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Time-honoured technique
THE PERFORMING standard of T. M. Krishna has been steadily going up over the years. With a strong resonant expressive voice, good sruti alignment and clear diction, he regaled the rasikas with measured kalapramana, following time-honoured weighty techniques without succumbing to the present-day craze for breeziness.
"Karikalabhamukham'' (Saveri) set the tone for the concert. Harikambhoji raga essay was extensive, featuring several delectable and difficult phrases. Tyagaraja's "Entheraani Tana,'' a favourite of Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar was rendered impressively with comprehensive neraval and kalpanaswaras for the famous line, "Seshudu Sivuniki Bhooshudu''.
Dhanyasi, the main item, was treated with elaborate raga alapana, with subtle graces which gave a feeling of fullness, followed by Dikshitar's gem of a krithi, "Para Devatha,'' doing weighty swaraprasthara.
Violin accompaniment by V. V. Ravi was an impeccable flow of majestic high-level handling of ragas, keerthanas and answers to swara passages. Percussion duo Srimushnam Raja Rao on the mridangam and T. V. Vasan on the ghatam acquitted themselves excellently throughout the concert. The tani avartanam in adi tala-2 kallai was erudite and engaging.
Quality fare
Vocalist Sudha Raghunathan was in full flow, delighting the audience with quality fare. Excellent sruti alignment, remarkable clarity in all the registers right up to the tara sthayi panchamam and convincing rendition were the hallmarks of her scintillating concert. Pushpalathika alapana and Tirupati Narayanaswamy's "Ikanaina Naa Mora Vina Raadaa'' incorporated an engaging neraval with delectable kalpanaswaras. Harikambhoji raga essay was highly satisfying, with many different shades and nuances of the raga brought out effectively. Tyagaraja's "Dinamani Vamsa'' was decorated with many sangatis and an elaborate swara exercise. The lighter section, featuring "Baro Krishnayya'', "Aadal Kaaneero'' and "Muruganin Marupeyar Azhagu'' and a Sai bhajan brought out the devotional aspects adequately.
Raghavendra Rao on the violin was soft with the bow. He was short and sweet in his answers. Mridangist Poongulam Subramanian embellished the concert with his gentle, efficient percussion support, assisted well on the morsing by R. Raman.
The duo's tani avartanam in adi tala-2 kallai contained interesting rhythmic variations and korvais. Gayatri Venkataraghavan gave a fairly satisfying recital, featuring Todi as the main item, the keerthana being Papanasam Sivan's popular piece, " Kaarthikeya Kaangeya Gowri Thanaya,'' doing long neraval and swara passages for the beautiful phrase "Maal Maruga Shanmuga Guha".
"Gajavadana" in Sriranjani was crisply rendered with a few kalpanaswaras. Syama Sastry's "Marivere Gathi Evaramma" (Anandabhairavi) was rendered with involvement, bringing out the raga essence. Young akkarai Subbulakshmi rendered competent violin support.
Good mridangam playing by Papanasam Kumar was occasionally marred by excessive sound levels. His tani avartanam, assisted by N. Guruprasad on the ghatam in adi tala-2 kallai featured interesting laya patterns.
The recital of the upcoming duo Mambalam Sisters (Chitra and Vijayalakshmi) was not only competent and arresting the attention of the listeners, but it also revealed their balanced approach to the requirements of the aesthetics of Carnatic music. The raga lakshana was preserved throughout the concert and not sacrificed even for a moment, even when complicated laya-oriented swara passages were being rendered. The selection of songs was good especially on Vaikunta Ekadasi day.
Dikshitar's "Ranganayakam'' and "Sree Sathya Narayanam'' were weighty, the devotional aspects also being kept in view. Muthiah Bhagavatar's Mohana Kalyani keerthana, "Bhuvaneswariyaa'' was sung attractively. Madhyamavathi was dealt with as the major item and Tyagaraja's not frequently heard "Adigi Sukhamu" was treated elaborately. Hemalatha's violin support was of high quality. Raga and laya nuances were effectively brought out.
K. Ramakrishnan (mridangam) and K. Rengachary, the duo's proud father on the kanjira gave valuable percussion support. Their tani avartanam in misra chapu tala for a tricky eduppu at 2/3 idam of the first anga was engaging, with interesting laya patterns.
S. R. GIRIDHAR
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