Solo debut performances in music are rarer than solo debut dance performances. There are a couple of reasons for that. Unlike music, dance is a visual art where the beautiful costumes, make up, jewelry and lighting play a big role and the teachers can pretty much teach the students everything needed for the solo performance. But in music, the student has to do a lot of improvisations such as the raga alapana (elaboration of the raga), neraval (taking up a particular phrase and elaborating on that) and swara kalpana (improvisation with rhythm and landing on the chosen place and phrase). The student has to have an inborn instinct to do this and has to do it all by her/himself. This makes the percentage of music students who have their solo debut performances very low.

On June 20, 2010 Amritha Mangalat, a student of Smt. Durga Krishnan who is established as a well-known veena artist and teacher in the Boston area for the past 3 decades, performed her veena solo debut concert at the auspicious Chinmaya Maruti auditorium with a single mridangam accompaniment by our own Gaurishankar Chandrasekar, affectionately known as Gaurish. Amritha did a superb job of it. All the items chosen, the length of them, the alapana and swara kalpana when and where appropriate and the execution were near perfect.

Amritha started the program with “Vallabha Nayaka” a varnam in Mohanakalyani, set to Adi tala in praise of Lord Ganesha, composed by the violin legend Shri. Lalgudi G. Jayaraman. She then played a short alapana of Nattai to precede Dikshidar’s composition “Swaminatha paripalaya” set to Adi tala and in praise of Lord Muruga accompanied by a few brisk phrases of swara kalpana. She folowed it with a very pleasant and medium length alapana of the raga Mohanam and the kriti “Ra ra Rajiva lochana”, composed by Mysore Vasudevachar and set to double beat Adi tala with some interesting and mature swara kalpana. After the fast moving Patnam Subramanya Iyer kriti “Garuda gamana samayamithe” in the raga Nagaswaravali, set to Rupaka tala, came the main item of the concert. Amritha performed “Ninne Nammithinaiya” by Mysore Vasudevachar in Misra chapu (7 beat cycle) tala and raga Simhendra madhyamam. Amritha played an elaborate raga alapana and swara kalpana in the anupallavi with some mathematically interesting patterns. A mridangam solo or thani by Gaurish at the end of the song further decorated it. Thyagaraja’s composition “Ananda sagara” in Garudadhwani in Adi tala was performed next.

The RTP or Ragam, Tanam & Pallavi was the next item and Amritha chose the melodious raga Charukesi for this. After a very moving alapana and a rhythmic tanam she first sang the pallavi “Ullam Kollai Konda Kanna Manivanna Yenadhu” in double beat Adi tala for the better understanding of the audience. This pallavi - composed by her beloved guru "DK" - was followed by swara kalpana in ragamalika (garland of ragas) pattern using ragas Subhapanthuvarali, Kanada and Sindhubhairavi. Amritha even found a way to include the makudi or the snake charmer’s tune in her Subhapanthuvarali swara kalpana. Her veena literally sang when she played her next item “Muruga Muruga” composed by Periyasami Thooran in the raga Saveri, set to Misra chapu tala. After playing the eternal favorites “Kurai onrum illai” a ragamalika by the late Shri. Chakravathi Rajagopalachariar, and Maund thillana by Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman, Amritha ended her performance with the famous Ayyappa sloka “Harivarasanam” in Madhyamavathi.

It is always very heartwarming to see the younger generation taking up fine arts and culture from our home land and doing so well.
Congratulations to Amritha!!

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