Vijay Siva began his concert at Raga Priya’s 47th anniversary celebrations by invoking the blessings of Lord Venkatasa in ‘Hamsadwani.’
The audience got to hear the uplifting strains of ‘Anandabhairavi’ for Syama Shastri’s ‘Pahi Shri Giriraja,’ followed by ‘Raghuvara Nannu’ by Tyagaraja, which proved to be a haunting presentation in ‘Pantuvarali’, during which he expanded appreciably on the phrase, ‘Manusuna Nike….’ ‘Rangapuravihara’ was welcomed with a big round of applause, owing to the popularity of this Dikshitar kriti in ‘Brindavanasaranga’. The song went well with the rich tone of Vijay Siva’s voice.
Another popular raga Vijay Siva brought on stage was ‘Vasantha’ for ‘Ramaramarama’ by Purandaradasa.
His insightful prayogas and confident elaboration of ‘Todi’ got all listeners involved in the main song, ‘Subramanyo’ by Dikshithar. Catching on to the nuances of the singer, Sri Ramkumar provided a suitable variation of the raga presentation on the violin and got his share of the applause.
Manoj Siva made his presence felt with subtle beats all through the concert and a skilled ‘thani’ at the end of the main song.
Next came Gopalakrishna Bharathi’s, ‘Thillai sthalam endru’ in Shama. He then sang a pleasant ‘alapana’ and a well-developed ‘thanam’ for the ‘pallavi’ beginning, ‘Mohana Ramayya’ in Mohanam.
His ‘tukkadas’ included interesting pieces such as ‘Ini enna pechu,’ the patriotic ‘Enthayum thayum,’ ‘Maname Kanamum’ and a Tiruppugazh.
The Sanskrit song praising Ramana sung in the same tune as national anthem was unique and piqued the curiosity of the rasikas. His disciple Narayanan provided prompt vocal support. Vijay Siva’s concert was a display of total dedication and virtuosity.
