After a long hiatus, we were treated to some pure music by Bombay Sisters C. Lalitha and C. Saroja. In tune with the Vinjamuri memorial concerts, the sisters opened and wrapped up their rich repertoire with a varnam and a tillana composed by vidwan Vinjamuri Varadaraja Iyengar which permeated the atmosphere with an aura of veneration towards this great musical scholar.
Though the voices didn't merge into a single entity, the duo excelled collectively and individually in emotive rendition with an in-depth tonal quality spiced by the right mix of vidwat, creative virtuosity and apt treatment of the raga. The Mahaganapatim in Nata was just the beginning of a deeply involving recital that called for a standing applause (which our rather laconic audience fell short of). If the Nata raga emanated a cadence as the sisters alternately adorned it with kalpanaswara, Brochevarevaru raa ninu vina …. in Kamas welled with yearning and picturised the pathetic cry of the elephant entrapped by the crocodile, looking up to God as the last resort to life ( Aathuramuga kari raju ni brochina …). The neraval by Saroja spoke volumes on the plight of a devotee caught in the jaws of death. There was feeling but it was controlled; yet it conveyed the emotion right through — no mean task!
The waft of Mayamalavagowla filled the air as Saroja took up a lengthy alapana delving deep into the raga. Devadeva kalayamithe … sent many a senior listener into the music environment of the 60s, where the diction, clarity, technicalities, feeling, precision and of course virtuosity could all be balanced by expert handling of the musician who was true to the cause. The neraval at jaatha roopa … was fine with a cascading manodharma. Of the duo, Lalitha seemed to let her sister take over the alapanas for most part while she chipped in with the swarakalpana. Another Swati Tirunal's kriti in Kuntalavarali, the popular Bhogeendra Sayeenam … rippled through melodiously while the Hemavathi Jaagelara nannu brochutaku … (Vinjamuri's pen) had a totally different effect of a steady flow.
Saroja's extensive alapana opened the doors to Mohana with the beautiful kriti, Rama ninnu nammina vaaramu … which was rendered with the ragalakshana pulsating at every point. The duo had controlled tone and timbre and if you hoped for a loud melody as is wont in the present day context of singing, well, Bombay Sisters are not the right choice.
The Thyagaraja kriti in Madhyamavathi, Vinayakuni valenu brovave … started off on a grand note with an enveloping alapana that meandered through the raga in all its subtleties. The neraval anadha rakshaki Sri Kamakshi… was dealt with in myriad ways conveying the quality of karunai of the goddess while the swarakalpana was mind-boggling.
The maturity of their art showed in their manodharma which took the path of the raga and the lyric as it weaved complex swara patterns and sancharis in three octaves, with ease. The scaling down was done with élan. Tani avarthanam by D.S Murthy was steady and forceful. P.V.K. Ramana Murthy on the ghatam picked up on being egged by the mridangam player and the contest was worth a watch. Dwaram Satyanarayana Rao on the violin complemented the artistes all through.
Shyama Sastri came alive in Kanakashaila vihaarini Amba … in Punnagavarali, a vivadhi ragam with its lovely sangathis and deep devotion surging at every line. Ramakrishna Govinda (Ramadas) in the tranquilising Brindavana Saranga was the penultimate piece with the tillana in Hindolam rounding off efficiently. Kudos to South Indian Cultural Association for presenting the redoubtable Bombay Sisters and an evening of pure music at Ravindra Bharati.
