Age has not withered the musical impulses of Suguna Varadachari whose exposition of ragas still evokes intense devotion. In her thematic vocal recital ‘Saranagatham,’ with vocal support from Aiswarya, featured by Rajalakshmi Fine Arts, Coimbatore, the vocalist’s judicious choice of compositions created the sahrdya feeling among the rasikas.
The opening, ‘Saranagathavatsala Sankari’ in Kadanakuthuhalam, setting the tenor of the kutcheri, was rendered with élan. ‘Pariyasakamaa’ in Vanaspati, a Tyagaraja composition with swaras, was the quintessence of classicism. Her raga delineations of Devagandhari for the kriti, ‘Naamoralida,’ Thodi for the kriti, ‘Munnuravana’ and Khambodi for the kriti, ‘Thiruvadi Charanam’ with swaras were carefully built. The highlight of the concert was the rendition of ‘Thirvadikkeezh Amarndu Pugundene,’ in Purvikalyani. Aiswarya offered excellent vocal support throughout. Ganesh Prasad (violin) responded well to the demands of the vocalist and Balaji’s response on the percussion was adequate.
