Having started the Sahana varnam, ‘Karunimpa,’ a bit fast for the first speed, when Sriranjani Santhanagopalan sang the second speed also, at breakneck speed, the audience listened with bated breath till she finished and moved on to the charanam. She did accomplish it beautifully without any compromise on raga bhava or sahithya bhava. This was again evident in the niraval at ‘Paramesa Rudradi’ for ‘Ne Pogadakunte,’ the Varali raga kriti of Tyagaraja, which was beautifully rendered with well-executed niraval in two speeds, wherein the violinist Ragul had a tough time to follow.
Neelakanta Sivan’s ‘Enraikku Siva Krupai,’ starting from anupallavi (artists’ favourite in this season!) was rendered with bhavam. The elusive raga bhava in the initial sketch of Mukhari alapana was found abundantly later in her elucidation, with all the right sancharas, to reach the crux of the raga. A softer version of the Tyagaraja kriti ‘Entavedu Kondu’ in Saraswati Manohari with lively swaraprastara at ‘Chintadirchuda’ acted as a filler before she took up alapana of Kharaharapriya, the main piece of the afternoon concert. Here, she hit the nail on the head and the rendition was extra-ordinary. ‘Pakkala Nilabadi’ with swaraprastara at ‘Manasuna’ showed her confidence. She is very comfortable in higher octave, and should work to improve her reach in the lower octave. Ragul gave a good account of both Mukhari and Kharaharapriya.
After a delectable thani by Thanjavur Praveen Kumar, she concluded the concert with ‘Ramanai Bhajithal’ in Maund preceded by a virutham. The rigorous training that she must have undergone reflected in her presentation, with good modulation wherever necessary. The well planned concert, executed neatly proved that she definitely deserves a better slot but a little more composure would be good at this stage.
