Reviews
Season Reviews - Prince Rama Varma

Date : 16.12.23
Venue : Madhuradhwani
Vocal : Prince Rama Varma
Violin : Avaneeswaram Vinu
Mridangam : Harikumar
Ghatam : S Karthick
By
Sivapriya Krishnan
Prince Rama Varma’s music has a lot of internalisation of the melody, raga and the song. His music is also characterised by the beauty of flat notes interspersing with gamakas, medium-paced kalapramana, and a selection of songs that make the concert stage lively and interesting.
The year 2023
celebrated the birth centenaries of vidwans M. D. Ramanathan, K.V.
Narayanaswamy and Pudhucode Krishnamurthy. That evening, Rama Varma dedicated
his concert as a tribute to all of them, but with an emphasis on MDR, who has
been a manaseeka guru to him.
Rama Varma sang Vanajakshiro an MDR favourite in Ata
tala, in three speeds, including a tisra variation. His rendition of Endaro mahanubhuvulu was true to MDR’s
way of singing it. Tyagaraja gurum asraye in Kedaram followed this. Hariyum Haranum ondre endru ariyaadhavar ularo
in Athana by MDR is a classic. Rama Varma sang it beautifully, highlighting the
twist of the line at the end wherein the composer says that Hariyum Haranum ondre endru ariyaadhavar
uLare!
Navasiddhi petralum a Nilakanta Sivan composition in Karaharapriya was
rendered with all the poignancy it deserved, with the words saavi and paavi
alternating. Devi Paavani seve Janani in
Saveri, a composition from the Navaratri kritis of Swati Tirunal was the main
song with elaborate raga alapana and swara prastara at Samaja pungava charugate. He follows a good practice involving all
the accompanists in his swara kuraippu portion by making each one take turns
after him.
A song from
Swati Tirunals Ajamilopakyanam in
Kapi was the next one, popularised by Pudhucode Krishnamurthy. He concluded
with a tillana in Behag, a composition by T.V. Gopalakrishnan, as a tribute to
him, for he was instrumental in Rama
Varma becoming a performing artist, noticing his talent for singing and being
present during the concert.
During the tani
avartanam, Ghatam Karthick displayed his versatility with a brilliant konakkol
segment. Harikumar, Karthick and Vinu form a good team with Rama Varma, each of
them being a seasoned artist themselves, complementing him so well that it
becomes a listener’s delight.
(The author is a Carnatic
vocalist, writer and management professional)