Four Mumbai vocalists were featured in a concert series hosted by Fine Arts Society, Chembur, recently, at the Jayalakshmi Ramachandran Hall. Each presented a near ninety-minute recital, themed on one chosen composer.
The opening concert featuring Tyagaraja kritis was by Vidya Harikrishna, disciple of T.R. Balamani and Alamelu Mani, presently undergoing advanced training under T.V. Gopalakrishnan.
Opening with ‘Sri Gananatham’ in Kanakangi, Adi, Vidya moved on to render ‘Intha Sowkya’ in Kapi, Adi, ‘Kanukonu sowkyamu’ in Nayaki, Rupakam, with a detailed alapana and ‘Shambo Mahadeva’ in Pantuvarali, Rupakam, which was a full-throated and fluent rendition.
‘Paramathmudu’ in Vagadheeswari, Adi, was marked by a detailed alapana and niraval and swarams. ‘Geetharthamu’ in Surutti came as a bonus.
Competent violin strokes by senior vidwan S.V. Ramachandran and rhythmic support by Rajesh Srinivasan on the mridangam, particularly the thani enhanced the audio appeal.
Rich in bhava
Chandana Bala Kalyan presented select compositions of Patnam Subramania Iyer in the second segment of the evening.
Beginning with a brisk ‘Era napai,’ in Thodi, Adi, Chandana moved on to render a balanced rendition of ‘Ninnu Cheppa,’ Mandari, Adi. ‘Rama Ika Nannu’ in Sahana, Rupakam was rich in bhava with an enjoyable alapana. The plea to Rama came through in the bhava filled delineation. ‘Marivere’ in Latangi, Khanda chapu was handled well with its characteristic features. After ‘Samayamide,’ javali in Behag, Rupakam, the evening concluded with a Tillana in Khamas, Adi.
Chandana has a pliable voice that traverses high octaves with ease. The accompanying guitar by Abhay Nayampalli sounded like veena, at times touching base, when the singer’s voice soared.
Chandana’s experiment with guitar incited curiosity and appreciation. “We chose the unusual sruti of A instead of the regular B sharp. For the mridangist it is a difficult to play,” announced the singer, giving credit to the mridangam artiste Rajesh.
Well-planned concert
Govind Balakrishnan, alumni of FAS music school, trained by Chandrasekara Bhagavathar and P N Krishnamoorthy and Vamanan, now learning under Tiruppugazh G. Balasubramanian, presented Purandara Dasa kritis that are often presented as tukkadas. It was a well-planned and refreshing concert.
‘Venkatesa Daya Mado’, Ananda Bhairavi was followed by a soulful and wholesome rendition of Hamsanandi alapana preceding ‘Ninnade Nambide’, evoking audience appreciation. A brisk ‘Sakala Graha Neene’ in Atana changed the pace. Dhanyasi was chosen as the main piece and ‘Hari Narayana’ was rendered with clarity and emotion. The tukkadas in Mukhari (‘Karunakara’) and Abheri (‘Nanda Tanaya’) were pleasing.
The vastly compatible violin phrases by B Anantharaman and fine touches on the mridangam by Suresh Setumadhavan embellished the recital.
Dikshitar kritis
The second concert that evening featured Aditya Madhavan, who presented Muthuswami Dikshitar’s compositions.
‘Kaya Roha’ in Karnataka Devagandhari was followed by a lesser-heard ‘Sri Ramam Ravikula’ in Narayanagoula. Aditya’s energetic voice did full justice to Bhairavi. The Navavarana kriti was well-rendered and impactful. Sri Saraswati in Arabhi with a volley of kalpanaswaras, was appealing.
Packing a pallavi in Bindumalini and a ragamalika series within the short duration was clearly a stretch.
This disciple of Radha Namboodiri, presently training under Sanjay Subrahmanyan is endowed with a good vocal range.
Ravi Anantharaman on violin and Rohit Prasad on mridangam were bright and effective.
