Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is back with a solid array of live concerts. Last December, it was one of the very few gatherings to host the festival live, to be held on the grounds of the Bhavan’s Rajaji Vidyashram School in Kilpauk. This year the event is being held at the music hub Mylapore. On the third day of Bhavan’s cultural fest, Nisha Rajagopalan and team put on a serene yet surprisingly impressive performance. A day earlier at the same venue, senior musician Sudha Raghunathan expressed her happiness at the return on stage and the actual applause. The vibrancy from the beginning of Nisha’s concert attests to this sentiment, as she directly introduced Swathi Tirunal’s composition, ‘Pahi Parvat Nandini’ in Arabic, with quick imagery in ‘Vanchi Nripalaka’ in Charanam. Following this warm-up, he performed Tyagaraja’s ‘Emani Pogadudhura’ in Veeravasantham. The influential Shatshruti Dhavatam expressed eloquently, infused melodiousness in singing.
Two elaborate raga alapanas for Shanmukhapriya and Kapi, two fast compositions, and a leisurely kirtan in Nattakurinji ensured his well-defined plan for the format.
While Nisha portrayed the dynamic image of Shanmukhapriya in Aalpan, she presented Tyagaraja’s ‘Marivere’ in ‘Sannuthanga Sri Venkatesh’ with an elaborate veil and associated it with the flourishing of Swarakalpana. In both the alapana and swara sections, M. Vijay (violin) harmonized well with the singer, showcasing matching creativity.
clear dictionary
In Gopalakrishna Bharati’s ‘Vazi Maraithithirukkude’ set in Nattakurinji, the slow tempo and clarity of pronunciation complemented the mood and elegance of the composition. Praveen Sparsh on the mridangam showed a sense of restraint during the recital of this work, alternating with Chandrashekhar Sharma on the ghatam. In Aadi Taal, both of them played Thani with vigor and energy.
After the Devkriya composition ‘Shri Guruguha Tarayasu Mam’ by Dixit, Nisha entered the main body of the concert. His Kapi Alapana was marked with signature phrases of the raga as well as some sublime moments. The beautiful glides added to the beauty of Kapi. The delimitation predates Tyagaraja’s ‘Inta Soukhyamani Ne’, which was presented with lots of soukhyam, The nival and the following slow vowels were in perfect measure, resulting in long, fast tempo swara matrices on the ‘swara raga laya’ line.
Ambujam Krishna’s ‘Ganamzhai Pozhiginaran’ in Ragamalika and Tukaram’s abhang ‘Saavle Sundar Roop Manohar’ in Hindolam were the concluding pieces.
The Chennai-based critic specializes in Carnatic music.
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