Jayalakshmi Sekar presented a tradition-bound veena recital in the company of Atlanta Sriram (mridangam) and G. Harihara Sarma (ganjira) at Narada Gana Sabha Mini Hall.
From the opening ‘Evvari bodhana’, Abhogi varnam to the concluding ‘Ka va va’, Varali kriti of Papanasam Sivan, every piece played by Jayalakshmi carried dignity and integrity.
Stamp of class
Be it the raga exposition, kriti rendition, niraval and swaras, all carried the stamp of classicism. There was no veering towards attention-grabbing techniques.
Three ragas were given a detailed treatment by Jayalakshmi. A very brief outline of Bilahari was followed by a precise Pantuvarali that led to Tyagaraja’s ‘Sundaradaradeham.’ Khambodi was the main and the chosen kriti was ‘Evari mata,’ again of Tyagaraja. In Khambodi, Jayalakshmi painted a comprehensive image of the raga, emphasising on the stately phrases.
The tanam was finely etched and the composition and niraval on ‘Baktha paradheena’ carried raga and sahitya bhavam. The kalpanaswaras moved with speed to the finale.
In Pantuvarali, Jayalakshmi chose to embellish the pallavi with a few rounds of swaras.
There were inclusions like ‘Vinayaka’ in Hamsadhwani (EV Ramakrishna Bhagavatar) and zesty swaraprastara on ‘Paramakrupa,’ ‘Chandram bhaja manasa,’ the Navagraha kriti in Asaveri (Muthuswami Dikshitar), ‘Parulanu vedanu’ in Balahamsa and ‘Narasimha nanubrova’ in Bilahari (both by Tyagaraja) with raga prelude and interesting swara chains.
Only if the percussion support is restrained, veena recitals will be appealing. Sriram and Harihara Sharma’s subdued presence bolstered the main artiste’s presentation. Even their thani avartanam was sober, sans fiery exchanges.
