Come December, in a city burgeoning with performances of every kind it is quite easy to overlook a good concert by an artiste whose calibre one is not acquainted with. Following last year's stellar show at the same venue, Trivandrum G Baby Sreeram's vocal concert at the Music Academy on December 18 was a must-listen on this reviewer's list. It's a little known fact that Baby, a doctrate in music, has lived in Chennai for 22 years and hails from a family steeped in music. Granddaughter of the Travancore Brothers, who were also asthana vidwans of Mysore, Baby's family boasts of no less than 40 professional musicians and yet, she is barely seen in the concert circuit here.
What strikes one most about Baby is her ease and familiarity with her art. She is a genuine performer and her stage craft is a natural manifestation of this sans contrived or affected mannerisms. On this afternoon, she started off with the beautiful Shahana varnam in Adi tala with just the right touches and frills, the oscillations in appropriate measure. She rounded it off with a set of kalpana swaras which had all the ingredients — melody, punch and elegance — at the charanam line kripa joodumu eevela .
Dikshitar's little gem Paalayamaam in Nayaki, Roopakam, was offered next. Baby's attention to the nuances and focus on the tranquil aspect of this raga shone through. A moderately detailed Shubhapantuvarali raga followed. Such ragas require special care as it's often tempting to opt for the dramatic than the understated approach, and to this extent, Baby fared very well. Tyagaraja's evocative Ennalu oorake in Mishra Chapu was the composition. Clearly, much thought had gone into the planning of her concert list — a good balance of composers, ragas and talas. She ended the composition with a confident and scholarly bout of swaras.
A peppy piece Inda tiruvadivam of Neelakantha Sivan in Vasanta fine-tuned and embellished further by Baby was a lovely contrast. The interesting take off point or eduppu provided an edgy, cross-rhythmic feel and segued into subtle swaraksharas that dotted the song aesthetically.
Baby then dove into an outstanding and detailed Bhairavi raga — a skillful and intuitive combination of poise, long notes, brikkas, patterns and shades of vibrant colours. Violinist S.P. Ananthapadmanabha replied sedately but in good measure without taking away the impact of the vocalist. The brilliant masterpiece of Shyama Shastri, Sarievaramma , in Khanda Jhampa was the highlight of her concert. The version was perfect and demanding and Baby did not slack off in energy at any point. Expansive swaras preceded a blistering taniavartanam by the extremely talented Rajna Swaminathan on the mridangam and Nerkunam S. Manigandan mohrsing.
Saadhujana vinutam in Geetapriya ( asampoorna mela of Latangi) was the filler before the Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi in Charukeshi. The line maadhavar paniyum, maadumai mahane, maal maruhane, nin tunaiyindri, en tuyar teerkum set to Khanda triputa in khanda gati was an ambitious attempt which Baby fulfilled with elan. Careful not to get lost in the arithmetic and calculations of a complex structure, she maintained an eloquent felicity even through the chaturashra tishram and other multi-speed renditions of the pallavi line. Ragamalika niraval and swaras in Varali, Kanada, Poorvikalyani and Khamas tied up the rendition fittingly but not before Rajna and Manigandan had another chance to display their skill.
A viruttam in Shuddha Dhanyasi and Kapi wove into the concluding piece, a soul-stirring Enna tavam sheidanai by Papanasam Sivan.
It is baffling that this was the only concert that Baby Sreeram sang this season. The Music Academy must be commended for inviting her back to perform this year.
