Ramayana Ragamalika comes alive, Nampoothiri sketches ‘Pattabhishekam’ for video

Express News Service

KANNUR: At 96, artist Nampoothiri has wielded the comb as soon as extra to depict a scene from Hindu mythology, this time from the Ramayana. Portraying Rama, Sita, Laxman and Hanuman on the canvas, he nodded in appreciation as a track praising Rama performed in a low-tone from a cell phone positioned close by.The track ‘Adhyathma Ramayana Dasaka’ — penned by Adwaitha Dasar, composed by Edappally Ajith Kumar and rendered by vocalist and music director Sreevalsan J Menon — was launched on YouTube on Monday, the final day of the Malayalam month of Karkkidakam.“I have been composing songs written by Adwaitha Dasar for some time now,” mentioned Ajith, one of many main violinists within the state.Adwaitha Dasar is the pseudonym of Binu Panicker from Alappuzha, a Michigan-based engineer. 

“When Binu gave me some portions of the song some time back, we never thought of this project. But I suggested to him that if he were able to pen a song in its entirety, it will be apt for Karkkidakam as it is the Ramayana month,” Ajith mentioned.

Initially, they weren’t positive about bringing in artist Nampoothiri as he’s in his nineties and has been main a quiet life. “Since Sreevalsan is pretty close to the legendary artist, he was able to cajole Nampoothiri to join us. Everything happened so quickly we had barely a week to complete the project before the end of Karkkidakam,” he mentioned.

Sreevalsan mentioned he determined, after studying the lyrics, to stay to conventional Carnatic ragas and the aesthetic use of the phrases with out compromising on their classical parts.“That’s why I chose ragas like Devagandhari, Varali, Kedaragoula and Sankarabharanam. Both Ajith and I have been working together for more than a decade now and his music is challenging as well as appealing to singers and aficionados,” he mentioned. The two had been additionally filled with reward for Binu.

“The Adhyathma Ramayana Dasaka Ragamalika is the first of its kind in Carnatic music. Though there is Ramayanam Ragamalika — Bhavayami Raghuramam of Swathi Thirunal — it is in Sanskrit whereas Adhyathma Ramayana Dasaka Ragamalika is written in chaste Malayalam. The fact that Nampoothiri was pleased to come on board, when we approached him, was really heartwarming,” mentioned Sreevalsan.Though that they had initially deliberate a portray collection primarily based on the Ramayana, they lastly determined to do just one — Pattabhishekam, the coronation of Lord Rama. The video of the track consists of footage of artist Nampoothiri sketching the Pattabhishekam.“We take this opportunity to dedicate this album to one of the great legends of our time,” Ajith mentioned.