Boston-area residents were treated to a very impressive Carnatic music violin concert by Ashwin Gargeya, 17, on Sunday the 15th August at Curtis Middle School in Sudbury, Mass. Ashwin graduated this year from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School and will be going to Middlebury College, Vermont. He had provided violin accompaniment for several local vocalists in the past but this was his first solo concert. Ashwin was accompanied by Mahalingam Santhanakrishnan (Mali) on mridangam and Gaurishankar Chandrashekhar (Gaurish) on kanjira. Ashwin has been learning Carnatic music for the past ten years from Smt. Tara Anand of Framingham, Mass.

Ashwin started the concert with a rare Dharu varnam by Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar in raga Kamas. Dharu varnams consist of Jathis as in Pada varnams and Swarams as in Tana varnams. This varnam was more than an ample demonstration of his Abhyasa sangeetam, music one learns from the teacher. This was followed by a Papanasam Sivan krithi in raga Tilang, Sri Ganesha Sharanam. The raga alapana was very beautiful with key sancharas characteristic of Tilang. Fast-paced kalpana swaras and korvais at the conclusion were very impressive.

The Ganesha sthuthi was followed by Manasa Etulorthuno, a krithi by Saint Thyagaraja in ragam Malaya Marutham. It seemed like one is experiencing a little of malaya marutham (a gentle cool breeze) listening to the raga alapana and krithi. The kalpana swaras included slow and fast patterns that were pleasing and non-repetitive.

This was followed by a brisk rendering of the krithi, Ninu vina in raga Navarasa Kannada by Saint Thyagaraja. Ashwin showed his excellent bowing and fingering skills in this krithi, alternating between thara sthayi and madhyama sthayi swaras. At “Kanulaku nee sogasento,” he showed his superb control of Tala with pause-and-go phrases and fast pace. This was followed by raga Kalyani alapana and Saint Thyagaraja’s krithi, Rama nee vadu konduvo.

The main piece of the evening was Ragam, Tanam and Pallavi (RTP) in raga Karahara Priya, RTP’s are typically presented by well-seasoned artistes and is a clear demonstration of a combination of raga, tala and technical skills. Ashwin showed maturity at the start of raga Karaharapriya alapana . What followed were creative sancharas in alapana with a tanam that was very pleasing and showed adherence to tradition in classical progression and conclusion. The pallavi sahithyam by Prof. T. R Subramanyam was in itself an explanation of the word “pallavi” with the three characters representing “pa” for Padam, “la” for Laya and “vi” for Vinyasa.

Ashwin’s rendering of swaras in ragamalika, Amritha Varshini and Revathi following the Karaharapriya kalpana swaras were very pleasing to hear. The ascending and descending transitions of kalpana swara phrases for each of these ragas and alternating short swara phrases at the conclusion were indeed a demonstration of his raga gnana and control and mastery of the instrument.

This was followed by several short pieces, Yadava raya in Ragamalika by Kanaka Dasa, the popular Jagadodharana by Purandara Dasa in raga Kapi , Barase Badariya by Meerabai in Mishra Shyam Kalyan culminating in the popular tillana in raga Behag by Lalgudi Jayaraman.

Key ingredients for a good instrumental music concert are Raga gnana , Laya gnana and technical skills in bowing and fingering. Ashwin’s creative skills (manodharama) in raga alapana, neraval and kalpana swaras were amply demonstrated in ragas Tilang, Malaya Marutham, Kalyani and Karaharapriya. His laya gnana was demonstrated at “Kanulaku nee sogasento” (with pause-and-go) in the krithi Ninu Vina as well as in Pallavi. The krithi Ninu Vina also provided ample opportunity to show his bowing and fingering skills. An integration of all the three, manodharma, laya gnana and technical skills were demonstrated in pallavi with beautiful transitioning of swara phrases from Karaharapriya to Amrutavarshini to and Revathi in ascent and decent with alternating short swaras phrases towards the end in all the four ragas.

Smt. Durga Krishnan, a noted veena player and teacher, commented “Ashwin was great yesterday. Hope he keeps up his violin playing even in college. I always like how plays with such a smiling face and his demeanor. Nice kid. Congratulations to him and to his teacher, Tara Anand.”

Mali, who accompanied Ashwin on the mridangam, said “I thoroughly enjoyed the evening yesterday. Ashwin definitely impressed us all. He definitely made his parents and Tara very very proud.”

Gaurish, who provided the kanjira accompaniment added, "Ashwin demonstrated great confidence and poise on stage. His handling of the instrument was impeccable. It was a great concert overall. I wish him the very best in his music career."

Tara Anand, Ashwin’s teacher remarked “I am very proud of Ashwin for what he has achieved musically. His arangetram was the culmination of years of hard work and perseverance. I could see him developing into quite the musician for the last few months. As his involvement got deeper, so did his understanding, his interest and heartfelt appreciation for Carnatic music. I pray that Ashwin continues his pursuit of music and keeps up with his involvement even though he will be leaving home soon. The one way any student can honor an art and the teachers, is by continuing to revere it and improve it with self-discipline. I wish Ashwin all the best as he embarks on this journey.”

All in all, it was an excellent concert wherein the quality and content came close to a professional level. One walked out of the auditorium with a feeling that future of classical Carnatic music in USA is in good hands. Excellent teachers like Tara Anand are, in no small measure, a major contributory factor for propagation of this ancient art form.

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