When a musician chooses wisely the kritis and ragas and executes his concert with poise, the whole exercise stands out. So it was with Sikkil Gurucharan’s concert. The start was impressive with a varnam in Kannada ‘Inta tamasa’ by Lalgudi Jayaraman that showcased the composer’s brilliance. A few phrases in Ritigowla quickly led to Tyagaraja’s ‘Cheraravathe’.
Gurucharan made good use of his vocal prowess and raga aesthetics to render this soulful kriti and sangatis that were set with several smooth curves and glides exclusive to Ritigowla. An energetic swaraprasthara at ‘Meragadura’ was an added attraction.
Melodious Mohanam
Mohanam was chosen for expansion and it carried enough heart-warming melody. The freewheeling brigas were cleverly connected to lengthy phrases and the raga emerged as a picture of beauty. Dikshitar’s ‘Kadambari priyayai’ was presented with brilliant swarakalpana. Following this came ‘Rama ninne nammi’ (Tyagaraja) in Husseni.
The centre stage was reserved for a vibrant Kalyani; the raga essay presented in two instalments. It was a perfect preface for a tanam and pallavi. The raga delineation had both dynamism and depth. The tanam was a remarkable exchange between the singer and violinist HN Bhaskar. The pallavi went as ‘Neeye Kamakshi, Meenakshi, Neelayadakshi enum palapeyarudan’.
After the customary niraval, trikalam, swara chains and thani, Gurucharan threw a surprise; instead of closing the pallavi, the line being from the Papanasam Sivan composition ‘Unnaiyallal vere gathi’, he continued with the rest of the lyrics of the charanam and completed the song much to the delight of the audience.
The final section also stood out with ‘Sonnathai seithida’ in ragamalika (Hamsanadam, Kalyanavasantham, Devamanohari, and Maund) by Mayuram Viswanatha Sastri and popularised by the late GNB. The concluding piece was ‘Cheli nenentula’ javali in Paras.
There was never a dull moment. HN Bhaskar provided unstinted support to Gurucharan in all aspects and earned applause. J. Vaidyanathan on the mridangam and Guru Prasanna on the ganjira exhibited a wide range of percussion techniques, including a vibrant thani.
The packed auditorium listened with silence, thoughtfully clapping at the right junctures.
Gurucharan and the enthusiastic supporting artistes received due appreciation for their efforts.
