Brahmanandam! How else can one describe the violin duet of Lalgudi Srimathi Brahmanandam and her daughter Anuradha Sridhar? The melodious Mohanam that they played still rings in my ears.
Anuradha presented a beautifully woven Mohanam alapana in its pristine charm. ‘Nannu Palimpa’ of Tyagaraja was the kriti that followed. It is said that Tyagaraja was waiting for Walajapet Venkataramana Bhagavathar for a function at home. And he arrived with a portrait of Sri Seetha Rama. Tyagaraja’s ecstasy knew no bounds. “Have you come walking all the way to bless me?” he asks. The swaraprastharas were sweet and soft.
The thani was double delight. Sriram Brahmanandam (mridangam) provided a few crisp avartanams, while the response of the lively B.S. Purushotham (ganjira) was smooth. The mora and korvai were refreshingly original.
Anuradha’s liberal elucidation of Varali (‘Eti Janmamidi’) brought out almost all facets of this magical raga. The niraval and swaras for this Misra Chapu kriti were at ‘Sagarasayanuni.’
Srimathi essayed a magnificent Gowrimanohari for ‘Brova Samayamide,’ a composition of Karur Chinna Devudu, himself a violinist, known popularly as Garbhapuri Vasa. The kriti was filled with ragabhava and gamakas. The swara exchange between the two was lovely and the concluding korvai, pleasing.
Earlier, Srimathi commenced with Dikshitar’s ‘Sri Mahaganapathim’ (Gowlai), followed by Tyagaraja’s ‘Ksheerasagara Sayana’ in Devagandhari. Srimathi concluded her stimulating performance with ‘Ramamantra Japiso’ of Purandaradasa and Lalgudi’s Karnaranjani thillana.
In our system of music, one of the questions that will forever remain unanswered is, whether Sangitha (music) is more important or Sahitya (lyric). However, when a vidwan such as V.V. Subramanyam handles the bow with his bold virtuosic technique, the question becomes irrelevant. It is a melodic combination of precision and beauty.
He literally brought down the house with a magnificent Khambodi that was truly divine. If it was a delineation that brought out every shade of the Thristhayi raga, his rendering of the kriti, ‘O, Rangasayi’ of Tyagaraja transported the audience to the sacred precincts of Srirangam. V.V.S. Murari’s alapana support was pure elegance and in the krithi, his melody melted so much that it finally sounded a single violin. In between, he offered a lilting, though brief, thanam, obliging a rasika. The niraval was at the usual ‘Bhooloka Vaikuntam,’ in true Semmangudi bani.
VVS recalled the concert of M.S. Subbulakshmi when she presented this kriti the first time. At that time, he was accompanying her on the violin and Guruvayur Dorai was on the mridangam.
With fine anticipation and soft touches, Dorai enriched the concert throughout. And the thani he offered along with Trippunithurai Radhakrishnan (ghatam) was powerful.
Earlier, VVS commenced with Tyagaraja’s ‘Sri Ganapathini’ in Sourashtram. Then came a mesmerising Ananda Bhairavi alapana, for Walajapettai Venkataramana Bhagavatar’s ‘Guruvaru Mahimala’ – on his guru, Tyagaraja.
The ultra-soft Arabhi alapana that VVS presented had an unusual charm. The Thiruppavai, ‘Ongi Ulakalanda’ was the chosen piece, with kalpanaswaras. So was Tyagaraja’s ‘Manasuloni.’
V.V. Subramanyam and V. V. S. Murari concluded their performance with a Meera Bhajan (Hari Bin) in Madhuvanthi, a Tarangam of Narayana Tirtha, ‘Govindamiha’ in Bagesri and a Devarnama of Purandaradasa, ‘Venkatachala Nilayam’ – which was dedicated to the memory of Vidwan T. K. Govinda Rao.
(ramakrishnan.h@gmail.com)
