Among musical forms, the “Harikatha” has come to grace a special place in the Carnatic music circuit.

A composite art form, comprising elements of poetry, music and philosophy woven in story telling format, it stands out as an excellent medium for propagating cultural and religious values to the masses.

On March 30 the Toronto music Rasikas were treated to one such refreshing traditional art in the form of a Harikatha-“Seetha Kalyanam”. Yes, the three hour presentation on March 30th by Sangeetha Kalanidhi TN Seshagopalan at the Ayyappan auditorium in Scarborough wa a resounding success

The traditionally attired accompanists (on mridangam, violin and kanjira) coupled with the use of the cymbals to keep beat enhanced the aura and mood of “Seetha Kalayanam”- that was succinctly portrayed in dramatic style. Prasangam- sloka interpretation and music in these expositions relies heavily on the musical ability of the individual. Madurai T.N. Seshagopalan, a musician par excellence is a natural speaker and the lyrical beauty of the compositions rendered in Sanskrit, Telegu, Marathi, Hindi and Tamil complemented his music to perfection.

He spoke of the importance of Rama avataram, the Rama mantra and the special place accorded to ThAyAr. Anecdotes, episodes from the Ramayana were roped in well in keeping with the humour of our time, making the Harikatha contemporary and relevant. Passages from Valmiki RAmAyaNam, Vishnu SahashranAmam, Kamba RaamAyaNam, pAsurams, abhangs and krithis from Thyagarajar, Arunachalakavirayar, Uthukkadu Venkata Kavi came across in a stream of musical fireworks. Indeed, one may be bold enough to say that Thyagarajar himself is fortunate to have the likes of TNS propagating his music via this medium.

A few bars of the krithi “yArO ivar yArO” (Arunachala Kavirayar)originally set to Saveri - Saveri being a better choice for nAdagams, was demonstrated in both Bhairavi and Saveri. Particularly enjoyable was the rasa effect captured by TNS as in a dramatic flourish he delighted us with few lines of a krithi sung as it were by both Seetha and Surpanaka! Snippets from Sri Raghukula (Hamsadhwani), Manasuloni(Hindolam), Nagumomu (Abheri) and several other krithis in their lyrical splendour were presented in an enjoyable musical narrative. A famous Thamizh verse “aNNalum nOkkinAL” (Hameer Kalyani) from Kamba RaamAyaNam was pleasantly soothing. Three of the six charanams from Thyagarajar’s Seetha KalyANam in Kurinji were rendered for full effect. All the events concomitant to the marriage ceremony- the vil (bow) scene, the unjal, nalangu,were represented well and laced with humour in terms of modern day parlance. He had several people laughing as he maintained a serious countenance with jokes interspersed in the num erous episodes dwelling on various aspects of human nature. Seshagopalan’s superior vidhwat in both the Hindusthani and Carnatic idiom was reflected in his smooth delivery. He is a phenomenal and versatile artiste and to many of us who have not been privy to his histrionic talents, it was a pleasure seeing the well known musician in a different light.

Excellent support by Jaisankar Balan (violin), Vinod Seetharam (Mrudangam) and Karthik Venkatraman (Kanjira) made for a presentation both entertaining and instructive.

The function, which began with an introduction of the artistes by Thyagarajan, President of Bharathi Kala Manram ended with a vote of thanks by Dr. Krishnan followed by a presentation of a veNpA by Professor Pasupathy honouring the artiste.

Rajeshwari Iyer
Pics Courtesy : Murali Gopalakrishnan