A fleet of rare kritis do not catapult a performing artiste to the ‘unique' slot. On the other hand, the presentation may actually suffer for lack of appreciation by the audience.
It is always vital for the artist to judge the pulse of the audience in more than one aspect and surge ahead. Gayatri Girish's repertoire was by and large wide, but till she came to the RTP (ragam, tanam pallavi), half the listeners could not relate to the kritis being rendered. She chose some of the intricate kritis interspersing them with one or two popular ones. For instance, the Dikshitar in the melakarta raga Chitrambari (Chaturangana in Deekshitar sampradaya) Ekambranatheswarena … sounded rigid either by virtue of the raga structure or her rendition was not able to crack the complexity and recreate the cadence of this rich Sanskrit lyric on a kshetra deity. The Sarasa samadana …. in Kapi Narayani was a welcome relief though it was a straight rendition. Bhairavi is another in-depth and rich raga with well-known kritis. Gayatri chose Tanayuni brova …. after an ambling alapana. The neraval at Vatsamu venta dhenuvu canuno… was staid but she showcased her virtuosity in the manodharma. The tani by J. Vaidyanathan was worth a watch. The Papanasam Sivan's composition Thunai purindarul… was impressive.
It was the RTP that propelled the recital to another level. A beautiful alapana in Poorvikalyani and a tanam that showcased her prowess, Gayatri reeled out all the major ragas as she played with the pallavi which was a pleasure to behold.
The RTP suddenly turned her ratings a notch higher. She not only established her grip over the grammar and syntax of Carnatic music but brought in the required melody and feeling (bhava) into the pallavi making for a measured, methodical, well-rehearsed concert. The recital was part of the Sharada Cultural Trust's Thyagaraja Aradhana festival at Keyes High School.
