Sarvani Sangeetha Sabha that began its humble journey in 1985, quietly promotes talents from across the States every month. The sabha recently celebrated its 32nd anniversary with a five-day concert series. Among the less heard voices was that of Subhalakshmi Krishnamoorthy from Bengaluru.
The sabha had made Tyagaraja Pancharatna kritis as the theme with one song being the day’s main fare. Subhalakshmi presented the Varali gem — ‘Kana kana ruchira.’ She began her concert with a bright ‘Sri Ganapathini sevimpa raare’ in Sowrashtram.
The most striking feature of Subhalakshmi's music is the lucidity with which her voice flows through different octaves. Another noticeable aspect is that she keeps the rendering simple and neat. Her clear diction brings out the beauty of the lyrics well.
For the swift number, she chose ‘Kalaharana melara hare’ in Suddha Saveri, a composition that has ample scope for sangatis and brigas. The jantais in the kalpanaswaras at the charanam lines Chutti chutti were enjoyable. A little more internalisation of the essence and mood of the composition would have lent wholesomeness to the presentation.
Her tutelage under stalwarts like Shertalai Gopalan Nair and advanced learning from Madurai T.N. Seshagopalan and current training under senior musician M.S. Sheela reflect in her delivery of good music. After a defining Kalyani raga alapana, she took up ‘Ethavunara’ and presented it neatly. With niraval and kalpanaswara at ‘Sita gauri’ without indulging in complicated kanakku, her rendition was straightforward.
The snappy ‘Sobhillu saptaswara’ in Jaganmohini was followed by an elaborate delineation of Abhogi. The choice of ‘Nannu brova neekinta thamasama’ as the main kriti was somewhat unusual. The kriti sailed through the smooth pace in one kalai and a structured kalpanaswaram paved the way for a marvellous thani led by J. Vaidhyanathan on the mridangam with H. Sivaramakrishnan giving admirable company on the ghatam. The percussion support definitely lifted the concert to a higher level. The contribution of senior vidwan Pakala Ramadas on the violin was no less.
Subhalakshmi concluded her concert, dedicated to Tyagaraja, with ‘Sita kalyana Vaibhogame’ in Kurinji and ‘Nagumomu galavani’ (Madhyamavati).
