The thundering entry of the long-unheard varnam in Khambodi, Ata talam, augured for a concert of rich musical content. Sanjay Subrahmanyan’s concert showcased the richness of Carnatic music in all its aspects - ragas, talas and composers. It also showed the artist’s absorption of the genre -- adherence to tradition; originality and improvisation, aesthetics and power; individual performance and stunning team work and above all else, melody and bhakti.
The stage was full, not only in terms of the physical space, with four performers, a tambura player and an assistant to the mridangam artist, Thanjavur Ramadoss, but also because of the presence of the Muse! The hall was packed as well. Expectations obviously ran high. And they were met.
The varnam, full of stringent grammar and melodic grace, received a handsome treatment in 2 kalams and duritam in charanam. For Swati Tirunal’s ‘Deva Paalaya Muraare’ in Asaveri, Adi, and Tyagaraja’s ‘Evarikai’ in Devamanohari, misra chapu, Sanjay turned up the tempo, with the co-operation of Varadarajan (violin), Ramadoss (mridangam) and Bangalore B. Rajasekhar (morsing).
The introduction of the leisurely Dwijavanti (‘Chetasri, Balakrishnam Bhajeham’, Rupakam) was a choice decision. Gliding smoothly up and down the scale between the lower and upper shadja, in Dikshitar style, by both Sanjay and Varadarajan, were examples of musical sensitivity. With almost an hour into the concert, Sanjay introduced the crème de la crème of the programme: Thodi. Starting at madhya sthayi he went on to display kaleidoscopic swara patterns that enhanced the beauty of the raga. The tenor resembled that of a nagaswaram, what with the booming voice of the singer and the lucid intonations of the violinist. The sancharas too bore the ‘nagaswara bani.’
Sanjay posed intricate problems of tune to the violinist, who responded with elan. For the listener who may be short of ideas, Sanjay's manodharma opens out new avenues and ferrets out the best in him. Free karvais appeared at notes as high as the upper ma and pa – sometimes extending over two or three avartanas.
Sanjay’s articulation was sometimes crystal clear and sometimes slurred by manodharma and personal style. Papanasam Sivan's immortal ‘Kartikeya Gangeya’ was presented in all its magnificence. A stream of swara exchanges and a marathon kuraippu led to the thani. The mridangam was truly musical, with perfect modulation to fit the mood of the singer all through the concert. Rajasekhar could make the morsing emit a breathtaking range of melodious sounds, which thrilled the sensitive audience.
RTP was in Anandabhairavi. In the short interval of 15 minutes, it packed the quintessence of the raga through alapana and tanam. The pallavi was set in a two beat khandajati triputa, to ‘Murugayyane, Panniru Kayyane.’ The ragamalika swaras were few and short – Ravichandrika, Ranjani, Sindhu Bhairavi, followed by thillana in the last. The concert was rounded off with Sivan’s ‘Karpagame’ in Madhyamavati.
