Though their exposure to the world music is significant, Lalitha and Nandini, turn completely classical when they perform during the Season. Their violins have a resonant sound and their playing carries strict adherence to sampradaya.
Their morning concert at Narada Gana Sabha was dominated by three ragas, one dealt with in detail (Kalyani) and the other two (Jaganmohini and Narayanagowla) precisely.
Their essay of raga Jaganmohini projected phrases that characterise the raga. The song chosen was Gopalkrishna Bharati’s ‘Sivakama Sundari’. Engaging swara sallies followed . Then it was Narayanagowla treatise segued to ‘Sri Ramam Ravikulapathi Somam’ by Dikshitar. The slow-set composition paved way for the racy Tyagaraja kriti ‘Ithi Samayamu’ in Chayanattai.
With an innovative approach, the Kalyani raga delineation sounded refreshing. The kriti was Tyagaraja’s ‘Ethavunara’, where swaras in myriad combinations were attached to the pallavi.
Lalitha and Nandini began their performance with ‘Evaribodha,’ the Abhogi varnam. Their line-up included ‘Girirajasudha’ in Bangala, ‘Teliyaleru Rama’ in Dhenuka (both by Tyagaraja) and the concluding Surdas bhajan in Madhuvanti.
Sumesh S. Narayanan, the young mridangam artist with high potential, makes his presence felt through his assiduous work. His percussion adds to the total impact of the kriti and its presentation. In this concert, it was quite subdued because of the resounding twin violins. However, he created an energetic aura of rhythm, without resorting to any overzealous and noisy excursions, throughout the concert and during the tani avartanam with G. Ravichandran on the ghatam.
