All elegance and grace
Commendable rendering of Utsava Sampradaya kritis.
THE TYAGARAJA aradhana concert of Bombay Jayashree for the Music Academy was significant because what the rasikas felt so enchanting was the sensitivity and beauty of the musical process at her hands which seeped into their psyche. In form and finesse she is a melodic aristocrat. She sliced open sangita's rakti through her exposition rustling with elegance and grace. As the sahityas of the kirtanas were well articulated, they echoed the message of the saint composer strong and bold. This elevated accomplishment was possible for her because her mind was focussed all the time on music's aura which Sri Tyagaraja has encapsulated in his songs.
Bombay Jayashree elaborated Yadukulakambhoji, Bhairavi and Saveri. In all these, the sancharas rose gloriously turning the ragas into melting charm. The alapanas were poetic pieces with stunning resonances. Her eminence sprang from the intensity and richness of manodharma reflecting at every stage tranquil delights. What she achieved in her concert was the inspiration she provided to the rasikas in quest of the truly aesthetic depths of Carnatic music.
With the use of her sparkling voice gaining mellifluity when she began the Saveri alapana, she added a new dimension to the raga to cast a spell on the listeners. Saveri was bathed in refinement and repose. As regards Bhairavi, gamakas, karvais and fascination were so harmonised as to speak of her exceptional expressive quality. Yadukulakambhoji vinyasa provided lingering gaze through emotional glimpses of the raga's profile.
"Hechcharikagar Raa Raa", "Sri Raghuvara Sugunaalaya" and "Rama Bhana" in the three ragas respectively were sung in such a way as to surpass mere appreciation, but to stand and store at the unfolding of music's flow. The other kirtanas she rendered were "Raa Raa Maa Inti" (Asaveri) "Mundu Venuga" (Darbar) and "Thulasamma" (Devagandhari). Stridency marked the solo versions of the ragas by violinist H. N. Bhaskar with nicety at a discount. J. Vaidyanathan (mridangam) in association with D. Rajagopal (kanjira) while playing with grit and firmness was equally respectful of the mood of the vocalist.
The morning aradhana with many vidwans rendering the pancharatna was somewhat of a prelude to the evening's concert by Bombay Jayashree. The presence of many young musicians in the group was heart-warming.
Naada Brahmaananda Rupa
Bombay Jayashree
Veda Saaramow; Naama Deyamunu Talachi Nantane; Naa Tanuvemo; Jallanera Rama. (Rama! Embodiment of the bliss of naada! The very thought of your name, the quintessence of the Vedas, makes my whole body ecstatic!) Thus records the Bard of Tiruvaiyaru in the Mukhari song. This sentiment finds full expression in his Utsava Sampradaya kirtanas. If not to the extent of the saint composer, the rasikas would have felt uplifted by the rendering of those songs by the disciplined, talented students of Sulochana Pattabhiraman for the Saraswathi Vaggeyakara Trust. The motivation of the guru in inculcating in young minds the devotional base of music is highly commendable.
Sumitra Nitin sang with great exuberance and verve the kirtanas, "Vidulaku" (Mayamalavagowla), "Sangita Gnanamu" (Dhanyasi with a spirited alapana), "Evaru Manaku" (Devagandhari, a song from Nowkacharithram) and "Evaramadugudura" (Kalyani). To a large extent briga-based, the Kalyani alapana was dexterously framed. Charumathi Raghuram the young violinist's silky manner of alapana exposition in her solo was seductive.
Sensitivity in her fingers, the employment of gana-naya in sanchara beginnings and endings, and the crispness of bowing do not seem to be acquired, but gifted. S. Raman was the mridangist relishing the vocalist breezy style. — SVK
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