Manoranjitham, the cultural and fine arts wing of Sri Ayyappan Puja Sangham, Coimbatore, conducted a week-long Gokulashtami – Navaratri music festival at the Sangham premises.
Malladi Brothers (Sriram Prasad and Ravikumar) began the inaugural concert with the Abhogi varnam ‘Evvari Bodhana.’ They sang many songs on Lord Krishna, beginning with ‘Mama Hridhayae Vihara Dayaalo, Krishnaa’ by Mysore Vasudevachar in Ritigowla. Ravikumar’s chaste Kalyani alapana was followed by Nagai V. Sriram’s shimmering version on the violin and Swati Tirunal’s ‘Pankaja Lochana.’ After propitiating an infant Krishna lying on a banyan leaf with Dikshitar’s ‘Cheta Sri Baalakrishnam’ in Dwijavanti, they welcomed the young Krishna with Tyagaraja’s ‘Saamaja Vara Gamanaa.’
The main kriti, however, was on the Lord of Kalahasti (Siva) – ‘Koniyaadina Naa Pai’ in Khambodi (Veena Kuppaiyar). The siblings shared credit for the raga’s wonderful delineation. Palladam Ravi on the mridangam and Rajaganesh on the ganjira proved their mettle as talented percussionists.
Sreevalsan Menon presented many rare kritis in his concert. ‘Paramapurusha Jagadeeswara’ in Vasantha by Swati Tirunal won thunderous applause. A brief introduction to Nagaswaravali preceded Patnam Subramania Iyer’s ‘Garudagamana Samayamidhe.’ The line, ‘Nirupama Sundarakara,’ was an apt choice for niraval and each round of expansion presented a fresh beauty of the raga.
Tyagaraja kritis have a variety of themes and moods. If ‘Paraloka Bhayamu Lekhanae’ (Mandhari) gave voice to the saint’s concern for those steeped in materialism, ‘Mithri Bhaagyamae Bhaagyam’ in Kharaharapriya admired Lakshmana’s good fortune.
The RTP in Sindhubhairavi with the pallavi, ‘Ganapathae, Gajamukha,’ was pleasant. The themmaangu , ‘Sundharanchaer Penn Mayilae’ by Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar was a winner. Sreevalsan Menon concluded with ‘Harivarasanam Viswa Mohanam.’
Edappally Ajit Kumar’s mellifluous strokes on the violin and the imaginative laya patterns of Nanjil Arul (mridangam) and G. Suresh (ghatam) offered solid support to Sreevalsan.
M. Lalitha and M. Nandini have carved a niche for themselves as violinists of merit. Their thematic concert for this event was named - ‘Krishna Shakti,’ comprising kritis on Krishna and Ambal.
The opening ata tala varnam ‘Viribhoni’ by Pachimiriyam Adiappayyar, was on the little Krishna of Mannargudi. Tyagaraja’s ‘Saadinchane’ in Arabhi has made several references to Krishna in the charanam. ‘Sri Parthasarathinaa Paalithosmyaham’ in Suddha Dhanyasi was followed by ‘Sri Neelothphala Naayike’, one of the navavaranams by Dikshitar on the presiding deity of Thiruvarur in Nari Ritigowla. (Interestingly, all the Navavarana kritis are set in gowla ragas.)
After the brisk ‘Kamala Charane’ in Amrita Behag, the sisters presented a detailed alapana of Simhendramadhyamam (known as Sumadhyuthi according to Dikshitar sampradaya) for ‘Kaamaakshi Kaamakoti Peeta Vaasini’. The swaraprastaras were lively. Nandini’s meditative alapana of Sankarabharanam paved the way for Swati Tirunal’s Navaratri kriti ‘Devi Jagajanani.’ They concluded with a few lighter pieces, including ‘Kurai Ondrum Illai’. Neyveli Ramkumar (mridangam) and Partha Mukherji (tabla) added appeal to the concert.
Ranjani – Gayathri began with the Saranga varnam ‘Inthamodi’ (Thiruvotriyur Thyagaiyer). ‘Vande Vaasudevam’ by Annamaacharya in Sree Ragam set the mood of devotion. The duo gave life to the devout words of the kriti ‘Iniyaagilum Ninai Maname’ by Ambujam Krishna in Purvikalyani. Gayathri’s mesmerising delineation of Mohanam was followed by the Tygaraja kriti, ‘Nannu Paalimpa.’ As they elaborated the line, ‘Karamuna Shara Kothanda Kaanthi Tho’, one could understand why this raga got this name.
‘Maara Vairi Ramanee’ in Nasikabhushani brought in a brisk interlude before the elaborate RTP in Kiravani with the pallavi, ‘Andharangam Arindhu Aatkolvaayo Aranganaathaa’. Ranjani created the base from which Gayathri soared. The ragamalika swaras followed by the soulful pallavi gave an out-of-the-world experience. The viruttam, ‘Aaanaadha Selvathu,’ followed by ‘Srinivasa Thiruvenkatamudaiyaan’ and ‘Je Ka Ranjale Ganjale,’ an abhang by Tukharam, decorated the lighter session. M. Rajeev on the violin was melody personified and Sai Giridhar’s mridangam was enjoyable.
Ananya Ashok, a disciple of Anuradha Sridhar and T.N. Seshagopalan, was sincere in her approach. She began with ‘Maanikhya Veenaam,’ the first slokam from Shyamala Dandakam, and sang the impressive daru varnam, ‘Maathae, Malayadhwaja,’ in Khamas. ‘Saamaja Vara Gamanaa,’ ‘Cheta Sri Baalakrishnam’ and ‘Saroja Dhala Netri’ (Syama Sastri) added depth while the RTP in Phalamanjari with the pallavi, ‘Raga Tala Bhava Rasanubhavamae…’ was refreshing. Though Ananya’s voice initially showed a bit of strain she gained momentum during the RTP. She was supported by S.P. Ananta Padmanabha (violin), Thanjavur Praveen Kumar (mridangam) and Chandrasekhara Sharma (ghatam). The thani was remarkable. Manoranjitham also featured the vocal concerts of K. Gayathri and T.V. Sankaranarayanan.
