T.N. Krishnan – Violin
Viji Krishnan
Sriram Krishnan
Kamalakara Rao – Mrudangam
Giriidhar Uduppa – Ghatam
Approximate Songlist:
01. chalamELa (varNam) – nATTaikurinji – Adi
02. nAda tanum anisham (S @ pallavi) – chittaranjani – Adi
03. mInAkSi mEmudam (R, N @ madhurApuri nilayE, S) – pUrvikalyANi – Adi
04. sAkEta nikeTana (R) – kannaDa – rUpakam
05. marivEragati (R) – Ananda bhairavi – miSra cApu
06. madhava mAm ava (N @ charaNam) – nIlAmbari – Adi
07. rAgam tAnam pallavi (Thani) – kApi – Adi (2) (samam + 1 eDuppu)
08. kriSNA nI bEganE bArO (R) – yamunAkalyANi – khaNDa cApu
After Amrutha’s concert, the sun was setting quickly and a nice sea breeze was blowing, setting the stage (no pun intended) for an evening of sowkhyam-laden music from TNK. The hall filled up rapidly as TNK began his concert, and the trio started with the melodious nATTaikurinji ragam played in one uniform speed. A krithi I haven’t heard much of late, nAda tanum anisham, came next, and was rendered beautifully. Elaborate kalpanaswaras were played to the pallavi with everyone contributing nice sequences around DND. TNK and Sriram shared the pUrvikalyANi ragam, which was elaborate and thorough. Pity I don’t really like this ragam. Sriram played most of the tAra stAyi sangathis and did a good job – his sangathis flowed fluently and he had good shruti shuddam. MInAkSi mEmudam was played immaculately. The neraval that followed would easily be a highlight of the concert – the vilamba kAla phrases were soaked in melody and were very moving. There was a seamless transition to mEl kAlam as well. The kalpanaswaras were standard, but had some nice S-P phrases from Viji.
TNK then played a short kannaDa alapanai, which was brisk but beautiful. He played the rare sAkEta nikEtana and announced the krithi as well, but made a note, “I’m only announcing this because it’s rare...I won’t announce tODi and pUrvikalyANiâ€. TNK and Viji shared the Ananda bhairavi ragam. Viji handled most of it and did a decent job, though the special touch TNK gives the rAgam was missing. Of the two siblings, Sriram seems to play most like TNK. Viji’s thought process is often different, but she gives a unique touch that imparts variety to the trio’s concerts. MarivEragathi was played and moved me as it always does. TNK then took up nIlAmbari. The surprise of the concert was TNK’s neraval in the krithi, which threw off even Viji and Sriram as he started it. It was a short neraval but played entirely in the mandra stAyi and was very soothing – reminiscent of MDR’s mini neravals in krithis like endarO, or MSS in sogasugA mrudanga tALamu. That was certainly another highlight in the concert.
KApi was taken up for RTP. The rAgam was short but covered the essence of the ragas, with each of the three contributing a few lines. The tAnam was also short but concise. The pallavi was noteworthy for an elaborate neraval with some lovely rapidly descending patterns punctuating the pauses.
Kamalakara Rao and Giridhar Uduppa played a thani at the end of the pallavi. Kamalakara Rao was brilliant throughout the concert. I love his gentle, soft strokes. There is a sparseness in his playing that complements TNK’s music perfectly. His accompaniment for krithis was extremely beautiful and drew plenty of appreciation from TNK. Giridhar Uduppa had good azhuttam and great clarity and proved a pretty good foil to Kamalakara Rao. The thani was engaging.
The concert concluded with a moving yamunAkalyANi. At the conclusion of the concert, I was amused to see a man get up and direct the audience to deliver a standing ovation (which we were about to, anyway). The excellent music was complemented by a lovely ambience, and TNK commented about how inspiring it was to look at the sea while playing and congratulated Carnatica for their efforts. The crowd was very receptive throughout the concert, which must’ve been added inspiration for the musicians. Definitely one of the highlight concerts of my season so far (the others being NSG and R. Vedavalli).