Gayathri Venkatataraghavan performing the M.S. Subbulakshmi birth anniversary concert, organised by Hamsadhwani.
| Photo Credit: Courtesy: Hamsadhwani
To mark the birth anniversary of the legendary M.S. Subbulakshmi, Hamsadhwani had organised a special vocal concert by Gayathri Venkataraghavan. She was accompanied by Mysore V. Srikanth on the violin, N. Manoj Siva on the mridangam and Chandrasekara Sharma on the ghatam. The event, organised by Hamsadhwani as part of its 35th annual music festival, took place at Youth Hostel, Adyar.
It was, indeed, ideal to have selected Gayathri for this tribute concert, as the musician had always laid accent on the bhava in her renditions — the most important facet of classical Carnatic music for which M.S. and hermusic were known for. Gayathri, after a hiatus, returned to the stage in full form, captivating the audience with her dynamic rendition.
Gayathri began her concert with the lively daru ‘Mathe malaydhwaja’ in Khamas, and followed it up with the Ganesha Pancharatna Mala, ‘Mudhakarata modakam’ (as sung by M.S.). A Nattai raga kriti at the outset is always believed to give an impetus to the concert. So it was with ‘Namo namo raghukula nayaka’ by Annamacharya in the raga, adorned with a few swaras.
Kalyani, the most vivacious raga, was taken up for alapana. Gayathri chose to render Dikshitar’s ‘Bhajare re chita’, and her swara passages were at the usual charanam line ‘Devim shakti bijodbhava’. Gayathri rendered yet another kriti on Shakti — Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Devi neeye thunai’ in Kiravani.
A pacy ‘Sobillu saptaswara’, the Tyagaraja kriti in Jaganmohini, was followed by a detailed exposition of Madhyamavati, the main raga of the evening. The raga is unique as it carries both majesty and ample scope for piety too. Gayathri traversed the low, middle, and high octaves with consummate ease and care and brought out the myriad hues of the raga in her rendition.
Could there be a better choice than Syama Sastri’s ‘Palinchu kamakshi’ to append such a soul-stirring alapana? Rendered in the right tempo, Gayathri sang the two charanams ‘Svantamulona’ and ‘Rajathi raja’ enhancing the appeal of the kriti. She took up the mudra charanam ‘Rajanmukhi syamakrishna nuta’ for niraval and swaras. However, both were offered in appropriate measures without indulging in any overshoots, but with a lot of bhava.
Srikanth perfectly adhered to the tone and tenor of the vocalist and responded with a clear vision of melody. Manoj Siva played with restraint so was Chandrasekhara Sarma. Their concise tani avartanam added to the appeal of the concert.
The closing section was replete with some of the songs popularised by M.S. such as ‘Bhavayami gopala balam,’ in Yamuna Kalyani, ‘Paga gunghroo,’ a Meera bhajan, ‘Villinai oththa puruvam,’ of Bharatiyar, and ‘Maithreem bhajatha’ making it a fitting tribute to the legendary musician.
Published – September 22, 2025 02:44 pm IST
