The “Musical Feast of Violins” that followed drenched the audience in music filled with emotion. Different ragas were used to reflect moods and qualities. For instance, Kailasam effectively deployed raga Revathi to create a feeling of oneness with Lord Siva. Komalam, Krishnam and Karunuyam were some of the other compositions set in ragas Sivaranajani, Kapi and Charukesi. Kuthuhalam, signifying joy, was set in Bharat, derived from the 29th Mela (Dheera Sankarabaranam) formed to mark the 50th year of our Independence.
Kusumakaram, a ragamalika, represented life’s ups and downs. Kamalam in Kiravani (Misrachapu) represented the lotus, deceptively simple but many splendored with all its petals. A Thillana (Karnamrutham) in Sindhubhairavi appeared would be the final piece. Not quite. Kanyakumari paid her obeisance to Lord Venkatachalapathy through ‘Venkatachala Nilayam’ and the event came to an end with ‘Baagyadha Lakshmi Baaramma’ in its most conventional tune.
Those on stage were Kanyakumari herself with her disciples seated in two rows. The laya had a foursome combination that comprised Sherthalai Sri Ananthakrishnan (mridangam), Bangalore Sri Rajasekar (morsing), Sumesh Narayanan (mridangam) and Krishna Kishore (rhythm pad).
