Rich tributes were paid to M.S. Subbulakshmi on her centenary year by the Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Akademi through a week-long Carnatic vocal concert series, Raaga sudha, in Thrissur.
Malladi brothers presented a neat concert on the first day. Their diction and synchronisation and their ability to complement each other were noteworthy. A neat alapana of Sreeranjini followed by ‘Maarubalka’, embellished with beautiful swara passages, provided the right momentum to the concert. Bhairavi was taken for detailed alapana with Ravi building its edifice skilfully and cautiously. ‘Enaadinomu,’ a kriti popularised by MS, followed; it was studded with swara passages. M.A. Sundaresan, an exponent of the Parur style of playing the violin, provided good support. K.V. Prasad and Tripunithura Radhakrishnan were the percussion accompanists. ‘Maaye’ (Tharangini) and ‘Kandarpajanaka’ (Kalavathi) were the concluding pieces.
K.N. Ranganatha Sarma adhered to the right tempo of each kriti he rendered, resulting in an enjoyable concert. A slow and succulent alapana of Dwijavanthi showcased his musical acumen. Next came an aptly-paced Chethasri. His rich repertoire yielded a Reethigowla piece ‘Mamahridaye’ and ‘Dathathreya’ (Ranjini), both of which adhered to thetraditional style of rendering. Keeravani was elaborated with lucid musical phrases that traversed through its exciting contours and was followed by ‘Kaligiyundegatha’. S.R. Vinu followed excellently on the violin. Soft silky touches by B. Harikumar on the mridangam enhanced the mood of the concert and he was ably seconded by Krishnakumar on the ghatam. ‘Nanadi’ (Revathy) rekindled memories of MS. T.M. Krishna started with a Saveri alapana that blossomed into the kriti ‘Ramabhana’ with niraval and swaraprastharas. He launched into a sprawling alapana of Karnataka Kapi and effectively covered its upper vistas by perching on its jeevaswaras. ‘Sumasayaka’, a padavarnam of Swati’s, was detailed and his creative exuberance was clear as he added manodharma swaras along with ragamalika chittaswarams. An exposition of thanam without the preceding raagalapana was followed by the Kambhoji Ada tala varnam, ‘Sarasijanabha’, which was studded with swara passages. The rhythmic embellishments by Mannargudi Eswaran on the mridangam enhanced the concert. T.H. Subramanian (violin) and Vaikom Gopalakrishnan (ghatam) accompanied.
O.S. Thyagarajan accompanied by Nagai Muralidharan, Palakkad Maheshkumar and Udupi Sreedhar strictly adhered to a traditional concert without any gimmicks. Elaboration of Dhanyasi serenely flowed into the kriti ‘Nee Chithamu’. A full-fledged essay of Sankarabharanam was soothing, as he unfurled various sangathis in abundance. With absolute command and ease, he detailed the raga and followed it up with the rarely heard kriti ‘Emi neramu’. ‘Parithapamu’ (Manohari), ‘Sadaa Enna’ (Behag) and ‘Nadupai’ (Madhyamavathi) were the other compositions that he sang.
N.J. Nandini, accompanied by Trivandrum Sampath, Nanjil Arul and Kottayam Unnikrishnan, portrayed a neat ‘Meusamana’ (Mayamalavagoula) decked with niraval and swaras.
She presented an energetic Hamsanandi and succeeded in attempting sruthibhedam at rishabha to result in Hindolam, followed by the kriti ‘Sankara sreegiri’.
Harikamboji was the main raga of the evening and the composition was ‘Enthuku needaya’.
Saketharaman, along with M.R. Gopinath, Palladam Ravi and Sudheer, on the final day presented a neat Bilahari alaapana followed by the composition ‘Smarasadamaanasa’. Kharaharapriya was the main raga. He did a good job and produced sruthibhedam resulting in Kalyani but that deftness was lacking in the composition ‘Sathatham thaavaka’.
