Vibrations (A Percussion Ensemble)

If you are planning to see a "Vibrations" concert, here is a friendly warning for you. Be prepared to be surprised, very surprised.

Sri. Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan, a world class mridhangam vidhwan has assembled these extremely talented group of musicians to deliver a type of carnatic music you have never experienced before. There is a lot of emphasis on percussion with mridhangam, tabla, ghatam, morsing, konnakkol. There is vocal music, violin and an electric guitar as well in the mix. You can't just group this as a thalavadhyam or jugalbandhi ensemble.

Unlike most carnatic concerts, this one started with the rumble of Mr Vaidyanathan's mridhangam and human voice played an accompanying role to the instruments. Percussion instruments didn't seem to overwhelm others, they seem to take their rightful place. I have never heard so many classy thani-aavarthanams in a single concert.

Sri Raghavendra Rao, the violinist melted hearts with his "kurai ondrum Illai", it was so beautiful you could hear the lyrics. I thought the song ended and I started humming to myself but Kashyap Mahesh started with just the "saranam" line "Kali naalukkirangi" and finished it off beautifully. Any time you listen to songs like "kurai ondrum illai" or "chinnam chiru kiliye", it is hard to not recall and compare with the renditions by MSS and DK Pattammal. This ensemble knows that and they did not deviate much from the versions rendered those two all time greats. Chinnam chiru kiliye was another smooth gem which highlighted the skills of Mr Kashyap and Mr Rao. I guess you can't go wrong with a Bharathiyar raagamaalika.

Mr Vaidyanathan introduced Kashyap Mahesh as a "valarnthu varum kalaignar". Really? Now I can't wait to see his viswa roopam. His voice is silken smooth and his Tamil pronounciation is impeccable. It was refreshing to hear so many Tamil songs.

Mr Janardhan played his electric guitar as if the instrument was designed for carnatic music but also jazzed it up a little bit (literally) during "Manavyalakim" which ended with "Enthanerchinaa" (medley). If you closed your eyes, you could hear a veena and not a guitar. Hard to believe that playing guitar is not his day job. He is renowned carnatic saxophonist!

I haven't heard Ghatam live in a long time and it was a pleasure to listen to Mr Guruprasad. He is a very soft spoken man but his Ghatam certainly is not. His thani-aavarthanam was my favorite part of the event. His could make his Ghatam whisper or roar thunderously, just like the applause that followed it.

Mr Sundar played the tabla, morsing and even a maracca! After the performance I saw him packing a few more instruments in his bag that he did not use today. Morsing and Ghatam are a pleasure to hear in unison and there was no shortage of that today.

Mr Thirivarur Vaidyanathan is the conductor and lead performer of "Vibrations". He deserves all the credit for putting together this group and playing the lead instrument. Presentation of some of the most popular songs didn't hurt either!

One of the highlights of the event was the percussion medley of Mridhangam, tabla and ghatam. It started off like a slow drizzle with single notes, gradually picked up speed and ended with fireworks. Applause lasted the longest for this one since audience were clapping with the music.

Today I got chance to take my kids to visit the vidwans at Sudhakar's place (thank you Sudha and Sudhakar) and Mr Rao was kind enough to play for a few minutes using Anu's violin. Her immediate response was "there is nothing wrong with my violin after all".

All I could say is that these musicians must be among the happiest people in the world for creating and performing this music. Listening to them is pure joy.

About the organizers:

This was an event organized by SIFAA, a non-profit organization that works to arrange and promote carnatic music concerts in the Triangle and Triad areas of North Carolina, supplementing those arranged by the Indian Classical Music and Dance Society, another organization in the area. SIFAA is supported by means of tickets, donations and underwriting by many enthusiasts of Carnatic music in the area.

SIFAA was started by a group of Carnatic Music Enthusiasts in the Triangle and Triad areas in 2002 who felt that there was a critical mass of rasikas in the area who could support more programs.

Join SIFAA to support Carnatic music in the triangle area. http://www.sifaa.org