Nithya’s elaborate Reethi Gowlai – for Nannuvidachi – was like sailing in the placid waters of the Cauvery.

Her exquisite Neethimathi for Koteeswara Iyer’s Mohana Hara Kara was a blend of idealism and skill. She communicated the nuances of the raga with élan. Her niraval and swaras revealed her creative skill.

The piece de resistance was Mohanam. Her rendition of Rararajeevalochana by Mysore Vasudevachariar was an aural treat.

She made the audience spellbound with her alapana of Mohanam when she explored the varied facets of the raga.

She created a niche in the hearts of rasikas with vibrant and sparkling swara passages which made us wonder whether Mohanam has got such a splendid hue. Her fertile imagination in rendering the swaras and ragas reflects her musical upbringing. She has inherited the musical acumen of her grandmother, doyen D K Pattamal.

Nithya’s rendition of Purandaradasar’s ragamalika – Naanellu – in Ranjani Kanada had an aesthetic appeal.

Violinist M A Krishnaswamy mirrored her phrase for phrase. His vinyasa of all the ragas was commendable.

I Sivakumar, her father on the mridangam, played with an appreciable level of synergy.

Sivaramakrishnan on the ghatam was very supportive.

V V S Manian on the kanjira gave a melodic touch to the concert.

The tani of the trio was classical to the core and had creative flourishes.

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Unni’s exhaustive alapana of Shanmukapriya for ‘Andavane’ by Papanasam Sivan reflected his sound musical training. The niraval was a mine of sukha bhava.

The vocalist’s rendition of Thodi alapana for ‘Ghadhanu Variki’ by Tyagaraja, which was the main piece of the concert, showcased his virtuosity to build the entire gamut of the raga skillfully.

His swara blitzkrieg was like a clap of thunder and the rasikas waited to see the thundershowers.

He is an artiste of rare genre who could traverse three octaves with felicity without straining his vocal chords.

His rendition of the evergreen ‘Jaga Janani’ in Rathipathi Priya made the audience sing along with him.

M R Gopinath on the violin blended sampradaya with creativity.

Anand on the mridangam proved that he is the grandson of veteran mridangist Palghat Raghu by his unique style and energetic play.

Vaikkom Gopalakrishnan on the ghatam played with regal mien.

Their tani was charged with glowingly rhythmic patterns.

We felt like saying – Sabash, Ithu Sariyana Potti.

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Visaka then lucidly explored the importance of Rama Nama japam which is incredibly simple. That the easiest and the simplest form of bhakti is to surrender to the Lord by just chanting Rama nama was narrated with telling effect by Visaka.

The story of Bodendra Swamigal where he demonstrated the efficacy of Rama nama to the world at Puri in Orissa by enabling an unfortunate abducted woman to unite with her husband after a holy dip in the pond chanting Rama nama was a fine example .Visaka then essayed the story accompanied by Saint Tyagaraja’s Nadha loludai (Kalyana Vasantham) Pantureethikolu (Hamsanadham) and Devar nama. Though mythology and acharyas had advocated the greatness of Nadhopasana, the younger generation looks for scientific proof, said Visaka while narrating the story.

She also emphasised the fact that people do not appreciate the value of things that comes simply and easily without much effort and cost. Rama nama, though simple and easy, is of great value with unparallel remedy to all in need.

Visaka’s discourse was facile and humorous and was literally music to the ears of the audience.

Thiruvaiyaru and Tyagarja are synonymous and it is very appropriate that ‘Chennayil Thiruvaiyaru’ featured the Harikatha on Rama nama so well essayed by Visaka Hari.

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It was a surprisingly large audience which had gathered to hear the duo perform atKamarajar Arangam for Chennayil Thiruvaiyaru on December 22, and they were not disappointed.

At the outset, Kadri said the jugalbandhi was a blend of north and south, Carnatic and Hindustani music and they had tried to pick the right ragas which were common to both forms of music.

The concert began with ‘Vatapi Ganapathim’ in traditional Carnatic fashion in Hamsadhwani. Very soon the audience were treated to a lovely flute accompanied by the majestic sax. The brilliance of the sax, intertwined with the melody of the reed, was a heady mix for the audience which repeatedly applauded the duo.

The recital, which lasted beyond half-an-hour, brought forth the nuances of the raga in good measure.

Kadri sustained the tempo very well and the long sustained notes of the sax were a treat to hear.

Hamsadhwani was followed by Hamsanandhi and the second Hamsa was no poor cousin to the first.

The evening air permeated with the rustic whistling of the flute. The amalgam of sax and flute accompanied brilliantly by Harikumar on the mridangam tabla and morsing was vintage stuff.

The pravaham of music in the form of the instruments was flowing like a perennial river and the audience were taking a happy dip. The main piece was in the Carnatic raga Gowri Manohari which is akin to the Hindustani Padudheep.

Gopalnath and Ronu Majumdar essayed the raga with all its dimensions in an emphatic manner which was followed by the good orchestration of tani.

It is significant to note that the sax specialist from Karnataka and the flute maestro from West Bengal combined to give an enthralling performance in Chennai, the Mecca of Music.

J Raja

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They warmed up with a Sahana Varnam – Karunimpa – followed by ‘Theliyalethu Rama’ in Dhenuka by Tyagaraja.

The audience were able to guess the raga once they started the alapana of Andolika which unfolded in its pristine form for ‘Ragasudharasa’ by Tyagaraja. They mentioned about G N Balasubramaniam’s handling of the kriti. They dedicated it to the musical genius in the year of his birth centenary. Swaras flew like fireworks illuminating the hall with effulgence.

When they began the Kalyani alapana, we thought the main piece was being rendered quickly. But they proved us wrong. After the delineation of the raga, they rendered Gopalakrishna Bharathi’s – Kanden Kali Theerthen. The niraval and swaras blended seamlessly.

The peppy ‘Bogindra Sayeenam’ in Kuntalavarali by Swathi Thirunal was replete with bhavam.

They added special glamour to Saveri for Syama Sastri’s ‘Durusuga’. The elaborate Saveri sketch was amazingly original .Their rendition of the kriti was a blend of azhuttam and sowkhyam. The swara passages echoed their rigorous training.

Since they were residing in Mumbai, their proficiency in Hindi and Marathi was discernible in their chaste rendition of Abhangs which is a foreigner in the Carnatic idiom. They sang the evergreen ‘Thujenamu’ in Maand by Tukaram. The rasikas peeped into the realm of ethereal music with the Abhang.

B U Ganesh Prasad on the violin bolstered the concert with his deft handling of the instrument.

Delhi Sairam caressed the mridangam with his strokes.

Ravi Balasubramaniam on the ghatam lent considerable support to the artistes.

The tani was scholarly and showcased their musical acumen.

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Starting with a vibrant Bilahari tuned by Kumaresh, the younger of the brothers, they swam in the ocean of Mayamalava Gowlai for raga pravaha. After showcasing the raga swaroopa, they plunged into the raga pravaha. With no lyrics, they wanted to emphasise the beauty and bhava of the raga. It flowed like a woodland stream true to its name.

They brought out the different facets of the raga with skill.

Their rendition of ‘Nannuvidachi’ in Reethi Gowlai by Tyagaraja was a nectarine fare.

The diadem of the recital was the different facets of Kalyani. The brothers declared that Kalyani can take different avatars with graha bedam. Graha means house and bedam is shifting.

They played the diverse dimensions of the raga with the note SA as non-variant. Like – Harikamboji, Nata Bhairavi, Sankarabharanam, Karaharapriya, Hanumath Thodi, Kamas. It was beyond description with pulsating traditional flavours.

Their delineation of Karaharapriya for ‘Chakkani Raja’ by Tyagaraja strictly adhered to classical music.

Ramesh on the mridangam lent considerable support by his exquisite style.

Arun Kumar on the drums and morsing gave a whole some rhythmic landscape and their tani was an intellectual exercise.

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Revathy may take great satisfaction at that.

Beginning with an invocation song on Lord Ganesha by Srikali Govindarajan in Nattai, she dwelt on devotional songs that included ‘Gopiyar Konjum Ramana’ – Desh, ‘Nee Allal’ – Sivaranjani.

She moved on to play a host of yesteryear classical hits based on classical music.

Worth mentioning are ‘Neeye’ – Vasanth Bahar, ‘Chinanchriya Vanna Paravai’ – Durbari Kanada. She played two of Ilayaraja’s songs which included ‘Amuthe Tamizhe’ – Rasika Ranjani, with aplomb.

Most of the other songs dated back to the sixties, composed by legends like K V Mahadevan, M S Viswanathan and others. Her rendition of Idhya Kamalam – ‘Malargal Nannaidana Paniyale’ – Mohanam, ‘Madhavi Pon Mayilal’ – Karaharapriya, were flawless and brought memories of the songs in full vigour.

M Balamuralikrishna’s ‘Oru Naal Pothuma’ in ragamalika was a true masterpiece with the veena clearly essaying the lyric so unmistakably.

Revathy played ‘Dolayam’ of Annamacharya and concluded with a composition of Dayananda Saraswati – ‘Boo Sambo’ – in the raga Revathy.

There is no question about the quality of her veena recital which was outstanding with an intelligent choice of songs bringing out a variety of coverage.

J Raja

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Sriram introduced the concert by saying that it was in praise of two illustrious women composers, separated by eight centuries, united by one common goal, that of attaining unison with the Lord.

The concert started with the first Tiruppavai of Andal – Margazhi Thingal – in Nattai, where the couple sang in unison.

Sriram followed up with Meera’s, bhajan alternatingly Anuradha picked on the Sahana piece of Andal – Kuthuvilakku Eriye. Anuradha gave an elaborate raga swaroopa.

This was followed by Sriram’s and Anu’s bhajan.

The alternating between Andal and Meera lifted the audience to sublime heights and also created an ethereal and divine aura.

They were ably supported by their percussionists who did a splendid job of accompanying them. On the sixth day of Margazhi, Chennai should normally have started witnessing the nice Margazhi chillness but the weather Gods ordained that it should rain and not b e chill.

The drizzle outside was pleasantly portrayed by the bakthi rasam of the immortal Andal and the evergreen Meera in the auditorium where it was bitingly cold to befit the Margazhi music.

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A rare piece by Uthukadu Venkata Subbaier called Saptharathna Malai, which is very rarely heard, was rendered by Aruna. She rendered one piece in Kalyani – Madhavakruthu.

After a brief alapana of Nattakurinji, she sang ‘Vazhi Maraithirukkuthu’, a song by Gopalakrishna Bharathi in his magnum opus – Nandanar Charitram.

Her exhaustive essay of Suddha Dhanyasi was traditional with a twist.

The composition of Muthuswamy Dikshitar – Subramanyane – was handled with perfect dignity by the vocalist. She soaked the audience in sowkhyam and lifted them to sublime heights with her involvement.

The swara passages were executed adroitly and captured the quintessence of the raga.

Her main piece was in Kamboji – Thiruvadi Charanam by Gopalakrishna Bharathi.

It was a classic which was brought to life by Aruna with her vibrant presentation. Her kalpana swaras had a regal gait.

The audience requested her to render an Abhang which she readily obliged. ‘Bhaje Mukunda’ was a mine of melody.

On popular demand, she was compelled to sing ‘Madumeikum Kanna Nee Pogavendam’. The gathering clapped and sang with her.

H N Bhaskar on violin was a perfect foil to the vocalist and he played with enthusiasm.

Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan on the mridangam is a percussionist of a rare genre. His absorbing style is a thing to be enjoyed.

Karthik on the ghatam was outstanding and Bangalore Rajasekar on morsing played as if he was singing.

Their tani had myriad combinations which was enjoyed by layman and connoisseurs alike. It was like a question and answer session.

The accompanists played with verve like Aruna who sang with gusto.

Aruna’s vast repertoire was evident in her choice of songs from different composers and she sang them with bhakti rasam.

Mira

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She kickstarted the concert with ‘Mooladhara Murthi’ in Hamsadhwani. After paying obeisance to Lord Ganesha she jumped to a peppy ‘Sarasasamadhana’ in Kapinarayani which was rendered with verve.

The often sung ‘Maa Ramanan Uma Ramanan’ in Hindolam was soothing.

‘Bogeendra Sayinam’ in Kuntala Varali captured the divine aura of Trivandrum which is dedicated to Lord Ranganatha. The composer Swathi Thirunal has propitiated Lord Mahavishnu musically.

The piece de resistance was ‘Bhajare Manasa’ in Abheri.

Her rigorous training under acclaimed gurus surfaced in her exhaustive sketch of the raga. After the raga swoorapa which was rendered with elegance, she sang ‘Bhajare Manasa’.

Sowmya’s niraval was clothed in classicism. Her swara kalpana was like a musical thunder which enlightened the rasikas about the varied facets of the raga.

The famous ‘Srichakra Raja’ in raga malika added to the spiritual content of the concert.

Kavadi Chindu of Annamalai Reddiar reminded one of Dr Ramanathan who popularised it. No wonder Sowmya could render it with class.

Embar Kannan, the violinist, had the stamp of a great tutelage. His guru Kanyakumari has honed his skills well. His elegance left an imprint on the rasikas.

Manoj Shiva on the mridangam revealed his creative skill.

Govinda Prasad on morsing struck melodious notes.

The tani of Manoj and Prasad was a blend of idealism and skill.

Mira

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