Manoj Siva can be self-effacing in concerts. His playing is not only soft and unpretentious, but his thani is many times encapsulated in short cycles. He and Anirudh Athreya on the ganjira performed their roles to the T, while accompanying Rithvik Raja for Charsur Arts Foundation . A thani lasting five minutes in a concert of 130 minutes can be challenging, but the percussionists accepted the challenge gamely.
Senior violinist R. K. Shriram Kumar has accompanied several generations — from M.S. Subbulakshmi to Rithvik — and understands well the sublime support vocalists look for. A topsy-turvy programme did not catch him offguard, as he was artistic and supportive at the same time.
The concert itself was not easy to follow, as it ended up like a formal practice session but with full accompaniment. How else can you characterise a menu that had a 45-minute ‘Amba Kamakshi’ in Bhairavi, without ragam, a 10-minute pallavi in Kharaharapriya and Dhenuka as the main item.
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There were a total of about 16 minutes of raga alapana and maybe 25 minutes of sarvalaghu swarams in the concert. The dead time between kritis probably added up to more than the alapana quotient.
The Bhairavi swarajathi was belaboured with many repeats of swara and sahitya without significant value enhancement. The niraval and swaram at ‘Syama Krishna sodhari’ were placid. However, Shriram’s niraval had strong character and imagination.
‘Seethapathe’ (Khamas) was the one bright spot, with Rithvik communicating his enjoyment of the raga and the kriti in full measure. Ragas Rasamanjari and Ganamurthi made token appearances with the Dikshitar kriti of ‘Sringara rasa’ and Thyagaraja’s ‘Ganamurthe’ respectively. One is not sure if this is adequate justice to the organiser’s desire to feature every melakartha in this year's series. Rithvik ensured that the non-familiar patanthara of ‘Meenakshi Memudam’ in Gamakakriya/Purvi Kalyani was noticed, as several differences were accentuated, with the ‘ga ma ga’ phrases enunciated clearly.
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Whether this is the original version composed by Dikshitar is a matter for discussion on another day. ‘Teliyaleru Rama’ in Dhenuka perhaps fulfilled the role of a main song, as it had a brief raga alapana, swaram and thani.
The fleeting pallavi in Kharaharapriya ‘Rama nee samanamevaru’ in tisra triputa tala did project Rithvik's creative face, but it was too short and too late. One hopes that this concert was an experiment and will stay as one.