The vocal concert of Shertalai K.N. Ranganatha Sharma at GKD Auditorium, Coimbatore, under the auspices of Rajalakshmi Fine Arts, was a sumptuous feast for music lovers.
He began his concert with a brief outline of Mayamalava Gowla and presented ‘Srinathaadi Guruguho Jayathi' (Muthuswamy Dikshitar's first composition), decorating it with unhurried swarakalpanas. With ‘Unnadiye Gathiyendradainthen' in Bahudari by GNB and ‘Bhogeendra Saayinam' in Kuntalavarali by Swati Tirunal, the concert picked up pace. Sharma delighted the audience with the alapana of the rare Naganandini preceding the Tyagaraja's composition, ‘Sattaleni Dinamu Vachena.' ‘Palimpa Revadelara' in Arabhi by Pallavi Seshayyar was quite lively.
Elaborate alapana
The centrepiece, ‘Thiruvadi Charanam Endru' in Khambodi by Gopalakrishna Bharatiar was truly wholesome. The elaborate alapana delved deep into the intricacies of the raga, accompanied by the rippling and eddying gambol of Edappally Ajith Kumar's violin. It was a deluge of kalpanaswaras by Ranganatha Sharma and Ajith reciprocated with equal finesse. The thani avartanam was full of sparkle. Brothers G. Prakash on the mridangam and G. Suresh on the ghatam exhibited great mastery and sensitivity. They challenged each other with friendly rivalry, thus offering a wonderful aural treat.
The lighter session had the usual items, a bhajan (‘Basro More Nainan Mein Nandalal - Meera) and a viruttam (‘Vizhikkuththunai') followed by the song ‘Kaarthikeyanai Kannaara Kaana Vendume.'
