Neyveli Santhanagopalan, who was greeted with thunderous applause as the curtains went up at his morning concert, treated listeners to a performance packed with aesthetic, emotional and musical elements. Tyagaraja’s ‘Padavi nee’ (Salagabhairavi) proved it. The saint-composer says wealth, desire or friendship with the affluent do not signify one’s status. It lies in the bhakti towards Rama. The senior vocalist conveyed the spirit of the composition through his sublime rendition.
Santhanagopalan preceded this piece with an inspiring alapana. The niraval/swaras were at, ‘Tyagaraja nutudu sri ramuni tatvamu...’ This section bristled with colourful phrases.
Right from the start, M. Narmadha (violin) came up with impeccable responses, much to the delight of Santhanagopalan. Her playing stood out for the ‘gayaki’ style. Palladam R. Ravi (mridangam) and N. Amrit (kanjira) were at their creative best. After a beautiful Begada alapana, Santhanagopalan rendered ‘Lokavana chatura’ (Begada, Tyagaraja). The niraval and swaras at ‘Sakedadipa sarasagunaprameya...,’ enhanced the appeal. The kalpanaswaras anchored on the upper Shadja flowed in seamlessly.
In the RTP in Surutti, the vocalist after conveying the rakti of this raga during the alapana and tanam portions, sang the pallavi ‘Varada venkata saila vihara’ in Tisra Triputa tala. The pallavi ended with ragamalika swarakalpana.
Santhanagopalan began the concert with a sedate Kanada varnam. ‘Evasuda’ (Sahana, Tyagaraja) was chosen to emphasise the mellow mood. Following this was a bhava-laden Ananda Bhairavi raga alapana. Narmadha provided an equally poignant raga essay. The chosen kriti was ‘Manasa guruguha’ (Muthuswami Dikshitar).
The recital concluded with the popular pieces, ‘Muruganin maru peyar azhagu,’ ‘Chandra chooda siva sankara’, and a Thiruppugazh.
