Smt. Alamelu Mani (mother of Ghazal Legend Hariharan), who is a leading exponent of Padams and Javalis, presented a wonderful concert consisting of rare pieces at Killian Hall at MIT. She was accompanied by Mahalingam on the Mridangam and K.V.S.Vinay on the violin.
 
Alamelu Mani is a leading vocalist from Mumbai who has had the privilege of  learning directly under the legendary singer,  Brinda . She took sole charge of the South Indian School of Music in Mumbai after the untimely death of her husband and guru H.A.S Chellappa in 1963. The school is closed now and she has few tuitions for the more advanced students. She is a highly sought after teacher.  

She is also the Guru of the Sriram Iyer, a leading Bollywood Singer who is the brother of the leading New England vocalist, Smt. Geetha Murali.

The Padam and Javali genre is unique in that unlike other Carnatic Compositions, they are not necessarily spiritual in nature. They are love poems with simple Sahityam sometimes even having colloquial words in them.  Padams are heavy both in terms of the content and musicality while Javalis tend to be light.

Alamelu Mani opened with Suma sayaka in  Karnataka Kapi Swati Tirunal  Many Dharmapuri Subbarya's compositions including ini enna pechu irukudhu (Javali)  Sahana, Samarasundara in Paras, Thaliru Boni  in  Huseni  and Vani pondu (javali) in  Kaanada. Kshetragna's Yalapadare in Begada, Paiyadha in Nadanamakriya  and Valapudas in Varali were presented.  Other presentations included Nitthirayil (Padam) in Kamavardhini, by Ghanam Krishna Iyer, Sami veda yakdhe, Itu Sahasamulu (Javali) in Ragam   Saindhavi by Swati Tirunal and Mariyada Teliyakane (Javali) in Suruti by Patnam Subramanya Iyer. She concluded with Meela Adimai aThevaram in Madyamavadhi.

As one listened to Alamelu Mani it was clear that the musical structure of the Padams and Javalis were so brilliantly created that they brought out the emotion of the piece perfectly. It almost felt as though the words were not necessarily required to understand the piece.

It is not often that one gets to hear such unusual compositions. As a dancer it was wonderful to hear pieces like Itu Sahasamula which make for a fun rendition in Bharatanatyam.

A delightful evening indeed.

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