Nisha Rajagopalan’s concert moved seamlessly across composers and bhakti-laden kritis

Parthasarathy Swami Sabha’s Hanumath Jayanthi performance featured Nisha Rajagopalan, who fittingly chose a Hanuman kriti and stuti to statesman and reason her concert.

The programme moved from Gopalakrishna Bharati done Ponniah Pillai, to Mysore Vasudevachar and Papanasam Sivan, and further to Banudasa and Tulsidas, with the foundational beingness of Tyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshitar anchoring the repertoire.

The opening agelong reflected Nisha’s open-throated, expansive vocal style. A virutham connected Hayagriva (‘Gyananandamayam’), followed by ‘Buddhir balam’ connected Anjaneya, some successful Nattai, acceptable a purposeful tone. This led to Dikshitar’s ‘Pavanatmaja aagaccha’, wherever the raga’s assertive contours were intelligibly delineated. The kalpanaswaras recovered delicate reinforcement successful H.N. Bhaskar’s violin, portion the mridangam-kanjira pairing of J. Vaidhyanathan and S. Sunil Kumar reflected measured coordination.

Following ‘Aadiya paada darisanam’ successful Darbar by Gopalakrishna Bharati, the programme turned to ‘Ninne nammithi’ by Mysore Vasudevachar successful Simhendramadhyamam. The kriti was introduced with a little alapana, aft which the niraval and kalpanaswaras astatine ‘Pannagendra sayana’ unfolded with notable momentum.

Contrasting the vigour of Simhendramadhyamam, the prime of Nilambari introduced a rakti-laden repose. ‘Amba nilambari’ by Ponniah Pillai was rendered with measured intent — fleeting enactment interruptions did small to impede the philharmonic arc. The mridangam-kanjira concern was well-calibrated, complemented by a violin accompaniment that remained understated and elegant.

The modulation to the main portion was shaped by Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Nambi kettavar’ successful Hindolam, rendered successful a brisk tempo. The absorption past shifted to Kedaragowla done Tyagaraja’s ‘Tulasi bilva’, framed by a succinct alapana, niraval astatine ‘karunato’, and neatly-articulated kalpanaswaras.

This led to a neat and measured tani avartanam, wherever aesthetic sollukattu choices took precedence implicit rhythmic complexity.

A palpable displacement successful temper followed with Banudasa’s abhang ‘Vrindhavani venu’ successful Bhimplas, aft which Tulsidas’s ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ emerged arsenic the affectional fulcrum of the evening.The assemblage responded with involvement, lending the conception a corporate resonance.