Dr Nithyashree Mahadevan @ Detroit

[nadhasudha]

Vocal: Dr Nithyasree Mahadevan
Violin: Raghavendra Rao
Mridangam: Patri Satish Kumar
Date: 05/04/2012
Venue:Canton Hindu Temple

1. Gananaayaka Varanamukha - (varnam)Sunadavinodini - Adi - N. S. Ramachandran
2. Vidulaku Mrokeda - Maayamalavagowla - Adi - - Thyagaraja - Raga Sketch, Swaram @ Kamala Gowri -
3. Ra ra Sita Ramani - Hindolavasantham - Rupakam - Thyagaraja
4. Thyagarajaya Namaste - Begada - Rupakam - Muthuswami Dikshithar - Alapana
5. Parvati Ninnu ne - Kalgada - Adi - Syama Sastri
6. Kai Vidal Aaguma vela - Devagandhari - Misra Chapu - Papanasam Sivan - Raga Sketch
7. Vara Narada Narayana - Vijayashree - Adi - Swaram@ Pakatam Bhuka
8. Koluvaiyunnade - Bhairavi - Adi - N,S Surasu manasu ranjilla - Thyagaraja - Thani
9. Shiva Shakthi - Sivashakthi - Adi - Subramania Bharati
10.Petra Thaai Thanai Maga Marandhalum - Viruttam in Ragas Saveri, Bilahari, Hamsanandhi, Sindhubhairavi
seguing into Chandrasekhara Esa - Sindhubhairavi - Adi - Papanasam Sivan
11.Idhu Bhagya - Brindavana Saaranga - Khanda Chapu - Purandaradaasa
12.Endhaiyum Thaayum Magizhindhu Kulavi - Ragamalika - Subramania Bharati
13. Ramanai Bhajittal - Maand - Adi - Papanasam Sivan
14. Aaye Giridhar - Purya Dhanashree - Adi - Swathi Thirunal
15. Thillana in Karnaranjani - Adi
16. Pavamana

Dr Nithyasree Mahadevan's concert was held under the auspices of GLAC as part of Sarovar festival 2012. The Concert which was supposed to start at 7 was delayed and started only at 8 pm.

She started the concert with a varnam in Sunadavinodini. She then followed it up with a short sketch of Maayamalavagowla before launching into Vidulaku Mrokeda. Swarams were rendered @ Kamala Gowri. The kaalapramanam for this krithi was a tad slower than what is rendered usually. Next came a composition in Hindolavasantham. The Alapana in Begada was a short one followed by the Dikshithar Krithi Thyagarajaya Namaste.
She then chose to present Parvati Ninne Ne in Kalgada and Kai Vidal Aaguma by Papanasam Sivan. Until this point the concert was sagging and the first hour of the concert had transpired without leaving a mark.

She then launched into Vara Narada in Vijayashree at a very fast pace. This krithi was the turning point of the concert. She also sang swarams at the super fast pace and Raghavendra Rao and Patri Satish matched her swaram for swaram.This energized not only the concert team, it also energized the audience.

Bhairavi Alapana was done nicely. Her alapanas were focussing mostly on the madhya and taara sthayi. Koluvaiyunnade was rendered in a grand manner with neraval, swarams followed by a thani. The post thani items had a lot of tamil compositions of Papanasam Sivan and Subramania Bharati. The Ramalinga Arutpa viruttham was touching and her rendition brought out the bhavam in the lyrics very well. The Swathi Thirunal Krithi Aaye Giridhar was also rendered with a lot of bhavam. The Thillana in Karnaranjani was the last item before the Mangalam.

Her voice held her in good stead for close to 3 hours and 15 minutes and showed no strain. Her shruti alignment was impeccable and the great care she showed to cut out the panchamam in the sruti for panchama varjya raagams showed her meticulousness. Be it brigas, fast paced swarams or krithi rendition, she did it all with panache. It appears that she is now singing in a reduced pitch and it makes for pleasant listening.

Raghavendra Rao's playing was melodious and complemented Nithyashree's rendition very well. His Bhairavi Alapana was very good. His swara repartees were exceptional and he wove some interesting patterns into them.

Patri Sathish's playing was awesome. He had a new contraption for the mridangam. For most part of the concert he had the valanthalai side of the mridangam propped on an almost Y shaped stand instead of the mridangam resting on his right leg. His playing for the Krithi Vara Naarada , Bhairavi krithi and thani was exceptional. His playing sounded like a tabla during the Aaye Giridhar krithi.

Overall the concert was great! Considering the fact it was a 3 hour 15 minute concert, in my opinion an additional neraval, a pratimadhyamam raagam as sub main as opposed to being a filler (item 7), better planning of the items 1 through 6 and a pallavi would have made it memorable!

If this concert team is performing in your area, do not miss an opportunity to listen to them live.

Corrections and comments welcome!

[harimau]

3. Raaga Sita Ramani - Hindolavasantham - Rupakam - Thyagaraja

Ra Ra Sita Ramani Manohara Vegame.

[nadhasudha]

Thanks Harimau. Edited my post