As a fellow student of the Anubhava School of Music, it is my pleasure to review the enthralling Carnatic Violin Arangetram of Sahana Srinivasan. Rows upon rows of seats were filled in Littleton High School on June 29, 2014 as Sahana began her uninterrupted three and a half hour debut performance. Sahana was accompanied by Sri Pravin Sitaram on the mridangam, Sri Ravi Balasubramanian on the ghatam, and Sri Balaji Chandran on the morsing.

In her opening remarks, Guru Tara Anand quoted Plato - “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” She described the violin as an instrument that very closely resembles the human voice, and in this concert Sahana truly made her violin sing.

Sahana opened the concert with an Ata Tala Varnam in ragam Kaanada. This was followed by Mahaganapathe, a Ganesha stuti in ragam Hamsadhwani, in which Sahana presented her mastery of kalpanaswaram through rapid and complex swara patterns. The concert then took a slower pace with a beautiful rendition of Muthuswamy Dikshathar’s Akhilandeshwari in ragam Dwijavanthi. A piece in the rare ragam of Jhankaradhwani was performed next, and Sahana skillfully exemplified the shuddha dhaivata and shudda nishada that give this ragam its unique quality. Sahana followed with Emi Neramu, an upbeat item in Garudhawani, whose speed and intricacies displayed the deftness of Sahana’s playing. The mridangam, ghatam, and morsing gracefully kept up with the brisk pace, enhancing the rhythmic passages of the piece.

For the main piece, Sahana performed Marivere in ragam Lathangi. Her Lathangi alapana highlighted the unique aspects of this rich ragam, boldly exploring both the traditional and unconventional areas. She followed the alapana with the song, which, set to talam Khanda Chapu, established a fast-moving and upbeat mood. Sahana embellished this piece with creative neraval and complex kalpanaswaram passages, culminating in a grand korvai.

The three percussionists gave a captivating tani avartanam, confidently taking up the challenge of the 7 beat talam cycle. Sri Pravin Sitaram, Sri Ravi Balasubramanian, and Sri Balaji Chandran created a conversation on stage, as the call-and-response impressed the audience with each new and creative rhythmic pattern.

Sahana continued the concert with Sadhamadhim, another fast paced composition in the ragam Gambheeravani. The three percussionists truly enhanced this piece with their energetic and unified accompaniment. This served as good bridge to the Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi (RTP), the most central and elaborate piece of the Carnatic music concert. The RTP was in ragam Kharaharapriya and was set to Khandajathi Triputa talam, a rhythmic cycle of 9 beats. Her alapana once again excelled as she demonstrated the nuances of this ragam, touching upon each note of the melakarta and incorporating a tasteful variety of slow and fast phrases. The tanam was excellently executed with staccato and double string bowing that produced an even more powerful effect. Sahana was also able to exhibit her melodic voice as she sang the Pallavi line to show the lyrics in praise of Lord Muruga to the audience. She followed with the variations of speeds, neraval and kalpanaswaram in Kharaharapriya, and then presented ragamalika swarams including Behag and Revathi. The ease with which Sahana switched from ragam to ragam was admirable, and the power with which she ended the RTP was remarkable.

The selection of tukkadas that Sahana played following the RTP spoke directly to much of the audience, for they included Papanasam Sivan’s Enna Thavam Seydhanai in Kapi and Bharathiyar’s Theeradha Vilayattu Pillai.” Sahana also played Epo Varuvaro in ragam Jhonpuri and a Kavadi Chindu that followed the traditional folk melody. Her ability to imbue the songs with energy and bhavam without explicitly conveying the lyrics was moving. Sahana concluded the recital with a Maand thillana by none other than violin maestro Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman, and instead of the traditional Saurashtram mangalam, she ended with the patriotic songs Ragupathi Raghava and Mythrim Bajata. The audience was on their feet even before Sahana played the last note.

Sahana’s performance was effortless, her bow strokes were smooth yet crisp, and her nimble fingers hit every note with accuracy and precision. Over the years, I have watched Sahana grow both as a person and as a musician and could not be more proud of this accomplishment. I have witnessed her unwavering dedication and understand her intense passion for Carnatic music, and have no doubt that her music will continue to bring “life to everything.”

|