I f one goes by the overcrowded stage of youngsters keenly following and keeping the talam at the violin concert of A. Kanyakumari and Embar S. Kannan, the future of instrumental music looks bright.
Kanyakumari takes special care to make her concerts dynamic and harmonious. The brief flash of Harikhambodi was balanced by the luminous Tyagaraja kriti ‘Ramanannu Brovara’ and vibrantniraval and swara conversation between Kanyakumari and Kannan. The incredible speed, spectacular ascent to the upper region and racing down meticulously showed Kanyakumari’s absolute control over the instrument.
Dikshitar kriti ‘Mamava Pattabhirama’ in Manirangu came as a breeze of soft fragrance. The next was her own creation, raga Seshadri, on the lines of Dharmavati and a composition of Annamacharya. Singing a few lines of the kriti would have definitely made a huge difference since the tune as well as the lyrics are new.
The main raga alapana Bhairavi was shared by Kanyakumari and Kannan and here the kriti was again Dikshitar’s ‘Balagopala.’ A fast moving one, the entire song and the detailed niraval and the rain of sprightly swaras on ‘Neela Neerada’ drew as expected a thunderous applause.
The RTP was distinctive as it was set in two ragas, Mohanam and Shanmukhapriya and set in Khanda Triputa in chatusra gati and khanda gati. The raga essay was alternated between Kanyakumari and Kannan initially with long phrases, which on advancement shortened till the two ragas almost seamlessly got integrated. The tanam progressed in quick succession. The pallavi, Kanyakumari explained was a special one which she dedicated to her parents, guru and God; it carried the names of her parents, gurus and her favourite deities. It went as ‘Jayashrivijaya Chandra Vasantha Venkata Lakshmi, Talli Tandri Guru Deivamu Neerani’.
After the mandatory trikalam and niraval treatments of the pallavi followed a long-winding swaraprastara exchanges with ragamalika dressing in which Mohanam was mostly handled by Kanyakumari and Shanmukhapriya by Kannan. In Kanyakumari’s concerts, the percussionists invariably have a field day to demonstrate their prowess. This programme was no exception. It was a rhythm riot by Patri Sathishkumar and V. Suresh on mridangam and ghatam respectively.
The concluding segment had ‘Arumo Aaval’ in Maund, a lilting thillana in Sindhubhairavi composed by Kanyakumari and ‘Bhagyatha Lakshmi’ in raga Sri.
