The cake has Carnatic music as the crust, topped with new flavours. That could be a foodie's definition of Sowmya's music. There are few musicians who respect the original theorems of Carnatic music like she does, and yet she makes allowances for intelligent transgressions.
Her concert was one such effort. An emotive ‘Hastivadanaya' (Dikshitar, Navroj, misra chapu) was elegantly sandwiched between a time-honoured Begada and an equally traditional Madhyamavati. Her rendition of this raga found in Thevaram pann (and more famously in MKT's ‘Deena Karunakarane') and the kriti was a lesson on how to bring out the sensitivity of such ragas.
After a brisk start with ‘Chalamela' (Sankarabharanam) and ‘Sree Nathadi Guruguho' (Mayamalavagowla) followed by swaras at ‘Jayati Jayati,' Sowmya wrote a veritable dictionary of Begada phrases. ‘Sankari Neeve' (Subbaraya Sastry) with the right kalapramanam culminated with niraval and swaras at ‘Sree Kanchita' (the sahitya of the chittaswaram) which is not commonly heard. Sowmya mixed speeds deftly introducing swift ‘Nagumomu' (Abheri) and ‘Naradamuni' (Pantuvarali) in between reflective music.
In the RTP in Madhyamavathi (Adi 2 kalai – ‘Saravana Bhava Guhane'), Sowmya rebuilt the poorvanga with a misra architecture of the words ‘Saravana Bhava Guha' to fill the 14 aksharas after the eduppu – a thoughtful usage of grammar. She capped the swaras with griha bedams to Hindolam and Suddhasaveri in one continuous flight.
Violinist Narmada matched the studious mood of the concert with capable and soothing plays blending into the main music. Poongulam Subramaniam was another ideal foil demonstrating excellent anticipation to the varied laya fare and in the tani avartanam along with his ghatam colleague. A good concert appeal was achieved without a ‘popular' after taste.
Good teachers remain open to new ideas and experiments. Suguna Varadachari enjoys a certain stature both as a concert musician and a teacher – a rarity these days. From her idea bank, she released an interesting pallavi. The Purvikalyani pallavi was set to misra ata two kalai (with two aridis), with the words: ‘Kaveri Ranganai Kasturi Ranganai Ninai.' The lyric sat smugly on the nadai. The challenge of such structures is often in the trikala phase. Ask those who have tried it. Suguna obviously negotiated it with aplomb. The usual garland of ragas such as Arabhi, Thodi, Khambodi and Saranga were woven into the kalpanaswaras.
Suguna's morning concert attracted a good crowd (morning concerts have a dubious image often) and she did not disappoint them. A classic Mukhari (‘Enraikku Siva Kripai', Sivan) was followed by a detailed exploration of Kharaharapriya (‘Rama Neeyeda,' Tyagaraja). She stuck to phrases that showcase the fidelity of the raga, as a teacher would.
Akkarai Subhalakshmi's fast rising stocks would have risen further after her Kharaharapriya alapana and neraval at ‘Premarahitulaku Naama' (an off-beat choice of place by Suguna). With optimum cascading brigas, Subhalakshmi adapted to the context with pleasing play.
The team effort was well steered by Kallidaikurichi Sivakumar (mridangam) and Nerkunram Shankar (ganjira). Without attracting undue attention to themselves, they endeavored to enhance the music.
