Garland of melodious ragas

Four Carnatic musicians took rasikas on an evocative musical voyage during their concerts in Thrissur.

O.S. Thygarajan's concert held in connection with Vinayaka Chathurthi celebrations at Thiruvambady, Thrissur.

Four music concerts, each in a different style, was the highlight of a series of concerts held in connection with Vinayaka Chathurthi celebrations at Thiruvambady, Thrissur.

Sreevalsan J. Menon The reputed vocalist and composer performed a well-structured concert. His exposition of Purvikalyani was tagged to the Neelakanta Sivan kriti ‘Aaanandnatamaduvar’, which depicts the cosmic dance.

The swara passages woven for the kriti were a testimony of his scholarly approach. His rendering of ‘Jo Jo Rama’ in Reethigoula, the Uthsava sampradaya lullaby of Tyagaraja, did justice to the mood of the raga as well as the lyrics. A detailed alaapana of Hamsadwani, the main piece, came as a surprise and it was followed by the kriti 'Vathapi Ganapathim'.

Sreevalsan’s meaningful rendering of the niraval by conjoining the phrases

mooladharal- shethrasthitham pranavaswaroopa- vakrathundam was indicative of his attention to the sahitya and creativity as well.

Excellent support by the violinist Ajithkumar and a timely tani by percussionists Nanjil Arul (mridangam) and Sreejith (ghatam) enhanced the musicality of the concert.

Sreeranjini Santhanagopalan

A sweet execution of the Hindolam kriti ‘Samajavaragamana’ and its gamaka-laden solfa passages marked the artistry of Sreeranjini Santhanagopalan. Saveri raga blossomed, with the violinist Sampath playing a key role in extracting its intricacies. It was tagged to Syama Sastri’s ‘Durusuga’, for which the percussionists played the tani. She was accompanied by Maheshkumar (mridangam) and Govindaprasad (morsing) on the second day.

M. Narmadha A violin solo by seasoned artiste M. Narmadha captivated the rasikas on the third day. With her unique bowing and fingering techniques that are characteristic to the Parur school to which she belongs, she sketched an impressive Kumudakriya for ‘Ardhanareeswaram’ and Atana prior to the kriti ‘Nee Irangatha’. She sang intermittently to familiarise the audience with the text of the compositions and also explained the importance of the kritis. A ragam, thanam, pallavi in Kamboji garlanded with ragamalika swarams was the main piece. She was flanked by Sanoj (mridangam) and Udupi Sreedhar (ghatam).

O.S. Thyagarajan The veteran’s virtuosity and verve were evident in his recital that included some rarely heard compositions and good paatanthara. An energetic alapana of Poorvikalyani that was studded with long phrases was succeeded by the Oothukadu composition ‘Padmavathi ramanam’ and Tygaraja’s ‘Patti Viduvaraathu’ ín Manjari. ‘Sathaleni Dinamulu’ in the raga Naagaanandini was a pointer to his rich repertoire. An exquisite and elaborate exposition of Thodi anchored on the jeevaswaras was superb. During its elaboration, he chose rishabha as ‘aadhara sruti’ and performed sruthibhedam by touching on Mohanam.

‘Kadhanuvariki’ was the kriti for which manodharma swaras were unfurled and percussionists K.V. Prasad (mridangam) and Krishnakumar (ghatam) contributed a reverberating tani. He appropriately wound up the concert and the fete with the Vasanthavarali kriti ‘Paahiraamadhootha’, in praise of Lord Anjaneya. T.H. Subramanian accompanied on the violin.