Unusual choice of kritis
GARIMELLA SUBRAMANIUM
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Mayavaram Sisters Uma and Geetha sang with a rare sincerity of purpose.
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PHOTO: K. N. MURALIDHARAN
COMPLETE CONTROL OVER VOICE: Mayavaram Sisters Uma (left) and Geetha.
There was a lot more than the common curiosity one associates with a vocal duet in the singing of Mayavaram Sisters, Uma and Geetha, on Saturday last for Nadopasana.
The choice of kritis was unusual for the best part; and the absence of showmanship infused their rendition with a rare sincerity of purpose. The first three items on the list of Uma and Geetha are not frequently heard in a concert nowadays.
So the Ata tala varnam in Dheera Sankarabharanam, the Ramnad Srinivasa Iyengar kriti in Saurashtram and the Kalyani kirtana of Subbarayasastri, "Ninnuvina'' were indeed refreshing, although the presentation sounded somewhat tentative.
Out of the ordinary
Uma's alapana of raga Sama — which is credited to Harikambhodi and Dheera Sankarabharanam — was truly out of the ordinary.
Her easy enunciation of the notes seemed to enhance its innately soothing qualities and her ability to stay on course spoke of complete control over the voice.
Above all, through her alapana, Uma seemed to strongly refute the view that some ragas are apt and others inappropriate for extensive exposition.
The Tyagaraja kriti, "Yetulaina Bhakti Vachchutaku Yatnamu Seyave'' that the sisters subsequently presented was one more addition to the repertoire in raga Sama to those of us who are familiar with "Santamuleka'' and "Manasasancharare.''
Tyagaraja's "Sitamanohara Srungarasekhara'' in Ramamanohari and "Kannatandri Napai Karunamanake'' in Devamanohari and Dikshitar's Kamas kriti, "Sarasadalanayana Sankhataharana'' were excellent selections among the smaller compositions. Amritha Murali's accompaniment on the violin was of a superior quality all the way. Ganapathiraman did not miss a single opportunity to demonstrate his ability to produce rhythmic patterns on the mridangam aligned to the lyrics. His accompanist on the ganjira, Nerkundram Shankar, however, played like a non-striking batsman during the better part of the performance.
The exception to this was in the tani avartanam and you felt Shankar's nonchalance otherwise may have been just an aberration.
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