Two distinguishing characteristics in the performance of Chitra Poornima Satish were the pervasive visranthi throughout and a firm resolve to eschew excitement in mounting sancharas in raga alapanas and swaras — two vital ideals that she has imbibed from her guru Bombay Jayashree. The way the two aspects enriched her music was heart-warming. The concert was held under the auspices of Sri Thyagaraja Seva Samithi.
The exposition appealed with a quiet force, traditional and steadfastly adhering to classicism. The discipline in her singing was an indication of the soft harmony between the mind and manodharma.
The Ritigowla alapana was rich with anubhava. As if to emphasise this phase, Chitra sang the great kirtana ‘Nannu Vidachi.’ The interpretation was graceful and pleasingly fluent. The two other songs “Sobillu-Sapta Swara” (Jaganmohini) and “Sambo-Mahadeva” (Pantuvarali) helped maintain the tempo of the concert.
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The main raga, Sankarabharanam, was tacked with natural ease, the attractive facets of the sancharas highlighted. The good impression was due to the combination of refined manodharma and peaceful progress towards the tara sthayi. The cluster of such sancharas enlivened the image of the raga.
The kirtana was “Swara-Raga-Sudharasa” sung with a sense of repose. The fluid and subtle luxuriousness of the sahitya stood out. Instead of the usual charanam “Mooladaraja”, she chose the last one “Rajata Girisudu” where Tyagaraja acknowledges the gift of swaraarnava from Narada. With all these endearing aspects, she has a bright future, especially in the manner in which she stabilises her voice, in keeping with Bombay Jayashree’s style.
The violinist Shraddha Ravindran was adequate and fell in line with Chitra Poornima’s approach. Sumesh Narayanan (mridangam) was overly energetic and burst into flashes of nadais and korvais in the tani.
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(NOTE: The review of Madurai T. N. Seshagopalan, published on September 27, was also by SVK.)