The Malladi brothers plan the concert in such a way that their individual voices come out
If the medium tempo best evokes the essence of Carnatic music, the Malladi brothers enhanced its spirit through their concerts in celebration of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. The singer duo intelligently sequenced compositions in ragas of varying profiles, drawing individually the registers that each corresponded to. Sriramprasad used to let his younger brother Ravikumar explore the upper voices, where he always sounded strong.
This was evident from the inauguration alapana at Ritigovala. Tyagaraja’s ‘Balle Balendu Bhushan’ was given way by an inspiring Virutham. Swaraprastar rejoiced in the distinctive ups and downs of a blood raga steeped in devotion, which was refreshed with the flamboyant ‘Manasa Etulortune’ that followed.
After this Malayalam excerpt, the brothers came up with a novelty, in which Anupalavi was uniquely selected for the song. ‘Dinkar Kulbhushani’, he later argued, highlights the literary crux of the Telugu work (with the customary ‘Kalilo Rajas’ in Charanam).
In the third suite, Ravikumar took an alapana, which at first looked like Shanmukhapriya, but soon woven into a little more Subhapantuvarali. Bhavapriya, as it turned out, can be difficult not only for the listener, but also for the musician. Singer and violinist, HN Bhaskar, both exposed the kaleidoscope quality of this 44th Melakarta raga in another Tyagaja work, ‘Srikanta Niyada’.
A quick ‘Nadupai’ reiterated Madhyamavati’s softness, even as its meditativeness served as a filler here. The centerpiece in Begada gave rise to the classicism of the Jana raga, with the brothers sharing the alapana in two parts and singing ‘Thyagarajaya Namaste’ by Muthuswamy Dixit in the metaphorical cadence of three beats. The two made a bit of haste and left Niraval, but Manoj Siva (Mridangam) and Krishna Sriram (Ghatam) got a fair chance to showcase their skills in a well proportioned and crisp thani. In all, the package was 45 minutes into a two-and-a-half hour program.
soothing presentation
When brothers sing together, their sound acquires a soothing quality. This feature came in his next work by his father Malladi Suri Babu to the tune of Kalavati Raga. With its affiliation to Chakravakam, ‘Bhalira Varagyamento’ by Bhadrachalam Ramadasu started a streak of morning glory in the evening shows.
Chenchurutty then transferred Tampura’s drone to Madhyam Shruti. ‘Athanai Than Sonalam’ by 19th-century composer, Nilakanta Sivan, resonates with the flavor of the Harikamboji-born raga, often used in folk songs.
The concluding song came in jhonpuri, which usually demonstrated the ability to move up to the upper octave of the voice. The ‘Pahipahim Paramakripalo’ (Narayan Teertha Tarangam) touched the brothers’ guru, Nedunuri Krishnamurthy, who gave it the tune. Even in some parts the Mangalam sounded exactly as it was sung by the Guru.
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