Doing everything right does not always make for a great concert. A lineage to be proud of, a good set of accompaniments, a sabha that provides a homely ambience… all of these, without doubt, are enablers but not guarantors. Well, the concert under review was that of Nanditha Ravi. Making a brisk start with ‘ Pagavari ’, a lesser-heard varnam in Hamsadhwani, she moved on to another rare kriti of Annaswami Sastry, ‘ Sri kanchi nayike ’ in Asaveri, giving it a brief string of swara s.
The first alapana for the evening was Sahana, whose identity was evident in the very opening phrase. However, despite containing pleasing phrases, poise and pauses, the alapana appeared somewhat mechanical.
The
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Nanditha chose to sing
By this time, she looked settled, sang with assurance and scored well in the alapana , kriti and swara s which also included a few rhythmic patterns that were sung confidently and aesthetically. B. Sivaraman played a very brief tani but his supportive accompaniment through the concert established himself as a good team-player.
Along expected lines, the focus of the post-
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Nanditha has many strengths but she has to work on improving her confidence on stage so that her spontaneity comes on view.
Technically, her neraval was one aspect in which there was scope for improvement. The torch-bearer of a glorious tradition must go farther!
(T.T. Narendran teaches at the Department of Management Studies, IIT-Madras; is a vainika and a connoisseur of music)