The concert started off on an interesting note with antaragandhara in the pentatonic raga Hamsadhvani. This was followed by Dikshitar's ‘Vathapi Ganapathim’, which Ravikiran depicted beautifully on the chitravina.
His performance was noted for its sprightly swarasancharas and arithmetic acumen. A lilting Swati Tirunal kriti ‘Bhogeendra Sayinam’ in Kuntalavarali, set to Khanda chapu tala, laced with brisk madhyamakala sahitya, delighted rasikas. A poignant ragalapana of Neelambari was steeped in karuna-bhakthi bhava. It was followed by a slow-paced ‘Amba Neelambari’, a composition of Ponniah Pillai (Tanjore quartet), set to Adi tala, which had brilliant kalpanaswaras.
In the portrayal of Simhendramadhyamam, Ravikiran’s flair for creativity cast a spell on the listeners. Edappally Ajith’s (violin) melodious solo highlighted many facets of the melodic raga.
‘Needu Charanamule’, composed by Sreenivasa Iyengar, was decorated with vibrant kalpanaswaras and korvais. Kuzhalmannam Ramakrishnan (mridangam) and Sudheer (ghatam) performed a succinct tani.
Swati Tirunal’s ‘Visweswara Darsana’ and a soothing Madhyamavathi were the closing numbers.
The concert was organised in connection with the inauguration of the Palghat Mani Iyer conservatory and M.S. Subbulaksmi recording station at Chembai Memorial Music College, Palakkad.
