Carnatic vocalist Sreevalsan J. Menon adheres to a tradition in his concerts. The highlight of his concerts is always his devotion to music, expressed in the form of flawless rendition of swara and sahitya. As a part of the Swati Tirunal Jayanthi celebrations, an entertaining concert by the vocalist was held in the capital city.
Sreevalsan, endowed with a charming voice, began the concert with ‘Sarasaksha’ in Panthuvarali. The warmth in his voice along with his crisp singing resulted in a neat presentation of the kriti. He elaborated the phrase ‘Padmanabha’ in the charanam with various improvisations during the niraval; his perfect alignment with sruti added the essential soothing element demanded by the raga. The fluent swaras that followed encompassed the radiant routes of the raga. In his raga essay of Sourashtram, Sreevalsan painted a melodious picture of the scale. The kriti ‘Sarasijanabha’ that was tagged to it and set to Misra Chapu, was equally exciting to listen. He brought out the sweet flavour of Kamas through a beautiful visthara and the kriti ‘Palayamam’. Popular Swati compositions ‘Padmanabha Pahi’ in Hindolam and ‘Pankanjalochana’ in Kalyani also received a sumptuous treatment. The majestic Kharaharapriya with occasional srutibhedams in the delineation gave a fantastic start to the main item – Swathi Tirunal’s ‘Sadatham’. Decorated by an opulent niraval and swaras, this kriti came from the heart.
Accompanying artistes Idappally Ajith Kumar on the violin, Nanjil Arul on the mridangam and Vazhappally Krishnakumar on the ghatam contributed excellently throughout the concert. The taniavarthanam was one such occasion when the percussionists came up with an exquisite rhythmic exercise. The mellifluous ‘Kanta’ in Atana and a Jaavali were the catchy numbers among the many concluding songs. The concert was organised by the Sri Swathi Tirunal Sangitha Sabha.
