Sandeep Narayan, a disciple of Sanjay Subrahmanyan, possesses all the traits of a competent musician – a sonorous voice, excellent diction, keen sense of aesthetics, erudition and rich manodharma. His performance at the Palghat Fine Arts Society bore testimony to the above characteristics. He entranced the audience with his heady music. His perfect sruthi alignment made the concert all the more heavenly. That he has fully imbibed Sanjay’s style was visible throughout the recital.
Sandeep began on a brisk note with the rare varnam ‘Saranaagatha Vatsala’ in Kadanakuthookalam, composed by his first guru Calcutta Krishnamurthy.
The second item was ‘Saamaja Varagamana’, a Tyagaraja kriti in Hindolam. The grandeur of the raga was in full display in the sparkling niraval and vivacious kalpana swaras. The moving ‘Paramakripasagari’ of GNB in Yadhukulakambodhi and the Tamil kriti ‘Eppadi Manam Thunindhadho’ in Huseni, a composition of Arunachala Kavi, exuded aesthetics. His alapana of Reethigowla was a masterly exposition, showcasing the vocalist’s extraordinary manodharma; the ‘aakaras’ and ‘sancharaas’ in the upper octave were awe inspiring. Taking up the popular kriti of Swati Tirunal ‘Paripaalayamam’, he revelled in the slow and rapid combinations in the swara prastharas. The speedy ‘Vara Raga Laya’ in Chenchukambodhi, another Tyagaraja number, was an engaging filler preceding the main item.
The in-depth delineation of Madhyamavathi, the main raga of the evening, embellished with robust sangathis, was a class apart. The skill with which he ascended the notes, painting a panoramic picture of the raga, was remarkable. The evocative presentation of Syama Sastri’s ‘Palinchu Kamakshi’ brought out the inherent beauty of the composition. The roller coaster Swara korvais added lustre to the rendition.
The Tamil virutham in Kedaragowla, Ranjani and Sriranjani, followed by Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Kaana Vendamo’ was enriched with the soulful melody. The concert concluded with a graceful thillana of Kalyanaraman in Sindhubhairavi.
Young M.S. Ananthakrishnan proved that he is a true torchbearer of the ‘Parur style’ of violin playing – a style that incorporates superb fingering and bowing techniques. Rich tone and melody marked his raga versions and swara passages.
Playing in his typical style, Kuzhalmannam Ramakrishnan provided excellent percussion support on the mridangam. His marvellous tani was an ingenious display of dexterous ‘sollus’ and ‘korvais’. Thiruvananthapuram Karthikeyan impressed with his powerful beats on the ghatam. His role in the tani was praiseworthy.
