Concerts by two artists, vocalists or instrumentalists, are always interesting. Their appeal lies in the seamless exchanges. Individual approaches and raga treatments are crucial too. Carnatica brothers K.N. Shashikiran and P. Ganesh highlighted these features well.
Their contrasting ranges added an edge to kriti essays. While Shashikiran painted the raga alapanas with plain phrases, keeping the gamakas intact, Ganesh’s attempts turned out to be more adventurous.
The brothers sang compositions on Mahavishnu, as it was Vaikunta Ekadasi. Shashikiran’s Kuntalavarali varnam set the tone for the evening. ‘Vande Vasudevam’ (Sri, Annamacharya) was followed by ‘Entha Vedukondu’ (Saraswathi Manohari, Thyagaraja) . Thanjavur Murugabhoopathi (mridangam) and N. Guruprasad (ghatam) embellished the kritis with their imaginative playing.
Shashikiran then interpreted Hamsanandi with many kokki pidis, sailing through the three ranges with ease. Veteran violinist B. Raghvendra Rao ran through the raga with vigour. ‘Pavana Guru’, the kriti popularised by K.J. Yesudas, was presented well with kalapanaswaras. Ganesh unleashed an array of spuritams with perfection.
A brief alapana but authentic Yadukulakhambodi by Ganesh preceded Subbraya Sastry’s beautiful composition ‘Ninnu Sevinchina’. The RTP raga was Brindavani. The duo shared the honours for a sweetly phrased version of the raga. Raghavendra Rao did not lag behind in his reply. The tanam was a ragamalika and they left the choice of ragas to the rasikas. The requests from the rasikas were obliged without any hesitation by the brothers in an effective tanam that consisted of Brindavani, Bowli, Surutti, Lalitha and Kalyanavasantham, showcasing their training under gottuvadhyam vidwan Narasimhan. The pallavi was well-executed and laced again with ragamalika swarams in Behag, Hindolam and Brindavana Saranga. Ganesh’s penchant for janta prayogams was evident in his swaras. The thani by Murugabhoopathi was a concoction of soft and vibrant blows, while Guruprasad showed his prowess over rhythm patterns.
