A. Kanyakumari, an accomplished violinist and a connoisseur in music, presents concerts that fuses tradition and innovation.
Sri Mangala Vinayakar Temple at Karamana in Thiruvananthapuram basked in the splendour of a violin recital by Kanyakumari during the Vinayaka Chathurthi Mahotsavam celebrations. Her scintillating music and aesthetic technique were the highlights of the concert.
She opened the concert with ‘Mooladhara Moorthe’ in Hamsadhwani that created a soothing ambience.
Many shades of Hamsadhwani flowed from her violin during the improvised swaras in the latter half of the kriti. A graceful passage through the ragas in the popular kriti ‘Bhavayami’ converged at the immaculately presented composition.
Dwijavanthi raga elaboration, with swift phrases skimming through the raga's delicate structure, was tagged to the beautiful composition ‘Akhilandeshwari’. A shower of manodharma swaras reflected the shimmering glow of Dwijavanthi. The rare flavour of Niroshta (Sankarabharanam without madhyamam and panchamam) and the rhythmic kriti ‘Raja Raja’ kept rasikas engrossed. Padma Krishnan (disciple of Kanyakumari), who gave excellent support on the violin, essayed a good description of Vachaspathi raga.
The Papanasam Sivan composition ‘Parathpara Parameshwara’ in Vachaspathi had elegant phrases of swara constructions. The fast-paced ‘Sobillu Saptaswara’ in Jaganmohini had rapid phrases in the improvisations. The main raga essay (Kharaharapriya) unravelled a good blend of traditional features and novel usages. Stylish trills on the violin during the delineation were the noteworthy feature of the session. ‘Chakkani Raja’, a Tygaraja composition, was the main kriti. Nanjil Arul on the mridangam and Vazhappally Krishnakumar on the ghatam, both of whom excelled in accompanying the violinists, played an entertaining tani avarthanam.
The split-second shifts among disparate ragas such as Revathi, Abhogi, Kalavathi, Lalitha, Mohanam, Hindolam and Nagaswaravali was a mind blowing feat. The ragamalika composition tagged to it was built on an energetic groove. Soulful kritis in Madhuvanthi, Sindhubhairavi, Madhyamavathi and Shanmughapriya added variety to the concluding session. The maestro wound up the concert with an appealing Lalgudi Jayaraman thillana in Desh.
