Maharajapuram Ramachandran, son and senior disciple of celebrated musician Maharajapuram Santhanam, has successfully inherited the latter’s style whilst preserving his originality in presentation. This was clearly visible in his impressive vocal recital at Palghat Fine Arts Society, Palakkad.
Gifted with a reverberating voice and a good sahithya sense, he sustained a lively tempo throughout. He began emphatically with the famous Kanada raga varnam ‘Neranammithinayya’ of Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar in Ada talam and followed it up with a spirited rendition of ‘Abhishta Varada’ in Hamsadhwani. His skill in moving effortlessly in the upper octave was perceived in the niraval and swaraprastharas in the kriti ‘Paripalaya’ (Pantuvarali-Swati Tirunal).The delectable flow of sangatis in the enunciation of Reethigowla was sweet to the ears.
He demonstrated the beauty of the raga further, in his marvellous portrayal of the Tyagaraja kriti ‘Nannuvidichi’ – a favourite of his illustrious father. As an added bonus, he rendered another popular song ‘Guruvayurappane’ in the same raga, composed by Ambujam Krishna.
The centre piece of the concert was an outstanding alapana of Kalyani. Delineating the raga elaborately with subtle gamakas and akaaras, he depicted its classical texture.
The rarely heard kriti of Tyagaraja, ‘Endhuko nee manasu’, was an ideal choice.
After an absorbing niraval at the phrase ‘Thyagaraja hridaya’ in the charanam, he went through an elongated array of swara patterns weaving all possible combinations.
The moving kriti ‘Pariyaachakama’ (Vanaspathi-Tyagaraja) yet another favourite of Santhanam, was soaked in devotion.
The interesting ragamalika song comprising a host of ragas such as Nalinakaanthi, Bhairavi, Vasantha bhairavi, Saama, Saveri, Saaramathi, Sankarabharanam, Baageshwari, and so on received a big round of applause. ‘Bhanseevale’ (Bhoop-Swati Tirunal), rich in aesthetic subtlety, brought memories of Ramchandran’s grand father, maestro Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer.
A soulful Tamil virutham in Revathi, succeeded by ‘Bho Sambho’ was a fitting piece to conclude the concert.
M.A. Sunderaswaran revealed beautifully the unique traits of the Parur bani in handling the violin in his raga essays and swarakalpanas. R. Ramesh, a senior disciple of Karaikudi Mani, lent excellent support on the mridangam. He sparkled in his taniavarthanam in Adi tala, though a bit aggressive at times. The absence of a second percussionist was keenly felt.
