It felt like one was watching the ‘first day first show’ of a popular star’s movie. Indeed, it was rightly so because Bombay Jayashri is a celebrated star in classical music and this was the first programme of this year’s approaching Chennai December music festival. The auditorium of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan was overflowing with Carnatic music connoisseurs. The corridors, the foyer, the entrance and even the steps near the door were full of eager listeners waiting patiently through the protracted inaugural ceremony and speeches. The organisers, realising the intensity of the crowd, installed projections at the entrance with crystal clear picture quality and fairly clear audio.
The expectations ran high since Jayashri is also the recipient of Bhavan’s award. Well, she did not disappoint her rasikas.
Her Nalinakanti varnam by Lalgudi Jayaraman and the swift ‘Anandamrita’ in Amrithavarshini by Muthuswami Dikshitar with few sequences of swaras, gave a bright start to the concert. Eschewing her penchant for a languorous style, Jayashri was full of verve this time. A colourfully painted Kalyanavasantham raga essay was neatly appended to ‘Nadaloludai’ by Tyagaraja. Here, she delved deep into the niraval with the line ‘Hariharathma Bhusurapathi’ and concluded with a luxurious weave of swaras centering on madhyamam. Mohanam took the centre stage with elaboration focused on the several lower register sancharas and the melodious upper region sojourns. ‘Nannu Palimpa’ by Tyagaraja offered adequate space for the singer to explore both the musical and emotional nuances of the composition. The swara spins carried ample creativity and dynamism.
The strong point of Jayashri was her ability to blend musical savvy with emotional excellence. Be it raga, kriti, niraval or swaras, she integrated them achieving the right balance; there were no half hearted attempts or overconfident shots.
H.N. Bhaskar set his paths on the ragas and swara sallies in close accordance with the vocalist. Both in Kalayanavasantam and Mohanam, the ultimate swara segment was offered to him to show his approach and his rendition was admirable. V.V.Ramanamurthy on the mridangam and Giridhar Udupa on the ghatam were sparkling throughout. The concluding section carried ‘Chinnanchiru Kiliye’ by Bharatiar and Madhuvanti thillana by Lalgudi Jayaraman.
Mohanam occupied the prime slot in K. Gayathri’s vocal concert. She delineated the raga in an engaging and pleasing manner targeting her sancharas mostly at the madhyama sthayi initially and later touching the upper zone with conviction and ease. Starting with lengthy phrases, she embellished them with delicate brigas and concluded with finesse. Gayathri rendered the kriti, ‘Ra Ra Rajeeva Lochana’ by Mysore Vasudevachar, at a leisurely pace with its well-knit chittaiswaram and added the swara chain to the pallavi with the customary two speeds.
The Gowri Manohari treatise, ‘Brova Samayamide’ by Karur Dakshinamurthy, the elaboration on ‘Karunakarudu Neeve’ and the swaras that followed, figured earlier. Generally, Muthuswami Dikshitar’s ‘Manasa Guruguha’ makes its occasional presence in the agenda of the vocalists. Gayathri had not only chosen this number but also presented it in a tender manner devouring the raga and bhava essence of the same. Gayathri’s approach and presentations were professional and flawless. Stronger internalisation and articulation in raga essays could make Gayathri’s expertise shine better.
Tyagaraja’s Vasanthabhairavi kriti ‘Nee Daya Rada’ and ragamalika viruttham (Valaji, Sahana and Maund) suffixed by Periaswami Thooran’s ‘Muralidhara Gopala’ were other inclusions.
M. Narmadha on the violin demonstrated her long standing experience and intelligence in raga essays and swara exchanges. B. Ganapathy Raman and Chandrasekara Sarma on mridangam and ghatam alternated between soft and strong patterns to suit the mood of the kritis.
