S. Srivathsan impresses with his adventurous approach

S. Srivathsan’s concert for Mudhra was a blend of melody and creativity. He was able to sustain a sense of involvement throughout the concert, and surprised the audience with a few compositions that are rarely heard these days.

Apart from the Ragam Tanam Pallavi, Tyagaraja’s Husseini kriti ‘Rama ninne namminanu’ and ‘Ennaiyum varachonnaro’ from Arunachala Kavi’s Rama Nataka keerthanai set in Manirangu stood out.

Srivathsan opened the concert with Tiruvottriyur Thyagayyar’s varnam ‘Karunimpa’ in Sahana. After presenting the Husseini composition, he moved on to a short alapana in Latangi raga and followed it up with Patnam Subramania Iyer’s ‘Aparadhamulanniyu’. Set in a pleasant tempo, the niraval at the charanam ‘Vega nannubrovu’ and the nifty kalpanaswaras added charm to the song. Following a leisurely ‘Ananda natana prakasam’ in Kedaram, one of Muthuswami Dikshitar’s Panchabhuta kritis with jatis embedded in the chittaswaram, Srivathsan went on to explore Bilahari and a fairy popular composition by Tyagaraja, ‘Dorakuna ituvanti seva’ with a niraval and some abundant swarakalpana at ‘thamasa guna rahita’.

Impressive kalpanaswara

Vaibhav Ramani’s essay of Bilahari as well as his janta prayogams in the kalpanaswara segment were impressive. Boldly venturing into Nagavalli for detailed delineation, not usually taken up for pallavi, the young singer charged it with tanam in Andolika and Madhyamavathi as a ragamalika. Vaibhav’s interpretation of these ragas was brilliant.

Srivathsan took the lines ‘Marimari ninne moralida’ from one of Tyagaraja’s compositions as pallavi and sang it in Misra chapu. He moved from Nagavalli to Kamboji, the raga in which the kriti is originally set and then to Saramathi, the raga in which the kriti was rendered in the popular film Sindhu Bhairavi.

The lyrics ‘Mari mari’ offered good scope for swaraksharam in different octaves. Though Srivathsan managed fairly well in the trikalam part, it was a rollercoaster ride in the kalpanaswaras, as he juggled the three ragas.

T.R. Sundaresan on the mridangam and D.V. Venkatasubramaniam on the ghatam alternated between delicate and dynamic playing to suit the mood of the compositions. The duo presented a demonstrative tani avartanam during the Bilahari composition and another short robust one during the RTP.

Periyazhwar’s Thirumozhi, ‘Aanirai meikka’ in Ananda Bhairavi, Kalyani, Sama and Sindhu Bhairavi was presented as prelude to Suddhananda Bharati’s ‘Andha naal ini varumo’. Srivathsan concluded the vibrant concert with the Tiruppugazh ‘Thullumada vetkai’ in Hamsanandi.

The Chennai-based writer reviews Carnatic music.