Sikkil Gurucharan is among the most dependable artistes whose concerts one can attend with the confidence of coming out with the satisfaction of having listened to a good and well-structured rendition. And this one was no exception. His gentle and malleable voice made every piece enjoyable. There was not a single dull moment.
He flagged off his recital with the lilting Kadanakuthoohalam varnam of Mysore Vasudevachar that was impressive in every aspect. A taut exposition of Shanmukhapriya paved the way to the popular Tamizh poetry, ‘Yadum oore yavarum kelir’ by Kaniyan Poongundranar, a Sangam littérateur. A brisk swara sequence was linked to the pallavi.
Andolika, a beautiful raga, is not often heard. Gurucharan presented an engaging treatise of the raga and chose a rare GNB kriti, ‘Karanamemi kavave’. Here too there was a swara package but without any overindulgences. A viruttam on Arunachaleswarar, to mark the Karthigai Deepam, came as a preface to Tyagaraja’s ‘Sada mathim’ in zesty Gambheeravani.
With Thodi as the central raga of the concert, Gurucharan’s elaborate alapana was a delectable blend of expressive karvais and catchy brigas in the right places and in right measure. The kriti chosen was ‘Gajavadana sammoditha’ by Kumara Ettendra and the essence of Thodi could be felt through out the kriti and the chittaswaram. Gurucharan did complete justice to the majestic composition and added niraval and swaras on ‘Vaagvilasa karthikeya’ that were competently designed and presented.
VVS Murari accompanied on the violin with diligence. He also shared the glory of the Thodi raga offering. Patri Satish Kumar on the mridangam and N. Guruprasad on the ghatam were skillful partners on percussion and both created fireworks in the thani.
The concluding section had a Azhwar Pasuram, ‘Thirukkenden ponmeni kanden’ followed by ‘Akati velala’ in Misra Jog by Annamacharya and ‘Vanaththin meedu’ by Ramalinga Adigalar in the raga Maund.
