T.M. Krishna is touring the US and is accompanied by Akkarai Subhalakshmi on the violin and Praveen Sparsh on the Mrudangam, in his concerts. Austin based ICMCA had organized a concert of his in the Bates Recital hall in University of Texas campus, on Oct 08, 2022. Bates Hall is one of the best places for a concert in Austin because of its fine acoustics and for the grand backdrop their organ provides.
One thing you know is that you do not expect anything 'normal' in any concert of T.M. Krishna. The stage was set for his style of a concert with Praveen taking the center stage and TMK and Akkarai sitting either side of him.
When the concert started with Praveen kicking it off and Akkarai joining him playing Kharaharapriya, before Krishna even made an entry, you knew it was going to be something different. The first song was a leisurely rendition of Janakipathe. It was a pleasure to see how the trio worked together as a team, encouraging each other and giving a nudge when needed to make the canvas bigger. Their experience playing together showed in the way each one anticipated the other and responded. It was a grand start.
Krishna started the next song with a raga alapanai of Mohanam. Given that the first piece was a popular song and the way he handled that song, I was expecting him to sing the song, 'Sarveshwara' by Vedanayagam Sasthriar. But to my great surprise and to my wife's even greater satisfaction, he sang the evergreen 'Kapali'! That was two classic hits one after the other and made me wonder if there would be a hat trick or if he would go the other way.
A short and sweet Khamboji raga alapana, that had the audience in raptures, set the mood for a magnificient 'Ma Janaki'. His singing was resplendent with intricate embellishments. When TMK started singing the swarams like a burst of firecrackers, I was reminded of the great Madurai Mani Iyer rendering this magnum opus in his own inimitable way. The brisk pace in which this song was rendered was very unlike TMK of recent times.
The next song set that record right. It was a very mellifluous Hamir Kalyani. If the previous song was a fast and furious river that tumbled down a mountain, this was a serene, majestic river flowing through the plains. The song he chose was 'Venkata Shaila Vihara'. I had listened to this song in another recent concert of his where he had actually started the concert this song and was amazed how sublime it was. This time around it was even better.
Even he must have felt good because after he finished the song, he continued to sing Hamir Kalyani as some phrase seem to have caught his fancy. After a few minutes, Akkarai just leaned over and told him to sing something else and her recommendation was 'Jambupathe' in Yamuna Kalyani. That helped retain the mood he was in and this was the best I have ever listened to him sing this song. When he sang 'Ambudhi Ganga Kaveri Yamuna', something just broke inside me. It made me so emotional that I was unabashedly shedding tears. I remained that way till the end of the concert and much much later. (That is one reason, this post was not written right after the concert.)
TMK asked Akkarai to play a Bhairavi alapanai and she responded with an evocative rendering. The song that he chose to sing was 'Nara Malam Allalama'. This is a song penned by author and poet Perumal Murugan about the manual scavenging which is still a practice in India. I have found this song to be a stark and powerful admonishment to a society that still accepts this as a way of life. TMK must have felt the same way as he has tuned this song in one of the grandest ragams in Karnatic music. The way he sang this left the audience mesmerized.
'Pranatharthiharam' in Chenjurutti, is a beautiful song composed by Mysore Vasudevacharya and somehow I feel that it is not sung enough today. I had requested TMK to sing this song in this concert and he obliged. He preceded the song with the shlokam from Thiruvachakam. 'Pullagi Poodagi'. He brought out the beauty and surprised me by singing elaborate swarams too. My special thanks to him for singing this song. Praveen played a pleasing thani to make this song memorable.
To inject some variety, TMK sang the song 'Saaware Aee Jaiyo', popularized by Pandit Kumar Gandharva. A brief Thanam in Ragam Bilahari with the Javali 'Paripolavera' followed it. The next song was Baaro Krishnaiah in Maand rendered with usual aplomb. Once again he was enjoying himself so much that he continued with another song in the same raga - 'Suthanthiram Vendum' by Perumal Murugan. The appropriateness of the song brought a smile to the team performing and the audience alike.
It was almost three hours and late in the evening but the crowd listening did not budge from their seats. That even elderly people remained seated showed how much they enjoyed the concert. The team was in a zone and kept asking the organizers if they can sing more and more. TMK sang a shlokam 'Hemantha Kaale' on Jesus Christ and 'Allavai Naam Thozhudhal' in Behaag as his final piece. On conclusion, the audience gave him a standing applause.
But our man was not done yet. He requested permission to sing one more song and sang the Rabindranath Tagore song 'Mamo Chitte' to end the evening. But for the lateness of the evening, he would have sung a lot more and the audience would have sat and listened to him as well.
I should praise both Akkarai Subhalakshmi and Praveen for their wonderful support. They were very sensitive to how TMK was singing and provided the right amount of support with Praveen even pausing many times letting the other two weave their magical spells. Thanmayee and Madhav, both students of TMK, provided support on the Tanpura. Another special mention is for the audio team in the auditorium that got the perfect balance and ensured it remained that way throughout the concert.
If I have one grouse, it is that there should have been an additional percussion accompaniment, be it a Ghatam or Kanjira. It would have added another dimension that went missing. And of course, that the wait for the next concert would be a couple of years. I shall reminisce this concert till then.
Thank you Krishna and the team!
