Young Karthika Anagha has a powerful voice with depth, range and throw. She sings with confidence and conviction, and has the natural ability to capture the bhava of any raga instantly. She just has to overcome her youthful over-enthusiasm and apply her mind to better planning, to present a balanced concert. There is only so much one can pack in one hour.
The Pantuvarali raga alapana was stunning with nothing left unexplored. It was comparable to that of a seasoned musician. Dikshitar’s ‘Visalakshim’ was sung in a fast tempo with kalpanaswaras. A bit of modulation is necessary to reduce the aggressiveness in her approach, be it in alapana or swara singing.
The concert commenced with a well rendered ‘Sami Dayajuda,’ the Kedaragowla varnam and Tyagaraja’s ‘Ninne Bhajana’ in Nattai followed. She seemed to be a hurry while rendering kalpanaswaras, which affected the quality.
The Kharaharapriya alapana, the main piece, was a stupendous effort with her imagination running at top speed. Tyagaraja’s ‘Rama Niyeda’ (start of the kriti could have been a little softer) was presented well with niraval and swaras at ‘Tana Sowkhyamu.’
The violinist B. Sudha has to work a bit more as an accompanist. The short thani by the mridangam artist, Surya Ravi Ganesh, was enjoyable.
The concert concluded with a Dasarnama, a pacy ‘Aadidaro Ranga’ in Arabhi.
