Harikrishnan Moozhikulam provided a rare treat to music buffs of Palakkad with a chaste and delightful vocal concert in his melodious and resonant voice. He showcased the depth of his repertoire with his selection of rare ragas and compositions along with popular numbers.
Harikrishnan got off to a dazzling start with ‘Chalamela’, a lively Adi tala varnam in Nattakkurinji. It was eloquent and had a precise rhythm structure. He nourished a rare composition of Mahakavi Kuttamath – ‘Prana maha Ganapathim’ in Gowla, in such a way that it bought out the structural aesthetics and sahitya bhava of the composition. A Begada alapana, filled with subtle gamakas and apt brigas, reflected the nuances of the raga. Subbaraya Sastri’s ‘Sankari neeve’ had a rhythmic chittaswara (anupallavi) and chittaswara sahithya (charanam) that culminated with a well-proportioned niraval and a fast swaraprasthara.
Guruvayur Rajamani (violin) and Palakkad Ganesan provided adequate support.
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An exposition of Ranjani, rich with bhava, brought to the fore the rakthi of the raga. Swati Tirunal’s ‘Kalaye Devadevam’ was embellished with lyrical improvisation at ‘Bharitha Karinayakam….’ with pleasing glides and creative kalpanaswara. ‘Sari samana’ in Vitapi, composed by Venugopal, was marked by clear sangathis. A brisk Tyagaraja kriti ‘Anupama gunambudhi’ (Atana), led to a fine essay of Bhairavi, that abounded in methodical sancharas. The majestic Dikshitar kriti ‘Balagopala’ and niraval at ‘Neela Neerada sareera…’, sung in a pleasing slow pace, evoked serenity. Opulent kalpanaswara sequence, meticulous in laya, was followed by a neatly-packaged tani.
Both the Swati bhajans ‘Nama Sudharasa’ (Kapi) and an impressive ragamalika ‘Neethan thunai’ of N.S. Chidambaram, comprising Neelambari, Vasanthabhairavi, Gourimanohari, Saraswathi, Sreeranjani, Mohanakalyani, Durga, and Jyothiswaroopini, set to Misra chapu tala, were contemplative.
Harikrishan closed the concert with a lilting ‘Ramajogi’ (Khamas) byBhadrachala Ramadas and Tyagaraja’s mangalam ‘Pavamana’.
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