In his concert for the Gokulashtami Festival of Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha at Vani Mahal, vocalist Mohan Santhanam impressed the audience with his grid of kalpanaswaras in Kuntalavarali.
Swati Tirunal’s ‘Bhogindra Sayeenam’ ‘, which normally figures as a filler in concerts, was given a lion’s share here. ‘Kalitanuta Sanyasi,’ madhyama kala part of the kriti sawseveral rounds of swaras . Imaginative, well-knit and with the quick notes falling in proper slots , Mohan served an enjoyable fare. To those who had heard him earlier, this would not have come as a surprise, especially if they had heard his handling of ragas such as Navarasakannada and Kadhanakuthoohalam.
Equally impressive was the artiste’s choice to include a lesser-known Mysore Vasudevachar’s composition in Begada (‘Manasa Vachasa’) in praise of Lord Narasimha with a chittaiswaram. The alapana that preceded the kriti carried phrases mostly anchored to sruti-aligned karvais; the concluding segment alone carried fast-moving akaras. This helped to not just illustrate the raga but also its myriad hues and range.
TRS’s favourite
The style was adopted for his earlier succinct prelude in Chandrajyothi for ‘Bagayanayya’ (Tyagaraja) and later in the alapana of Kalyanavasantham, for a not so expansive RTP. The Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi was set in Tisra Triputa Khanda nadai, which went as ‘Krishnanai anudinamum,’ a favourite pallavi of Mohan’s guru, Prof. T. R. Subramaniam. He integrated trikalam with the ragamalika swaras and pallavi in Kalyani and Vasantha to match the raga’s name.
Once again the swara segments in Chandrajyothi and Kalyanavasantham stood testimony to Mohan’s penchant for experimenting with swarakalpana. However, he needs to show restraint when it comes to sancharas in the tara sthayi as there is a vast difference between open-throated singing and loud sounding.
A group of seasoned supporting artistes added lustre to the recital. T.K.V. Ramanujacharyalu (violin) responded imaginatively to the main artiste’s posers. His inspired swara section in Kuntalavarali deserves special mention. Mannargudi A. Easwaran (mridangam), known for his percussion prowess, never dominated. In the company of Madippakkam A. Murali (ghatam), the main and mini tani avartanam after Begada and RTP were pleasingly executed by Easwaran.
The concert opened with Kanada Ata tala varnam followed by ‘Mahaganapathim’ in Nattai (Dikhsitar) and ‘Tatvamerga Tarama’ in Garudadhwani (Tyagaraja). Mohan signed off a with a Nilambari piece on Lord Guruvayurappan.
