses to JP Nagar by holding strikes near some routes of JP Nagar years ago. She really is an example of a lady whose body is aging with time but not the mind.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles  / July 15th, 2014

M.S. Subbulakshmi is a rare phenomenon in the history of our country. She is an all-in-one — a great artiste, a philanthropist, a wonderful human being, a cultural ambassador, a rebel in her way and much more. She is the first musician recipient of Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India.

Ragamala Publication, Mysore, is bringing out a book on the musical journey of M.S. Subbulakshmi. The book is titled ‘Bhuvanada Bhagya MS’ in Kannada. The book has four sections. The first section deals with the childhood of MS narrated in her own words and how the seeds of music were sown into her. Then the historical times and its forces, which have shaped MS and her long spread musical journey.

Second section has articles on the music of MS by musicians of great repute and perceptive critics. This section also has an article on the role of cinema in shaping the music of MS.

Third section consists of exclusive interviews by reputed percussionists and violinists who have accompanied MS. The last section presents the Presidential address of MS on the occasion of receiving the prestigious Sangeetha Kalanidhi Award and her interview by another great musician Vidushi Mani Krishnaswamy. The book has a rich collection of photographs of renowned photographers like Avinsha Pasricha and Raghu Rai.

The book will be released on 15th July, Tuesday, at Veene Seshanna Bhavana in city at 6 pm by V. Ramnarayan, the editor of ‘Sruti,’ India’s premier magazine on performing arts, Chennai. He will also share the memories of his long association with MS. The well-known Kannada writer S. Diwakar will speak on the book, which will be followed by the rendition of some of the favourite kritis of MS by a young talent Uttara Swaminathan of Bangalore, a disciple of Vidushi Jayanthi Kumaresh. The entire programme will be concluded by about 8 pm.

Music-lovers are requested to attend the function in large numbers. They are also requested to encourage editor/publisher T.S. Venugopal by purchasing the released book which will be available at a concessional rate of Rs.100 per copy.

— K. R. Mohan

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News  / July 14th, 2014