In 1985, M. Balamuralikrishna presented on stage a pallavi that he had created in Ranjani raga. The Malladi brothers — Sreeramprasad and Ravikumar — revived it recently in memory of the maestro. The occasion was Pallavi Darbar organised by Carnatica in association with Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha.
What the brothers presented that evening was a Sampradaya Pallavi concert. Pallavi Darbar, conceptualised by K.N. Sashikiran, features discussions and back-to-back pallavi concerts by young and established artistes. Concerts such as these are more insightful than regular ones. One such exhilarating experience was the 90-minute performance by Malladi Brothers.
The duo began with a Tyagaraja kriti in Darbar. The raga was essayed in a pallavi-singing style. As one began the exploration of the raga in the lower ranges, the other took the cue and wove the most intricate patterns dwelling on dhaivatha. Embar Kannan on the violin also provided remarkable raga phrases.
After delving into raga alapana with jaru-style embellishments, the brothers traversed fast passages on the upper shadja.
Intricate swara passages
The upper rishabha was taken up for weaving intricate passages as they sedately reached sancharas on the upper madhyamam — a jiva swara for this raga.
Sreeramprasad then took it forward, as Embar Kannan revelled in the phrases of Ranjani. Tanam followed as the duo alternated, touching the jiva swaras for Ranjani in the mid and upper octaves. The pallavi in a less-heard Matya tala provided K.V. Prasad (mridangam) and K.V.Gopalakrishnan (ganjira) an opportunity for a complex thani.
Traversing vilomam and anulomam, and getting into tisra nadai, ‘Mamava Pattabhirama’ was lively with the brothers’ swaraprasthara reaching creative heights. The ragamalika swaras also included Saveri, Sriranjani, Janaranjani, and Danyasi. They ended with the kriti, ‘Karunajuda’ in Sriraga.
This focus on pallavi was welcome as currently the form has been losing its importance on the Carnatic music stage.
