Brindha Manickavasakan’s concert for Madhuradhwani was a mixed bag

Brindha Manickavasakan attempted a high-strung package, but brought it down a notch by the clip she embarked connected the sub-main item. At Madhuradhwani, her Brindavana Saranga, up of the main Mohanam suite, was reasonably relaxed, but an wide penchant for excessively galore ideas deprived the listener of tranquil moments.

Young Brindha hails from 1 of Carnatic’s astir meditative schools. Her main guru Suguna Varadachari belongs to the Musiri bani, renowned for its reposeful attack to music. That trait resonated champion successful Brindha’s transportation of ‘Soundararajam’ with streaks of Hindustani Dhrupad that inspired its composer Muthuswami Dikshitar. The Brindavana Saranga bore its indispensable serenity, though the vocalist’s alapana astatine times strayed towards raga Shree. Violinist Bombay R. Madhavan’s solo effect bore a pleasant easiness.

Earlier, the vocalist ignited a speedy take-off by opening her performance with a agleam melody. Abhogi shone good done Tyagaraja’s sprightly ‘Nanubrova’, straightaway earning designation to the percussionists — Poongulam Subramanian (mridangam) and Nerkunam Sankar (kanjira). Brindha’s pharynx wasn’t yet afloat equipped towards precocious forays; amid that she resorted to swaraprastara. An avalanche of notes efficaciously near the vocalist gasping.

To take Begada adjacent was wise. A structured wobbliness successful the raga’s look recovered ample practice successful the alapana. Yet, a flurry of phrases successful the build-up forced Brindha to partially fake her dependable astatine the apical register. Madhavan’s crook highlighted the classical delight of Begada, positive the saccharine timber his instrumentality tin generate. ‘Kadaikkan’ (Ramaswamy Sivan) came retired well, besides owing to the patterned zigzag of mishra chapu.

Varali, arsenic the 3rd item, served the recital’s archetypal niraval. Around ‘Paramatmudu’ of the Tyajaraja kriti ‘Karuna elagante’, Brindha’s lyrical speech with the violinist was warmly backed by the mridangam-kanjira duo. That workout equipped the percussionists to enslaved adjacent amended successful the concert’s 2nd fractional erstwhile they executed a tani avartanam that defined the past thigh of Brindha’s portion de absorption successful Mohanam.

The vocalist’s enactment of the pentatonic raga came without a filler aft ‘Soundararajam’. Strangely, an ascending transition of Brindha’s alapana bore a whiff of Begada, portion Madhavan sprang a momentary Vasanthi (which is explicable). Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Kapali’ was studded with niraval and swara up of the ten-minute tani successful two-kalai Adi tala.

The concluding portion was Gopalakrishna Bharati’s ‘Varuvaro’ successful lilting Sama. It was preceded by a viruttam opening with Hamir Kalyani and processing astir Hindolam.