Sisters Lalitha and Nandini carried on the tradition of performing on New Year's Day at Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, just as their uncles, L. Vaidyanathan, L. Subramaniam and L. Shankar have done in the past.
Known for playing swaras in different tempos, the sisters plunged into it from their opening number ‘Mooladhara moorthi,’ a Papanasam Sivan’s composition in Hamsadhwani. The madhyama kala swarakalpanas had the swift flow typical of their school.
The sisters then moved on to play ‘Toli ne jesina’ in Shuddha Bangala. A beautiful Lathangi by Lalitha was an aesthetic presentation. The leisurely rendition of Patnam Subramania Iyer’s ‘Aparadhamula’ had a rare vintage touch to it. The uninhibited niraval and kalpanaswaras in ‘Veganannu’ was a proof of their musical ingenuity.
While presenting Muthuswamy Dikshitar’s ‘Sri Ramam’ in Narayana Gowla in chowka kalam, the sisters remembered learning the composition from the doyen Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer who had stressed on the lines ‘Ramayana parayana mudhita.’ The straight notes landing at the respective sthanams with precision was notable. With a fast-paced ‘Janaki Ramana’ in Shuddha Seemanthini, they exhibited the nimble finger-technique of their training under stalwarts, the violin trio brothers.
Raga Sankarabharanam received an expansive treatment at the hands of Nandini with subtle sprinkles in the lower octaves from Lalitha. Syama Sastri’s ‘Saroja dala netri,’ marked by eloquent niraval at ‘Sama gana vinodini’ with kalpanaswaras added lustre to the presentation.
The syllables were vivid in Neyveli Ramkumar’s mridangam. The competent reply by G. Ravichandran on the ghatam during the thani avarthanam was commendable. Vadaparimangalam Venkatramani, who accompanied on the ganjira rendered konnakol support during the thani making the session unique with good laya patterns.
Though the choice of kritis (by the Trinity and a Tamil composition by Sivan) provided variety, all of them set in Adi talam left the audience looked for diversity in the rhythm. The concert-hall effect on the electronic equipment was alien to the open hall and the resultant echo held back deft brigas and sangatis. The lighter numbers, ‘Gangadeeswaram’ in Sindhubhairavi of Guru Surajananda and the Tiruppugazh set in Chakravakam were presented with ease.
