His mother was one of the most distinguished divas of Carnatic music in the 20th century and his daughter is one of the most versatile vidushi today. His wife, who is the daughter of a legendary mridangam maestro, is also an accomplished singer, and his uncle was a noted vocalist. His young grand-daughter is a promising student of vocal music, who can legitimately dream of inheriting a great legacy in due course if she’s earnest. And he’s a fine musician in his own right, playing the mridangam exceedingly well. We are, of course, talking about I. Sivakumar -- son, father, husband, son-in-law, nephew and grandfather, of D.K. Pattammal, Nityasree Mahadevan, Lalitha Sivakumar, Palghat Mani Iyer, D.K. Jayaraman, and Avanya who accompanied his wife and daughter on the mridangam at two of the concluding concerts in Hamsadhwani’s three-month-long music festival in Chennai.
The entire festival had been dedicated to Pattammal, who passed away last year. Many of the performers recalled their close encounters with her and showed their admiration and affection for her by rendering one or two of her favourite songs. The concerts of Lalitha Sivakumar and Nityasree naturally had very special connotations, since both of them had been DKP’s disciples; and accordingly, their selections were drawn almost exclusively from her repertoire.
Lalitha’s recital had a simple and pleasing structure featuring a string of well-known songs popularised by DKP and rendered without any frills. Raga Jaganmohini and Tyagaraja’s kriti, ‘Maamava Satatam,’ which were taken up for detailed treatment, were sketched beautifully. The instrumental support (Usha Rajagopalan, Sivakumar and Sivaramakrishnan on the violin, mridangam and ghatam) was subdued and effective.
The context of Nityasree's concert was even more poignant, because her grandfather Eswaran, who had been a great tower of strength to Pattammal in her musical career, passed away a few days before the event, which turned out to be a moving requiem to her grandparents. Nityasree is well known for her vibrant high-octane performances; but on this occasion she sang in a reposeful and meditative manner, which added a desirable dimension to her music. This was particularly evident in the main number, Tyagaraja’s ‘Sakkani Raaja,’ in Karaharapriya. M.A. Krishnaswamy’s violin sensitively reinforced the vocalist’s solemn mood.
A striking feature of the concert was the solo session of the percussionists following the above song. Although it lasted all of 20 minutes, the thani was far from being a tedious affair. Dr. S. Karthick is one of the few ghatam artists who can make his terracotta instrument sound truly resonant. And with his assistance, Sivakumar on the mridangam set up a meditative tone which enhanced the spirit of the occasion. It left an indelible impression in the listener’s mind, of a worthy son adding his own personal tribute to his illustrious mother and her constant consort.
