Vocalist Ramakrishnan Murthy (R.K. Murthy) has a place among leading singers of Carnatic music. A stickler to tradition, he caught the attention of his listeners with his captivating music for a one-day Nandhikeswara Utsav.
Impeccable sruti sudha, emphasis on aesthetics and pleasing presentation were the highlights of his style.
He gave a solid start to the concert with appealing renditions of Patnam Subramanya Iyer’s varnam Evaribodha in Abhogi and Sri Maha Ganapathi ravathuma, composed by Muthuswamy Dikshitar in Gowla, which was embellished with crisp swaras. His sweet sketch of Sankarabharanam, though concise, did exhibit the quintessence of the raga. He took up the not-so-popular Tyagaraja kriti Bhakthi Bhiksha miyyave, wherein the saint-composer pleads to Lord Rama to grant him "Bhakthi" (devotion) as his alms. Enchanting manodharma swaras enhanced the appeal of the song.
Poorvikalyani was analysed in depth, in the true classical mould; the alapana revealed his sharp sense of musical improvisation. The kriti was Ramanathapuram Srinivasa Iyengar’s Paramapaavana Rama . The ideational phrases in the niraval, coupled with the seamless flow of swaraprastharas at Kanakambara in the charanam and the well-tuned chittaswaram offered enjoyable aural pleasure. While Idathu padam (Khamas-Papanasam Sivan) was full of verve, the concluding pieces such as the moving Manasija Karuna (Ahiri-Swathi Thirunal) and the interesting thillana in Poornachandrika received generous applause.
Trivandrum Sampath demonstrated his skill as an accomplished violinist.
Original style
It was a delight to listen to Karaikudi Mani playing the mridangam after a long gap. He displayed his original style both during the accompaniment and in the superb taniavarthanam in Adi tala, with his dexterous beats and intelligent manoeuvres. B.S. Purushotham on the ganjira excelled in providing admirable support.
Nandhikeswara Utsav, a festival devoted to laya and rhythm that was conceptualised by mridangam maestro Guru Karaikudi Mani, was held for the first time in Palakkad. It was put in place by local mridangam artiste Palghat Harinarayanan.
The objective of the festival was to focus on the importance of laya, by bringing together on one platform well-known artistes in the field of laya (percussion) to perform. Brief concerts were performed by Vyala Rajendran, Kottakkal Ranjith Varier and N.M. Brahmanandam (violin solo). Parassala Ravi, along with his disciples, presented a scintillating ‘mridanga tharangam’ in Khandatriputa tala. The concerts were held in Parvathi Kalyana Mandapam, Chandranagar, Palakkad.
