S.M. Vilasini began her concert at Kartik Fine Arts with ‘Swami naan undhan adimai’, a varnam in Nattakurinji composed by Papanasam Sivan with the melodic artistry of the lyrics intact.
She then presented ‘Ganamurthe’ of Tyagaraja in Ganamurthi raga in a slightly faster pace. Perhaps this helped a little in perfectly touching the right swaras of the vivadi mela. The well-knit kalpanaswaras were rendered beautifully though.
The leisurely ‘Ananda natana prakasam’ in Kedaram, one of Muthuswami Dikshitar’s Panchabhuta kritis came next. The jatis embedded in the composition provided ample opportunity for Burra Sriram on the mridangam and Nerkunam Manikandan on the morsing to embellish the rendering of the vocalist.
Elaborate alapana
After an elaborate alapana of Hindolam, another composition by Papanasam Sivan, ‘Maa Ramanan’ was rendered. She presented it with a tonal fervour during the kalpanaswara segment. Bombay Anand’s competent support on the violin played an important role in highlighting the raga essays and the imaginative swarakalpanas.
The fast number before the main kriti was ‘Thaye Tripura Sundari’ (Suddha Saveri, Periyasami Thooran). Kalyani was the main raga of the morning concert. The sincere effort in the delineation of the raga did yield the desired result. However, a little more internalisation of the shades of the raga could have lifted the presentation to a higher level. Gifted with a pleasant voice, Vilasini could explore more in-depth improvisation in the lower octave.
‘Ethavunara’ of Tyagaraja was the kriti chosen and was presented with niraval and swarams.
Nerkunam Manikandan on the morsing showed his prowess during the thani and was subdued during the rendition of songs. He and Burra Sriram alternated between delicate and powerful playing to suit the kritis. Annamacharya’s ‘Muddugare Yashoda’ in Kurinji and a tillana by Lalgudi Jayaraman in Desh brought the concert to a finish.
