Friday Review
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Pleasant cascading effect
V. BALASUBRAMANIAN
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It was stuff rarely heard these days that the Kalakkad Brothers offered.
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Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam
VINTAGE: R. Srinivasan (left) and R. Thiagarajan.
Listening to R. Thiagarajan and R. Srinivasan, known as Kalakkad Brothers, was a revelation. Sons of noted Carnatic vocalist and actor, the late Kalakkad Ramanarayana Bhagavathar, they presented at the Thiagaraja Sangeetha Vidwath Samajam vintage st
uff, not heard these days.
The clock went back 60 years. Gifted with voices of a different timbre, the duo started on a bright note with Saveri varnam.
Dikshitar’s ‘Vatapi’ ( Hamsadwani-Adi) and ‘Swaminatha Paripalaya’ (Nattai-Adi), continued at a brisk pace. All the swaras for the Nattai kriti were crisp.
Tyagaraja’s ‘Sadhinchane’ (Arabhi-Adi) was followed by a brilliant delineation of Panthuvarali.
The phrases cascaded down fluently with breathtaking freshness. The kriti was ‘Chakraraja Rathaa Ruda’ in misra chapu composed by their father based on Sri Lalitha Sahsranamam.
Mullaivasal Chandramouli adapted quickly to the pace and presented Panthuvarali that complemented the duo’s effort. ‘Valli Deva Sena’ (Abheri-Adi-Mannargudi Sambasiva Bhagavathar) and ‘Sangitha Parangatha’ ( Poornachandrika-Adi-Koteeswara Iyer) were good selections that followed.
Kalyani sans gimmicks
The duo tackled the main piece, Kalyani, sans gimmicks with all its inherent beauty. The adukku phrases were impressive with the violin matching step for step. Jalaja Sambhava ( Adi-Mannargudi Sambasiva Bhagavathar) was less racy.
The swaras were in the right dosage. That Srinivasan is an accomplished mridanga vidwan added value to the vocal recital. Knowledge of Sanskrit makes the duo’s diction perfect. K.R.Ganesh (mridangam) in the company of G Ravichandran (ghatam) and A.S.Krishnan (morsing) did well to maintain the tempo with catchy arudis and theermanams. The thani was captivating.
The pleasant demeanour of the duo, smiling innocently throughout the concert, made the atmosphere soothing. The brothers wound up with a Kabirdas Bhajan and Tiruppugazh verse.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
