R. Ganesh, a senior disciple of the late Maharajapuram Santhanam, enthralled listeners with vintage music during his concert at The Palghat Fine Arts Society, Tharekkad. That he has fully imbibed his illustrious guru’s style was evident throughout his absorbing recital. Gifted with a voice rich in melody, he performed with gusto, ensuring that a fine tempo prevailed till the end of the recital.
‘Neranammithinayya’, a popular varnam of Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar in Kanada raga, Ada tala, provided an ideal start to the concert. A pleasing sketch of Abogi preceded ‘Sri MahaGanapathe’, an invocatory piece on Ganesha composed by N.S. Ramachandran. Well-formulated kalpana swaras provided splendour to the piece. The serene presentation of the Tyagaraja kriti ‘Pariyaachakama’ in Vanaspathi (fourth mela), followed by a classical alapana of Durbar evoked nostalgic images of Santhanam. The kriti in the latter raga was Tyagaraja’s ‘Narada Guruswamy’. The array of sangatis in the portrayal of ‘Dinamani vamsa’ in Harikambodhi, again a Tyagaraja composition, and the appealing swaraprastharas, particularly the prayoga ‘Nee dha’, portrayed vividly the raga bhava.
The leisurely elaboration of Lathaangi, embellished with chiselled sangatis, won the admiration of the audience. Filled with copious ‘akaaras’, the sancharas ascending to the ‘shadjam’ in the middle octave showcased the melodic beauty of this sampoorna raga. Taking up ‘Aparaadhamulanniyu’, the well-known kriti of Patnam Subramanya Iyer, Ganesh scaled heights in the niraval and swaraprastharas at ‘Kripajesina manavyalakinchi’. A moving interpretation of Ambujam Krishna’s ‘Guruvayurappane’ in Reethigoula, brought to mind the image of the Lord of Guruvayur.
Thodi, the main raga of the evening, received an exhaustive treatment, with the raga swaroopa emanating distinctly at each passage. ‘Sri Krishnam Bhajamaanasa’, the weighty creation of Muthuswamy Dikshitar, was an apt choice; the graceful chittaswara added lustre to the rendition. But the niraval was conspicuous by its absence, perhaps due to time constraints. At best, the vocalist could have presented a short niraval, this being the chief item of the concert. However, the plethora of permutations and combinations in the swara korvais were praiseworthy.
The post-tani session was an essay in soulful bhava. ‘Taaraatu Paadunnu’, a Malayalam lullaby in Neelambari, evoked deep devotion. The concluding pieces such as ‘Tungatheera virajam’ on Raghavendra in Salakabhairavi and Ahirbhairav, a thillana in Basant Bahar, and ‘Bho Sambho’ in Revathi – preceded by a sweet version of the raga – all Santhanam’s favourites, were soaked in melody.
Madurai Balasubramanyam (violin), Madippakkam Suresh (mridangam) and Kovai Suresh (ghatam) provided adequate support. The mridangam player’s hurried approach at the start of the tani was unorthodox. However, he made amends subsequently. Kovai Suresh, on the contrary, displayed maturity and impressed with his subtle beats on the ghatam.
