Friday Review
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She meant buisness
LALITHAA KRISHNAN
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There was diligence but bhava eluded Sudha Raghunathan.
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Sudha Raghunathan’s opening piece, the varnam ‘Vanajakshi’ (Kalyani) followed by ‘Mahaganapathim (Nattai, Muthuswami Dikshitar) announced that she meant business. There was diligence in the rendering of Tyagaraja’s ̵
6;Ragasudha Rasa (Andolika), with firmly anchored upper octave sangathis. The vocalist’s step by step development of Sahana signalled that it was a serious attempt. However, extracting the essence of bhava-laden entities such as Sahana and Begada, for instance, is not just a matter of grammar and technique. In this instance, painstakingly constructed prayogas, conscious of the obligation to put the right foot forward, searched high and low, but in vain. Bhava remained elusive. The artiste felt her way with caution around Tyagaraja’s ‘Vandanamu,’ the rendition lacking sheen. Tailor-made for the singer’s saariram, Dandapani Desikar’s ‘Sinamadaiyaadhe’ (Bahudari) was served with panache.In Simhendramadhyamam, the coat was cut according to the cloth. The artiste found grist for her mill in the fast passages that this raga accommodates with ease. A swara-bhedam episode at the tara stahyi rishabha suggesting Bowli, duly announced to enlighten the audience, lent interest. Swaraprasthara in Mysore Vasudevachar’s ‘Ninne Nammithi’ wove patterns around the kuraippu at the panchama.
Post-thani, after ‘Annapoorne’ (Sama, Muthuswami Dikshitar) an RTP in Hindolam surfaced. Of the three ragas presented, it was in Hindolam that execution best coalesced with intention. Airy drifts rose in ascending spirals to attain an eagle’s-eyrie perch on the tara shayi gandhara from which swift sancharas swooped to snatch easy prey. The tanam with percussive accompaniment built atmosphere. The pallavi in 2-kalai khanda triputa tala, that morphed into1-kalai format during melkala swaras and then into rupaka tala, scored a bull’s-eye. Ragamalika festoons followed. The violinist, Raghavendra Rao, faithfully echoed the vocalist’s predilections. Also, he presented a Hindolam in which cohesiveness melded with melody.The tani with simple permutations was a tidy exchange between Neyveli Skandasubramaniam (mridangam) and R. Raman (morsing) who kept it short and sweet to allow sufficient time for the pallavi.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
