Chinmaya Sisters Uma and Radhika make a successful concert out of common sense – earnestness, good musical bent and time-tested programming. The sisters’ concert for Narada Gana Sabha maintained liveliness throughout without the lure of extravagant tempo or gimmicky strays.
‘Sri Raja Mathangi (Suddha Dhanyasi, Muthiah Bhagavatar) made a positive statement at the beginning. ‘Brovabharama’ (Bahudari, Tyagaraja), with regulation swaras, darted hurriedly. Subhapantuvarali is a double edged sword for a morning concert. While the genomic character supports a morning mood, it could turn out to be a drag, if not handled well. The sisters had no such problem. Their raga alapana and the kriti, ‘Sree Sathyanarayanam’ (Dikshitar, tisra ekam) had the stamp of good presentation and adherence to Dikshitar dharma. The result was very enjoyable. Radhika’s voice proved a challenge though, with the occasional quivers and sruti breaches. Sivan’s ‘Unnaiallalveregati’ (Kalyani) made a guest appearance, as if to fulfil the Tamil quota.
The concert scaled its peak in the Sankarabharanam raga alapana of Uma. She had a well planned tour of the raga, offering relish in the phrases circling around the panchamam. Her upper octave singing was clear but compact. Length of time was not deployed as a crutch for generating an overall effect - well oiled sangathis did that job. ‘Swara Raga Sudha’ (Tyagaraja) has perhaps about 20 sangatis in the pallavi alone. The sisters offered clarity in each of those. The niraval and swaras at ‘Mooladharaja’ were more routine than special. That again is part of their concert rule book – maximising common effects!
M.R. Gopinath was in his elements playing a true ‘supportive’ role while still showing glimpses of why his steady competence is sought after.
Melakkaveri Balaji (mridangam) let the microphone do the talking rather than his craftsmanship. Rajaraman on the ghatam was eclipsed by this course taken by the mridangam artist.
Published - January 23, 2014 05:31 pm IST
