A unique tabla concert

Sydney’s music lovers witnessed another emerging talent at the Greenhalgh Theatre, Kuring-gai Campus early this month. Dr. Iynkaran Stephan Kantharajah showcased his superlative skills on the tabla, first as a solo artist and then as a percussion accompaniment to top level artistes. His first love continues to be tabla, although he has obtained degrees in commerce and dentistry.

Iynkaran has an impressive resume –having been guided by the tabla maestro Pt. Ram Chandra Suman in Sydney and by Pt.Yogesh Samsi in Mumbai for several years. He has also received tutelage from Ustad Zakir Hussain at the Allah Rakha Institute of Music. As summarized by Pt. Ram Chandra Suman in his introduction, Iynkaran could not have achieved his level of proficiency without Shakti, Bhakti and Gyaan Pt. Yogesh Samsi attributed his pupil’s success to his “burning desire to learn”. Both his gurus have nurtured him in the guru-shishya parampara and his manner and deference to his teachers gave ample evidence of this at the concert.

The tabla concert was marked by Iynkaran’s solo performance with accompaniment on the Sarangi played by Sandeep Mishra who learnt his craft from Ustad Allah Rakha of the famed Benares Gharana. Sandeep Mishra has a tremendous reputation having played for top professionals like Ustad Vilayat Khan and Pt. Bhimsen Joshi. Iynkaran intermittently called the sounds he was going to play and gave a brief introduction of the instrument for the benefit of the uninitiated in the audience. His solo performance was played to Raga Vachaspati and he showed what he could achieve with a blend of rhythm and tonal quality.

Iynkaran left no doubt in anyone’s mind that he has set his sights on a bigger canvas. His progressive approach made him equate tabla sounds as he mimed those of a ‘lazy young lad’ whose mother finds it hard to awaken him each morning.

The second half of the concert showed that he was equally at ease as an accompanying tabla player to Smt. Kala Ramnath on the violin. Kala Ramnath hails from the Mewati Gharana and has trained under Pt. Jasraj. Kala Ramnath’s violin lineage has reputed names like TN Krishnan and TN Rajam, and her unique style is so close to vocal music that her instrument is given the title “the singing violin”. She characterised her performing style as comparable to a painter being given colours with which he/she creates a painting to be enjoyed by everyone. Violin maestro Kala Ramnath gave a short concert beginning with raga Maru Behag wherein her vilambit