Good command over laya
BEING A Telugu, Pantula Rama's rendition of Tyagaraja kritis could not be faulted on grounds of sahitya suddha or pada splitting which, when not done properly, distorts the meaning.
With a good command of laya she sings with abandon and with a commendable manodharma. The alapanas are full of verve and imagination. In her concert for Hamsadhwani she sang the not-frequently heard "Yedari Sancharimtura" in Sruthi Ranjani. She did well to announce the name of the raga at the end of the kriti scripted by Tyagaraja.
With decorative phrasings and idioms she gave glitter to the already enticing Behag raga which she had chosen for an RTP exercise, in Misrachapu tala. The alapana was comprehensive with tanam equally enlivening. She chose Swati Tirunal's padam, "Smarajanaka Subha Charita... " for the pallavi line.
Showing expertise in neraval and swaras she rendered the usual swara ragamalika in Durga, Hindola and Surati (the exercise took over 45 minutes) — M.S.N. Murthy gave admirable support on the violin. V. V. Ramamoorthy played the mridangam.
Total involvement
Singing at this year's inaugural concert in the Guru-Sishya series under the auspices of Hamsadhwani, V. Bhavana (disciple of V. Subramaniam) rendered a wholesome alapana in Purvi Kalyani on traditional lines for Dikshitar's "Meenakshimemudam" with neraval and swaras at the charanam, "Madurapuri Nilaye... "
Earlier, her Valachi alapana for Muthiah Bhagavatar's popular "Jalandhara" which followed another sweet Charukesi alapana for Swati Tirunal's "Kripaya" spoke of her total involvement.
The starter was a varnam in Narayanagowla. "Dinamani Vamsa" (Harikhamboji - Tyagaraja), "Aravinda" (Kapi - Ambujam Krishna), "Jaya Jagadeesa" (Yamuna Kalyani), Dikshitar's "Nee Sati Daivamu" (Sriranjani), "Apadooru" (Kamatch javali - Pattabiramayya) and a Dhanasri tillana by Swati Tirunal were noteworthy.
Neela Jayakumar and S. Sivasubramaniam were the accompanists.
Sweet voice
Gifted with a sweet and pliable voice and a store of vidwat acquired through long and hard training and guidance, Vidya Harikrishna (from Bombay) sings alapanas most unhurriedly covering all the nuances and traditional sancharas. Her Shankarabharanam stood out. Syama Sastry's "Sarojadalanetri" with neraval and swaras at the charanam, "Samagana Vinodini Guna... " was handled with competence as also the difficult Ahiri kriti, "Mayamma Yani Bilachite."
The RTP in Hematavi (Khanda triputa) was noteworthy. Dikshitar's "Kamalambike" (Todi) was rendered with correct diction.Kalaiarasan (violin) and M. R. Srikrishnan (mridangam) were the accompanists.
Sangatis galore
Accompanied by T. Rukmani (violin) and Umayalpuram Mali (mridangam) C. S. Ramanarayanan sang a comprehensive Todi alapana for Tyagaraja's "Koluva Maragada."
With a galore of sangatis and charming swaras he kept up the tempo and portrayed the spiritual fervour of the saint-poet vividly.
"Nama Kusuma" (Sri), "Rama Neevadukonduvo" (Kalyani) "Ramaninne Nammi" (Huseni) and Mysore Vasudevachar's "Pranamamyaham" (Gaula) were sung effectively.
KSR
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