Flute notes captivate capital city

For music connoisseurs, the mellifluous notes flowing from a bamboo flute is always an aural treat. Recently, the music aficionados in the capital city were in for one such treat when orthodontist-turned-flautist from Chennai, Dr B Vijayagopal presented a Carnatic flute concert.
Vijayagopal began the recital with a varnam in Navaragamalika and moved on to present Pranamamyaham in gowla raga.The tranquillity of the concert was broken with a fast-paced rendering of Pankajalochana in Kalyani raga, a kriti composed by music maestro Maharaja Swathi Thirunal. The spirited mridangam beats by Nanjil A R Arul with synchronised playing of the violin by Trivandrum N Sampath embellished the musical evening.
Vijayagopal, who was performing in the city for the second consecutive time, said that he is overjoyed to get a warm reception for his music. “The city is one of the best stages to perform as the audiences are ardent music lovers. I consider myself lucky to perform here as it is also the land of classical music exponent, Maharaja Swathi Thirunal. Many among the audiences were captivated by the improvisations played by me and they even asked me to extend the duration of the performance.”
The event also saw foreign research students in attendance. Enthralled by the raga elucidation, Laura from Indonesia says, “It was a refreshing experience. I could feel the music flow through my veins. Two thumbs up for the artiste and his companions.” For Sanjivini Deepthi Kumari, a student from Sri Lanka, the concert was a spiritual affair. “The traditional arts here especially classical music are soulful compared to loud music. More than being soothing to ears, it gives a spiritual feel,” she says.
Meanwhile, the special guest of the concert, Cultural Affairs Minister A K Balan, said that the performance calmed his mind. “The flute notes with impromptu responses from the mridangam and the violin took me to another world for a while. I felt very relaxed and positive. I was listening to Vijayagopal’s performance for the first time and the artiste presented a recital. A common man can enjoy this melodious music even though he is illiterate about the technicalities of music, like me.”
The flautist held the audience spellbound, especially while staging the improvised notes that culminated in blissful finishes. Vijayagopal concluded his one-and-a-half hour performance with Swathi Thirunal’s popular thillana in Dhanasri raga.