The Carnatic music concert by Kavalam Sreekumar at the Durbar Hall ground in Kochi stood out for the impressive repertoire that showcased a variety of ragas, rare and popular. Sreekumar, noted for his distinctive voice and clarity of diction, chose compositions of different composers as well.
The recital took off with a kriti ‘Vande nandanam’ in raga Samudrapriya, a composition by the vocalist’s guru B. Sasikumar.
The song, soaked in devotion, was followed by ‘Siddhi nayakena’, composed by M. Balamuralikrishna in Amritavarshini. The moderately elaborate raga alapana and rendition was melodious.
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‘Sarasiruha saha priye’, a composition of Adi Puliyur Doraiswamy Iyer in Natta raga, showcased impressive kalpanaswarams. The brisk raga alapana was striking.
It was followed by a Tygaraja kriti ‘Nadaloludai’ in Kalyanavasantham, Roopaka tala. The rendition in slow tempo was pleasing.
Dikshitar’s ‘Akilandeswari’ in Dwijavanti raga had a fairly long raga alapana followed by a bhava-laden rendition of the kriti.
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After the brisk recital of ‘Vande sada Padmanabham’, a composition of Swati Tirunal in Navarasa Kanada, Sreekumar moved on to the main kriti of the concert –‘Mahadeva Shivasambo’ in Revathi, a composition of Kanakadasar’s.
The raga alapana touched three octaves and captured the raga bhavam. The niraval and kalpanaswaram segments had plenty of exciting phrases.
A taniavarthanam by Balakrishna Kamath on the mridangam was outstanding.
Irayyimman Thampi’s ‘Karunacheyyan enthu thamasam Krishna’ was sung in two ragas. He started with Yadhukula kamboji and then softly shifted to Sri raga. Sreekumar wound up the concert with a thillana in the raga Hamsavinodhini, composed by Sasikumar.
Idappally Ajithkumar on the violin and Balakrishna gave zestful support. The concert was organised by Kerala Sangeet Natak Academy in association with District Tourism Promotion Council.