It was in 1997. A young boy clad in pyjama-kurta sang the prayer ‘Deena Sharanyanay' in Karnaranjani, with sruthi box in his hands at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha. The applause he received from the packed hall took a good while before proceedings could start.
Later, it was announced that the boy was the grandson of Sikkil sisters. With such a lineage, this boy will make a name for himself in classical music world, was the thought that ran through this writer's mind then. Today, Sikkil Gurucharan is living up to the promise he showed that evening years ago.
Warming up well this Season, Gurucharan, blessed with a lovely voice that is supple, negotiated Narayani cleverly in pure Carnatic style without treading on a lighter path. A derivative of 28th Mela Harikhambodi, there are two songs written by Tyagaraja in this raga. Gurucharan chose ‘Rama Neevay Kaani,' lacing it with interesting kalpanaswaras.
As the day marked Annamalai Deepam (Karthigai), Dikshitar's ‘Arunachala Nadham Smaraami' (Saranga-Rupkam) was a perfect choice, befitting the occasion. Keeravani was elaborated in detail. Gurucharan went full throttle to showcase the raga's swaroopam. In particular, his briga-oriented sancharas towards the end and the vakra touches added lilt.
Young S. Varadarajan's violin reply was meticulous and reflected the vocalist's mood.
Kudos to Gurucharan for choosing a song from Panniru Thirumurai, particularly from Appar's Thevaram ‘Vaananai Madhi Soodiya Maindanai,' tuned soulfully by T.M. Thyagarajan set to misra chapu talam. The tune puts to test the skill of the singer for it touches the second octave's panchamam even in the third line; Gurucharan steered clear.
Bangalore Arjun Kumar's enthusiastic arudis for this song in particular were palatable in the company of Guru Prasanna (ganjira).The niraval and swaras were more raga oriented, thankfully! Arjun Kumar's telling blows in the tani segment were effective while Guru Prasanna added colour with his repartees.
Arunagirinathar's Kandhar Alankaram verse ‘Naal En Seyyum Vinaidhaan En Seyyum' was packed with phrases using the nuances of the Sindhu Bhairavi that helped him package it with emotion as a prelude to Tiruppugazh ‘Saravanagaatha Namo Nama' (Sankirna Jampai).
As people were leaving the hall, two ladies were overheard arguing about whether it was Sikkal or Sikkil. Irrespective of doubts, there was no chikkal (confusion) about Gurucharan's music, which has the blessings of Singaravelan, the presiding deity of Sikkal.
Veenai Kuppaier's Hamsadhwani piece ‘Vinaayakaa Ninnu Vinaa' was the opener for Malladi Brothers . The seasoned mridangam vidwan Umayalpuram Sivaraman, who produces the sound with a gaathram (intensity) belying his age at the end of the song suggested with a sollu ‘tha-ki-ta-dhi-mi' suggesting pa-ga-ri-sa-ri and then landed on the samam. The brothers were enticed into a swara prasthara in the right dosage befitting the kriti. The stage was thus set for an enchanting fare that evening.
Sriram Prasad went for a brief Asaveri sketch following it up with ‘Chandram Bhajamaansa' (Matya-Dikshitar) in praise of the Moon. Incidentally that evening Lunar eclipse was just an hour away. After Tyagaraja's Phalamanjari kriti ‘Sri Naarasimha,' Ravikumar took up Hamirkalyani. Basically a raga that is pregnant with slow phrases, it helped him build it at a pace compelling the discerning rasika to mull over the raga's beauty.
Embar Kannan (violin), with his knowledge of Western and classical style, replied with confidence. The swara exchanges between the three and Umayalpuram during this phase was a bonus to the audience. It was sukhanubhavam.
Yadukulakhambodi, a beauty that is not finding favour these days with vidwans, saw the light of day through Sriram Prasad's essay. His presentation reminded one of the good old days when his guru Nedunuri Krishnamurthy Bhagavatar used to present this raga extensively in his concerts.
‘Lalithey Maam Paahi' (Cheyyuru Chengalavraya Sastry), rich in raga content, infused bhakti. The performance reached greater heights with Ravikumar's delineation of Dhanyasi. The grandeur of this raga was brought out with accent on all its hues. The sancharas in the lower octaves and the cyclic pidis created the required effect.
Embar Kannan proved his class again with a mature reply. The kriti of Syama Sastri ‘Meenalochana Brova' saw the duo delving into niraval and swarams. The agility and energy of Sivaraman is something phenomenal which he exhibited not only during the tani but also throughout the concert with his lengthy arudis at the conclusion of every song.
B.S. Purushothaman (ganjira) made his presence felt during the tani. The end pieces included ‘Kannanai Pani Manamay' (Shanmukhapriya-Sivan) and a Narayana Tirtha Tarangam ‘Dehi Mudham Dehi.'
He has absolute control and command over his veena. The swift traverses up and down the frets are simply breathtaking. The instrument is like a toy in his hands, dancing to his tunes. The number of players with such clarity can be handpicked and Rajhesh Vaidhya will be one among them.
What a great accretion it would be to Carnatic music if only Rajhesh channelises his potential towards the pure classical stream? His concert, at least this writer felt, did not fit into the scheme of things charted by KFA for their music festival.
As if the rhythm team -- Karakurichi Mohanram(mridangam), Karaikudi Subramaniam (ghatam), Tenkasi Paramasivam (ganjira) and Chandrajith (tabla) -- was not enough, Rajhesh used his veena too as a drum box, tapping it at regular intervals, to give them a cue. to them. Also part of the team was young Nivas Prasanna (keyboard), who has nimble fingers and shows a lot of promise.
The gyratory motions of Rajhesh's mouth reminded one of the ace guitarist Carlos Santana. Apart from three kritis that he played in the beginning, some of the other numbers he took up were only best known to him. Towards the end, he played ‘Kanda Naal Mudhalaai,' ‘Theeraatha Vilayaattu Pillai' and a composition of the veena legend Chittibabu. He interpreted these songs on his own terms.
