The music segment of the Soorya Dance and Music festival 2010 in Thiruvananthapuram began with a bang with a concert by K.J. Yesudas. A packed auditorium sprang to life when the vocalist began the concert with his signature ‘Om.' The varnam ‘Saami Ninne Kori' in Sankarabharanam was the curtain raiser. The creamy bass layer of Yesudas's voice surfaced when he sang a Tamil kriti ‘Enne Puniyam Seytheno' in Reethigowla.
S.R. Mahadeva Sharma on the violin interpreted the mild touches of the singer and reiterated the accent accurately. The rare raga Mandari, though very similar to Rugmambari, was sung meticulously, clearly depicting the demarcation between both the ragas. K.V. Prasad (mridangam) and Udupi Sreedhar (ghatam) came up with a foot-tapping tani. Yesudas rendered ‘Praseedadevi Kairali,' a composition by O.N.V. Kurup. A bhajan in Behag and a meaningful slokam woven in Bowli, Kapi and Sindhubhairavi marked the end of the concert.
Style of his own
O.S. Thyagarajan's vocal recital showcased his distinctive style of singing, which was bathed in expression. He began the concert with a short vistharam of Sri Raga, tagging it to an Adi Tala varnam ‘Saminikorini’. The Tyagaraja composition ‘Sri Ganapathi’ in Sowrasthra was studded with swaras in both kaalams.
The vocalist eloquently portrayed Panthuvarali and Ananthabhairavi, with a good exposition of the raga and a clean rendition of the Dikshitar kriti ‘Ramanatham Bhajeham’ and the rare Tyagaraja kriti ‘Nike Teliyaga’, respectively. The highlight for the session was an excellent ragalapana of Kamboji. The kriti ‘O! Rangasayee’ was built around sensitive sancharas.
Edappaly Ajith on the violin played gracefully, accompanying the vocals precisely. Though Vaikkom Venugopal on the mridangam, P.N. Sudheer on the ghatam and Neyyantinkara Krishnan on the morsing played in an organised way, the tani was a lacklustre performance. The vocalist concluded the concert with ‘Nadupai’ in Madhyamavathi.
The Raghava Warrier Memorial concert of the Soorya festival was by Neyvelli Santhanagopalan. Although the vocalist was unwell, he managed to deliver a remarkable concert. He opened his recital with a varnam ‘Sarasuda’ in Saveri and followed it up with ‘Girirajasutha’ in Bangala raga. A brief alapana of Mayamalavagowla was a preface to the Tyagaraja kriti ‘Thulasidala’. Although the vocalist found the bass notes comfortable, the upper notes were flat in pitch. ‘Sarasamadana’ in Kapi Narayani, popularised by Madurai Mani Iyer, had a brief niraval at ‘Ethavumadalentho’.
Elaborate raga visthara
The main raga was Hemavathi. After a segmented, elaborate raga visthara, the kriti ‘Shrikanthimathi’ by Dikshitar followed. A solo taniavartanam by Chennai Thyagarajan on the mridangam was lauded by the audience. The scholar was well supported on the violin by Pakkala Ramdas. Santhanagopalan wound the concert up with an Abheri raga thillana ‘Geethathu’.
On the concluding day of the Soorya Dance and music festival, Sanjay Subrahmanyan, the exuberant Carnatic vocalist, wooed rasikas with his innovations in swara and sanchara that gave each raga and kriti a new attribute. The vocalist began the concert with an Ada tala varnam in Narayanagowla raga, composed by Veena Kuppaiyer.
Dikshitar's ‘Shrikamalambika’ in Sahana moved everyone. The fast-paced ‘Thathvamerugatarama’ in Garudadhwani was energetic and it set the concert in full swing. The main item for the day was in Thodi. The piece was decorated with outstanding raga delineation, terrific tanam, fluent swarams and a perfect rendition of the kriti ‘Anantha nadanam’. Sanjay's playful pattern of swarams was the catch of the day. A melodious Behag and the kriti ‘Sri Madhava Vasudeva’ was sung from the heart. The groovy ‘Va Va velmuruka’ in Sindhubhairavi, improvised artistically, was definitely the one that charmed everyone. Sanjay was well accompanied by S. Varadarajan on the violin, Neyvelli Venkatesh on the mridangam and Trichy Murali on the ghatam.
