Rich tributes were paid to Maharaja Swati Tirunal at the recently conducted Sree Swathi Thirunal Music and Dance Festival at Irinjalakuda. Moozhikulam Harikrishnan was the pick among the singers at the fete. His melodic opening with ‘Paripahi Ganaadipa’ in Saveri augured well for the audience. Devagandhari unfolded through ‘Rama Rama Pahi’ in the right tempo. A detailed alapana of Simhendramadhyamam preceded the kriti ‘Balapahi Yadubala’, composed by Sundaranarayana. Vibrant splashes of swaras that were tagged to the kriti enhanced the piece. The singer left the listeners with a sense of void as he didn’t sing the kalpanaswaras in Swati’s ‘Kalayami Raghuramamam’. The rarely performed ‘Mamavajagadeeswara’ in Saraswathi Manohari was a good selection before the detailed alapana of Bhairavi, the main raga of the day.
‘Gurupavanapure’, a kriti composed by Sundaranarayana, was decorated with manodharmaswaras in the right proportion. Gokul gave brilliant support on the violin. Sajinlal on the mridangam and Kalamandalam Harikrishnan on the morsing elevated the level of the concert. The recital was rounded off with a padam ‘Kalakandi’ in Neelambari.
S. Naveen presented a concert packed with Swathi compositions, which included a few rarely heard kritis. A neat sketch of Sudhadhanyasi preceded the kriti ‘Saamodamchinthayami’ and was followed by a rarely heard Devagandhari piece ‘Pahimaamayi Mukunda Maadhava’. A steadily built exposition of Shanmukhapriya culminated in ‘Mamavakarunaya’, which was rich in niraval and manodharmaswaras. A pleasant Naatakurinji and ‘Mamavasadavarade’ set the stage for the major raga of the day – Keeravani. Naveen travelled the upper octaves beautifully, drawing out the ragabhava, which was followed by thanam and the kriti ‘Bhavayesaarasanabham’. It would have been much more enjoyable had he rendered the kriti in a slightly slower tempo. C. Rajendaran accompanied on the violin. Seasoned percussionists G. Chandrasekharan Nair (mridangam) and Udupi Sreedhar (ghatam) gave commendable support. A ragamalika ‘Saanandakamalamanohari’ comprised the post-thani session.
An instrumental ensemble – Swathi Nadha Tharangam was also held as part of the festival in which popular Swathi compositions, such as ‘Devadevakalayamithe’, ‘Gopalakapahimam’, and ‘Bhavayamiraghuraamam’ were played. Jayaprabha Menon performed a Mohiniyattam recital on the final day of the fete. Her essays based on the hymns of Bhajagovindam and Geethagovindam lent a philosophical touch to the performance. The festival was held under the aegis of Nadopasana.
