It has been a pleasure to watch the Trichur Brothers grow, and this concert served to highlight their burgeoning artistry. They not only kept pace with Jayateerth Mevundi, the star of the Kirana Gharana, known for his distinctive and emphatic style, but brought in an aspect of sowkhyam to the performance.
The performance of these three vocalists alongside the talented Mandolin U. Rajesh on Monday The Hindu Friday Review November Fest set a tone of grace, poise and happy experimentation at Prakriti, the jugalbandi performed as part of the The Hindu Friday Review November Fest .
The concert began with a majestic alapana in Nattai by the young Trichur duo. Their delineation was measured and elegant. The magic began when Jayateerth brought in a shade of Jog. While not sounding at his absolute best, the distinctive style of his native Kirana Gharana was evident. The slides between the two ‘Gandhara’ notes and the exciting kalpanaswarams executed by the brothers set the context for the joint renditions of ‘Maha Ganapathim’ and ‘Saajan Mhaare Ghar’. Rajesh, a picture of happiness as he played, provided an extremely well-crafted melodic counter.
I believe the artistes intended the second composition to reflect combinatorial ideas in all aspects — composition structure, style and rendition. The effect was not quite as magical as it could have been. Rajesh’s role as a bridge between the Carnatic and Hindustani styles did not quite work as intended.
The ragas Kalyani and Yaman were chosen for this segment. The tonic shift to Thodi in the Tanam was interesting and exciting, as was the pallavi ‘Hare Ram Govind Murare Mukund Shaure Murahara’, juxtaposed with the bandish ‘Shayam Bajaaye Murali’.
The highlights were the swaram-based improvisations rendered in Anandabhairavi, Behaag, Puriya Dhanashri and a particularly delectable Parameshvari (creation of Pandit Ravi Shankar) by Rajesh. The percussive interludes by Trichur Mohan and Rajendra Nakod were very well done. Overall, a wonderful idea but one that will need tightening by the artistes in the future.
The delightful alapana by Rajesh for the final piece, with the limpid tones of the mandolin filling the auditorium, was matched by the brilliant rendition of ‘Jo Bhaje Hari Ko Sada’ by Jayateerth and a gracefully rendered ‘Venkatachala Nilayam’ by the Trichur Brothers; and it brought to close an evening where each participating artiste had shown flashes of brilliance.
