Sri Ariyakudi and K.V. Narayanaswamy Memorial Trust organised the 91 birthday celebrations of KVN at Sivagami Pethachi Auditorium with music concerts by KVN’s disciples interspersed with felicitations by noted artists. The second day featured two concerts – the first one by H.S. Prasanth with Ananthakrishnan on the violin and Ramakrishnan on the mridangam and the second by H.V. Srivathsan in the company of Narmadha on the violin, Arun Prakash on the mridangam and Guruprasad on the ghatam.
Prasanth has a strong voice but uses it a bit exuberantly to the point of bordering on loudness. Nattakurinji varnam, ‘Saranagatham Endru’ in Gowla was followed by the Sankarabharanam raga suite. Since the time was limited, Prasanth had to render the specific motifs of this heavy raga and chose ‘Bakti Bikshamiyavae’ for rendition. Later, Varali and ‘Seshachala Nayakam’ received detailed treatment.
Prasanth tries to over-stress his vocal prowess without inhibitions. The hasty akaras and noisy karvais or uncontrolled upper register sancharas marred the effect of the raga and the needed finesse to impress. With his profound base, it is important that Prasanth goes for infusing elegance to raga and swara presentations. These are the prime factors of classical music to demonstrate his controlled creativity. Ananthakrishnan’s raga essays were decent and Ramakrishnan’s beat sounded a bit loud throughout.
Imaginative swara sequences
H.V. Srivathsan deliberated on his supple voice and free wheeling style. His renditions were disciplined and his swara segments were imaginative. But, tailing every item with kalpanaswaras right from Begada varnam, ‘Guruleka Etuvanti’ in Gowri Manohari, ‘Ongi Ulagalantha’ in Aarabhi to the main number ‘Manthara Dara’ in Thodi, was found redundant. Srivathsan employed commendable modulation of his voice and emphasised the raga imagery precisely but effectively with the right choice of phrases. His kuraippu swaras
and concluding phases moved effortlessly. The second significant number of his concert was Simhendramadyamam and ‘Rama Rama Gunaseema.’ The raga alapana marked Srivathsan’s understanding of the raga and its range. Dr. Narmadha (violin) played with ease and aesthetics. Arun Prakash and Guruprasad on the percussion side contributed well to match the vocalist’s professional presentations.
