It was another occasion for stalwarts to revive and relish the Navarathri kritis of Swati Tirunal in Kochi.
Mavelikkara Subramaniam
He took off with a brisk rendition of the Hamir Kalyani varnam ‘Innu Thamasame’.
The vocalist presented ‘Gananathanai kaithozhuthidene’, and well-chiselled swaras in single and dual cycles that pepped up the rest of the concert. A short alaapana of Kanada revolved mainly on phrases around dhaivatha and this was tagged on to Swati Tirunal’s ‘Mamavasada Janani’.
The vocalist allotted a great deal of time for kalpanaswaras at this stage, and crisp swaras in short cycles ensued. The Sudhasaveri song ‘Darini telusu konti’ with its many sangatis was presented with the focus on the right kalapramana and Balakrishna Kamath never faltered in catching the phrases right on the mridangam.
Sunitha Harishankar supported the vocalist well in his alaapana of raga Lalitha and the kriti ‘Nannubrova Lalitha’. A nearly 30-minute ragalaapana and tanam delineation of Todi ended in ‘Bharathi Mamava’.
Pattabhirama Pandit
The vocalist’s music had its thrilling moments and his vivacious kalpanaswaras were a treat in his rendition of ‘Sreevaralakshmi’ in raga Sri. Pattabhirama Pandit’s raga essays in Poorvikalyani showcased the upper sancharas and there were charming variations in the swara patterns for ‘Deva deva jagadeeswara’. After a pleasing ‘Kanjadalayadakshi’ in Kamalamanohari, he presented Bhairavi alaapana with modulated gamakas and phrases that sketched the very nature of the raga.
T.H. Subramaniam was spontaneous in his exposition. The vocalist’s racy tanam singing evoked applause. ‘Janani mamava’ was the kriti presented and its niraval with numerous variations was the main highlight of the concert. These were tagged on to some swaras with superb kanakku and combinations.
Bangalore H.S. Sudheendra’s high decibel mridangam was another high point of the concert. Tripunithura Kannan supported on the ghatam. ‘Saramaina’ in Behag and Dhanashree thillana were the closing pieces.
Amrutha Murali
It was surprising when Amrutha Murali decided to open the eighth day’s concert with ‘Sumasayaka’, the Swati padavarnam in Kapi, a less sung piece. Her swara essays for ‘Vidulaku mrokeda’ in Mayamalavagowla were rather expansive; this could have been controlled.
Her full throated alaapanas sans any modulations had a different flavour to it and the Poorvikalyani rendition was no exception. ‘Ninnuvina gamari’ had a magnificent niraval and swaras. ‘Manavyalakim’ in Nalinakanti and ‘Soundararajam’ in Vrindavanasaranga were the interim pieces.
Amrutha’s Nattakurinji raga alaapana was abrupt and took off at a rapid pace. ‘Pahi janani santhatham’ was the kriti chosen and her rather elaborate niraval on the line ‘Kamaneeya tamaroope’ and swaras were structured and creative.
A disciple of Umayalpuram Sivaraman, N.C. Bharadwaj is a youngster who has made his presence felt.
His vibrant tani in lightning speed with no compromise on clarity left a telling impact. Veteran ganjira player Thrikkakara Shantaram supported the mridangam artiste wholesomely. After ‘Adum Chidambaramo’ in Behag, Amrutha sang a sloka with swift raga changes from Sindhu Bhairavi to Dwijavanthi culminating in the Swati padam ‘Taruni Njaan enthu cheyvu’.
Flute by Visweswar, vocal concerts by Moozhikulam Harikrishnan, A. Narayanan and Suma Pisharody, and Mohiniyattam performances by Aswathi Sankarlal and Kalamandalam Sugandhi and troupe were the other major attractions of the nine-day long Navarathri Music and Dance festival organised by Edappally Sangeeta Sadas.
