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Music Season
SRI THYAGA BRAHMA GANA SABHA
It was substance that mattered
LALITHAA KRISHNAN
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Bhairavi and Malavi combined the advantages of patanthara and sampradaya.
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Shared effort: Bhairavi and Malavi
Siblings Bhairavi and Malavi’s singing was a credit to their gurus, the late vidwan Kedaranathan, Meera Kedaranathan and Suguna Purushothaman. Combining the twin advantages of weighty patanthara and a sampradaya-rooted orientation, the sisters’ recital seemed a throwback to a more leisurely age when substance mattered more than glossy packaging.
Warming up with the Pantuvarali varnam ‘Sami Ninne’ in two speeds, they moved on to Muthuswami Dikshitar’s ‘Ganaraajena’ (Arabhi) in which animated kalpanaswaras reinforced swaroopa, especially in the dhaivatha segment. By marked contrast, Tyagaraja’s ‘Janakiramana’ (Suddha Simantini) effectively stressed sombre overtones.
The serious scholarly approach to the Mukhari exposition did not neglect emotive content. Purposeful prayogas strung together with well-rounded gamakas left no space for ambiguity in this shared effort. The simplicity and directness of the niraval and swarakalpana in Tyagaraja’s ‘Enta Ninne’ endeared.
Elaborated in two segments by the sisters, an alapana of substance emerged in the main Kalyani, with thrust in the gandhara and reposeful karvais at the panchama which allowed for leisurely oscillations. A judicious sprinkling of panchama-varja prayogas at the the nishada lent sparkle, while a sruti-aligned tara-sthayi shadja led to open-throated sancharas that carried azhutham.
The stateliness of Muthuswami Dikshitar’s Kamalambam Bhajare is a connoisseur’s treat more easily experienced than described and the duo’s version did full justice. The shadja-projecting niraval segments and the swaras in two speeds with the focus on delving into worthwhile permutations rather than kanakkus, together yielded rewarding moments.The sisters were fortunate in their choice of accompanists who were in sync with their approach. The violinist, Karaikkal Venkatasubramaniam’s impassioned portrait of Kalyani was above standard offerings. The clean, sophisticated lines and crystalline clarity that are so much a hallmark of vidwan Umayalpuram Sivaraman’s playing were reflected in his senior disciple, Manikkudi S. Chandrasekaran’s refined vocabulary in accompaniment and tani.
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