Sandeep Narayan is one of the popular Carnatic vocalists of the day. His major asset is his voice, which has the right proportion of azhutham as well as the capacity to handle brigas with clarity. With his growing repertoire, Sandeep presented a soulful concert at the youth hostel auditorium in Indira Nagar under the auspices of Hamsadhwani.
Mysore Srikanth on the violin, the maestro Umayalpuram Sivaraman on the mridangam and B.S. Purushothaman on the ganjira were the accompanists, who added a lot of sheen to the concert. When one has Umayalpuram Sivaraman’s mridangam accompaniment, the success of the concert is pre-determined. This concert was no exception. A few phrases of Thodi ushered in the Adi Tala Patnam Subramanian Iyer varnam ‘Era Napai,’ rendered in a dual tempo. This set the mood for the concert and the weighty fare that followed.
Malayamarutham is considered as a morning raga but its appeal was not absent in the evening. ‘Manasa Etulo’ of Tyagaraja was the kriti sung with an elaborate niraval at the opening lyrics of the charanam ‘Kalilo Rajasa.’ The solfa passages following the niraval were rightly not overdone and revealed the vocalist’s sense of proportion. Mysore Srikanth was precise in his niraval and kalpana swaram replies.
Arunachala Kavi’s ‘Eppadi Manam Thuninthado’ in Huseini has a rasa of pathos, in which Sita questions Lord Rama as to how he decided to leave her and head for the forest from Ayodhya. The mood of the composition was amply conveyed by Sandeep in his rendition. The vilamba kala pramanam of the song was well maintained in all the three segments without resorting to accelerating the speed in the charanam. Syama Sastri’s ‘Parvathi Ninnu’ in Kalgada was brisk. That Sandeep has an affinity towards vivadhi ragas, could be seen from his rendering of this song.
The two melodies, which were taken up for vinyasas were Khambodi (Emayya Rama — Bhadrachala Ramadas) and Kanada (’Sukhi Evvaro,’ Tyagaraja). Sandeep has the right approach in revealing the identities of the ragas he essays in his opening phrases. Khambodi was dealt in a leisurely manner initially, which was impressive . The adventurous phrases during the latter part of the alapana were reminiscent of his Guru Sanjay Subramaniam’s style. This was in no way less engaging. The niraval and kalpanaswaras were aptly sung at the charanam followed by a sama kuraippu in K. Chapu culminating in an interesting korvai. Umayalpuram Sivaraman was at his very best in accompanying for the songs in his inimitable style.
The mastery of Sivaraman during the tani avarthanam following ‘Sukhi Evvaro,’ would be best left to the imagination of the connoisseur. The initial laya patterns literally felt as ‘Sukhi Evvaro’. B.S. Purushothaman on the ganjira in his accompaniment for the kritis revealed his sangeetha gnanam. His counter replies to Sivaraman during the percussion session had the veteran appreciating his playing.
The Kanada raga essay by Sandeep saw him at his best during this concert. The vishranti in the alapana was soothing, a mood not marred by the meaningful fast phrases towards the close of the alapana. Mysore Srikanth presented a pleasant version of Kanada. ‘Aadum Chidambaramo’ (Behag, Gopalakrishna Bharati), ‘Apaduru’ (Khamas- Pattabhiramayya ), the lilting Brindavani thillana of M. Balamuralikrishna and a Tiruppugazh in ragamalika comprised the dessert fare offered in this vibrant concert.
