The flip-flop at the 11th hour turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Saraswati Vidyarthi's concert was replaced by that of her daughter, Lahari who rendered a vibrant recital. It hardly appeared to be a last minute alternative!
Here was an up and coming musician who has it all — the sahitya shuddam (lyrical clarity), sruti shuddam and bhavam along with creativity. A melodic voice was an added attraction. Be it the or the Reetigowla, Srutiranjani or the 21 Melakarta (Keeravani) which was the centre piece of the concert, Lahari breathed life into them, with emotion and clear diction. Maakela raa vicharamu… flowed with perfection in sangathis and ghamakam as was the earlier Dikshitar kriti. Shyama Sastri's Ninnu vina marigalada… began with a sweeping alapana with an equally melodic follow through by the violinist, Komanduri Venkatakrishna. The vocalist and violinist vied to outwit each other. The emotive element in the lines na madhi lo neeve gati yani… came to the fore in Lahari's soft rendition. The neraval at Pannagabhushanuni rani… was balanced and well displayed. The swarakalpana at this juncture also proved the mettle of the artist and her ability to go along with the mood of the kriti steadily accessing the higher octaves with full control over the melodic aspect too. Venkatakrishna gave a fitting reply. The mridangam (Kapa Srinivasa Rao) could have been a little mellow instead of a harsh concluding beat. Ye daari sancharinthura… a rather fast Thyagaraja kriti in Srutiranjani enhanced the repertoire.
Kaligunte kada… The tani by the mridangam artiste was slightly hard on ear while Janardhan on the ghatam provided a pleasant alternative. The serve and volley between the percussionists were in low tones or voluble by turns but not up to the mark. The musician rounded off the recital with a Dasarnama. Nadaprabha played host to the programme at Ravindra Bharati.
