Practice and partnership marked the inaugural concert of The Music Academy’s Nadotsavam - 2026

The nagaswaram occupies a presumption of eminence among aerophone philharmonic instruments of South India. A double-reed instrumentality is classified among the mangala vadyams, whose beingness is mandatory astatine temple rituals and auspicious ceremonies.

It was this contented that the 3rd variation of Nadotsavam sought to celebrate, presenting six concerts crossed 3 days astatine The Music Academy, offering sustained engagement with the nagaswaram-thavil partnership.

The festival’s inaugural performance featured artiste-couple Tirupananthal Viswanathan and Vijayalakshmi. The mates were accompanied by Achalpuram A.V. Selvam and Tiruvenkadu T.M. Guhan connected the thavil. The 4 musicians brought to the juncture their sustained grooming and familiarity with the tradition’s demands.

The performance opened with Tyagaraja’s ‘Sri ganapatini sevimpara’ successful Sowrashtram, a fitting invocation that the instrumentality carried with diagnostic fullness. The thavil accompaniment was notable for its structured division: Selvam held the pallavi, Guhan stepped successful for the anupallavi, and Selvam returned for the charanam — an statement that lent the portion a conversational bushed betwixt the 2 percussionists. What further distinguished the evening was the manner, successful which the thavil artists kept up the momentum with their interludes. The opposition successful their attack was interesting. While Selvam’s playing carried a tonal resonance and nadham that filled the hall, Guhan’s greater usage of the thoppi lent a textural subtlety that balanced the ensemble well.

An alapana successful Nasikabhushani preceded ‘Mara vairi’, followed by the brisk ‘Nati mata marachitivo’ by Tyagaraja successful Devakriya, a kriti that demands not lone velocity but besides rhythmic steadiness. Here, Guhan’s accompaniment was peculiarly assured, the kala pramanam held without drift from archetypal bushed to the last.

The performance deepened considerably arsenic Viswanathan moved to an unhurried and naadam-rich Pantuvarali alapana, that drew the audience’s attraction done each phrase.

The alapana for Muthu Thandavar’s ‘Eesane koti surya’ captured the raga’s inherent flavour. The duo rendered the kriti by moving crossed registers — Vijayalakshmi connected the little pitch, Viswanathan connected the higher.

Thanjavur Sankara Iyer’s ‘Natajana palini’ successful Nalinakanti followed, its alapana a studied opposition to the preceding Pantuvarali — lighter successful disposition, the phrases moving with a definite ease.

‘Appan avatharitha’ successful Karaharapriya was the evening’s centrepiece — Viswanathan’s alapana assured, the kalpanaswaras well-rounded. A little swarastanam lapse from Vijayalakshmi was steadied unobtrusively by Viswanathan. The thani opened with a five-avartanam interplay, with tisra nadai from Selvam lasting retired for sollu clarity. Guhan’s thoppi treble strokes, gumki method and rim changeable were the highlights. The kuraippu reduced to a azygous bushed earlier a clean, if somewhat self-contained, 84-beat mohara korvai closed the thani to a lukewarm assemblage response.

The performance drew to a adjacent done 3 well-chosen pieces — Manikkavachagar’s ‘Ammaye appa’ successful Mohanam, followed by Thirugnanasambandar’s ‘Manthiramavathu’ successful Navroj and Arunagirinathar’s Tiruppugazh verse successful Husseni. The last moments were some astir bhakti and philharmonic substance.