It was refreshing to see young talent being promoted by one of the popular organisations in twin cities. Chilla Kaivalya Kumar's vocal recital in the thick of a downpour was something many a music enthusiast missed.
For the few who made it to Kalasagaram's venue at Keyes High School, the rendition was a treat.
Pleasant music
Despite pathetic acoustics which dented the artiste's flow from time to time, Kaivalya Kumar and his accompanists were able to surpass the technical snags and give us some pleasant music.
More than the treatment rendered to the varnam in Begada, a Shyama Sastri composition and the Sankarabharanam Eduta nilachi… with its extensive alapana, neraval and swarakalpana in full form, it was the other songs that turned out to be more attractive than these two main pieces in the concert. For instance the Sujana jeevana in Kamas was rippling with its alliteration inherent lyrical cadence. The vocalist did full justice to the flow of the song.
The Kaapi began with a wonderful alapana that scaled the raga nuances with an emotive touch. Nee valla gunadosham emi.. had all its ingredients rendered in the right style and quantity.
The emotive element that embellished the alapana was missing when it came to the actual rendition of the song. Same was the case with Varali Eti janmam idi . The elaborate alapana tapered off rather abruptly. It is the violinist who was the saving grace at that juncture as he replayed the raga in its entirety giving a fitting finale.
It was evident that the vocalist was missing out on the bhava aspect as he concentrated more on display of technical expertise, as is the case with most of our musicians.
The penultimate pieces were chosen from Annammayya and Ramadas which were easy on the ear.
Mridangam player Burra Sriram made his presence felt with the taniavarthanam in Sankarabharanam.
Violinist Pavan Singh is someone to watch. His bowing was consistently outstanding throughout the concert. His involvement evidently translated in every string as he diligently manoeuvred along with the vocalist emanating melodic notes.
