A voice espousing poise, silhouette profiles of ragas and cherished enrichment of kirtanas constituted Savita Narasimhan ’s concert at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha. Her instinctive visranti created a sense of space — a delectable trait of style and state of mind. The distinctive pattern of singing was her focus on chaste expression. Natural talent apart, dedication mattered more to her.
Both in the sphere of raga alapanas and rendering of kirtanas, Savita directed her aim to music mobility. Certitude of lofty objective threw light on the individuality of her performing confidence. The vinyasa of ragas was articulated with tonal sweetness smoothly surfaced with ease like a bird takes wings from its perch. Her interpretative delicacy matched the deepest sahitya sentiment.
The first major alapana was Charukesi (‘Adamodi Galade’). Aesthetic fluency was like a golden thread in the sancharas, her vocal gentleness touching many sensitive nuances. Her mind housed the exemplary raga image and the noteworthy feature was she kept the presentation subdued to highlight its classicism. The arresting quality was the seamless way manodharma, voice and easily negotiated musical gait progressed in tandem. Disciplined guidance to access exquisiteness proclaimed her motivation.
The Charukesi kirtana’s appeal was overpoweringly rich in tone and colour. The rendering was marked by extreme thoroughness to tempt acceptance as top class. The charm in placing it before the rasikas was her simplicity in doing justice to its structural beauty.
Savita also had her perceptive say in two other ragas — Yadukula Kambhoji (‘Kaalai Thookki’), and Kalyani (‘Etavunara’). In the case of the former, the raga swaroopa sharpness was constant, each turn of the sancharas defining its graceful areas. There was a rare melodic refinement creating an environment conducive to sukham. The tranquillity of the elaboration sprang from balanced formality stored in her vocal modulation. This was the path of her serene raga exposition letting the voice speak of its quality.
This segment with the kirtana, ‘Kaalai Thooki’ was the most emphatically felicitous part of the programme. The interpretation of the song with its subtleties encompassed all aspects of its devotional fervour. The profound depth of this kirtana was within the reach of her earnestness.
Kalyani alapana was entirely on expected traditional lines. It was placed with vividness and consistency. The solid sancharas helped to project the wholesomeness of a major raga.
One other outstanding item was the Huseni song, ‘Eppadi Manam Thunindado.’ Its bhava was well conceived, invoked and experienced. In her interpretation of Huseni, the emotional depth of the sahitya and her mellifluousness, both tried to claim supremacy. But it was her innate visranti that ultimately prevailed.
The violinist, Charulatha Ramanujam, in her solo versions of Yadukulakambodi, Charukesi and Kalyani showed exceptional playing nicety. The cheery range of the sancharas provided refined facets of the ragas. She claimed her slice for the success of the recital. Savita’s quiet musical personality extended to the mridangist B. Sivaraman and ganjira artist K.V. Gopalakrishnan and made them muffle their strokes.
The impression the concert of Carnatica Brothers , Sashikiran and Ganesh at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, created, was their determination to present the ragas and songs with respectability. They stitched the different nature of their voices — Sashikiran’s deep heavy tone with the fleeting inclination of that of Ganesh — to achieve their objective! The selection of songs aided their performing prowess. In this fashion they papered their individual inadequacies and acquitted themselves successfully.
Their first few movements in alapanas were in the nature of a search for a full expression of the distinctive features of ragas. While Ganesh took a longer time to hit this phase Sashikiran did it with minimum pregnant phrases. Their preferred emphasis in this regard was easily discernible to a listener. Both restricted their voices to enhance the impact of their exposition.
The concert gained dignity with the three Tyagaraja songs in succession — ‘Enduku Nirdaya’ (Harikambhodi), ‘Entaninne Varnintunu Sabari Bhagyamu’ (Mukhari) and ‘Sarasa Sama Dana’ (Kapi Narayani). They were satisfactorily interpreted within artistic limits. Their mind got automatically attuned to the real traditional musical values in the Tyagaraja kirtanas.
While the aim of Ganesh, in the alapana of Mukhari at unnecessary length, was to make it graphic, Sashikiran’s Poorvikalyani (‘Parama Pavana Rama’) with cadences and sharpness of sancharas brought out the swaroopa with telling effect. The latter’s apparent lethargic movement was meant to make the rasika savour the raga shades slowly. The shared approach between the two in their performing pattern marked the quality of the recital.
Good music is as much due to the high ideals held, as is the case of Tyagaraja songs they dealt with, as the grandeur of the compositions themselves. They saw to it that they did not make them prosaic.
The raga bhava in the kirtanas ‘Enduku Nirdaya’ and ‘Entaninee’ was not diluted by ornamental embellishments -- an indication of their veneration for the Saint composer. Through such an attitude they seemed to have realised that the sacred and spiritual core of the Trinity songs stood for important cultural values.
M. A. Sundareswaran’s violin support was in the nature of exploring the parameters of Mukhari and Poorvikalyani in his solo versions. He was bright and articulate in alapana technique combining substance and style.
In the matter of laya accompaniment, Ramesh’s play was compulsively frenzied in tenacity, sound and fury, and not at all linked with the pace of the main artistes. Sundar Kumar (ganjira) showed his cooperative spirit with that of Ramesh.
