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Promising talent
R. JANANI'S noon recital at the Naradagana Sabha showed that the young vocalist is on the threshold of developing into a sincere performer. Her alapanas short and long were seriously conceived. The execution needed more continuity and strength, achievable with her voice that is neither shrill nor thin. In fact, the resonance was evident in the tailpieces in Hindustani ragas, as also in the initial ``Enta muddo" in Bindumalini or ``Arul seyya venumaiya" in Rasikapriya. Better modulation and sustained open mouthed enunciation would help to bring the same richness to rakti ragas like Yadukulakhamboji (``Yarendru Raghavanai") and Todi (``Kaddanuvariki"), though the former had feeling and the latter a bright start and spirited passages. The recital testified to competence in swara singing.
Janani's approach to kritis is directed towards bhava, as evident in ``Janani ninnuvina" (Ritigowla) where she slowed down almost without knowing it in following the contours of the melody. Accompanists Roopa Rajagopal (violin) and Arjun Ganesh (mridangam) gave adequate support right through, the latter bringing off a crisp tani.
The Sankarabharanam by the Chinmaya sisters Uma and Radhika at the same sabha deserved high marks for the attempt at akaram, something many singers have given up, but they could not sustain the impact because it was only half realised, which probably led to the weakness in phrasing. Not that the alapana was not expansive, nor were the special prayogas missed out. But the swaras did not hit their slots sharply and strongly, essential for so grand a raga as Sankarabharanam. The Hindolam that came earlier prefacing the evergreen ``Samajavaragamana" fared much better. ``Banturiti" made for a fast Hamsanadam interlude with the percussionists in full swing. With swara singing, whether in Hindolam, Sankarabharanam or Hemavati (ragam-tanam; pallavi in mishra beats) the sisters were in command. But the tracks were familiar, the swaras going off on their own steam as it were. The alapanas had that dash of freshness which the swaras lacked. The accompanists followed the pattern set by the singers. Melakkaveri Tyagarajan (violin) and Madippakkam Suresh and Nanganallur Swaminathan gave brisk support.
Varied choice
A shimmering ``Siddhivinayakam" in Mohanakalyani set the mood for Gayathri Girish's noon recital. The Varali which followed boded well, especially as ``Seshachala nayakam" combined the melting feel of the raga with the structural firmness of a Muthuswami Dikshitar composition. Akkarai Subbulakshmi's violin enhanced both qualities, though you wished she had changed strings a bit more for less piercing sancharas in the upper octave.
Gayathri's varied choice of composers added to listener interest. Kavi Kunjarabharati's ``Ivanaro" in Khambhoji and the second song of the day by Muthiah Bhagavatar, a lovely ``Minalochani" in Todi were welcome renditions. After this, the main piece Kharaharapriya was a letdown. The alapana lacked anchoring, the voice floated rather than delved, the kriti ``Chakkani raja" had a cursory run through, and you saw the singer's energy flagging. Swara singing was generally of the squeeze-it-dry kind, but the strain in Kharaharapriya resulted in imprecision of sthana and laya. What one expects from this talented singer is greater depth in both style and voice production.
Akkarai Subbulakshmi, though not at her best, was an asset to the concerted presentation. Melakkaveri Balaji (mridangam) and Papanasam Sethuraman (kanjira) rounded off their supportive roles with an unostentatious tani.
If you are a good artiste performing with a sore throat, you will do well to ensure you are accompanied by R. K. Sriramkumar on the violin, K. Arun Prakash and K.V Gopalakrishnan on mridangam and kanjira. Sanjay Subramanyam's recital showed how art can overcome handicaps — the vocalist rasped for a good part of the evening.
The Bhairavi varnam and Raghunayaka (Hamsadhvani) were nondescript, in decreased volume. (Why embellish the notes so much was an irksome question all the time, though a sudden brika flash or gamaka spin in an unexpected moment did make you sit up the better to observe the glow). Then came Anandabhairavi. Blemishes were forgotten as listener and singer together explored its sunlit peaks and blossoming slopes. Here RKS was superb, not only in melting into the raga that flowed from his finger and mind, but in astute, unhurried support with the bow, changing strings to bank the vocal karvai or sangati just where needed, yet never going one anuswara ahead of the singer.
The imposing edifice of ``Tyagaraja yogavaibhavam" was magnificently constructed. Appropriately Subramanyam rendered swaras in the slow speed alone, scattered with surprises, made most effective by percussive underpinnings. Khamboji reached higher planes of imagination, sustained in ``O Rangasayee." The swaras had the power of originality, with unexpected links to the anchoring phrase ``Bhooloka vaikuntha."
The voice had cleared by ragam-tanam-pallavi time. Bhavapriya was the beneficiary. The singer went on much longer than the raga could, it stretched itself thin and bare. The violin was kinder to it in soft phrasing. You wished the RTP had been shortened to add more tailpieces like the haunting ragamalika sloka and the Yadukulakhamboji gem ``Srirama Jayarama Sringara Ramayeni."
We hear a fine tani being defined as a continuation of the mood of the vocal music. Arun Prakash did just that, aided by Gopalakrishnan, in maintaining substance and weight in tranquillity. Through the entire recital they revealed leashed power, all the more impressive in its quietness.
GOWRI RAMNARAYAN
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