A tidy but brief Saranga followed by Tyagaraja’s ‘Enta Bhagyamuma’ with smooth-flowing kalpanaswaras, being the first song of the evening, said it all.
With perfect sruti alignment, R. Suryaprakash’s rendition sounded pleasant. The niraval lines ‘Mutharum Siddharum Munivargalum’ of Sadananda Thaandavam (Suddhananda Bharati) were executed with commendable ease. The essay of Hindolam was enjoyable for its clarity.
M.R. Gopinath’s (violin) reply with slow-paced phrases was full in measure. Dikshitar’s ‘Neerajakshi Kamakshi’ at a breezy pace was a contrast to the first two songs giving the necessary relief. Thanjavur Murugabhoopathy’s (mridangam) playing was an exhibition of pakka vadhya dharmam, never obtrusive, but embellishing every song with interesting tekkas .
He was ably aided by Tiruchi Murali. Rasikapriya raga (‘Arul Seyya Vendum’ by Koteeswara Iyer) was yet another proof of Suryaprakash’s sense of adding colour to his music. Gopinath’s reply again was refreshing. Having groomed by vidwan T.V. Sankaranarayanan, the Khambodi raga and swara renditions by Suryaprakash for the Tyagaraja kriti, ‘Maa Janaki,’ bore the stamp of Madurai Mani Iyer school. He rendered a crisp RTP in Shanmukhapriya.
