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Rendered with care
IN THE veena concert by Abhirami Gnanasambandan, for the Nungambakkam Cultural Academy, the kritis "Devadi Deva" (Sunada Vinodini) and "Banturiti" (Hamsanadam) were rendered with care. The subsequent brief ragam, Natabhairavi, and ``Sri Valli Devasenapathe'' were satisfactory, but the constant adjustment of the sruti was a hindrance. Her gnanam was evident in Madhyamavathi raga elaboration ("Ramakatha") and kalpanaswaras. Her simultaneous vocal rendition for some of the songs was pleasing. Percussion support by Balachander (mridangam) and Coimbatore Vaidyanathan (ghatam) was adequate.
Manodharma swaras
With a bass voice, Radha Ramji's "Mahaganapathim" in Nattai was good with manodharma swaras. Though brief, the raga alapana of Sri Ranjani and swaras rendered for "Brochevarevare" were neat. The raga vistara for Vachaspathi and the neraval swaras in "Kanta Joodumi" could have been bhava oriented.
The rolling tillana ``Nadrudhim'' was devoid of raga bhava needed to bring out its beauty. Sri Lakshmi Venkataramani (violin) and Erode
Nagarajan (mridangam) proved their mettle as accompanying artistes.
Presented with ease
Shankari Krishnan's concert though good in general, lacked depth. The Dhanyasi raga alapana ("Shyamasundaranga") was melodiously rendered, followed by "Padmanabha Maruga"(Nagaswarali) to build the tempo. Detailed Ritigowla ("Janani") was rendered with ease both by the main artiste and Padma Shankar (violin). Time tested karvais could have added lustre to the briefly rendered brigha filled Pantuvarali raga("Raghuvara"). The neraval and swaras in "Manasuna'' could have been little more elaborate, though swaras rendered in less than one avarthanam were enjoyable. The tani by Kumbakonam Saravanan (mridangam) was vivid and competent. The tukkadas in melodious ragas Sama, Sindhubhairavi and Kuntalavarali were good.
Well-planned concert
The medium paced "Sri Mahaganapathi" (Gowla) and "Sevikkavendum" (Aandolika) and the briskly handled "Manavinala" (Nalinakanthi) set the tempo for Vijayalakshmi Subramaniam's morning concert. Breezy kalpanaswaras enhanced the beauty of Aandolika. The broadly elaborated Mayamalavagowla ("Merusamana") by both the vocalist and the violinist
M.A.Krishnaswamy, adorned the cool morning with the right atmosphere. Eloquent neraval ``Galamuna Shobillu'' with good swaras added lustre to the kriti. Mohana raga vistara and swaras in Kadambari were well designed. Arun Prakash's percussion support was enjoyable. N.Sundar (morsing) should pay a little more attention to the laya aspect. The Kabirdas bhajan in Lalath had the desired emotive effect. The artiste's swara errors in one or two places could be noticed in an otherwise melodious well-planned kutcheri. The concert was rounded off with a breezy Brindavani tillana.
Skilful exposition
The voice of Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi could not settle down to make an impact, with a routine swaraprastara for "Sri Ganapathini" (Saurashtram) and "Govardhana" (Hindolam). With sruti intact, the Shanmughapriya raga alapana ("Guruguham") was good with limited brighas.
Clarity in sahitya was evident in "Sangita Samrajya" (Mohana Kalyani) and "Saravanabhava" (Madhyamavathi). Both the vocalist and the violinist Gnanasundaram skilfully expounded the intricacies of Madhyamavathi with good brighas and sancharas. The neraval in "Annaiyodu Thanthaiyum'' and kalpanaswaras in ``Saravana'' had good patterns.
Bhuvaraghavan (mridangam) gave adequate support. More vocal performances could give the necessary confidence to the violinist turned vocalist Vijayalakshmi in her new endeavour.
Sruti needs care
Vijayalakshmi Ramakrishnan's afternoon concert at Nungambakkam Cultural Academy included ``Padame Thunai''(Valaji) in adi talam. The artiste has to pay attention to sruti alignment. Her voice encountered some problem in the higher ranges. Although she showed imagination in the delineation of ragas, she could execute them only partially in the alapana of Kirvani ("Ambavani"). The neraval and kalpanaswaras in``Sambarari Vairi''were good. The Behag tillana was enjoyable. I. Venkateswara Rao's violin support was average. The percussion support of B.Jayanth (mridangam) and B.Ravi (ghatam) were good.
Well-patterned swaras
Experience and listening to good concerts will enhance the standard of the performance of Swathi Sri Krishna as she revealed glimpses of her potential. The Lathangi raga alapana ("Aparadhamula") was generally good with scope for improvement. The neraval and kalpanaswaras in ``Veganannu'' were satisfactory. In delineating Madhyamavathi ("Adigi Sukhamu") after "Sri Sankara" (Nagaswarali), her voice became shrill and distanced itself from the sruti.
However she mustered strength to present Madhyamavathi in a broader base, which was good in patches. Manodharma swaras for ``Adigi Sukhamu'' were well-patterned, though her voice became hoarse in the higher octaves. In "Thungatheera''(Salaka Bhairavi) the brighas for the sahityam had slips. The support provided by C.A.Rajasekar (violin) and K.V.Gopalakrishnan (mridangam) were commendable.
Neat and tidy
A promising artiste with potential, V. Sowmya opened her concert with "Vandeham" (Hamsadhwani) followed by madhyamakala kalpanaswaras. Charukesi raga elaboration ("Adamodi") had good sancharas and the swaras rendered were neat and tidy.
The main ragam, Kalyani ("Unnaiyallal") was melodious with limited brighas, and a brief neraval with kalpanaswaras for ``Neeye Meenakshi" had fluency. ``Sarasadala''(Saramathi) and ``Chaliye" (Brindavanasaranga) were the other pieces rendered to make the concert wholesome. There is scope for I.Venkateswara Rao (violin) to improve. Erode Nagarajan rendered able percussion support.
However more clarity in rendering kritis, sahitya and bhavam in general will further enhance the value of their performances. Percussion support and tani by V.R.Jayakumar (mridangam) showed maturity and ability.
(The concert of December 21, reviewed in these columns was that of Radha Venkatraman and not that of Bhavani Govindan, originally listed).
— M.N.
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