SAFE
After listening to Seetha Narayanan's chaste and bhava laden music, you don't feel like attending another concert for a while.
Thanks to AIR for replacing the Sastri Hall sound system with its own, the audience could enjoy every minute of Seetha's concert.
From the starting Darbar varnam ‘Chalamela' (sung in 2 speeds and tisram also up to chittaswaram) till the final pieces, the bhava of each raga was presented with full force.
After Dikshitar's ‘Ganapathe Mahamathe' in Kalyani with just two avartanams of swaraprasthara, and ‘Charanam Charanam Enrane' in Sourashtram from Ramanatakam, Ritigowla was taken up for alapana.
The violinist Karaikkal Venkat Subramaniam brought out the gist of the raga beautifully. The kriti ‘Bale Balendubhushani' was rendered beautifully with suitable neraval and swaraprasthara. The percussion was unobtrusive and to the point.
A short, satisfying sketch of Atana preceded ‘Anupama Gunambudhi' which was followed by a moving ‘Mokshamu Galada' in Saramathi. Young musicians have a lot to learn from her in kriti presentation, sruti suddham and swarastana suddham. This wholesome package came sans ‘mannerism.'
An amazing Khambodi with good follow up and also individual presentation by the violinist, an equally amazing treat followed in the form of ‘Kaanakkan Kodi Vendum.'
The niraval at ‘Manikkam Vairam' shone like polished diamond true to the lyric. The short spell of kalpanaswaras in two speeds ending in sarva laghu pattern, was well supported by the mridangam artist Thanjavur Kumar and ghatam vidwan Tiruchi Murali. Their tani avartanam was enjoyable.
A fitting finale to the concert came in the form of Kavadichindu (composed by her) and a Tulsidas bhajan in Madhuvanti, and a Surdas bhajan rendered with only devotion in mind, without any fanfare and concluded with a stanza from ‘Abhirami Andadi.'
With a pleasing voice and an unassuming way of singing, Kanaka Durga is earnest in her approach. Her concert with Dr. Narmada on the violin, Mannargudi Subramanian on the mridangam and Hariharasubramanian on the ghatam, started with Mysore Vasudevachar's ‘Paripahimam Paravasudeva' in Jaganmohini.
In the Tyagaraja kriti, ‘Karuna Samudra,' the bhava of Devagandhari was effectively brought out despite the special sound effects in the hall, thanks to poor acoustics.
The initial sketch of Sriranjani conveyed the essence of the raga. Kanaka Durga developed it well with clarity of thought. However, the execution needs improvement in sruthi alignment in tarasthayi. Dr. Naramada followed her well and presented the raga with her customary skill. ‘Marubalga' was the chosen kriti and
swaraprasthara was excellent with varied patterns.
‘Ka Va Va' in Varali which followed next was flawless. One could see the artist's dedication and involvement. At this stage of the concert, the earlier hiccups were resolved to an extent.
Even after this, the mridangam was overpowering which was evident while playing for GNB's Malavi raga kriti, ‘Marivere.'
The percussion is played not only to rhythm but should accommodate the mood and texture of the song and should be supportive.
The vocalist then presented a raga alapana of Kalyani with its beautiful panchama and shadja varja prayogas.
The akara passages at times lacked spontaneity. Dr. Narmada played with typical MSG touches.
Swati Tirunal's ‘Pankajalochana' with long spells of neraval and swaraprasthara showcased Kanaka Durga's versatility.
The post-tani pieces included an Abhang in Subhapantuvarali and ‘Kantama Kadirkamama' in Sindhubhairavi. It was not a judicious choice to end the concert with ‘Nekkurugi' in Abhogi.
