After the customary varnam and ‘Sobillu Sapthaswara’ along with kalpanaswaras, Unnikrishnan’s interpretation of Nagawaravali was quite interesting and in-depth, followed by Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Padumanabhan Maruga’. Avaneeswaram Vinu on the violin was equally good. The swarams for the pallavi were also attractive; one couldn’t help wishing that he did not sing ‘Padumana’ after every cycle.
He kept the audience guessing for a few minutes as to what raga he was attempting, before settling down to Sankarabharanam. After that it was quite magnificent, taking his time in developing the raga, touching every characteristic nuance; the long karvais were a revelation of his breath control, besides adding depth to the melody. Vinu too was in his element.
Dikshitar’s ‘Akshayalingavibho’ was rendered in a leisurely manner with impressive niraval and swaras for ‘Badarivana…’ The thani by Tiruchi Sankaran (mridangam) and Giridhara Udupa (ghatam) was good with masterly calculations. The raga taken for RTP was Brindavanasaranga, of which the meandering movements and karvais were captivating. The pallavi was set to kandajati triputa tala and the niraval and swaras were pleasing too. Be it the ragas or swaras, Vinu was a great asset. There was a brief thani here also, with the two percussionists playing together.
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Earlier Unnikrishnan sang ‘Kulabiridu’ in Devamanohari and the final items were ‘Venkatachalanilayam’ and ‘Enna Kavi Paadinalum.’