Duddu Radhika had two things going in her favour and two against. Despite being handicapped by a troubled voice and poor acoustics, the recital at the Indian Fine Arts Society was carried off by her musical instincts and grit. Her alapana of Purvikalyani and a good essay of ‘Nadopasana’ (Begada) steadied the concert. Radhika sustained an engaging tempo that helped the course as well. Her ‘Kasi visalakshi bhajeham bhaje’ (Dikshitar) was a good barometer of her musical schooling. Further evidences were provided in the Begada kriti and the niraval at ‘tantri’.
She opened with the Sriraga varnam and ‘Raghunayaka’ in Hamsadhwani (Tyagaraja). The formula of many kritis in a short concert is at best indicative of the repertoire and does not help to highlight competencies.
H. V. Raghuram on the violin was jarring without bolstering the concert, while the mridangist Kumbakonam Swaminathan provided welcome support. The sabha may need to think more professionally about the ambience and the acoustics.
