K. Gayathri, the young vocalist has “Vaak spashtam.” She started her concert with Khamas raga padavarnam “Maathe” in a slow kalapramanam. Rendition of Muktayiswaram in two speeds would have created a better effect. The charanam was rendered in a faster pace. Purandara dasa’s
“Smarana Onde Saalade” in Malayamarutham was rendered beautifully with kalpanaswarams at both ‘Smarana Onde’ and ‘Govinda;’ the swaras for ‘Govinda,’ however, did not make an impact.
The Suddha Saveri raga alapana which came next, started with a bang. Involving a lot of vocal exercise and repetition, it ended without touching the crux of the raga. Gayathri would do well to apply restraint in the higher octave. The kriti chosen was Manjakkudi Venkatramanayya’s “Paripalinchu,” sung with niraval and swaram. Not all kritis have sahityam suitable for niraval and this was one such. This was followed by a good rendition of ‘Ranganayakam,’ Dikshitar kriti in Nayaki and “Kamala charane,” GNB kriti in Amrutha Behag.
The elaborate raga prasthara of Simhendra Madhyamam, sung effortlessly, had quality. A good rendition of Swati Tirunal’s magnum opus “Rama Rama Guna Seema” followed with a well-rehearsed niraval at “Munimanasa dama” and kalpanaswaram. The Muktayiswaram was well planned and executed. Though his bowing and the sound effect were good, violinist S.P. Anantha Padmanabhan did not offer good support to the vocalist. However the support came from mridangam B. Sivaraman, beginning to end. He shared an excellent thani with G. Ravichandran on the ghatam.
Gayathri signed off with Subramania Bharati’s “Parukkulle Nalla Nadu,” “Venu Ganam Thenaai
Inikkude” in Kanada and a fast paced and exhilarating “Eppo Varuvaro” in Jonpuri.
