Bharathi Ramasubban’s meticulous attention to sahitya suddham was outstanding in every song she rendered in Telugu, Tamil or Sanskrit. She savoured every word of the original text and conveyed it to the audience. One could see the infant Krishna in ‘Smara Sada Manasa Bala Gopalam,’ as vividly as the young Velavan in ‘Umaiyall Maindane Kumara, Marai Mayavane’. One could picture the robin when she sang ‘Poonkuyil Koovum Solaiyile.’ As homage to the composer, to whom every singer owes his livelihood, the vocalist is obliged to ensure perfect articulation. Bharati adhered to sruti, laya and the original music.
Bharathi began the recital with a brisk delivery of Tyagaraja's ‘Upacharamu’ in Bhairavi, Rupakam, with short kalpanaswara exchanges. Swati Tirunal’s ‘Smara Sada’, with a niraval at ‘Garuda Turanga’ gave momentum to the concert. She explored Dhanyasi in a fine alapana.
Ananthapadmanabhan's interpretation of Bilahari was charming. Bharathi explored the lakshanas of the raga and Ananthapadmanabhan coloured it with rich strokes of his bow. Syama Sastri's ‘Meenalochana brova’ was offered in a magnificent and reverent style. The swaras at ‘Kamapani’ in the charanam were sprightly in the exchanges between voice and violin. A Sanskrit verse, authored by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, in praise of Lord Krishna, prefaced the next piece, which was Muthuswamy Dikshitar's ‘Chetasri Balakrishnam Bhaja Re’ in the chaste and appealing Dwijavanti raga, in place of alapana. One felt that this outshone the kriti itself. In contrast to the solemn mood of the previous two items, Bharathi interposed ‘Varanarada’, (Vijaya Sri, Adi, Tyagaraja). It bristled with vitality and led to the heavy Kalyani alapana. A fourteen minute slot for the alapana was shared between voice and violin. Pallavi Gopala Iyer's song ‘Neetu Charana’, with sanchara almost entirely in the tara sthayi, was a challenge to both the artists. It also enabled their acoustic efforts to stand out.
Mannarkoil Balaji and Nerkunam Shankar spruced the vocalist's efforts. The 12-minute thani was a veritable exercise in sheer euphonics. The mridangam strode in with a majestic elephantine gait, as if accompanied by the infantry, turned into a cavalry trot, as the ganjira raised the tempo to the pace of the chariot – lifting the listener to an illusion of a grand festival honouring Rajarajeswari of ‘Neetu Charana,’ in the traditional ‘Ratha–gaja–pada–turakadi sevitaa’ fashion! Virtuosity and aesthetics ruled the scene.
Bharathi concluded with a picturesque song of Kalki and then a Bharatiyar song on Sakti, leaving one under a euphoric spell lasting long past Mangalam.
