Most of the items chosen by Sowmya Kumar Arjun were those popularised by GNB, except ‘Srichakrarajanilaye’ in raga Sivasakti, which was his own composition. Beginning with ‘Varavallabha’ in Hamsadhwani, Sowmya followed it up with ‘Manasunilba’ in Abhogi. She chose to sing kalpanaswaras for both these kritis as well as the one in Sivasakti. The raga essay of Saveri was unhurried and reasonably evocative before ‘Muruga Muruga.’
Neela Jayakumar’s effort on the violin was decent. The main raga Kalyani, also dealt with in a leisurely pace, had a few unusual sancharas well supported by Neela. The Tyagaraja kriti ‘Etavunara’ had niraval and swaras at ‘Sitagowri.’ The ending ‘korvais’ by both of them were different from the ones that is regularly heard. Jayakumar rendered a good thani. The final piece was a folksy ‘Anutaramamayam.’ Sowmya should pay more attention while ending a piece. It often sounded rather flat.
If Amrutha Venkatesh would opt for an open-throated rendition of akaras it would be more effective and in fact her whole music would be a lot more enjoyable. Her swarastanams were on the spot and her raga elaborations revealed good imagination and improvisation. Her husky voice made it attractive.
As it was the day of ‘Annamalai Deepam’ she chose to sing a few songs on Lord Siva, after beginning with ‘Vallabhanayakasya’ in Begada with kalapanaswaras for the pallavi. The Swati Tirunal kriti ‘Parvathinayaka’ in Bowli was followed by an impressive alapana of Abhogi with short flourishes here and there. The violin accompanist B. Ananthakrishnan was equally good. Some of the sangatis in the Gopalakrishna Bharati’s composition ‘Sabhapathikku’ were innovative. The niraval was taken for ‘Kripanidhi.’ A quick ‘Nivadanegana’ in Saranga, also with brief kalpanaswaras, preceded the main item Shanmukhapriya.
Amrutha came out with some unusual phrasings in the alapana of this raga. Ananthakrishnan’s effort sounded rather shrill due to high pitch. Dr.Balamuralikrishna’s ‘Sada Tava Paada’ had a lot of swaraksharas. This aspect came in handy while singing swarams for the pallavi, with some imaginative combinations of swaras. A lively thani was provided by Delhi Sairam on the mridangam. The final pieces were ‘Baro Krishnayya’ in Maund, ‘Sankarasri Girinathaprabho’ in Hamsanandi and ‘Ninnaye Rathieendru’ set in Sindhubhairavi rather like a folk song.
