Ranjani Guruprasad’s vocal recital at GKD Auditorium, Coimbatore, under the auspices of Rajalakshmi Fine Arts was a purely aesthetic experience. Having honed her skills under Chingleput Ranganathan and S. Sowmya, Ranjani could win over the audience just by adhering to pure tradition, without going for any frills or thrills. Her powerful voice was a delectable blend of majesty and melody. Whether it was gamakam or karvai, her voice obeyed her and unheard of sangatis rolled out with ease.
The concert began with the elegant Mohanam varnam, ‘Ninnukori’ by Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar. ‘Jaya Jaya Swamin Jaya Jaya’ by Narayana Tirtha (tuned by Chingleput Ranganathan in Chakaravaham) was a lively piece with imaginative swaraprastaras. ‘Ma Ramanan Uma Ramanan’ by Papanasam Sivan had a pleasing chittaswaram too.
Ranjani took Ragam Kannada for elaboration and presented the devout kriti by Tyagaraja ‘Idhe Bhaagyamu’ in which the saint claims that worshipping the feet of Sri Rama is the greatest joy.
The delineation of Kalyani preceding ‘Etavunara’ brought out the delicate beauty of the raga. After the interesting Ranjani Mala comprising Ranjani, Sriranjani, Megharanjani and Janaranjani, the vocalist (again- Ranjani) proceeded to present an RTP in Kiravani with the pallavi, ‘Jagadhaanandakaarakaa.’ The lighter session had a
Dasarapada, ‘Hari Bhajane Maado Niranthara’ and a sloka followed by ‘Srinivasa Thiruvenkatamudaiyan.’
Before concluding with a thillana, Ranjani presented Periasamy Thooran’s enthralling Kavadi Chindhu, ‘Azhagu Deivamaga Vandhu’ highlighting its dancing lyrics.
S.P. Anantha Padmanabha accompanied on the violin with utter loyalty. S.J. Arjun Ganesh’s sparkling laya patterns were particularly enjoyable during the thani.
