Baby Sriram with Kumbakonam Swaminathan on Mridangam, Trichy Murali (Ghatam) and MR Gopinath (Violin). , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
True to the classical tradition, Baby Shriram gave a scintillating performance at his recent concert for the Arunachal Raman Sangeetha Sabha at Arke Convention Centre. His honest approach, lyrical clarity and soul-rich renditions added to the concert’s appeal.
Trained under eminent gurus such as TM Thiagarajan and PS Narayanaswamy, Baby Sriram has added a wide variety of compositions to his repertoire and is at ease while portraying ragas.
In this concert, he presented an elaborate charukeshi alapana focusing on his individual swaras and gamakas.
pleasurable tani
Veteran violinist MR Gopinath’s genius was evident in his restrained responses. Swati Tirunal’s classic, ‘Kripaya Palaya Shorey’ was the chosen piece. In ‘Narad Mukha Muni’ Baby Shriram’s niraval and swaraprastara had the stamp of his Guru TMT’s vibrant visuals and impeccable Kalapremam. In Tani, Kumbakonam Swaminathan (mridangam) and Trichy Murali (ghatam) introduced some third nadai strokes. The rhythmic exchanges between them were enriching.
After Ranjani raga alapana, Baby Shriram rendered Tyagaraja’s ‘Durmargachar’ (Roopakam). Pallavi’s Kalpanaswaras gave her an opportunity to display her creative artistry. Another Tyagaraja work that he performed was the short and crisp ‘Nenarunchira’ in raga Simhavahini. It came with a fresh tone.
Baby Sriram’s traditional moorings came to the fore in his Nayaki raga Alapana, followed by the Dikshitar masterpiece ‘Ranganayakam Bhavaye’. He presented two compositions by Pudukode Krishnamurti (1923–1985), who was a direct disciple of Palghat Rama Bhagavatar. One was ‘Bhaja Manasa Meenakshi’ (Roopakam) in Bowli with Kalpanaswaras, and the other was ‘Adimalar Inai’ in Raga Andolika.
Baby Sriram begins his recitation with Vasantha Varnam, ‘Ninnukori’ by Tachhur Singarchari, with brief Kalpanaswaras. A Virutham at Hansanandi, Anandabhairavi and Behag was the prelude to Guru Surjanand’s ‘Muruganin Marupeyar Azhagu’ (Behag-khand Chapu). The senior singer concluded her evening concert with Nilakanta Sivan’s ‘Theruvathu Apppo’ (Khamas).