Carnatic concerts and songs of devotion were the highlight at the Thirumurugan festival in Thiruvananthapuram. A concert by Krishna Mohan and Ramkumar Mohan was a perfect example of how synchronism creates ethereal dimensions that pave the way to memorable recitals. They opened their concert with ‘Namami vignavinayaka’ in Hamsadhwani with swaras arranged around nishadam. The mellifluous ‘Kaliyugavaradan’ in Brindavana Saranga followed.
During the Varali raga visthara, which was an exchange of innovative ideas and improvisations between the duo, they showcased their ability to read each other’s mind in order to plan and sing phrases instantaneously. Their entrancing delineation of Varali culminated in the popular kriti ‘Ka va va’ with detailed swaras.
The impact of Varali was so overwhelming that the quintessential Shanmughapriya raga essay did not initially create the expected feel. This might not have happened if the ragam thanam pallavi in Shanmughapriya was sung much afterwards. But it did not bring down the splendour in the delineation in the latter half of the raga essay.
Good accompaniment was provided by Sampath on the violin, Trichur R. Mohan on the mridangam and Udupi Sridhar on the ghatam.
The final concert of the fete was by vocalist Sreyas Narayanan who is bestowed with a reverberant bass voice that could, at times, become addictive to listen to. The singer began with the varnam ‘Karunimpa’ in Sahana and went to sing the lovely composition ‘Ninne Bhajana’. This composition, which begins with a soothing gandharam, was beautifully sung with swaras decorating it. The kriti ‘Muruga’ in Harikamboji, set to Roopaka, was sung with deep devotion that was felt in the modulations.
The Kalyani raga that was well described was tagged to ‘Pankaja lochana’. Avaneeswaram S.R. Vinu on the violin played a sparkling essay in Kalyani and was fantastic while he played the swara patterns in the kriti. ‘Arul Seyyavendum’ in Rasikapriya and ‘Sodanai’ in Kapi were the interim kritis.
The main raga Shanmughapriya had an evocative virutham and the popular kriti ‘Sharavana Bhava’ were well-received. The team was accompanied by Nanjil Arul on the mridangam and Karthikeyan on the ghatam. The soft ‘Muruganin’ in Behag was a beautiful number during the concluding phase of the concert.
The fete was organised by Thirumuruga Bhaktha Jana Sangam.
