Confident and crisp
Gayathri Girish Photo: K. V. Srinivasan.
Confident delivery and crisp presentation marked the inaugural vocal recital of Gayathri Girish under the auspices of Sriranjani at Vani Mahal.
The artiste sought to cover lost ground occasioned by a late start (on account of the preceding function) by aligning elements of raga, swara and kriti in commendable proportion.
Commencing with the Sahana varnam, `Karunimpa,' she set a robust pace with the Tyagaraja kriti `Kanukontini' in Bilahari enlivened by kalpanaswaras.
The raga exposition of Varamu embellished with vadi-samvadi phrases, jarus and brigas was a fitting prelude to the Subramania Bharati composition, `Saagaa Varam Arulvaai'(Rupakam), the opening phrase deploying swaraakshara.
Excellent support
`Swaagatam Krishna' in Mohanam was distinguished by the excellent support provided by J. Vaidyanathan on the mridangam and Karthick on the ghatam who launched into an exuberant mini percussion fest that added sparkle to the proceedings.
In the main raga, Poorvikalyani, the vocalist strove for a more relaxed exposition. Her disciplined approach yielded a well-structured entity. The kriti chosen was Muthuswami Dikshitar's awe-inspiring oeuvre "Meenakshi Memudam" (Adi tala).
For the musician, to experience the kriti in its entirety is to do justice to it. However, the artiste's rendition fell short of the immense scope afforded. Briga fillers propped up the sahitya, forming a too-busy fretwork in parts, detracting from the essence of the composition, as for instance in the treatment of the line, `Vidhu Vidambana Vadane.'
V.V.S. Murari on the violin lent considerable support, creating a reflective mood in his raga expositions of Varamu and Poorvikalyani.
LALITHAA KRISHNAN
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