Sublime Trichur Brothers

Trichur Brothers at a concert held by Kalasagaram in SecunderabadSublime Trichur Brothers
An experience in the exquisite. Classicism is celebrated here and at a time when the art is going through a redefining moment, it was an awesome evening at Kalasagaram listening to the Trichur Brothers who with the concert have appeared at every premier institution of the genre in the city and have thus clearly announced their arrival. It was an evening that listeners would cherish and those who missed it will have to regret an evening of missed opportunity to experience the sublime.
Trichur Brothers are relatively new to the twin cities. They bring more than just a fresh air to the relatively music starved connoisseurs of Carnatic music in the city. They also carry their amazing talent lightly on their shoulder and touch a chord with the audience immediately- for instance can you imagine a Carnatic music vidwan coming out and sitting in the audience, catching up with their acquaintances and relatives minutes before they are scheduled to perform? Once they get going they revel as they reveal.
They did this with consummate ease. Follow the body language of Raam Kumar (the younger sibling) and you will know immediately how important it is for the artist to enjoy his art and communicate this to his audience. Follow how Sri Krishna closes his eyes and gives you the feeling that he is conversation with Him – the invariable subject matter of all Carnatic music songs. You begin to wonder if art is the final blessing and what the recipients of such talent do to earn it in such large measure. Learning, practice, focus, talent, discipline – all sound so mundane even in the aggregate that you look for askance in the abstract.
Is the Brindavanasaranga one of the best you have heard in a while? Was it a logical of the beginning – the Atta thala varnam in Kanada? A peep into the promise came early with the Vrutham that prefaced the Swati Tirunal masterpiece telling the entire Ramayana: Bhavayami Raghu ramam. They surveyed it with the Vrutham in all the raagas of the main piece: Saveri, nataikuranji, dhanyasi, Mohanam, Mukhari, Purvi Kalyani, madhyamavathi and then render the piece a la great masters.
See how they add vigour to the goings on with a Nalina kanti (Manavyala kin) pathos with Varali (Seshachala) detail with Andolika (Swara Raaga Sudha – a rendition that truly brings memories of the great GNB) and how quickly they can transform their music to a near light conversational note with Navarasa Kanada (Naan Oru vilaythu).
Each item presented was a pic of not just brilliance but akin to a sculptor working with his axe with the knowledge of every cell of the material he is playing with. The three hour concert was surely authoritative in the context of the genre, cajoling to the uninitiated and pleasing to all across the board. It was a journey into some hitherto unknown magnificent moments of classical music. To just list the renditions and analyse their approach would again be prosaic and injustice to the great experience that made the concert. It was in the final analysis the overall effect that was brilliant. It was more than just a performance. It transcended to a communication by the two –even that sounds inaccurate with the duo functioning in seamless unison in body mind and soul.
And, when they took on Na nathi bratuku (Revati), it was reminiscent of the great MS. At first blush it could sound blasphemy to suggest a compare between Bharat Ratna and the lads. However if MS was divinity personified, taste this flavour in haunting remembrance of the great singer. As they move to the bhajan mode and earn the pin drop silence of the audience, you concede that they have done a reverse Guha (not transporting the Lord but carrying you in their canoe to reach Him) this also reflects that the classicists do not lack in showmanship.
Conjure the moment when Raam lingers with the nuances of Brindavanasaranga and he hears a heartfelt “Bhale” from his sibling – a moment beyond words, a moment worth living for and seconds later duo in perfect tandem with Trichur Mohan (on the mridangam – Tisrajati Triputa) and you suspect you have just been served a tad more than you can digest in a single evening.
It was perhaps paradoxical that they did Anamacharya’s na nati bratuku for the concert surely had a bit of the surreal and placed the evening in the category of the sublime. Thanks Kalasagaram.

L. Ravichander.