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Tonal magic: B. Arundhathi some of the stalwarts who participated in the Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar Music Festival.

T.M. Krishna started his two-hour concert with a Sahana varnam. The kriti was Karunimpa. ‘Nina Ranjera’ in Simha vahini followed. The major attraction of the evening was the Tyagaraja kriti ‘Nadopasana’ in Begada, set to Adi tala. The other notable pieces included Tyagaraja’s ‘Vaibhavum’ (Ananthabhairavi), ‘Tungatheere’ (Salagabhairavi), ‘Pippare’ (Yamuna kalyani) and a Tillana in Kannada.

While B. Arundhathi’s concert was noted for her charming renditions, that of Pushpa Anand was for its erudite presentation. Arundhathi began her vocal concert with ‘Sami nine’ in Pantuvarali. She followed it with Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Tatwa Maryatma’ in Ritigaula. ‘Enthoko’ in Sankarabharanam displayed her gift as a talented musician. Arundhathi also rendered ‘Nee vadane’ (Saranga), ‘Ekamresha nayakam’ (Shanmukhapriya), ‘Mivalla gunadosha’ (Kapi), ‘Radhasameda Krishna’ and a ‘Thirupukazh’ in Hamsanandi.

Pushpa Anand, disciple of M. L. Vasanthakumari and P. S. Narayanaswami, began her vocal concert with a Nalinakanthi varnam and rendered ‘Deva Deva kalayamithe’ in Mayamalavagaula as a warm-up. Other compositions included ‘Enudaya’ (Kalyanavasantham), ‘Bandureethi’ (Hamsanadam) and a couple of Abhangs.

T.M. Krishna

The Karnataka brothers, Sasikiran and Ganesh, presented a kutcheri true to the classic tradition. The duo began their concert with an Ada tala varnam ‘Chalamela’ in Sankarabharanam. With ragalapana, they rendered ‘Diwakara,’ a Navagraha kriti in Yadukula kambhoji. The highlight was ‘Rama nee’ in Kharaharapriya. Sasikiran gave an exposition of the raga. The other compositions included ‘Neebhajana’ in Nayaki and ‘Neethamahima’ in Hamsanandi composed by Harikesanelloor Muthaiah Bhagavathar. Towards the end, the two brothers sang a couple of bhajans and a Purandaradasa mangalam in Madhyamavrithi.

J. Balamuralikrishna’s vocal concert was on traditional lines. He began his kutcheri with an Ada tala varnam in Kambhoji. The kriti ‘Sarasijanatha’ was followed by ‘Sree mahaganapathim’ in Gaula set to Misrachappu tala. ‘Pahijagajanani’ in Vachaspathi was preceded by an elaborate ragalapanam. Balamuralikrishna also rendered ‘Namakusuma’(Sree), ‘Ma kelara’ (Ravichandrika), ‘Sankai sankaru’(Saveri), ‘Maramanam’ (Hindolam) and ‘Ramanaitharuvan’ (Sindhubhairavi) and Dhanusree thillana of Swati Tirunal.

Changanasseri Madhavan Namboothiri, who came as a replacement for Mavelikkara Velukkutty Nair, gave a wonderful presentation. Madhavan Namboothiri opened his concert with ‘Sreelakshmi varaham’ in Abhogi set to Adi tala. His rich repertoire of kritis included ‘Janani ninu vina’ (Ritigaula), ‘Needaya radha’ (vasanthabhairavi), ‘Amma devam’ (kalyani) and a ragam tanam pallavi in Keeravani.

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