The concerts held in connection with the Sivaratri festival at Chakkankulangara Siva Temple, Tripunithura, were a blend of Carnatic music and bhajans.
On the first day vocalist O.S. Arun , who sang for the first time at the venue, won over the audience with a mix of traditional Carnatic numbers and bhajans. Arun began the concert with ‘Amma Aanandadayini,' a Gambheeranatta varnam by M. Balamuralikrishna. He continued with the Tamil devotional kriti ‘Ullam irangivanthu arul purivaye' in Hamsadhwani, ‘Karpaga Manohara' in Malayalamarutham, a kriti composed by Papanasam Sivan on Lord Siva, followed by Oothukadu Venkata Kavi's ‘Kshanamevaganyam' in Bowli.
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Then, quite abruptly, Arun changed to a slow Hindustani-style rendering for ‘Gurupurandara dasa charanakamalam,' a Purandaradasa kriti in Ameer Kalyani. With an elaborate and eloquent alapana in Sankarabharanam, Arun proved his proficiency in the field and selection of this raga was apt, taking into account the audience and venue. ‘Enthuku Peddala' by Tyagaraja was the kriti he chose.
Following this, a rather different style of tani was performed by Nanchil Arul (mridangam), Adichanalloor Anil Kumar (ghatam) and Kottayam Muraleedharan (morsing). The cadences of the konnakkol by Arul added to the charm of the tani. Attukal Balasubramaniam (violin) also maintained a high standard throughout the concert.
After the main item, Arun ended the concert with a series of bhajans.
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The following day, Sikkil C. Gurucharan stressed on kirtanas and presented a series of kritis in the Semmangudi style. Beginning with ‘Sami Ninnekori,' a Sreeraga varnam by Karur Devudu Iyer, Gurucharan followed it with Swati's ‘Devadevakalayami' in Mayamalavagowla, Neelakanta Sivan's ‘Entrakki Siva Kripai' in Mukhari and Papanasam Siva's ‘Piraiva varam tharum' in Lathangi.
The main raga of the day was Abheri, the aalap of which was tremendous, followed by a rhythmic taanam. ‘Bhajare re manasa' by Mysore Vasudevachar was rendered in superb form and bhava. T.H. Subrahmaniam (violin), Trichur C. Narendran (mridangam) and Tripunithura Radhakrishnan (ghatam) accompanied the vocalist.
Before concluding, Gurucharan rendered three thukkadas.
On the final day of the fete was a scholarly concert by the very knowledgeable and experienced Neyveli Santhanagopalan . Neyveli began with the Begada varnam ‘Intha Salamuche' by Veena Kuppaiyer, and followed it up with popular kritis of Tyagaraja such as ‘Nada thanum anisam Sankaram' in Chiththaranjini, ‘Sobillu sapthaswara' in Jaganmohini and ‘Makelara Vicharamu' in Ravichandrika, all of which helped create a serene mood.
Neyveli's alaap of Thodi was eloquent and masterly. The fluent flow in three octaves showcased his proficiency, especially in manthrasthaayi. ‘Karthikeya Gangeya,' a kriti of Papanasam Sivan was a good selection for the main, which was excellently rendered with niraval and swara. The tani by the Thripunithura cousins – T.V. Vasan (mridangam) and Tripunithura N. Radhakrishnan (ghatam), was fluent and soothing. Delhi Sundararajan (violin) provided excellent support.
Before concluding, Neyveli did not forget to praise the deity with the bhajan ‘Chandrachooda Siva Sankara' in Darbari Kanada by Purandaradasar.
A Pancharatnakeertana alapana was also presented on the last day by a group of local musicians and artistes.