The mother-daughter duo of Srimathi Brahmanandam and Anuradha Sridhar presented a lively violin duet.
The two artists played clear and independent roles in presenting the ragas but were united in rendering the kritis. When one took the main role in raga alapana, the other played the role of an accompanist and brought in the feeling of listening to a vocal concert with a violin accompaniment.
The Ata tala varnam in Khambodi provided a grand start. This was followed by Tyagaraja's ‘Daridapuleka’ in Saveri. The expansive niraval and swaras in the charanam raised the concert to a higher plane.
After a short sprinkle of Reetigowla, they played ‘Dwaithamu Sukhama’ in an unhurried pace, giving a feel of ‘sukham’ to the listeners.
Anuradha's raga alapana before Dikshitar's composition ‘Santhana Gopalakrishnam’ in Khamas was aesthetically fluent. The kalpanaswaras on the line ‘Narthana Muralidharam’ were apt as the rhythms matched that of dancing feet.
Srimathi took up the alapana of Bhairavi, which was fairly lengthy but the raga exposition in its length and breadth set the foundation for the main item of the day.
The swarajati by Syama Sastri followed. The niraval and kalpanaswara at the upper shadjam in the final swara phrase added to the beauty of the monumental piece. The thani by R. Ramesh on the mridangam and A.S. Krishnan on the ghatam was elaborate and the energy they displayed with sharp punches was enjoyable. It was then time for a brisk ‘Sada Madini’ in Gambhira Vani by Tyagaraja.
The duo presented a Ragam Tanam Pallavi in Rishabhapriya and the pallavi starting before the beat, had the best part in ragamalika swaras that added a soft touch to the heavy raga. They concluded their recital with a tillana in Maand composed by Lalgudi Jayaraman.