Gayathri Girish presented a concert recently, under the aegis of Music Forum, interspersed with information on the temple town of Kanchipuram. Through a multimedia presentation, she delved into its history and spoke about references in ancient literature at the Arkay Convention Centre. The programme was part of Music Forum’s Sangeetha Lakshana Lakshya series.

Kanchi that abounds with temples of Siva, Vishnu, Shakti and Skanda, is referred to as prithvi sthal. It is also known as Kamakottam, Devarajapuram and Shivajit Kshetram and has been widely mentioned in the agama sastras and Sangam literature. The town nurtured many scholars and saints such as Adi Sankara, Ramanuja, Thevara Nalvar, Upanishad Brahmam and Azhwars.

After this introduction, Gayathri moved to Kumara Kottam, the deity being Somaskandamurthy. The temple is located between the shrines of Ekambareswarar and Kamakshi. Gayathri presented Muthuswami Dikshitar’s ‘Chintaya makanda moolakandam’ in Bhairavi. “Tamizh Kanda Puranam was staged first at Kanda Kottam, where Lord Muruga imparted it to his devotee Kachyapasivachariar,” said Gayathri.

In Kama Kottam, Shakti exists in three forms — as a statue, Srichakram and Tapas Kamakshi. Gayathri brought out its significance through Dikshitar’s ‘Ekambranatham’ in Gamakakriya, a thevaram, a Mooka Kavi poem, Tyagaraja’s ‘Vinayakuni’ in Madhyamavati and Syama Sastri’s ‘Kanaka saila viharini’ in Punnagavarali. Her rendition of Oothukkadu Venkatakavi’s Kamakshi Navavarnam (‘Sadanandamayi’ in Hindolam) enhanced her presentation. A rare kriti ‘Sri Saraswati Hite’ in Manji was a pleasing addition.

Kriti on Varadaraja

Varadaraja Perumal, known by several names, was represented with the Tyagaraja kriti ‘Varadaraja ninne’. Gayathri said that the kriti was tuned in raga Swarabooshani but generally sung in Devamanohari. This was suffixed with verses from Vedanta Desikar’s ‘Adaikkalappaththu’ in ragamalika. ‘Varadarajam upasmahe’ in Saranga by Dikshitar was another choice.

Kailasanathar temple, known for its huge linga and beautiful sculptures, was the focus next. The kriti was Dikshitar’s ‘Kailasanathena’ in Khambodi. . Then came Thirumangai Azhwar’s pasuram on the gigantic Ulagalantha Perumal in raga Mohanam. Gayathri concluded her presentation with a Pattinathar song.

She was accompanied by Vishruthi and Mythreyi (vocal support), K. Ananthakrishnan (violin) and Kumbakonam Swaminathan (mridangam).

Chief guest Chithra Madhavan lauded Gayathri for packing the show with good music and interesting information.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Music / by G. Swaminathan /  July 12th, 2018