Marked by composure and confidence
G. SWAMINATHAN
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Vaikom Jayachandran's kalpanaswaras added lustre to his recital.
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PHOTO: K. N. MURALIDHARAN
CHAMBER AMBIENCE: Vaikom Jayachandran.
The venue is a far cry from the sophisticated concert halls of new genre. It is just a red-oxide floored room of an old house accessible by a steep winding staircase located after crossing a small dark alley in the famous Singarachari Street of traditional Trivallikeni. Therefore, it would be more appropriate to call Vaikom Jayachandran's vocal recital for Triplicane Rasika Samaj as a Chamber concert (with mike) for a handful of audience.
Jayachandran's voice and delivery have gained the mandatory force and credence with time. The voice may not carry high voltage of magnetic charm. Yet composure and confidence are the major strengths of Jayachandran.
The Abogi varnam set the ball rolling followed by GNB's alluring Hamsadhwani composition "Vara Vallaba Ramana." Embellishing the pallavi with calculated lengths of swaras, Jayachandran belted out two snappy numbers of Tyagaraja "Nannu Kanna Talli" in the rare Sindhukannada and "Muddhu momu" in even rarer Suryakantam.
The Saveri alapana was draped in relaxed phrases and longish kaarvais of stirring melody. Jayachandran's well-conceived exposition became a perfect preamble to Shyma Sastri's oeuvre "Durusuga Kripa Joosi" with its moving chittaswaram and sahityam. Jayachandran added luster to the kriti with neraval and kalpanaswaras at "Parama Paavani."
Undoubtedly, this exercise made the expectations soar high when he took up Simhendramadyamam after Dikshitar's vivid "Sri Parthasarathy" in Sudha Dhanyasi. The raga exposition fell rather flat proceeding on a swift mode missing the nuances. Vasudevachar's "Ninne Nammidi," however, made amends with several rounds of nice sangatis and a well-set neraval and swaras at "Pannkendra Sayana."
Jayachandran's kalpanaswaras need special appreciation as he adhered to relevant combinations eschewing rambling. Post `tani' items included "Jayathi Jayathi Bharata Matha" (Khamas), "Sankara Srigiri" (Hamsanandi) and "Enna Thavam" (Kapi).
Ambica Prasad (violin) proved to be an understanding accompanist of the vocalist's style. Without overstepping the limits, he showed comprehension in the delivery of the main ragas and swaras. KMU Ramakrishnan's mridangam became upa-pakkavadyam overshadowed by Jayachandran's beats on talam that got magnified inside the small hall.
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