Sivaganesh with Raghu on the violin, Ananthakrishnan on the mridangam and Sunil Kumar on the Kanjira.
| Photo Credit: Courtesy: Kedaram
Madurai Sivaganesh began his concert with Muthaiah Bhagavathar’s ‘Shakthi ganapathim’ in Nattai. With Ragul on the violin providing the right support, Sherthalai Ananthakrishan on the mridangam and Sunil Kumar on the kanjira steered the concert like a drive on a German autobahn, setting the right rhythm.
Sivaganesh trod a road less travelled in a Vivadhi ragaNabhomani singing Tyagaraja’s ‘Nayadavanchana’. The percussion accompanists’ kalapramaanam was soothing, providing the right tonal effect to the kriti’s mood.
Syama Sastri’s ‘Ninuvina mari galada’ in Rithigowla came next. Sivaganesh was able to touch the lower register with ease and clarity, and his creative space in kalpanaswaras and alapanas were wide. The camaraderie between Sunil and Ananthakrishnan was conspicuous complementing each other well.
In ‘Nanu palimpa’, Sivaganesh demonstrated loyalty to his lineage by seamlessly shifting the tonic note (grihabedham) brieflyfrom ragaMohanam to Madhyamavathi.
The niraval chosen by the lead singer in ‘Nadaci vaccitivo’ was elaborative andexhibited the right blend of music and math. The kalpanaswaras were embedded with intricate math with kuraippu in Tisram.
The tani avartanam was a detailed one, where both Ananthakrishnan and Sunil Kumar demonstrated impeccably their intricate calculations. Unlike other concerts, they launched all their korvaisfrom samam to idam and they chose kuraippu in Kanda nadai. Overall, the thani was not only cerebral, but also enjoyable too with farans and sarvalagus. Anathakrishnan’s choice of mridangam (kappi) and his style reminded of guru Karaikudi Mani.
Sivaganesh concluded the concert with a soothing Ashtapadi ‘Sanchara dadhara’.
Nidhi and Gauri Chandrasekhar.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Talented duo
Young and talented sisters Nidhi and Gauri Chandrasekhar started their concert with Thanjavur Sankara Iyer’s ‘Maal marugan shanmugan murugan’ in Hindolam. This was followed by a breezy ‘Jaya jaya ramanatha’ in Naatai by Narayana Theerthar. They packaged their one-and-half-hour concert in a manner that it didn’t have any dull moment.
They were ably accompanied by Sreelakshmi Bhat on the violin. Sreelakshmi’s exposition of Mohanam was elaborative. Nidhi and Gauri complemented each other well, projecting their respective strengths. It took some time for them to settle down and their rendition of ‘Sri ‘Kanthimathim in raga Hemavathi was more fluent and detailed. They chose to do the niraval at ‘Shuddha Tamraparnita’with good support from Sreelakshmi.
Jaidev’s mridangam accompaniment was simple and measured (the bass side could have been tuned well for a better-balanced sound). His brief thani started in Tisra nadai and he ended the final Korvaistructuring it in a manner that it organically led to the line ‘shuka shaunakadi’, which the singers chose to launch the kalpanaswaras.
The concert included a kriti in Devagandhari (‘Kshithija ramanam chintaye’) and ‘Jagadodharana’ in kapi, Arunagirinathar’s Thiruppugazh ‘Erumayil erivilaiyaadum’ in Ragamalika covering ragas such as Bageshri, Hamsanandhi, Kamboji and Kedaragowla.
The concert concluded with Patnamsubramanya Iyer’s thillana in Khamas and ‘Karunai Deivame’ in Sindhubhairavi. The young sisters can do well with right guidance and rigorouspractice.
