Imparting vigour without sacrificing the nuances of delicacy is the hallmark of Sanjay Subramaniam’s display of his musical perceptions. His vocal recital, featured on the occasion of the Sri Rama navami celebrations, took place at Lalitha Nivas in R.S. Puram, Coimbatore.
The artist’s powerful saareeram with much of aesthetics and tonal modulation cast a spell on the listeners. He began with the Khambodi varnam ‘Sarasijana’ in two speeds with an upbeat note, followed by ‘Nadha Thanumanisam’ (Siddharanjani) with swaras and ‘Kshiti Saramanam’ (Devagandhari) punctuated by melody despite the tonal outbursts. The raga alapanas of Ritigowla for the kriti, ‘Nannuvidachi’ and Nalinakanti for ‘Manavyala’ were full-throated expressions with rare prayogas and sangatis. Sanjay’s virtuosity was seen in his mapping out the contours of the Bhairavi raga. The awesome display of the raga expansion with élan underscored the raga bhava and the lyrical importance of the kriti, ‘Yaaro Ivar Yaaro.’ The pleasing niraval at ‘Chandrabimbhamukha’ and the kalpanaswaras revealed his exquisite manodharma. The end pieces though breezy were impressive. S. Varadarajan’s accompaniment on the violin was substantial. He proved that he could reciprocate and represent the ragas and swara repartees to suit the expectations of the vocalist. Venkatesh (mridangam) and Mohanram (ghatam) were second to none in proving their mettle in the percussion wing.
(krishnangan@gmail.com)