A Muthiah Bhagavatar special in Chennai

Sangeetha Sivakumar chose some popular ragas and kritis of the composer

Sangetha Sivakumar with H.N. Bhaskar (Violin) and Poongulam Subramaniam (mridangam) at her concert under the aegis of Narada Gana Sabha. Photo: R. Ragu / The Hindu

As a homage to one of the well-known 20th century composers Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar, the Harikesananjali Trust, run by several music connoisseurs including his descendants, holds anjali and aradhana every year. This year Narada Gana Sabha, in association with the Trust, had organised Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar Day with a concert by Sangeetha Sivakumar.

Sangeetha, a confident performer, chose some of Muthiah Bhagavatar’s favourite ragas and compositions — Mohanakalyani and Mandhari and the kriti ‘Himagiri Tanaye’ in raga Suddha Dhanyasi, made famous by his disciple Madurai Mani Iyer.

The concert stood out for an expansive Kharaharapriya, a beautiful sketch of Mohanakalyani, and a moving rendition of Mandhari. Violinist H.N. Bhaskar came up with a good account of these ragas. Poongulam Subramaniam (mridangam) with his sedate yet intricate playing reproduced the rhythmic complexities of each composition, while Anirudh Athreya (ganjira) delighted with his effervescent repartees to the kanakku challenges posed by the mridangist.

Sangeetha first launched into ‘Mathe Malayadwaja’ (Khamas), the daru varnam. Next came Mohanakalyani alapana followed by the kriti ‘Bhuvaneswariya’ with swaraprasthara featuring different endings to arouse interest. A quick ‘Sarasamukhi’ (Gowda Malhar) in praise of Chamundeswari followed.

Appealing Mandhari

Sangeetha launched into Mandhari alapana, where she scaled creative heights by building on the crucial dhaivata-varja prayogas (that is eschewing the ‘dha’ both in the ascent and the descent) in the middle octave. The song ‘Ennalu Thiruguthuno’ (Mandhari) was rendered at a fast-pace with exceptional ease. The niraval was on the words ‘Veda Sastra Gnana...’ with swaraprasthara for added appeal.

After the filler ‘Himagiri Thanaye’ (Suddha Dhanyasi), the singer came up with the central piece, Kharaharapriya, and the kriti was ‘Muvasai konda.’ The niraval was woven around ‘Parellam alandu...’ and it brought out the raga aesthetics beautifully. The swaraprasthara was on ‘Muvasai Konda.’

The singer concluded with a Tillana in Hamirkalyani by Muthiah Bhagavatar.