. Song list:
1. varNam - srI - karUr dEvudu iyer
2. shrI pArvatI paramEshvarau vandE - bowLi – MD; R sketch
3. mAl marugA shanmugA – vasanthA – PS; N, S @ vaLLi deivayAnai
4. kOlam kANa vArIr – nAttakurinji - ambujam krishnA; R
5. ranganAyakam bhAvayE – nAyaki – MD
6. saravaNa bhavA - pashupathipriyA – HMB
7. kaligiyuntE – keeravANi – T; elaborate R; N & S @ bAguga shrI raghu rAmuni padamula
8. telisi rAma cintanatO – pUrnacandrikA – T
9. RTP - padattirkkAga ‘pa’ - kalyANi; TNS; rAgamalikA swarams in subapantuvarALI, kAnadA
10. viruttam ‘siru viralkaL tadavi’ – rAgamAlikA - periyAzhwAr pAsuram; followed by kaNNA vA maNIvaNNA vA - rAgamAlikA - ambujam krishnA
11. tillAnA – sindubhairavi - OothukkAdu vEnkata Kavi
12. mangaLam
Vidushi Gayathri started with the Sri raga varNam and then, to mark the occasion of panguni utthiram, continued with a thematic based on four celestial weddings. A chaste rendition of MD’s not often heard ‘shrI pArvatI paramEshvarau vandE’ in bowLi describing shivA-pArvathi wedding, was followed by a soulful singing of the vasanthA composition ‘mAl marugA shanmugA’ by tamil thyAgarajAr pApanAsam sivan describing lord murugA’s wedding. Next came the beautiful ‘kOlam kANa vArIr (கோலம் காண வாரீர்)’ by contemporary composer ambujam krishnA. In this song Gayathri brought out the true rakthi of nAttakurinji along with a crafty grahabEdam shift to neelAmbari. Next was another MD master work - ‘ranganAyakam bhAvayE’ in nAyaki where MD deftly includes the rAga mudrA and sthala mudrA in the pallavi line itself. Gayathri brought out the emotive beauty of nAyaki rAgam revealing its innate softness.
After this we were treated with a brisk saravaNa bhavA in pashupathipriyA composed by Harikesanallur Muthiah bhAgavathar, an obvious nod to her guru Sri TNS who popularized this composer’s krithis. Gayathri reminded the audience this was a new raga ‘discovered’ by Muthiah bhAgavathar.
The song taken up as ‘main’ was saint tyAgarAjA’s iconic ‘kaligiyuntE’ in keeravANi which was rendered with an elaborate AlapanA and later an elaborate niraval/swaram in the charaNam line ‘bAguga shrI raghu rAmuni padamula’. TyAgarAjA’s appeals to sri rAmA were well portrayed thru impeccable rAga-bhAvA and sAhithya-bhAvA. The returns by Vijay were pleasing and the thani (solo) by Swaminathan was delightful.
The RTP was the piece-de-resistance and merits its own paragraph. It was a masterly presentation of the complex pallavi in kalyANi composed by none other than Sri TNS in 4 kaLai misra triputa tALam (see footnote for the pallavi line). It was amazing to see Gayathri tracking and navigating the lines with the beats while ensuring the melodic beauty of kalyANi. The AlApanA included a delectable grahabEdam from kalyANi to suddha danyAsi. The niraval, trikAlam, etc., were done with melodic precision and mathematical accuracy and the rAgamalika swarams (in subapantuvarALi etc.) were woven aesthetically. Both the accompanists supported her well and Swaminathan finished with a brief thani to conclude the RTP.
Next was a mesmerizing rAgamAlika viruttham rendition of periyAzhwAr’s ‘siru viralkaL tadavi’ starting with surutti. True to the lyrics that Gayathri explored very nicely, the audience lay still with legs-crossed, eyes-closed, and not moving a muscle! The viruttam led to the song kaNNA vA (‘கண்ணா வா’) which TNS used to sing often in his concerts.
Gayathri and team concluded the concert with a sindubhairavi thillAnA and mangaLam.
Overall, it was a fascinating and fulfilling concert. Gayathri was ably supported by Vijay on violin on his only second visit to the US and by Swaminathan on his first visit to the US. Both showed maturity and mastery in embellishing the songs appropriately. They both have the privilege of being introduced by CMANA in the US. We would like to listen to many more such high-quality concerts and look forward to Vid Gayathri concert again in the near future.
Footnote:
The pallavi by Sri TNS is below, where the maestro outlines the complete grammar of a pallavi
: பததிர்க்காக ப
லயதிர்க்காக ல
வின்யசதிர்க்காக வி
சேர்ந்து அமைந்த முறை தான் பல்லவி ||
சித்ரதன மார்கத்தில் சொல்லும் பொருளும் விளங்க எழில் மிகு
padattirkkAga ‘pa’
layathirkkAga ‘la’
vinyAsattirkkAga ‘vi’
serndu amainda muRai thAn pallavi ||
chitratana mArgathil sollum poruLum viLanga ezhil migu
Disclaimer: The contents and opinions expressed are my own and in an individual rasika capacity only.
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