Raga Priya’s 54th anniversary concert series began with a highly delectable veena concert by Nirmala Rajasekar to the accompaniments of R. Ragul (Disciple of M Chandrasekar) on the violin, Thanjavur Murugabhoobathi on the mridangam and Chandrasekara Sharma on the ghatam.
She began her recital with mate Malayadvaja pandya samjate (raagam Kamas) by H.N. Muthiah Bhagavatar, invoking the blessings of the daughter of the Pandya king Malayadhwaja, which set the tone for the concert.
She then played “gajavadhana beduve” by Purandaradasa in raga Hamsadwani in Kannada, in which Purandaradasa prays to Lord Ganesha for strength and attention so that he can sing about Lord Purandara (Lord Vishnu) all the time.
Janani Ninnuvina amba janani in Reethigowla, a Subbaraya Sastri’s kriti was played in Shastri’s finesse filled with bhakti and bhava.
“Manavyala”/ ‘Maniviyalakinca’ by saint composer Sri Tyagaraja was played with fluency and clarity at a good speed. Purvikalyani, the raga of the evening, which promotes harmony and brings a pleasant feeling, Nirmala brought out the richness of Muthuswamy Dikshitar’s kriti “Meenakshi Me Mudam “.
The full potential of the veena was used for producing eminently pleasing aural effects to enrich the alapana. The audience could witness the strides of M Chandrasekar through Ragul’s raga delineation. During the “Tani” along with the percussionists Murugabhoopathi on the mridangam and chandrasekara sharma on the Ghatam won a round of applause.
Nirmala concluded her concert with Bharathiar’s Om Sakthi and a song by Bhadrachalam ramadasar. The day’s concert was enjoyed by the audience thoroughly.
