An enriching alapana of Shanmukhapriya and the Dikshitar kriti, ‘Ekambaresa Nayike' (Chamaram) proved that Maharajapuram Ganesh Viswanathan has come up to a level of a mature vocalist. The interesting kalpanaswara patterns with tisrams and brilliant yet pleasing korvais added beauty to the presentation.
Another good piece was the Mohanam raga alapana and ‘Narasimha Agachhe' in Misra Chapu. Two compositions of Dikshitar with contrasting faces of ragas and talas, one after the other, could not have been handled better.
Interestingly there were also three compositions by Papanasam Sivan in the concert. Ganesh Viswanathan began his concert with ‘Sri Vathapi Ganapathiye' (Sahana) and followed it up with ‘Singara Velavan Vandhan' (Ananda Bhairavi) and ‘Mana Nilai Ariyenadi' (Bhagesri) in the later half, again of Sivan. It is inevitable to compare rendition of the ragas like Bhagesri with that of his doyen grandfather Maharajapuram Santhanam and be disappointed with the missing smoothness in the presentation. Ganesh should realise this and be well prepared for such ragas.
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He chose to present the Pantuvarali kirtana ‘Aparama Bhakti' without the alapana but embellished with niraval and swaras in two kalams. It was a good decision for a concert of a short duration. Arunachala Karthik, on the violin enhanced the niraval part without exceeding the time limit. His unintrusive and soft style of accompanying the singer is appreciable.
Tani avartanam in Misra chapu was a graceful gait. Swamimalai Girish was quick to change nadais following the vocalist and played at a comfortable decibel level.