Listening to Ajay Namboodiri after eight years, I realised that his music still brims with melody. His approach also remains subtle.
Is a two-part raga alapana exclusive to RTP ? It can also be fitted into the beautiful Tyagaraja kriti ‘Inta Sowkya’ in Kapi. Ajay embellished ‘Inta Sowkya’ with an elaborate raga treatise in two segments.
Diverse phrases he had chosen to reach the tara sthayi in the first part, was further expanded after the violinist’s reply. He showcased the raga’s flexibility and rendered the composition with care. The swara rounds with panchamam as the pivotal note moved imaginatively to a finale.
The early part of the concert was devoted to three ragas — Ritigowla, Khamas and Thodi. While Ritigowla and Khamas, with their pliability and grace, were satisfactory, Thodi fell short of expectations. In Ritigowla, it was Swati Tirunal’s ‘Paripalayamam’, and in Thodi, Tyagaraja’s ‘Rajuvedala.’ Niraval and swaras on ‘Sevanu kani’ came as a bonus. But they didn’t add much to the concert.
Selection (of ragas and songs) enhances a concert’s quality and Ajay’s choices were Thanjavur Sankara Iyer’s Hindola varnam, ‘Santanagopala Krishnam’ in Khamas by Dikshitar and ‘Thunai purindharul’ (Papanasam Sivan) in Varamu.
These compositions should have lifted the concert, but sadly, the artiste’s voice played truant. Ajay’s voice had marred his presentations even earlier. The overall impact of this concert, held at Vani Mahal, was far from delightful.
Thanjavur S. Ramakrishnan (violin) delivered well-defined raga phrases. His swara sallies, particularly in Ritigowla and Kapi, were crisp and melodious. Chennai S. Thiagarajan on the mridangam played his part without much ado.