The eighth National Music Festival of Palakkad Fine Arts Society featured three Carnatic music concerts, a Hindustani vocal concert and a Kathakali padam recital.
Jyothi Iyer
Gifted with an impressive voice, Jyothi captivated rasikas on the first day of the festival. Her Hindustani recital was carefully planned and structured. Three compositions in raag Yaman and bhajans were presented. She was accompanied by Vijay Sursen (harmonium) and Pandit Balakrishna Iyer (tabla).
Saketharaman
The young singer opened his concert with an energetic rendition of the popular varnam, ‘Sarasuda’ ( Saveri-Kottavasal Venkatarama Iyer). It was followed by an alluring presentation of Arabhi. The Swati Tirunal kriti, ‘Pahi Parvatha Nandini’ was neatly presented, supplemented with superb swaras on the line ‘Natha Vanchi Kripalaya’. The ragas chosen for elaboration were Hamsanaadam, Sahana and Thodi.
His delineation manifested the aesthetic values of the ragas. ‘Kalyana Rama’ (Hamsanaadam-Oothukkadu Venkatakavi), ‘Rama Ika Nannu’ (Sahana-Patnam Subramania Iyer) and the main kriti, ‘Emani Maatladithivo’ (Thodi-Tyagaraja) were sung with aplomb, in addition to two Swati kritis, ‘Paramapurusham’ (Lalitha panchamam) and ‘Vishweshwara’ (Sindhu Bhairavi). Idappally Ajith Kumar (violin), K.V. Prasad (mridangam) and B.S. Purushotham (ganjira) accompanied the artiste.
Shreya Devnath
She regaled the audience with her violin recital. Commencing with a popular varnam of her guru Lalgudi Jayaraman, ‘Neevagathiyani’, she included kritis such as ‘Sambho Mahadeva’ (Bauli-Neelakanta Sivan) and ‘Narasimha Mamava’ (Arabhi- Swati Tirunal) in her concert.
The rendition of the main raga, Mohanam followed by the kriti ‘Mati matiki’ (Tyagaraja), with radiant kalpanaswaras, showcased her commitment and flair in handling the instrument. Ragam Thanam Pallavi in Dharmavathi was a good choice. Palakkad Hari Narayanan (mridangam) and Kadanad Ananthakrishnan (ganjira) gave commendable support.
Vishnudev Namboothiri
Vishnu began his vocal concert with Ata tala varnam in Kanada, ‘Nerenammithi’ (Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar). His zestful presentation of ‘Siddhi Vinayakam’ (Chamaram- Muthuswami Dikshitar), ‘Merusamana’ (Mayamalavagowla- Tyagaraja), and ‘Manusulonima’ (Hindolum-Tyagaraja) were well received by the listeners. The main raga chosen was Bhairavi and it was embellished with delightful sancharas. It was the highlight of the concert.
He sang ‘Saariyavaramma’ (Syama Sastri) with dynamic niraval and kalpanaswaras. Ragam Thanam Pallavi in Bilahari was soothing, with rich flow of bhavas. ‘Saramaina’ (Behag- Swati Tirunal) and ‘Saapashya Kausalya’ (Jonpuri-Panchapakesa Sasthri) were the concluding numbers. Accompanying artistes Shreya Devnath (violin), Palakkad Mahesh Kumar (mridangam) and Vazhapally Krishnakumar (ghatam) enhanced the concert.
Kottakkal P. D. Narayanan Namboothiri and Kalamandalam Vinod
The fête concluded with a Kathakali padam concert by the duo. Their deep knowledge was evident in their rendition of various padams such as ‘Gowreesham Mama’ (Mohanam-Kiratham), ‘Sreeman sakhe vijaya’ (Saveri-Santhana Gopalam), and ‘Kundinanayaka’ (Kalyani- Nalacharitham). Kalamandalam Venumohan (chenda), Kalamandalam Ravisankar(edakka) and Kalamandalam Rajnarayanan( maddalam) provided excellent support.
