A great bhairavi canvas - part I

rAgams like bhairavi that allow for extensive elaboration are right up MDR's forte. In a series of posts, I will try to showcase MDR's gorgeous bhairavi canvas - from viribONi to amba kAmAkshi to tanayunibrOva to upacAramu. But first, let me start at the very beginning.

More than 15 years ago, a relatively obscure music company called "Geeta Cassettes" released a double-cassette live concert of MDR, lAlguDi jayarAman and pAlakkAD maNi. It was a 1970 concert at Sri Krishna Ganasabha, Chennai (It has since been repackaged as a 2-CD set by Kosmik Music). I got hold of the album almost as soon as it was released and (hold your breath, a cliche's coming your way) life has never been the same ever since. Even today, I regard that concert as one of the greatest karnATik music concerts of all time. The concert begins with pacimiriam AdiyappiAh's brilliant varNam - viribONi - and what a cracker of a start!!

There is great energy and intensity, though somewhat surprisingly, MDR does not innovate here. He hardly deviates from pacimiriam AdiyappiAh's script. pAlakkAD maNi is in great form and you can almost hear the mrudangam play in bhairavi. Notice how MDR, in the sangatis, carefully splits the words konnadirA into konna-adirA and rAjagOpAla into rA-AjagOpAla. If you are new to MDR, this is definitely a great place to start.