The venue was Chennai Mathematical Institute’s acoustically well-equipped auditorium in Siruseri, near Chennai and the audience included the connoisseur of Carnatic music and mathematician, Prof. Seshadri, and men of taste Spencer Venugopal and Prof. K. Subramaniam. The vocal concert of Rama Ravi and Nanditha Ravi, known for their sublime music, had drawn them to the venue.
For octogenarian Prof. Seshadri, seated in the front row, only two things matter in this world — math and music. An ardent fan of the Alathur Brothers, Prof. Seshadri generously shared information when I had to write about the duo some time back.
The short introduction of the artistes on stage by the Registrar of the Institute, Prof. Sripathi set the ball rolling and the duo began with the Kedaragowla piece, ‘Sami Dayajuda Manchi Samaya,’ followed quickly by ‘Nenarunchara Napai’ in Simhavahini, a Tyagaraja composition.
Rama gave more space for Tyagaraja, with ‘Brochevarevare Raghupathae’ in Sriranjani and ‘Neevera Kula Dhanamu’ in Begada.
In between, the vocalist chose to present a Dikshitar kriti, ‘Ramanatham Bhajeham’ with a crisp swaraprastara and without niraval.
The Begada raga alapana, preceding ‘Neevera Kula Dhanamu’, stood out for its sobriety and did not depend on clichés for excitement. Both the alapana and the song brimmed with emotional appeal.
Before launching the Thodi alapana, Rama Ravi presented ‘Sri Venkatesa Manavi’ in Palamanjari, by Patnam Subramania Iyer and the not-so often-heard Tamil song ‘Sivanai Ninai Maname’ by Neelakanta Sivan.
Rama’s Thodi had vocal supplements from Nanditha, as she had in her Begada alapana. Thodi came out in all its majesticity but devoid of sensational pidis. It was the plainness of the alapana that gave it a feel of comfort.
‘Karunanidhi Ilaloe Amba’ of Syama Sastri provided ample scope for niraval for the lines ‘Komala Mridubhashini.’ Ganapathiraman acquitted himself well in thani.
A padam-javali expert, Rama presented ‘Neramora Jala,’ and ‘Mora Topu Seya.’ She obliged Spencer Venugopal, who wanted her to sing ‘Taru Maru Lade’ (Nattakurinji).
There were no exaggerated statements in the 75-minute concert. Violinist Shriramkumar contributed with his gentle accompaniment.
