Mudhra organised an unusual concert by a talented artiste recently. It was Palakkad K. L. Sreeram’s three-in-one concert at Infosys Hall. Three-in-one, because the versatile musician proved his prowess in vocals, on the flute and keyboard.
While most vocalists probably do play instruments too, they would not showcase it all on the stage. Sreeram deserves credit for this and for being creative as well. The raga alapana of Kosalam highlighted his well-trained voice. He gave this raga essay creative touches, alternately on the flute, and keyboard. The graha bedam added interest to his rendering.
His penchant for long raga phrases and innovations need special mention. The sound of the flute was pleasing in his hands. Seldom has one heard that kind of subtlety. While a new approach was a welcome change, why not have only the flute.
From the audience's point of view, the transitions from vocal to each instrument needed more cohesion. Besides the electronic tambura that was on the stage, a real tambura accompaniment would have added to the nuances of pitch.
With Ramesh (mridangam) provided enthusiastic support, Karthick (ghatam) excelled in the intricate display of virtuosity, a hallmark of his style.
Sreeram started off with evocative strains of Bhairavi on the keyboard, alternately singing and playing the instruments for the ata tala varnam ‘Viriboni.’ With the next Gaula raga, he hit the right note on the keyboard — that superfast glide on the arohana sounded wonderful. He followed this up with the Tyagaraja pancharatnam, ‘Dudukugala.’ Using the keyboard for the swaras and alternately singing the words of the charanam was a good idea.
The artiste then presented Kosalam raga alapana followed by a beautiful rendition of Koteeswara Iyer's composition ‘Kaguha.’
Next came an elaboration of Hamsanadham on the flute, then vocals, with a dash of nice fast phrases on the keyboard. The kriti ‘Banturithi’ had swaraprasthara in an interesting exchange between the keyboard and the flute.
Next, a Todi raga alapana was the precursor to Syama Sastri's inspired swarajati ‘Rave Himagiri,’ which the singer ended on kalpanaswara. Of the tukkada pieces toward the end of the recital, ‘Manadirkuhandadu’ in Sindhubhairavi lingered in the mind.
