T.N. Seshagopalan made up for fetching up at the concert a quarter of an hour late by treating his audience with a splendid Aarabhi.
It was the kind of alapana that might be expected of Seshagopalan — briga-heavy, long phrases delivered in single breath and brilliant in imagination. The choice of the Pancharatna kriti, ‘Saadhinchine,’ was a bit of a surprise, as the alapana had spawned expectations of a nice niraval-swara centric rendition. With such a long composition in hand, Seshagopalan could only rush through — he actually switched to a faster gait at ‘Samayaaniki’ — so fast that the concert turned cacophonous. The vocalist squandered the goodwill he earned with the brilliant alapana.
The concert began with the Mohanam varnam following which were two Tyagaraja pieces, ‘Sri Ganapathe’ (Sowrashtram) and ‘Evarani’ (Devamritavarshini). Despite occasional sruti lapses, both were enjoyable. The peak of the performance came after the Aarabhi piece. Seshagopalan sang a stunningly brilliant Ranjini. The identity of the raga rang out clearly in the opening phrase and the raga essay bore the stamp of the maestro. Tyagaraja’s ‘Durmargachara’ was rendered with zest, with swirling sangatis at ‘Dora Nevanajaala Ra.’ The anupallavi line, ‘Dharmatmaka,’ was taken up for niraval and swaras. As the swaras tapered they landed alternately on one or the other of the upper notes and the corresponding lower note and in the end, the ‘Dharmatmaka’ popped up without notice — another Seshagopalan trait.
Regrettably, the concert lost steam after the Ranjini piece. ‘Banturiti Kolu’ (Hamsanadam, Tyagaraja) came as filler. The swaras at ‘Rama Namamane’ were nice but while ending the piece Seshagopalan soared to the upper notes, eventually making a hoarse ending. The main piece was Thodi. Too many acrobatics stole the raga’s beauty. Swati Tirunal’s ‘Sarasija Nambha’ came low and distant, as though the stage had been moved away. Despite flashes of brilliance, the niraval came across as go-through-motions and the swaras meandered on and on. The audience gave their verdict instantly—there was not a single clap of hands when the notes ended.
Violinist V.V. Ravi played neat, but to the point. K.V. Prasad (mridangam) and Vaikom Gopalakrishnan (ghatam) proved their mettle by their nourishing support.
