Avasarala Kanyakumari ji Congratulations on getting conferred Padma Shri award Innovative raga in offing Violinist Kanyakumari’s new raga concept comprises seven ragas which are collectively named after the seven Tirumala hills. Ace violinist A. Kanyakumari came out with a ‘vibgyor raga’ concept wherein she has founded seven new ragas which collectively come under the name of ‘Saptagiri’ after the seven hills of Tirumala. Each raga is named after one hill of the Tirumala range and in a chronological order. The first is Seshadri, a janya raga (offshoot) of the parent raga Hemavathi (58th melakarta). The rest that follow in sequence are Neeladri (offshoot of Jhankaradwani-19th melakarta), Garudadri (Chakravakam-16th melakarta), Anjanadri (Rasikapriya, last melakarta-72),Vrishbhadri (Kanakangi-first melakarta), Narayanadri (Dheera Sankarabharanam-29) and Venkatadri (Jhankaradwani-19). Says Kanyakumari, in an informal chat, “Research has been done and it is found that none of these ragas figure in the janya raga list that exists under the 72 mela raga classification. So my innovation can stand the test of scrutiny. I want to tune seven Annamacharya kirtanas to these seven ragas. The concert was given during 2013 to mark the fourth anniversary of ‘Nada Neerajanam’, a mega programme conducted by Sri Venkateswara Bhakti Channel, which provides an opportunity to music and dance artistes to perform in front of the Tirumala temple. Ms. Kanyakumari’s excellent violin concert, with her ensemble comprising of her disciples and leading percussionists, was well received by the audience. Brief Alapanas in the new Ragas, Thanam and Pallavi, besides a special composition in the new Sapthagiri Ragas, turned out to be the highlights. K.V. Prasad on Mrudangam, A.S. Sankar on Ghatam and Purushotham on Kanjira provided effective instrumental accompaniment. An established woman violinist, she is also a guru who has churned out maximum number of students like Embar Kannan, Rajesh, Kamalakiran who have already carved a niche for themselves on the Carnatic music firmament. Her innovations include ‘Panchajanya’ (five elements, five legendary musicians set to five talas), Tristhayi Sangamam (ensemble of three instruments) to name a few among her multi-faceted creations. The ‘Lifetime Achievement Award,’ by two well-known music sabhas (Shanmukhapriya and Sarvani Sangeetha Sabha) of Chennai, is just another feather to her cap The Hindu article 2013
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 07:30:58 +0000
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