INDIAN FINE ARTS SOCIETY
Carrying the torch of tradition
G. SWAMINATHAN
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Bombay Sisters employed were creative without crossing limits or resorting to flamboyance.
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Photo: R. Shivaji Rao
UNDILUTED FARE: Bombay Sisters Saroja and Lalitha.
Besides experience, there are a host of other factors that can be identified with Bombay Sisters Saroja and Lalitha — and these make one cherish their concerts. The prime factor is time management followed by their selection of compositions from a plethora of composers, proper distribution of alapana, rendition, niraval and swaras, eschewing overkill at every point.
The sisters engaged the audience at the Bala Mandir German Hall, with their undiluted, serious and vintage music. Purandaradasa's `Jaya Jayananda' in Nattai with swaras and `Brochevarevarura' in Khamas lit up the concert. An exhaustive Purvikalyani laid out by Lalitha came first. The sisters always tread a path of grammar and tradition. Their approach is also a lesson to the up and coming singers, on how to employ creativity without cutting across the limits and resorting to flashy flamboyance. `Gnanamosagarada' with step-by-step niraval at `Paramathmudu Jeevathmudu,' with Lalitha concluding it with kuraippu swaras, anchored on gandharam. Later, Sankarabharanam by Saroja carried the traditional torch through slow and steady development. True, the labour was visible; but the sincerity and purity of the music ruled over it. Papanasam Sivan's `Mahalakshmi Jaganmatha' and the extensive exercise at `Parkadal Tharum Kripakari' went on similar lines of Purvikalyani. `Sri Ranga Puravihara' in Brindavanasaranga was sung by the sisters with complete raganubhava and piety while `Malmaruga Shanmuga' in Vasantha came as a breezy filler.
K.R.Ganesh on the mridangam and H. Sivaramakrishnan on the ghatam were dominant and submissive according to the demands of the sahityam and singing. Usha Rajagopalan, a long-time associate of the Bombay Sisters, knows the pulse of the vocalists and therefore, turned out to be a perfect foil to them in every aspect.
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