Prarthana Sai Narasimhan, Chingleput Ranganathan’s disciple presented a vocal recital that showcased her sweet and supple voice. Her command over laya was evident from the manner in which she handled the Bhairavi Ata tala varnam ‘Viriboni’ and ‘Srimahaganapathira’ in Gowla (Dikshitar) and its extended chittaiswaram with swara syllables as well as jatis in different speeds.
Contours of Bilahari preceded Tyagaraja’s ‘Na Jivadhara’ which carried myriad shades of the raga through a host of sangatis in the pallavi itself. Prarthana rendered this kriti with amazing speed and style and as icing on the cake added a vibrant niraval and swaras to ‘Na choopu prakasama.’
‘Amba Paradevathe’ in Rudhrapriya (Krishnaswami Ayya), came with an electrifying swara spell in the arohana-avarohana format, an interesting stroke of creativity on the lines of Alathur Brothers.
Mayamalavagowla was the central raga where her advances in the raga treatise carried fascinating phrases extracting the essence of the raga. However, a few deliberate breathers instead of fast moving segments could have created a mood of repose.
The sangati-rich pallavi of ‘Devi Sri Thulasamma’ of Tyagaraja added strength. The stretching of ‘Neevu leka Sankari’ and the swaras anchoring on panchamam reiterated the vocalist’s acumen.
The closing section had two numbers, one by Purandaradasa set to music in raga Maund by Ranganathan and the other one on Sathya Sai Baba in Darbari Kanada where he had penned the lyrics too.
Prarthana was given excellent support by M.A. Krishnaswami on the violin contributing ragas and swaras with great élan with J Vaidyanathan and Karthick providing delectable beats. Their brief thani was note-worthy.
The concert was part of a tribute the disciples of Sangitha Kala Acharya Chingleput Ranganathan had organised as a tribute their guru at Raga Sudha Hall. Eminent persons such as P.S. Narayanaswami, Asthika Samajam V Narasimhan and Cleveland Sundaram spoke on the occasion recalling the simplicity, great musical wisdom, contribution and the generous teaching style of Chingalpet Ranganathan. He was one of the torch bearers of the Alathur Brothers’ genre of music rooted in classicism.
