A.S. Murali, a senior disciple of vidwan P.S.Narayanaswamy, brought his considerable experience and maturity of vision to bear upon his vocal recital, accompanied by Akkarai Sornalatha (violin), Peravali Jayabhaskar (mridangam) and Manjoor Unnikrishnan (ghatam). Establishing a connect with rasikas through two kritis ‘Gajavadana Mampahi’ (Hamsadhwani, M.D. Ramanathan) and ‘Tyagaraja Palayasumam’ (Gowlai, Muthuswami Dikshitar) and their stimulating kalpanaswara adjuncts, the artist launched into an essay of Kharaharapriya. Strengthened by traditional pidis, the exposition spanned wide vistas of manodharma at the dhaivata suite, with madhyamakala passages illuminated by strategic vadi-samvadi touches and judiciously used brigas. The rendition of Tyagaraja’s ‘Nadachi Nadachi’ was an exemplar of adherence to patanthara complemented by unhurried, brick-by-brick construction of niraval at ‘Pudami Sutha.’ Faithfully shadowed by Sornalatha’s responsive accompaniment, this segment bore further fruit in the swarakalpana sallies in two speeds. In the thani that followed, Jayabhaskar and Unnikrishnan packed in compact arudhis and catchy vallinam-mellinam sollus.
Following a rarely-aired, standalone kriti ‘Kalayaami’ (Kannada, Swati Tirunal),the artist embarked on an RTP in Purvikalyani. With serene karvais reigning at the tara sthayi shadja, the upper register sancharas imbued the alapana with an air of repose. In tanam, the gandhara suite brimmed with subtle graces, gathering momentum at the dhaivata suite. A noteworthy point was the ideally proportioned tanam, correlative to the alapana duration. The khanda-nadai Chatusra Jhampa tala (7x5=35 matras) pallavi ‘Chinthitha Manoratha’ with the raga name Purvikalyani landing on the arudhi, was simple, yet effective, achieving spot on anuloma, pratiloma and viloma. Spanning Ananda Bhairavi, Nalinakanti and Madhyamavati, the USP of the ragamalika swaraprasthara was the corresponding articulation of the name of each raga at the end of each delineation, in lieu of ‘Purvikalyani’.
In the tukkada section, ‘Smarasundaranguni (Paras) and ‘Manadirkugandhadhu’ (Sindhubhairavi) offered stirring insights.
Tuned to the same wavelength as the vocalist, Sornalatha essayed an emotive Poorvikalyani alapana and a spirited tanam.
