Sowkhyabhavam ran like an undercurrent in the thematic (Venuganam) flute concert of J.A. Jayanth at the 16th edition of the September Season organised by Rajalakshmi Fine Arts, Coimbatore. All his songs were on Krishna and had phrases referring to his flute.
Jayanth began with the varnam ‘Innam En Manam’ in Charukesi that has the charanam ‘Kuzhaloodhum Azhaga, Kanna.’ ‘Venugaana Loluni’ in Kedaragowla and ‘Ganamurthae’ in Ganamurthi by Tyagaraja followed. After a chaste delineation of Khambodi, people expected him to present ‘Kuzhaloodhi Manamellaam,’ but he rendered ‘Rasa Vilasa’ by Swati Tirunal that had the lines ‘Muralee Ravaena Dishantadatula Gaanamudita Lola.’
His main kriti, ‘Bala Gopala’ in Bhairavi by Muthuswami Dikshithar, described Krishna as ‘Muraleedhara Shreedhara Damodaravara.’ The RTP in Lathangi with the pallavi, ‘Sadha Ninnae Nammithi Gopala,’ was presented crisply with a delightful array of ragamalika swaras. The lighter session too had a few favourite pieces, including Oothukkadu Venkatakavi’s ‘Mani Noopura Dhari’ in Nilambari.
L. Ramakrishnan on the violin was equally lively. His unobtrusive support added to the appeal while his raga delineations and swara repartees brought out his mastery over the instrument. Senior percussionists J. Vaidyanathan and S. Karthick delighted the audience with a shower of jathis during the thani.
Ramakrishnan Murthy’s raga delineations showcased his knowledge and his manodharma brought out his creativity and hard work.
Murthy began with the Ata tala varnam ‘Chalamela’ by Vadivelu, one of the Thanjavur Quartet. He presented the Tyagaraja kritis ‘Ragaratna Malika’ in Ritigowla, ‘Sukhiyevvaro’ in Kanada and ‘Vachamagocharamae Manasa’ in Kaikavashi. The torrential swaras after the niraval were admirable. Gopalakrishna Bharathi’s ‘Thillai Chidambaram Endrae’ preceded an elaborate portrayal of Kamala Manohari for Dikshitar’s ‘Kanjadalayadhakshi.’ He presented three versions of Kalavati raga in his RTP, in the styles of Tyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshitar, besides one in the Hindustani style. The pallavi ‘Kalavathi Kamalasana Yuvathi, Kalyanam Kalayathu Sarasvathi’ was taken from Dikshitar’s kriti in the same raga.
Charumathi Raghuraman, produced mellifluous music on the violin with her firm bow and nimble fingers. Young Anantha R. Krishnan exhibited youthful energy. S. Karthick lifted the thani to a different level.
Another ‘strictly traditional’ concert was by Malladi Brothers, who stamped their firm belief in ‘sampradayam’ in the RTP with the pallavi ‘Sampradaya Sangeetha Dharma Samvardhanee, Palaya’ in Janaranjani. They presented rare compositions in traditional ragas, beginning with the Asaveri varnam ‘Jalajaksha Nee Padhamae’ by Lalgudi Jayaraman. This was followed by ‘Parvatharaja Kumari’ in Sriranjani and ‘Aananda Natana Prakasham’ in Kedaram by Muthuswami Dikshitar. They sang ‘Ninnu Vina Sukhamu Gaana’ in Thodi and ‘Nae Pogadakuntae’ in Varali, both by Tyagaraja. ‘Idadhu Padham Thookki’ in Khamas was refreshing, especially with Neyveli Narayanan’s brief rhythmic treat on the mridangam, after ‘Dhimi Thaka Tharikita Thom Ena Thirumaal Maththalam Adhira.’
Raga delineations by Sriram Prasad (Mukhari) and Ravikumar (Varali) were wholesome. The niraval for the lines, ‘Eedulaeni Malayamaaruthamuchae’ (‘Muripamu Galigaegadha’ – Mukhari - Tyagaraja) brought out the beautiful aspects of the raga and the swaraprastharas and thani that followed (Neyveli Narayanan- mridangam and Srijith – ghatam) were classy. H.N. Bhaskar on the violin enjoyed himself thoroughly while accompanying them and depicting the ragas.
Fitting tribute
A. Kanyakumari’s violin concert, with K.V. Prasad (mridangam) and B.S. Purushothaman (ganjira), proved that when veterans come together, the treat they present will be proof of their ‘gnanam,’ experience and confidence. The concert was an offering to her gurus M.L. Vasanthakumari and GNB, so to say. She began with GNB’s ‘Vara Vallabha Ramana’ in Hamsadhwani. Syama Sastri’s Swarajathi ‘Raavae Himagiri Kumari’ in Thodi, ‘Entharani Thanakentha Poni’ in Harikhambodi, GNB’s ‘Paramakrupa Sagari’ in Yadukulakhambodi, Tyagaraja’s ‘Eti yochanalu’ in Kiranavali and ‘Bhagayanayya’ in Chandrajyothi were rich in bhakti and bhava. Her portrayal of Lalitha was quite poignant and so was the kriti, ‘Hiranmayeem Lakshmeem’ by Dikshitar.
The Annamacharya kriti ‘Maelu laedhu, Teelu laedhu,’ tuned by her in Narayandri ragam, (one of the seven ragas named after the Sapthagiri hills), was lively. Kanyakumari presented Hemavathi with an elaborate alapana and tanam for ‘Sri Kanthimathim’ by Muthuswamy Dikshithar. The swara session kept the rasikas busy guessing the ragas as she presented one raga after the other in rapid succession. Her disciple Vittal Rangan supported her efficiently, and the expert percussionists added to the effect.
