Rithvik Raja followed the illustrious foot steps of his guru, T.M. Krishna, in his vocal recital at the Palghat Fine Arts Society, Tharekkad. The TMK stamp was much in evidence in his presentations.
He established a fine rapport with the audience from the word go and sustained it till the end. His renditions were steeped in deep classicism.
He began the concert elegantly with the famous Bhairavi raga varnam ‘Viribhoni' in Ada taala. Muthuswamy Dikshitar's ‘Vaataapi Ganapathim' in Hamsadhwani was the next item. A pleasing rendition of the Tyagaraja kriti ‘Janakiramana' in raga Sudhaseemanthini set the concert moving smoothly; the spontaneous flow of kalpana swaras at the charanam ‘Raktanalinadala' created a good impact.
The alapana of Poorvikalyaani, interspersed with delectable sangatis, was truly classical. ‘Ninnu vinaga mari', a creation of Shyama Sastri, was well interpreted. The raga bhava emerged beautifully in the swaraprastharas.
Rithvik's gradual elaboration of Karaharapriya was praiseworthy. The sangatis centred around ‘dhaivtam' and the sancharas leading to ‘shadjam' were an exercise of sheer beauty. However, the alapana was not exhaustive, as he did not traverse in the upper octave, for which plenty of scope existed. He chose the popular Tyagaraja kriti ‘Rama neesamaanamevaru' in which the saint composer asks Rama ‘Who is there equal to you?'. The skilful improvisations in the neraval at ‘Paluku palukulaku' and the varied combinations in the swara patterns were a testament to the vocalist's manodharma. He again scored high in the kalpana swaras suffixed with ‘ga ga', appended after the kriti ‘Brovabharama' (Bahudhari – Tyagaraja).
Neat presentations
After a sprightly ‘Bhogeendra saayinam' in Kuntalavarali, a Swati Tirunal composition, Rithvik came out with an enchanting delineation of Mohanam. He was at his best in the tanam passages; the lilting sangatis added character to the presentation. The pallavi ‘Lalithe Vinuthe Maampaahi Bhagavathi Gunavathi Jegajjanani' in Adi tala was rendered neatly in four speeds. The melodious ragamalika swaras in Varali, Kambodhi and Anandabhairavi were greeted with applause.
‘Aliveni enducheyyuvu', the moving Malayalam padam of Swati Tirunal in Kurinji, was soaked in aesthetic appeal. The concluding item was a thillana of Patnam Subramanya Iyer in Poornachandrika.
Young violinist M. Vijay made his presence felt with his superb show. His raga essays and swaraprastharas sparkled with melodic richness. Palghat Harinarayanan (mridangam), another youngster, showcased his high proficiency with a spirited performance. He played scintillating korvais in thisram, khandam and chatusra nadais in the tani avartanam in Roopaka tala. Vellattanjur Sreejith (ghatam) rose to the occasion, extending adequate support. His responses in the tani won acclaim. Both of them excelled in the short tani (Adi tala) after the pallavi.
