A Carnatic cascade at Soorya Festival

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Raga Sindhu Bhairavi, popular in both Carnatic and Hindustani traditions, is known for its emotional depth. The gentle rise and fall of its nuances evoke a medley of subtle, inexplicable feelings. Music aficionados in Thiruvananthapuram have been revelling in the resonance of such ragas at the Carnatic series held as part of the ongoing Soorya Festival. Titled Sindhu Bhairavi, the series features some of south Indias finest Carnatic vocalists from the clear-toned Sudha Raghunathan to the deep-voiced Abhishek Raghuram, and Nithyasree Mahadevan, whose voice is an inheritance from the legendary D K Pattammal. Keralas own fusion star with a stellar fan following, Harish Sivaramakrishnan, will also take the stage sans guitar and drums in a purely traditional Carnatic avatar accompanied by violin, mridangam and ghatam. Unlike in Chennai or hubs of Carnatic activity, we do not get to listen to such a spectacular array. There is lots to learn from them, says Durga Krishna, a postgraduate student in music. As music students we are encouraged to listen to concerts of seasoned performers, and in Kerala, chances arent as many as in Chennai. And of the cities in Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram has more such programmes than other places. Hence, for us, this is the most important time of the year when such veterans come, and we can learn by hearing them. N J Nandhini Padma Bhushan Sudha Raghunathan opened the Sindhu Bhairavi concert week on October 26 in her inimitable style, including in her repertoire technically rich pieces and popular items like Karunai Deivame Karpagame. Abhishek Raghuram, with his immersive style, followed on October 27. And Nithyasree Mahadevan, deftly carrying forward her grandmother Pattammals legacy, performed to a captivated audience on Tuesday. The heavyweights performing in the second half of the week include Thiruvananthapurams own N J Nandhini, who is the granddaughter of Vechur Hariharasubramania Iyer and a disciple of Parassala Ponnammal. Harish will take the stage on October 30. The highly popular frontman of the Carnatic fusion rock band will appear in his purely classical avatar for the first time in Thiruvananthapuram. The concert series will conclude on October 31 with Kunnakudi Balamuralikrishna, who trained under another star of the line-up, Abhishek Raghuram. The emphasis on the diversity of classical genres is evident, with a similar ensemble of veterans having performed just weeks ago as part of a Hindustani series. What I like about the concerts here is that they are for an audience who knows and enjoys good music. The discipline and punctuality are also noteworthy, says city-based music guru Uma Maheshwaran, who is eager to watch Balamuralikrishna and Harish on stage.