Singing with a pleasing countenance and maintaining a good rapport with the accompanists, vocalist Jayashree Rajeev captured the attention of the audience at her recital in Palakkad.
The opening pieces ‘Senthil Vazh,’ a varnam in Hameerkalyani composed by T.R. Subramanyan, and ‘Vande Nisamaham’ of Mysore Vasudevachar in Hamsadwani, set the tone for the pieces to follow. The unique features of the unfamiliar raga Kanthamani (61st mela) were distinctively brought out in her impressive alapana and kalpanaswaras in the Tyagaraja kriti ‘Paalinthuvo’. ‘Maanasa Guruguha’ (Anandabhairavi –Dikshitar), not much heard in concerts these days, rendered in vilambakala, as it should be, was brimming with bhava. ‘Sudhamadhurya bhashini’ a beautiful piece of GNB in the rare raga Vandanadharini, was a right choice at the right moment.
The piece-de-resistance of the recital, however, was the comprehensive elaboration of Thodi. The raga was explored to its complete potential and adorned with elegant akaaras and sangathis. The Paapanaasam Sivan kriti ‘Karthikeya Gangeya’ was rendered well with all the charanam passages. Energetic niraval and a garland of colourful swara patterns at the phrase ‘Malmaruga Shanmugha’ in the charanam created a deep impact on the listeners. Swarams centred around ‘sa’ in the middle octave were particularly enjoyable.
The concluding phase of the programme was an essay in devotion, emotion and melody. Choosing the popular pieces ‘Kurai Onrum Illai’ (Ragamalika-Rajaji), ‘Bho Sambho’ (Revathi- Swami Dayananda), ‘Krishnanee Begane’ (Yamunakalyani- VyasaRajar) and ‘Muddukaari Yasodha’ (Kurunji- Annamacharya), she won the admiration of the listeners. Swati Tirunal’s ‘Karunanee’ in Charukesi was soaked in aesthetics. A gifted vocalist, Jayashree would do well to pay more attention to sruti and to infuse continuous tempo in her concerts.
Young Gokul V.S. Alankode gave an amazing display on the violin. He matched the vocalist in every respect; his raga and swara passages were rich in tonal melody. V.R. Narayanaprakash and Vellinezhy Ramesh extended splendid support. They produced dexterous beats in the tani in Adi tala. However, one felt that they could have cut short the muthayppus after the kriti renditions. The concert was organised by Palghat Fine Arts Society.
