I had attended on Sunday the title bestowing ceremony and concert of R.K. Padmanabha. While I have very little to say as to the quality of the concert, there was plenty of excitement, build up and humour that preceded it.
I woke up quite early and reluctantly on Sunday morning to reach Basavanagudi from my homely home in Indiranagar. What I like about mornings is my elaborate coffee and crossword ceremony which I had to forego on account of an acute and whelming desire to listen to a live concert. I got there well on time given that the opportunity cost of listening to all those lengthy adoring speeches in Kannada was a seat. The first item was two vaadyars reciting some mantrams. I assumed that it was the prayer. That finished and the audience burst into applause. Hmm.
Next the compere of the proceedings announced that the shishyas of RKP were to sing prayers. And a procession of students went past the folks on the dais. They sang really well. Thought it was a Vadiraja guru special set of shlokams. Neat singing of Sri Kamalambike one Vadiraja Kriti in Bahudari. I was impressed thinking that if his students were singing so well, then he would be definitely good. Sreesh had also told me that judging by his initials, he might be good to listen to. Thus encouraged I endured the speeches in flowing Kannada.
Let me describe the stage to you. On the screen behind, there was a large poster in blue with something written in Kannada, presumably the event details and date. There was a Shiva with one hand raised and slightly titled with white foggy light coming out of it. There was also a lingam like thing on the other side which also emitted a smiliar kind of fuzzy light, These two lights converged at the centre where there was a picture of a beaming RKP. Huh ! Now RKP himself was sitting on stage, on a throne-ish seat, quite smugly. Beside him were his wife, RK Srikantan and one person called Mattoor Krishnamurty. The two were frequently referred to as Nadarishi and Vedarishi. Various speakers who spoke into mike insisted that Rudrapatanam (where RKP belongs to) is the Karnataka Tirivaiyyar and that RK Srikantan was Abhinava Tyagaraja and Mattoor was Abhinava Vyasa and RKP was Abhinava Vishnu. Very odd similes, I thought. To echo my thoughts, the enthroned One and the other seated Ones vehemently gesticulated to deny those appellations. Then they all insisted that RKP embodied every quality mentioned in the dictionary.
Now the moment of glory when RKP was finally conferred. It was a ginormous framed certifficate (?) of some sort.in red and gold. Yes, so they all posed and posed for the clicking cameras and videocameras and smiled and posed. Then in that moment of glory, Mister RK Padmanabha, with the enthusiasm of Venus Williams after Wimbledon, lifted his framed gold certificate high up with both arms and displayed it to the audience who clapped away anway. Meanwhile I was appalled. He then placed it and then stepped to receive a tiny Ganesha statue. My appalled state was not yet over, when he lifted up the Vinayaka in a similar manner high up with both arms. And the audience clapped away.My eyebrows went up and down. And I sighed a couple of times.
What happened at the concert is an insignificant manner. He sang a Vadiraja Varnam in Poorvi Kalyani I think. Then a faster version of Siddhi vinayakam. People cheered and clapped when he sang the upper Ri some seventeen times. Then a fast version of Nama kusuma mula. No swarams. No aalapanai. Then he started a decent aalapanai of Kharaharapriya. And he went on and on for twenty minutes. Then Mysore Nagaraj, I am not too fond of him, played and bowed and all that. Then RKP started. A Tanam in fourth gear. At that point I gave up, took my bag and decided to step out. The good thing is that they served a fairly elaborate lunch. So I was relieved that I didn't have to go back home and then cook. That was what I liked about his concert. Oh and by the way, in his defense I must say that RKP has a great voice. May be he just got a bit carried away with all that garlanding and photographing and that praise must have got into his head.
