Smt Ranjani andGayathri at Bhairavi Puduchery on 7 Oct 2012

[Ponbhairavi]

Smt Ranjani and Gayathri at Bhairavi Puducherry on Sunday 7th October.

Under the auspices of Bhairavi, there was a concert by Smt Ranjani and Gayathri at Puducherry, on 7th October.
The Team:-
Smt Ranjani and Gayathri -Vocal
Smt Charumathi Raghuram - Violin
Delhi Shri Sairam -Mrudhangam.
Here is the list of songs :
Valaji- navaragamalika varnam
anupamagunAmbuji- atana
vidulaku ---mayamalavagowla (r,N @kamala gowri)
sitham irangAdadhEnaiya -sahAna
maragathalingam cinthayE- vasanthA
R.T.P.-shanmugapriya rAgam , thAnam
Pallavi: sivakumAran vadivElai thudipathE yen vElai
thAlam:chathusra jambai- kanda nadai.
Pallavi rAgamAlikai- Amruthavarshini (?)
kAnada
Hindolam
Desh
IdhuthAno thillaisthalam –behag.
Ulagathu nAyagiyE Bharathi- folk
Dhanya dhanya (abhang) ---Durga( ?)
pavamAna-
Ranjani Gayathri concert never fail to sparkle because of the briskness of pace melody soaked voice and total involvement .This was no exception.Plus, that day there was a sense of camaraderie in the team each artiste enjoying and appreciating the other.After the warm up in the varnam atana gave a kickstart.mayamalava gowla alapana was progressively built on a broad base foundation.The neraval @ kamala gowri enabled them to probe into all the contours of the raga.The swara exchanges were complex but the violinist was not to be perplexed.
The sahana which followed was a gem.The imploring bhava of the raga was best brought out in an emotionally ardent alapana.It happened to be apt for the occasion when bhairavi was mourning one of its staunch supporters.The song Sitham irangadadenaiya was rendered so much bhava laden that an exalted member sitting by my side exclaimed spontaneously “Suddha THENAIYYA “ (This is a real happening and not a figment of my imagination for rhetoric purposes.)
The R T P in shanmugapriya was classic in planning(alapana by each, thanam swaram ragamalika and thani were tailormade in right proportions) and superb in execution.The pallavi was set in chathusra jampai-kanda nadai.The sisters showed their class in the alapana and swaram cascades and the young violinist Charumathy whose bowing produced nothing but pure nectar matched the vocalists in their wits and twists. Yet she was so unostentatious
that she hardly lifted her head even to acknowledge the spontaneous profuse applause of the audience
.In the pallavi ragamalikai somehow I smelt a little of hamsanandhi flavour in amruthavarshini..The carnatic desh wore some hindusthani apparel showing her parentage. Idhuthano thillaisthalam was beckoned by a behag flying its full colours.
Mahakavi’s piece was rendered in a lilting folk tune apparently with an anandabhairavi base.
Then the inevitable abhang to please the audience expectations! The abhang was short but had all the vinyasams akharaprayogams electrifying brigas and pirouettes and the to and fro flying jumps in the sky as in a circus between the floating parallel bars touching the lower and higher octaves with impeccable mastery.
Delhi Sairam, did a remarkable job with the mridangam. Being a lone male member on the stage ( there were also two girl disciples wielding the tambura and thalam), his “ thani “ was apt , with the kanda nadai being “gaja gathi” He tended to be noisy when accelerating or when approaching the end thirmanams. Perhaps if there had been a upa pakka vadhyam , the strain would have been less on him.

Overall, a concert to cherish for long.!

[rshankar]

A classic concert from the sisters - They never disappoint.

[mahavishnu]

Thank you, Ponbhairavi avl.
Sounds like a terrific concert.

[archa]

Ranjani-Gayatri are probably the best female duo like the Malladi rothers among males. They sparkle and are pure Carnatic, no light music for them. The joy and the warmth they exude is really something. There may have been many brothers and sisters but R-G and Malladi are by far the best duo CM has ever seen.

[Ponbhairavi]

what a great coincidence! I have heard my father say exactly the very same words about some Alathur bros and Smt Radha and Jayalakshmi.