Sanjay Subrahmanyan’s concert was a blend of traditional music and striking creativity, with special emphasis on Tamil compositions. His exploration of ragas and kritis was breathtaking in certain places, and he managed to walk on razor-edge renditions with aplomb. Sanjay must be appreciated for presenting some unfamiliar compositions by familiar composers, and also for his unique repertoire.
He opened the concert with a pada varnam by Papanasam Sivan ‘Nee indha maayam seithai’ in Dhanyasi. It was followed by Tyagaraja’s ‘Rama ninnuvina rakshimpa’ in Sankarabharanam, with a few rounds of swaraprastara. The Nayaki raga exposition next was slow and steady, appropriate for the raga’s tenor. Sanjay presented some of the tricky, unusual facets of Nayaki here, and in the subsequent ragas.
Dikshitar’s popular ‘Ranganayakam’ was rendered in a leisurely manner, while Swati Tirunal’s zesty ‘Pahi parvata nandini’ in Arabhi brightened up the proceedings. Koteeswara Iyer’s ‘Nada nilai kanduruga’ in Gayakapriya came as a filler, paving the path for the detailing of raga Natabhairavi. Sanjay’s delineation seemed laboured as one felt a slight strain in his voice when rendering the notes and phrases. ‘Nee padamulanu nammitini’ by Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar followed. The extensive swaraprastara had panchamam as the focal note.
A breezy Bhadrachala Ramadas keerthana ‘Nanu brovamani cheppave’ in raga Yamuna Kalyani came as a prelude to the main piece.
The major offering was an expansive elucidation of raga Desh for Ragam Tanam Pallavi. Here, Sanjay deployed all in his arsenal to showcase the different shades of the raga. The pallavi was Mahakavi Bharati’s ‘Engal kannamma naghaippu rojappoo’. Unique? Well, it was. After the niraval, the pallavi saw some colourful ragamalika swara chains in ragas such as Dravida Kalavati and Rojappoo.
On the supporting side, Sanjay’s usual accompanist S. Varadarajan on the violin matched the vocalist in the raga and swara segments admirably.
Sanjay Subramaniam was accompanied by S. Varadarajan on the violin, Neyveli B. Venkatesh on the mridangam and S. Venkataramanan on the kanjira at The Music Academy’s Margazhi music season 2022, in Chennai. | Photo Credit: K.V. Srinivasan
Percussionists Neyveli B. Venkatesh on the mridangam and S. Venkataramanan on the kanjira peddled softly and concluded almost all kritis with their special rhythmic rounds. Their tani avartanam carried ample verve and imagination.
Sanjay signed off his recital with Bharathidasan’s popular ‘Tunbam Nergayil’ in Desh, a Purandaradasa kriti ‘Enu madidarenu’ in Salakabhairavi and Arunagirinathar’s Thiruppugazh in Sindhu Bhairavi.
What always works in Sanjay’s favour is his relentless quest to explore ragas’ range, unfamiliar kritis, and his diligent inclusion of Tamil songs.
