Vocal-Dr.RKSrikantan;vocal support-Ramakanth
Violin-Embar Kannan
Mridangam-Rajesh Srinivasan
Ghatam-Shaktidharan
The Shanmukhananda Sabha conferred upon Dr.RKSrikantan,the sabha's National Eminence Award this evening.The annual Sangeetha Shiromani Awards were presented to Embar Kannan,Abhishek Raghuram and Bhuvan Komakali.
Since the concert followed the award function,it was brief(by Mumbai standards),lasting 11/2 hours.But ,in that short period,Dr.Srikantan presented a power-packed capsule of chaste,traditional music which left the audiences asking for more!The power in the voice belied his 89 years(he will turn 90 in Jan we were told) and till the last note sruti and volume were both steadfast!
Beginning with the daru varnam in Kamas-MAte Malayadwaja,rendered in his usual erudite manner,he went on to a spirited Shakti GaNapatim-Natai-Muthiah Bhagvathar.Brisk swaras by all 3 added lustre to the rendition.An elaborate exposition of PantuvarAli by both vocalists followed by a very evocative violin reply by Embar Kannan was the high point of the concert.Siva Siva was sung with verve and the niraval and swarams were scholarly.The short tani by Rajesh & Shaktidharan was appreciated by the Maestro.The kapi that followed had lovely delicate shades and it was further embellished by Kannan.Purandarara Dasa's Narajanma bandAga in this ragam was a treat.His exploration of sindhubhairavi with all its different hues was echoed with great finesse by Kannan.The devaranama that followed was sung with great enthusiasm .A lively tillana in Shankarabharanam ,Mangalam Kosalendraya in keervani and later madhyamavathi,followed by Pavamana marked the end of a very short but satisfying concert by the living legend.
Exactly 2 years ago,I had interviewed him at the sabha, after the Mahaswami Sangeetanjali that he had presented on Dec.24th 2007.The same sharp twinkling eyes,the gentle smile and old -world courtesy were evident even today.The voice had the same quality as 2 yrs ago and he sat erect,without a trace of any strain all through the concert,enjoying every minute of it.An inspiration for all of us!