MB Hariharan and S. Ashok with D. Badrinarayanan (violin), .R. Sundaresan (Mridangam) and Trichy K. Murli (Ghatam). , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Brothers from Bangalore, MB Hariharan and S. Ashoka framed the structure of his concerto with a series of flamboyant items leading to pieces of resistance that sounded contrastingly unhurried and contemplative. Thus, swarajati in bhari thodi guaranteed surplus seriousness. The brothers (not siblings but close friends) rarely resorted to formal gestures of complimenting each other, but their two-and-a-half-hour concert in Mudra exemplified through singing together for more than a decade Demonstrated symbiosis.
Shyama Shastri’s ‘Rave Himgirikumari’ occupied the center stage, with the junior singer rendering a mesmerizing rendition. That key role marked a departure from the so far Hariharan-led Kutch. Despite its relatively short duration (just a little over seven minutes), Ashoka’s ta-da-ra-na passages are filled with brigas and gamakas, ensuring grandeur for a solo exercise. The musician’s voice has a pleasant nasal touch, even as he hits the bottom of any chord. Also, he is more impulsive in fantasies – in contrast to the more restrained Hariharan. On the violin, D. Badrinarayanan played melodious tunes to accompany Thodi’s classical passages. In the top register, the alapana produced an off-key squeak. In addition, he demonstrated reasonably strong tonal dexterity on the instrument.
Bhai was a bit quicker than usual with his main showpiece. Yet the magnificence was nowhere lost; In fact, the fast stretches along the last part of Niraval (around ‘Kalyani Kanchi Kamakshi’) were particularly dazzling. Ashoka sets out to cast it in an equally clean swaraprastra, showing a kaleidoscopic shuffling of notes. Capping off the hour-long opus are TR Sundaresan (Mridangam) and Trichy K.K. There was a mature Adi-Tala Thani Avataram by Murali (Ghatam).
Bangalore Brothers MB Hariharan and S Ashok. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The key relaxation of the Thodi package ties in nicely with the first half of the presentation. The opening ‘chalamela’ varnam (Thiruvottiyoor Thiagaiyar) reveled in the fanfare of the court, also proving the duo’s ease in moving upwards and the percussionist’s ability to happily join in the festivities. Vasanthi Nattai was the next choice of raga, where restrained pyrotechnics illuminated the swaraprastha of ‘Parameswara Jagadeesa’ (Muthuswami Dikshitar). Tyagaraja’s ‘Pariyachaka’ in Vanaspati was later Balmy.
Earlier, Hariharan’s brief sketch of Nattai saw the opening phrase resting on a descending slide, which Badrinarayanan mistook for Devagandhari. This derivation of Shankarabharanam, coincidentally, came to form the fourth suite. Both the singer and the violinist incorporated their alapana with suggestions of the impending ‘Kshirsagar Shayan’, but the masterpiece was ‘Sri Tulasamma’ (by Tyagaraja, however). The seven-beat Mishra Chapu then began as the pair sang ‘Sri Mathrubhootham’, highlighting the beauty of Kannada with a soulful vocal interspersed with a Dikshitar composition. The ‘Thaye Tripurasundari’ (Sudhasaveri) segment by Periyasamy Thuran was the lone number set for Chapu.
The 18-minute thani avataram was followed by a Krishna-invoking sloka in Kapi, followed by ‘Enna Thaavam’ (Papanasam Sivan). If Dikshitar’s Shankarabharanam Nottuswaram ‘Anjaneya Sada’ had a western flair, then the upcoming ‘Acharavillada Naalige’ (Purandaras) in Kalyani was also clearly defined. A cheerful Nattakurinji (‘Manava Nilisuvudu’) gives way to a calmer Surutti mangalam (‘Indina Dinve’).