V. Venkata Nagarajan’s vibrant vocal recital was no less noteworthy for the refreshing variety of compositions he presented. His choice of ragas was familiar. The compositions he opted to sing were neither unusual for a lay listener, nor commonplace for the connoisseurs.
The passion this student of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras packs into his singing reminds you of the same youthful exuberance today’s top artists displayed only a few decades ago.
A disciple of Thiruchi - based Ambujam Vedantham, the spirited opening sketch of Kanada was just a sample of what followed over the next 75 minutes. Contrary to the usual ata tala composition in this scale, Nagarajan introduced a surprise adi tala varnam instead: ‘Ninnekoriyunnadiraa nelata iivelaa,’ of Thiruvottiyur Tyagayya.
The scintillating alapana next, in Amritavarshini, was followed by a lively 'Sudhaamayi Sudhaanidhe,’ of Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar. The kalpanaswaram was equally engaging.
The exposition of Begada led to Oothukkadu Venkatakavi’s ‘Kan Kanda Deyvame, Engal Gati Niye Gurunadhaa,’ set to adi tala. Even his miscellaneous piece kept to the brisk tempo of the recital. The song was Syama Sastri’s ‘Trilokamaataa Nanubrovumu.’
The artist’s acute sense of time came through, as he commenced with the main essay in Todi and Tyagaraja’s ‘Kaddanuvariki Kaddu.’ The niraval to this kriti was the second in the recital and the kalpanaswaram the third. Yet, there was ample space for the violinist Thirumarugal S. Dineshkumar’s splendid spells on more than one occasion. K.H. Vineeth (mridangam) exhibited his considerable talent during a brief solo.
‘Aataa Kothe Dhave,’ the abhang in raag Mishra Jog was the concluding song. One of Bhimsen Joshi’s classic numbers is how Nagarajan describes the piece he learnt, to participate in a 2014 reality contest.
