One of the perils of performing in the season is the risk of tiring the audience by choosing ‘popular' ragas and kritis that are heard in every other concert. Prasanna at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha seemed aware of this predicament. With a very conventional beginning, Prasanna showed his class even as he negotiated the gamakas of Saveri with ease and grace, while singing the varnam at a medium speed. Thereafter, he provided one pleasant surprise after another.
There was Dikshitar's T yagarajaya namaste in Begada. The kriti was sufficient to bring forth the beauty of the raga. There was a bout of swara-singing that showed his grasp of the raga. The final avartanam was built up very well to the finish. The first alapana was in Manirangu. Prasanna had a reasonable grip over the raga but a certain poise was absent. Swati Tirunal's Jayajaya padmanabha was sung at a brisk pace; it helped him keep the tempo of the concert up.
Shubhapantuvarali suited Prasanna's intrinsically bhava-laden voice. It was a melodious alapana, devoid of the histrionics that normally go with this raga. Ennalluorage (Tyagaraja) sounded good most of the time though a few flourishes with brikas did not fit the mood of the song; they seemed rather “concertish”! He sang neraval for the anupallavi line. Prasanna's voice seemed cut out for Gopalakrishna Bharati's Enneramum, in which he sang an additional charanam , less heard.
The main raga was Kambhodhi. Here Prasanna really came into his own. An elaborate alapana, rich in content, was a feast to the ears. Evarimata was refreshing to hear, as were the neraval for bhaktaparadeenudanutsu and swaras, built up with telling effect. In this song, the ensemble made a rousing impact as a team, leaving the listener with an unforgettable experience.
Tanjavur Ramadas on the mridangam kindled fond memories of his legendary guru, Paghat Mani Iyer. He lifted the kriti and the neraval in Kambhodhi to greater heights and filled the space provided by the vocalist during this improvisation adorably. He encouraged the kanjira artiste K.V. Gopalakrishnan (KVG) both with lavish praise and generous opportunities. Not once did he interrupt during the violinist's reply of the improvisational parts! KVG seized the opportunity with both hands and showed how much he could contribute to the success of the concert, even for the tukkada .
With the skill to play a full octave on every string of the violin, B. Anantakrishnan provided continuity to his Shubhapantuvarali, though he overdid his glides a bit. He supported well but his Kambhodhi was a typical “violin formula”, marked by a scalar approach devoid of feel.
Prasanna's voice tends to lose power in the upper octave — a result of ‘constrained' practice of an urban dweller? Endowed with a voice that is intrinsically melodious, he needs to sublimate his brikas and present them unobtrusively. He has “arrived”. He will stay if he manages to retain freshness over the years to follow.
( T.T. Narendran teaches at the Department of Management Studies, IIT-Madras; is a vainika and a connoisseur of music )
