7 months ago
3
When 2 consummate artistes travel unneurotic — one, a vocalist whose singing is an ode to convention, and the other, a flautist, who sculpts melodic contours with grace — rasikas are promised the champion of some worlds. Abhishek Raghuram and J.B. Sruthi Sagar’s ‘Kural Kuzhal Innisai’ for Bharat Sangeet Utsav, organised by Carnatica and Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, astatine the Narada Gana Sabha Main Hall, was 1 such.
The protagonists championed philharmonic dialog implicit idiosyncratic display, and spontaneity implicit structure, propelled by zestful percussion from Thiruvaarur Bakthavathsalam (mridangam) and Chandrasekara Sharma (ghatam).
Sivavakkiyar’s verse ‘Odi odi odi odi utkalandha sodhiyai’ served arsenic a pithy prelude — a virutham starring into the opening opus ‘Sivakamasundari’ (Jaganmohini-Rupakam), Gopalakrishna Bharathi creation connected the goddess of Chidambaram. The rendition gathered momentum, with the charanam flowing into a faster tempo and the chittaswaram serving arsenic a cleanable springboard for the duo’s archetypal speech of kalpanaswaras.
In the Arabhi alapana, the artistes built the raga’s edifice with assurance, the phrases successful their brief, alternate stints echoing and enriching each other’s. The prime of Swati Tirunal’s ‘Sri ramana vibho’ was a pleasant surprise, peculiarly aft a well-spaced raga essay. Abhishek and Sruthi Sagar’s rendition complemented the composition’s clever wordplay and alliterations, and the galore sangatis connected the opening connection ‘Sri’, heightened the charm. In the swarakalpana, they negotiated fast-paced passages.
After a succinct sketch of Vijayasri by Abhishek, ‘Varanarada’, successful which Tyagaraja prays to Narada for contented and guidance connected the way of devotion, unfolded. Sruthi Sagar underscored the composition’s imaginable for instrumental eloquence.
Expansive Bahudari essay
Then came the RTP successful Bahudari, composed by Jayanthi Kumaresh. Abhishek and Sruthi Sagar’s prowess came done successful an expansive alapana that unveiled the raga’s hues. The flautist opened with a melodious outline, aft which the vocalist delved into the mandhra sthayi. They took turns to research the shadava-audava melody, successful which Sruthi Sagar’s top-octave foray and Abhishek’s follow-through stood out. The tanam that followed brimmed with vitality. The pallavi ‘Rama raghukula soma thanayuni brovabharma - dasaratha thanaya’ was, perhaps, inspired by the astir celebrated kriti successful the raga by Tyagaraja. After the pallavi successful Bahudari, they rendered it successful ragamalika (Shanmukhapriya, Nalinakanthi and Tilang).
Seasoned mridangist Bakthavathsalam, successful seamless tandem with Chandrasekara Sharma, delivered an elaborate tani avartanam successful two-kalai Adi tala. The former’s versatility shone arsenic helium conjured refreshing rhythmic patterns, to which the second responded with composure and clarity.
A brisk rendition of the Surutti creation ‘Patiki haarati re’, and a Thiruppugazh successful Sindhubhairavi drew the performance to a close.
