The concert by Shanmuga Priya and Hari Priya, Priya sisters, disciples of Radha and Jayalakshmi, to wind up Ragapriya’s 48th anniversary concerts in Madurai on Friday, began with a varnam in Todi by Dharmapuri Subburayar. Then the sisters went on to sing “Jaya jeya jeya janakikantha” in N attai , by Purandara Daasar , in which he prays to the glory of Janaki’s (Sita’s) husband, who lives in Saketa viz. Vaikunta.
Next was an amazing rendition of Muthuswamy Dikshitar kriti “Ehi Annapurne sanni “ (Come near, Annapurna) in Punnagavarali, in praise of the Goddess who lives in Benares. The main raga, Kharaharapriya, was well embellished with Kalpana swaras and had the distinct melody to bring out the Karuna rasam of the raga. They sang “Pakkala Nilapadi,” in which Saint Tyagaraja requests Sita and Lakshmana to reveal the secret, as to how they serve Rama standing on both sides of him.
The long alapana preceding the main song was delightful and the swaraprasthanas were done by both the singers in equal measure. The improvisation by accompanist M. A. Krishnasamy on the violin was well appreciated by the rasikas. The tempo was maintained in the RTP in Brindavana Saranga with swarams in Nattaikurinji, Varali and Sumanesa Manjari. The duo did justice to the pallavi, embellishing it with Ragamalika swaras. Delhi Sairam on mrudangam and Madipakkam Murali on ghatam won a round of applause during the thani avarthanam.
The tamil song, “Chinnanjiru kiliye kannamma,” had many among the audience humming. The final pieces included bhajans in Hindolam and Ahirbhairavi. The sisters provided a fitting finale to Ragapriya's anniversary celebrations.
S. Padmanabhan
