Vocal concert ~ K.V.Narayanaswamy @ Toronto, March '97
Sri K.V.Narayanaswamy gave an excellent 3-hour vocal concert on April 12th, 1997. He was accompanied by Sri R.K.Sriram Kumar on the violin and Sri Manoj Siva on the mridangam. and had vocal support -and "memory assist"- from Smt. Padma Narayanaswamy and Smt. Anuradha Krishnamurthy.
The main songs were : "manavyalakim" in raga naLinakanthi of Thyagaraja; "manam irangaadhaa' in raga mayamalLava gowla of Swarna Venkatesha Dikshitar; "parama pavana" in raga Purvi Kalyani of Ramnad Srinivasa Iyengar and the ragam-thanam-pallavi in raga sahana.
Suffice it to say, KVN proved once again, if proof were indeed needed, why he was chosen by the Indian magazine "Sruthi" as the artist of the decade. His voice did whatever he willed; his mother (sruthi) and father (laya) were at his beck and call. Raga bhava was in every one of his utterances. The way he did raga aalapana reminded me of how a loving mother bathes - not with mere water but her affection s well - and dresses her child with love and care, not missing even one step of beautification, coaxing the child slowly and caressingly. His elaborate Sahana in three stages, his tantalizing glimpses of Maaji and Hindustani Kafi before starting the kritis and his delectable adventures in laya in swara kalpana, all were wonderful to listen.
What can I say about "varugalaamO"? Did the composer compose it just for KVN? The audience was probably saying "urugalaamO" (can we melt), with tears welling in their eyes, when KVN sang this masterpiece with all the bhava he could muster...
Sriram Kumar and Manoj Siva did a marvellous job of complementing the tone and mood of KVN, anticipating all his forays with ease and comfort. At the end of the concert, I truly felt the presence of a Complete Musician. The line KVN did neraval for ("paadi paNindhu bhakthar indha paarinil uyarndhaar" - roughly translating to 'devotees rise to fame in this world by singing with humility) in MayamaLava Gowla is indeed a fitting description of Sri KVN himself!