The concert by the Akkarai sisters S. Subhalakshmi and S. Sornalatha was held under the auspices of Sathguru Sangeetha Samajam on its 72nd Music and Arts festival to the accompaniment of H. N. Baskar on the violin, Palladam R. Ravi on the Mridangam and S. Sunilkumar on the kanjira.
The duo took the rasikas to Tiruppunkur (an abode of lord Shiva) near Adanur where Nandanar took his colleagues for the darshan of Lord Shiva for the song Sivaloka nathanaik kandu in mayamalavagaulai by Gopalakrishna Bharati.
Next they rendered Kēṭṭa Varam Taruvān, to the glory of Lord Murugan, set in five stanzas, set to each of the five ghana rāgas, by Suchindram S. P. Sivasubramaniam (the duo’s grandfather), in which the rasikas found each rāga’s name subtly embedded in the lyrics through wordplay.
The versatility of Shanmugapriya raga was brought out completely in Paarvati naayakane sharanam by Papanasam Sivan, which followed the Virutam petra thai thanai maga maranthalum by Ramalinga Vallalar. Likewise, Enrikku Shiva krupai by Neelakaanta Shivan in mukhaari was rendered with high rasa-orientation and witnessed different shades and colours.
The song Meenakshi me mudam devi (on Goddess Meenakshi, one who gives freedom from bondage) for the main raga of the evening Purvi Kalyani by Dikshidar was rendered aesthetically with ample Raga Alapana, Kalpana Swaras and Niraval. It is said that Dikshidar asked his students to sing this kriti while on his deathbed and died while listening to it. The final pieces include Karunaikadale Chandrasekara (on Periyava) in Bageshri, Amizhthinum inithu Tamil ( praising Thiruvalluvar, Kambar, Appar, Sundarar and Azhwars for their contribution), Nambi kettavar yevar aiyyaa, Karpakame kadaikkan par by Papanasam Sivan were applauded by the rasikas for their perfection.
Padmnabhan S
