They camecame, sang and conquered. The very opening daru varnman, Maathe malayadwaja Pandya Sanjathe.. in Khamas (a Muthaiah Bhagavatar composition) dripped honey with its musical twists and turns, its daruvus as it addressed the deity of music Mathangi (Meenakshi). Such an invocation gave apt and auspicious start to the two-hour resonant recital that followed. The laya that oozed out along with the ‘sruti suddham' (in tune with the measure) as they stormed their way through the syllabic beauty of the verses was stupendous. The mridangam accompaniment by their father Mohan lent the required viscosity to make for a rich rendition. The Shanmukhapriya sprinkled sweetnesss with Siddhi Vinayakam anisham . While Ramkumar vested the swara relay with a stylistic bend, Srikrishna gave an astounding extempore swarakalpana.
Though manodharma is essentially an exercise in musical creativity, here one witnessed an inspirational release of artistry. The famous Bhairavi swarajati of Shyama Sastri Amba Kamakshi… was a fervent appeal running in the ascending order of the saptaswara with full control over the emotive element that flows along the solfa syllables. The soft tones were further enhanced by certain additions like Parama' pavani gada… . The neraval and consequent improvisation at Shyama Krishna sodari… undertaken alternately served to enhance this pious kriti with violinist K.L.N. Moorthy lending sedate support. Teliyaleru Rama in Dhenuka was a wizardry in creativity. Between the duo, one cannot but notice the seamless flow of alternate swara rendition. As one of them is in the act of tapering off, the next pours forth in full flow creating a sort of aesthetic effect to the entire recital.
The percussion with its crisp concluding rhythmic pattern was excellent. An expansive alapana that traced the finer nuances of the raga Hamsanandi as the duo took turns in presenting a unique style wherein Srikrishna would reach the pinnacle and before he wound up, Ramkumar would begin at the baseline and wind his way up. Bantu reethi koluva… an all-time favourite rippled its way through like a brook across the pebbles with the brothers tossing the swaras to and forth in speedy exposition very pleasing to the ear. A vilambakalai piece in Tamil sung soulfully provided that much needed variety in rendition. Again Raghuvamsa sudhabhudi chandrasri… (a Patnam composition) in Kadanakuthulam marched past in utter rhythmic joy. This toe-tapping piece reflected the varied gems of their musical treasure trove.
The tani by Mohan with ghatam interpretation by Nemani Somayajulu was compelling. The viruttam (karacharanajam va) prior to Bho Shambho… in Revathi conjured up the picture of Lord Shiva in our mind's eye. Pibare Rama rasam… a very popular piece set to Ahir Bhairavi with its innate melody and in-depth philosophy was given its due treatment in their rich and cultured voices. The tillana in the beautiful Behag was mellifluous while the Tiruppuzghal was a fitting finale to the concert at Keyes High School hosted by Sharada Cultural Trust as part of Thyagaraja Aradhana.
