The special concert by N. Vijay Siva, organised in memory of R.K. Ramaswami and Susheela Ramaswami, was held recently at the TAG Dakshinamurthy auditorium in Mylapore. He was accompanied by R.K. Shriram Kumar on the violin, N. Manoj Siva on the mridangam, S. Karthick on the ghatam and Sanjay Swaminathan on the vocals.
After the brief welcome address by R.K. Raghavan, trustee of the R. Ramaswami Charitable Trust, the guest of honour Gopalkrishna Gandhi, former Governor of West Bengal, spoke about his camaraderie with the Ramaswamis.
Vijay Siva’s zesty opening with ‘Sami daya juda’ varnam in Kedaragowla by Thiruvottiyur Tyagagyya gave a good start to the concert. This was followed by Patnam Subramania Iyer’s ‘Manaviche konavayya’ in Sarasangi. The succinct niraval and swara adjunct at ‘Varada venkatesa’ were stimulating. The raga treatise of Kalyani came as a preface to ‘Bhajana seyave’ by Tyagaraja and the singer restricted to a niraval on ‘Parama baktito’.
Vijay Siva with R.K. Shriram Kumar on the violin, Manoj Siva on the mridangam, S. Karthick on the ghatam and Sanjay Swaminathan on the vocals. | Photo Credit: SRINATH M
Unhurried pace
A rare composition by Dikshitar ‘Shri bhargavi bhadram’ in raga Mangalakaishiki was a filler before Vijay Siva took up raga Madhyamavati for detailing. As is his wont, the vocalist built up the raga in a slow and steady tempo. It was a blend of lingering karvais, fine brigas and momentous pauses. Matching the resplendence of the raga essay, he chose Syama Sastri’s evergreen kriti ‘Palinchu kamakshi’. The appeal of his perfect rendition was further enhanced with his decision to present the third charanam ‘Rajadhi raja rajanmukti’, which has the composer’s mudra. He dwelled intensely on niraval on the signature line ‘Rajan mukhi syamakrishanuta’. The swara segment moved on brilliantly.
‘Makelara vicharamu’ (Tyagaraja) in Ravichandrika paved the path for Vijay Siva to delve deep into Saveri. The raga’s distinctive phrases and passages were projected without indulging in any excesses. Muthuswami Dikshitar’s ‘Sri rajagopala bala shringara’ was Vijay Siva’s choice here. As the kriti itself brought forth the nuances of Saveri, he added just a few but compelling rounds of swarakalpana on the pallavi, closing them finally with shadjam-centric combinations.
The entire concert was a beautiful and cerebral exercise with R.K. Shriram Kumar on the violin matching Vijay Siva’s musical wisdom in alapanas, niraval and swaras while Manoj Siva and Karthick were perfect in keeping up the rhythmic support. The tani avartanam marked by delectable exchanges was a bit lengthy.
The concluding section included a Thiruppugazh and an extended Paasuram ‘Kanninun sirutambu’, set in ragamalika, in the form of Andhadhi by Madhurakavi Azhwar.
Gopalkrishna Gandhi’s opening remarks on Vijay Siva’s music referring to it as “a distilled essence of the purity of Carnatic music” was also an apt description of the concert.
