Carnatic music stalwarts enthrall audience in Oman

By Vinod Raghavan*

Muscat: It’s been a festive season for Indian expatriates in Oman since the Onam celebrations began in August and the latest in the line was a  3-day Carnatic music festival, “Sangeetholsavam”. It was a treat for music lovers from and around Muscat.

The festival saw live performances by renowned Carnatic musicians and playback singers, who came from India to enthral the expats living here with their mesmerising performances.

S. Mahathi, a senior disciple of Dr. M Balamurali Krishnan, held her audience captive with a wonderful rendition of ragas. As a child prodigy and a recipient of numerous recognitions, she also has been the recipient of Best Female Playback Singer award for two consecutive years. She served as a judge on reality shows like Super Singer and Sun Singer.

Besides Mahathi, there was a superlative performance by Padma Shri Kumari A. Kanyakumari, a distinguished Carnatic violinist.  She is renowned as a soloist, accompanist, innovator, and organizer of instrumental ensembles.  Known for her outstanding technique, creativity, and adherence to classicism, she has created unique ragams, including Saptadri Ragams, Bharath, and Trimurthi. She was also awarded the Sangeetha Sudha Nidhi Award for the year 2023 by the Indian Ambassador in Oman, Amit Narang. In 2015, she received the Padma Shri award from the Government of India and the Sangeet Natak Academy Award. Among her numerous accolades are the “Kalaimamani” award from the Government of Tamil Nadu, “Ugadi Puraskar” from the Government of Andhra Pradesh, and the “Sangeetha Kalanidhi” award from the Music Academy, Madras. She is also an “Asthana Vidushi” of Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthana, Udupi, and Pejawar Mutt.  She was also honoured with “Honorary Citizenship” from the state of Maryland, USA, in recognition of her international acclaim as a violinist

Yet another prominent South Indian Carnatic vocalist, Palakkad Dr R Ramprasad, the Grandson of Palakkad Mani Iyer, performed and was applauded by the audience. He was recognized as one of the 50 most influential soft powers in India for two consecutive years and has performed alongside legendary artists. He is the recipient of the Sangeetha Nataka Academy’s Yuva Puraskar (2019) and has also recently developed a patented app called ‘manipravaaham,’  for assisting artists in creating and managing their concert song lists.  Apart from music being his passion, he is also a trained economist (applied econometrics – PhD from the University of Georgia), and was a visiting post-doctoral fellow at The Harvard School of Public Health. He completed his Master’s degree in economics with the gold medal and holds the record for the highest marks scored.

For the three days, accompanying these vibrant performers, excellent accompaniment artists were – Sai Giridhar, a disciple of the legendary guru  M.L.N. Raju and Parupalli S.Phalgun, on Mridungam; L Ramakrishnan, a disciple of A. Kanyakumari, on violin who was a recipient of  ‘Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar’ by the Sangeet Natak Akademi for the year 2019, and Vidwan Vazhappally R Krishnakumar on Ghatam, who has conceptualised and articulated a new musical expression with very special rhythmic notations named “MODAM – Mohana Ghata Naadam” incorporating the nuances of Ghatam. He has accompanied eminent artists like Dr. M Balamuralikrishna, T. N Sheshagopalan,  Neyyattinkara  Vasudevan, Dr.K J Yesudas to name a few.   All are ‘A’ Grade artists of All India Radio, said Amarkumar, Programme Coordinator.

The event was organised by a non-profit voluntary organization ‘Ekata Muscat’,  which started its journey in the year 2018 with an ambitious plan of promoting the rich tradition of Indian classical art forms in Oman.

Since its debut performance in October 2018, Ekata’s signature programme, “Sangeetholsavam” a Carnatic Musical Concert, has seen over 250 artists and maestros from different parts of India, Oman, and other Middle East countries, perform.

*Senior journalist