Bilahari occupied over half the duration of Sumitra Nitin’s concert — yet, bereft of a single repetition. She has an enviable reach in the upper octave, of which she made selective use. The elaborate alapana gave enough proof of the artist’s skill for innovation. Opening with gentle chowka kala passages, she brought out the essential features of the raga inspiring joy as well as heroism.
On the violin, Usha Rajagopalan’s response was equally stimulating. The composition Sumitra took up was Thyagaraja’s ‘Dorakuna ’ – a speciality of Dr. S. Ramanathan. There were over a dozen sangathis in the pallavi. It is in this composition that the Saint mentions his father’s name — Ramabrahma. The niraval and swaras were apt at this point.
The thani by Kallidaikkurichi Sivakumar on the mridangam was as usual marked by competence and variety. The leisurely tisra nadai gave it an additional vigour. Being Vaikunta Ekadasi , she commenced her two-hour concert with Oothukkadu’s Ghambira Nattai masterpiece, ‘Ranganatham Anisam,’ which provided a dynamic start. The in-built swaras and lyrics flowed like the Cauvery. Sumitra’s precise pronunciation brought out the rich sahitya aspect. This was followed by Thyagaraja’s Khamas piece ‘Seethapathi’ in a lilting desadi tala. The spinning and swirling swaras at the charanam ‘Prema juchi napai’ were merrily creative. Usha was at her very best in kalpanaswaras.
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After a detailed alapana in the royal Durbar, Sumitra chose a rarely heard piece of Tirupati Narayanaswamy, ‘Momu Jupavemi Rama’ in rupaka tala. The unhurried niraval and swara prasthara at the charanam, ‘Kari Moralida’ brought out the swarupa of the raga in totality.
The ‘ri ma pa’ prayoga was decidedly musical. Tirupati Narayanaswamy (1873-912) learnt music from his mother, Komalamma, who belonged to the Walajapet Sishya parampara of Saint Thyagaraja. His mudra is ‘Tirupatipura Venkatesa’. Sumitra rendered a Kanada kriti, ‘Natyavado Nataraja’ in Purvikalyani of a contemporary composer, Arasi, who is V.V.Sadagopan’s niece. Sumitra prefixed it with a khanda nadai Nataraja stavam. She wound up her serene concert with Annamacharya’s ‘Enthamatramuna’.