Krishna impresses with his presentation of kritis and raga essays

Madurai T.N.S. Krishna with B.U. Ganesh Prasad (violin), Mannargudi Eswaran (mridangam) and V. Suresh (ghatam).
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Madurai T.N.S. Krishna offered a sumptuous fare keeping intact all the necessary classical elements in his kutcheri. Though Krishna’s rendering of kritis reflected the style of his father, the veteran musician Madurai T.N. Seshagopalan, he has to be commended for skilfully blending the classicism with the doyen’s special touches added at the right junctures.

Krishna began with the popular Kalyani varnam ‘Vanajakshi’ . A fleeting touch of Darbar led to Tyagaraja’s ‘Yochana kamala’ with a catchy chittaswaram and a precise swara sequence. Hindolam was his next choice for elaboration. While one can feel the extra dosage of akarams, Krishna balanced it with equal share of softer passages too. Dikshitar’s awesome ‘Neerajaskhi kamakshi’ had not just its alluring chittaswaram, but a beautiful strands of swarakalpana. Subbaraya Sastri’s Yadukula Kamboji oeuvre ‘Ninnu sevinchina’ came as a smooth interlude with its classically structured chittaswaram and sahityam.

Surfeit of swarakalpana

The centrestage was set for an exhaustive raga treatise of Thodi. Krishna constructed the raga with breathless phrases, as well as soul-stirring akaras covering every phrase of this magnificent raga. Here also, Krishna’s selection was the inimitable Tyagaraja kriti ‘Kaddanuvariki’. The niraval and swaras at ‘Baddu tappaka bhajininche’ were treated in an exhaustive way followed by surfeit of swarakalpana. The swara combines focussed on shadjam as the highpoint.

Beginning at a slow pace, the tani avartanam between veterans Mannargudi Eswaran (mridangam) and V. Suresh (ghatam) got accelerated with the feisty rhythmic exchanges and concluded with a bang. Their enthusiasm and energy went a long way in enhancing the overall appeal of the concert.

Soulful Ranjani was selected for a detailed Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi. Krishna’s raga essay was quite expressive with the necessary frills interspersed cleverly and the tanam was bright and brisk. The pallavi ‘Madhavan maruga mamayil muruga,’ carried many pleasant combinations as the line was set in the Sankeerna Jathi Triputa talam. The ragamalika strands included Bahudari, Karna Ranjani and Surutti.

B.U. Ganesh Prasad’s impeccable playing on the violin added to the concert appeal. His raga essays touched all the nuances that the vocalist exhibited in his alapanas and swara passages.

The signing off pieces were ‘Sundari en soppanththil’ in Khamas by Ramnad C.S. Sankara Sivam and Hamirkalyani thillana by T.N. Seshagopalan.

Krishna’s approach and rendition reminds his mentor and father Vidwan TN Seshagopalan at many instances; but, they only brought smiles on the faces of the listeners as they exhibit the signature and legacy delegated to his son as well as disciple by the great doyen. 

The Chennai-based reviewer writes on Carnatic music.