The concert of Shankar Ramani with support from B. Ananthakrishnan on the violin and Kallidaikurichi Sivakumar on the mridangam was standard fare.
In ‘Vasudevayani’ in Kalyani, he avoided some of the traditional sangatis; the niraval and swaras for ‘Ragatala…’ were well-done. If Shankar can resort to some open-throated singing, it would sound even better.
Muthuswami Dikshitar’s ‘Santhanamanjari’ was preceded by the essay of the raga of the same name. The vocalist and violinist gave it their best shot; but it was a little too long considering the short ‘Samashticharana’ kriti.
‘Thiruvadicharanam’ in Khambodi and ‘Danyudevvado’ in Malayamarutham were rendered in an appealing manner. Though there were no new ideas offered, still the interpretation of Varali by both Shankar Ramani and Ananthakrishnan touched a chord. Syama Sastri’s ‘Kamakshi’ was the chosen song; while the niraval of ‘Sukhashyamalae’ was nothing special, the kalpanaswaras had some attractive suites.
The thani by Sivakumar was crisp. A slokam rendered in Hamsanadam brought out the nuances of the raga well. It was a pleasant recital on the whole.
