A nadaswaram concert by Nemmara Brothers N.R. Kannan and N.R. Anand earned the appreciation of the rasikas with their fine selections such as Gam Ganapathe... (Hamsadhwani – Muthiah Bhagavathar), Varamulosagi ...(Keeravani – Patnam Subramanya Iyer), Sarasa Saamadana... (Kaapinarayani – Tyagaraja) and so on. The duo excelled in their portrayal of Dharmavathi, adorning it with neat sangathis. Taking up the Dikshitar kriti Ramachandrasya Dasoham... , they revelled in the variety of swaraprastharas, proving their mastery. The concert was the first of a series of music-based programmes in Palakkad that were held at TAS Mani Hall, Ambikapuram.
Thavil vidwans Srilanka Sreekanth and Udumalapetta Manikandan demonstrated their skills equally well. Their tani, marked by vigorous beats on both sides of the thavil, proved to be a grand effort.
Palakkad Ramaprasad
A thayambaka concert by Kalpathi Balakrishnan was full of verve.
The evening session commenced with ‘Guru Vandanam’, a rhythmic offering on the mridangam to T.R. Rajamani by his disciples Aluva Venkat Praveen, K.M. Harihara Lakshmanan and Alappuzha Raj Kumar. They played a taniavarthanam in Adi thalam in Misra Nada with admirable skill. Though Misra Nada is usually played only for a few minutes in a tani, they performed the entire tani in this nada, an interesting feat conceptualised by TRR.
Later, Palakkad Ramaprasad presented a vocal recital, winning plaudits. With his strong classical roots, elegant style and judicious selections, he ensured that the momentum was not lost. Ramaprasad brought memories of the legend Ariyakudi through his vibrant renditions. The opening famous varnam of Kottavasal Venkatrama Iyer Sarasuda... in Saveri said it all. Next, he chose the Tyagaraja kriti Kantajudimi... in Vachaspati raga. The intensive niraval proved to be a tool to project the bhava of the raga — it was further embellished with well-designed swara korva. Melodious contours of Dhanyasi preceded the Shyama Sastri composition Meenalochani... . Saalakallalaadu... (Arabhi-Tyagaraja) was another laudable choice. Here as well, the niraval, the kalpanaswaras with apt stress on ‘rishabha’ and chittaswaras lent a special impact.
‘Guru Vandanam’, an offering on the mridangam to T. R. Rajamani by his disciples Aluva Venkat Praveen, K.M. Harihara Lakshmanan and Alappuzha Raj Kumar
The flavour of raga Lalitha was evident in his graceful portrayal of Hiranmayeem... (Dikshitar). The nuances of Bhairavi were explored with panache in Ramaprasad’s elaboration. Taking up Arunachala Kavi’s Yaro ivar yaro... , he showed his superb manodharma in the niraval at ‘Chandra Bimba’, the combinations in the swaras providing depth to the rendition. The soulful Tamil virutham in Shanmugapriya and Sindhubhairavi followed by Ramanai Tharuvai... , another piece of Arunachala Kavi, and the moving Bhavayami Gopalam... (Yamuna Kalyani-Annamacharya) brought down the curtain on the concert.
Nagai Sriram has become a seasoned and competent violinist in a short period of time. He demonstrated his talent in every aspect — in following the vocalist, raga alapana, niraval and swaras. Bangalore Jayachandra Rao, a disciple of Palakkad Rajamani, impressed with his adroit accompaniment on the mridangam. Bangalore Amrith (ganjira) was extremely supportive. They both exhibited interesting rhythmic patterns in their tani in Adi thalam.
The programmes were organised by disciples of mridangam maestro Palakkad T.R. Rajamani, a.k.a. TRR, to felicitate him.
