It rained music for nearly a fortnight at Vani Mahal, T.Nagar, thanks to Sri Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha’s second Sri Jayanthi Music Festival. V. Nagiah, character artiste of yore and founder of the Sabha, would surely have blessed the organisers, for Lord Krishna was very close to his heart. The stage decor comprising huge vinyl hoardings of lush forests on all the three sides with photographs of Lord Gopalakrishna and Navaneetha Krishna super-imposed on the sides, was inspiring.
Listening to duets is always a pleasure for such concerts never sag. Uma-Radhika have been on stage since their childhood and earned a reputation for themselves. They should soon find themselves in the fast lane of growth. This was evident from their performance on the tenth day of the festival. Radhika, younger of the siblings, cleverly camouflaged her throat problem and presented Saveri where she traversed the scale with ease, time and again meandering into the upper octave.
The ever dependable Usha Rajagopalan (violin) was on the dot with her impeccable bowing. ‘Sri Rajagopala’ was executed with some interesting swara phrases supported by Melakaveri Balaji (mridangam).
The rarely heard ‘Vandhahuvum Ponadhuvum’ (Oothukkadu) in Bilahari was the breather before a detailed elaboration of Shanmukhapriya. Uma showcased the raga in the first phrase, a trait practised by vidwans of yesteryear. The pallavi ‘Venugana Ramana’ in Adi talam (rettai kalai) embellished with a mini ragamalika in Hamsanadham and Vaasanthi saw the siblings score a perfect ten. Melakaveri Balaji and Nanganallur S. Swaminathan (ghatam) presented a glowing tani.
The next evening saw Mohan Santhanam (vocal) in the company stalwarts S. Varadarajan (violin), Srimushnam Raja Rao (mridangam) and E.M. Subramaniam (ghatam). Can one ask for more? It was an energetic beginning after the varnam with Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Sadasivakumara’ (Suddhasaveri). The kalpanaswaras were a bit overdone. Mohan should also watch his sruti alignment.
A detailed delineation of Gowla preceding Sadguru’s Pancharatnam was surprising yet authentic. Varadarajan’s sketch was even more brilliant. Blessed with a rich bass, Mohan should capitalise on it by delving more in the mandhara sthayi during alapanas. He packed Kalyana Vasantam (‘Nadhaloludai’, Tyagaraja-Rupakam) with an array of phrases, most of them akaaram, that sounded monotonous. On the contrary, Varadarajan’s reply was more on sedate lines with lengthy pauses and straight notes, his manodharma coming to the fore.
Rajarajeswari (‘Garudadhwani’-Muthiah Bhagavatar-Adi) with a Western intonation was mediocre. Mohan took some time to explore the evening’s main raga Poorvi Kalyani, yet failed to impress. Varadarajan provided the much needed relief in his reply. ‘Parama Pavana’ (Ramnad Srinivasa Iyengar-Adi) sans any feel was lifted by Raja Rao’s intelligent laya manipulations. The tani that followed was a grand exhibition of the mastery he has achieved over the years on his instrument. E.M. Subramaniam was his supportive self.
The penultimate day belonged to Pantula Rama . That the singer is slowly increasing her fan base here was evident by the improved attendance that day. Quality music needs no publicity or public relations. Sending home a fully satisfied rasika will do wonders for the artist and that is what is happening to Rama too.
A meditative ‘Chetasri Balakrishnam’ (Dwijavanthi-Adi-Dikshitar) set the mood for the evening. Neyveli Narayanan (mridangam) added to it with some involved playing. Listening to kritis of the Trinity from Pantula is always looked forward to and that evening, she lived up to this reputation. In ‘Manavinalakincharathaday’ (Nalinakanthi-Adi), the glide to the panchamam at the end of the pallavi was sheer ecstasy, with Narayanan facilitating it with his tekkas and simple arudi.
The Kalyani alapana was reflective of the kriti in the offing. M.S.N. Murthy (violin) was a good foil. This husband-wife combination has perfect understanding, and between them, interesting pidis never go unrecognised, each acknowledging the other with a smile. The nine-minute niraval and swaras for Tyagaraja’s ‘Vasudevayani’ (Adi) sounded a bit extended.
The Kedaragowla raga presentation followed by ‘Venuganaloluni’ (Rupakam-Tyagaraja) brimming with devotion, made up for it. The chatusra nadai adopted by Neyveli Narayanan in the anucharanam phase was interesting leading to thoughts of his guru Thanjavur Upendran.
A refined approach to Thodi, the priestly raga, was the hallmark of the evening. The characteristic shades of the raga were enhanced further by Murthy. Dikshitar’s ‘Sri Krishnam Bhajamanasa’ was well executed. Narayanan and Papanasam Sethuraman (ganjira) combined well for a crisp tani.
