A well-planned concert by Nisha Rajagopalan

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is back with a solid line-up of live concerts. Last December, it had been among the very few sabhas to host the festival live, holding it on the grounds of Bhavan’s Rajaji Vidyashram school in Kilpauk. This year, the event is taking place in Mylapore, the music hub. On the third day of Bhavan’s cultural festival, Nisha Rajagopalan and team presented a reposeful yet strikingly impressive performance. A day before, at the same venue, senior musician Sudha Ragunathan expressed joy over returning to the stage and hearing real applause. The vibrancy from the start of Nisha’s concert vouched for this feeling, as she launched straight into a brisk Swati Tirunal’s composition, ‘Pahi parvatha nandini’ in Arabhi capping it with quick kalpanaswaras at ‘Vanchi nrupalaka’ in the charanam. After this warm-up, she presented Tyagaraja’s ‘Emani pogadudhura’ in Veeravasantham. The dominating shatsruthi dhaivatam emotively expressed, lent euphony to the rendition.

Two elaborate raga alapanas for Shanmukhapriya and Kaapi, two swift compositions, and a leisurely keerthana in Nattakurinji ensured her well-defined plan for the format.

While Nisha painted the dynamic image of Shanmukhapriya in the alapana, she presented Tyagarja’s ‘Marivere’ with a detailed niraval at ‘Sannuthanga sri venkatesa’ and teamed it with a flourish of swarakalpanas. In both the alapana and the swara segment, M. Vijay (violin) aligned well with the singer while exhibiting a matching creativity.

Clear diction

In Gopalakrishna Bharati’s ‘Vazhi maraiththirukkude’ set in Nattakurinji, the slow tempo and clarity of diction complemented the mood and elegance of the composition. Praveen Sparsh on mridangam showed a sense of sobriety during the rendition of this kriti alternating precisely with Chandrasekara Sharma on the ghatam. The duo played the thani in Adi tala with verve and energy.

After a sprightly ‘Sri guruguha taarayasu mam’, the Devakriya composition by Dikshitar, Nisha entered the pivotal part of the concert. Her Kapi alapana was marked with signature phrases of the raga along with some sublime moments. The graceful glides enhanced the beauty of Kapi. The delineation prophesied Tyagaraja’s ‘Inta sowkhyamani ne’, which was presented with plenty of sowkhyam. Niraval and the following slow swaras at the line ‘Swara raga laya’ culminating in long, fast-paced swara matrices were in perfect measure.

Ambujam Krishna’s ‘Ganamazhai pozhiginran’ in ragamalika and Tukaram’s abhang ‘Sawale sundar roop manohar’ in Hindolam were the concluding pieces.

The Chennai-based reviewer specialises in Carnatic music.