Vid(s) Akkarai sisters gave ( and must have given before I could login) a scintillating performance aided by Vid. Jayachandra Rao and Vid. Ravi Balasubramaniam.
They were concluding aTukARA nI balga in manOranjani - Adi tALam. They launched into a grand yet crisp VAgadhISvari rAgam with tAnam , including vArALi and kIravANi in the tAnam. VAgadhISvari , they (one of them) began in lower section clearly delineating the vivAdi svaras and their special lilt in their instrument. tAnam was effective. When kIRavAni was played however, I did get a feeling I am listening to an old 80(s) DD News launch music, when Subbalakshmi's ( hope I am right who it was- as I was listening in small screen while doing my walk) bowing included the extra strings in some sections!
Pallavi : tatikiTatom(5) tati,kiTa,tom(7) tatI,,kiTa,,tom (9) tatIm,,, tatIm,,, ta (11) | tim,,, (6 kArvai in madyama kAla i.e. 12 mAtrAs kArvai in 64 total Avarta reckoning)
tatikiTathom tatikiTathom tatikiTathom || (trISram for italicized portion - 10 turns 15 ( or 20 turns 30 in 64 mAtra count)
5+7+9+11 = 32 for the pURvAngam.
Being a very rhythmic nerve-wracking Pallavi, the sisters did not spend too much in neraval rounds. Yeah, how long we can keep hearing the vivAdi. Nice yukti , give the verve and take away neraval. Instead, they used Pallavi exposition to show case rAgamAlika svaras in bEgaDa, ShaNmugapriyA and behAg such. Final firing round of svaras included many rAgAs like Siva ranjani, dESh , valaji (too quick - but it felt like pAdamE tuNai meTTu).
tani turned into an excellent exposition with Jayachandra Rao's profuse fingering - he launched into triSram and played sankIRNam in the end. Ravi replied with miSra naDai which included lower kAlam transition 7 over 2 beats and 7 over 4 etc.
Vid. Svarnalatha took a big chunk with her konnakkOl (which I have heard an earlier instance in nAda inbam webcast last season). She nicely delved into the legendary folksy ta,,-ki-Ta-ta-ka-dhin-dhin-dhin-na - a street rhythm that used to be heard in Srinivasa Govinda , Govinda laksha Govinda, that Tirupati bound devotees sing to collect money for their trip - made into a grandiose exposition by SrI Palghat Raghu ( in my listening repertoire that is). The way she transitioned that to triSram in that phrase and back to caturaSram with a classic offset take was beautiful.
See how the music has taken the most rustic and mundane rhythms and grown it into something that is unnatam. And yet there are people who have the gal to call this music elitist!
She also included a round with SrI TKM staple sollus ta,,, kiTataka tagutatAri kiTataka tarikaTa ta,ta, kiTataka tarikiTatom tarikiTatom ... which was made into a kOrvai.
And concluded her round with the abhiprAyam and Arudhi improvised from the 101 lessons of Mridangam: ta dhin- dhin - na...
They concluded with viSvESvaru daRShan karu, and SrI LalguDi's Desh tillana and Mangalam. The tillana was played with authentic Lalgudi bANi stresses and emoting.
Credits: The concert was listened to in a nice 80 deg. breezy Texas spring weather walk in a park with iPhone 15 and bone conductor headsets - active wear. Why only artists , rasikas also have to credit the facilitators and instrument makers for the divine experience eh?
