Maharajapuram Ganesh Viswanathan has big shoes to fill. And he seems to go about it well, in many aspects. His concert stuck to the familiar formula of his illustrious clan — clean, unfussy rendition, with a sprinkling of manodharma.
With a facile voice that is clear, pleasant and can reach lower and upper ranges well, Ganesh Viswanathan could personalise his music more, keeping the formula as only the backdrop.
Engaging raga rendition
‘Pancha mathanga’ (Dikshitar, Malahari) and ‘Brova barama’ (Tyagaraja, Bahudari) were docile renditions, but Ganesh struck a more engaging note with Purvikalyani (Satileni, Ponniah Pillai, Misra Chapu) with niraval at ‘Koti manmada.’ Just when it was blossoming, he retreated to his shell as ‘sariga rigama gamada madasa’ phrase dominated the swara sequence.
One felt he prefers safety to venturing beyond. ‘Rukminipathe’ (Surajananda, Priyadarshini) was a novelty in the programme. He offered originality in the raga alapana of Kedaragowlai, building the alapana nicely without hustling it, even though his brigas were right in the groove. The characteristic sangathis were pleasing. There was further evidence of his musical sense in choosing a perfect tempo for the grand kriti, “Saraguna palimpa” of Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar.
Swaras at ‘shathadruti pujitha’ were placid at best. The Maharajapuram tukkada darlings, ‘Govinda ninne’ (Purandaradasa, Sammodini) and ‘Bo Sambo’ completed the concert where Ganesh swung often to familiar territories and seemed content with limited challenges.
Violinist Pappu Gyandev was in his elements in Kedaragowlai while Guru Raghavendra on mridangam sparkled consistently and added embellishments to the concert.
