Mysore. V. Shrikanth - Violin
K.U. Jayachandra Rao - Mridanga
B. Rajashekar - Morsing
1. Sharanagata vatsala - Kadana kuthoohala varna
2. Shree Lakshmi varaham bhajeham - Abhogi
3. Evarikai avatara - Deva manohari (A,S)
4. Arumarundoru - Kambhoji (A,N,S)
5. Evvare ramayya - Gangeyabhushani
6. Paradevata - Dhanyasi (A,N,S,T)
Neraval @ Kalamalini kathyayini kanchalochani
7. Haridasu vedale - Hamir Kalyani or Yamuna Kalyani ?
8. RTP - Sama - Thishra Triputa
Sama Gana Lolane Sadashivane Sharanam
Ragamalika swaras in Sama, Hindola, Maru Behag, Vasanta
9. Rama nama payasakke - Sounded like Shree
10. Tamil shloka/viruttam? - Hamsanandi, Sahana, Punnagavarali?
11. Pavamana - Saurashtra
After the disappointment of watching India's pathetic batting display in Mumbai, only a Sanjay concert will bring solace. And we were not to be disappointed, well for the most part atleast. Before the description of the events, a few words about the music festival. The best part is, they start right on time. The introductory speeches, honoring the artists etc are done right at the beginning so the concert is not disturbed mid-way. And the venue - the new auditorium is fantastic and has one of the best sound systems IMO.
Now back to the concert. Sanjay started off with a varna in Kadanakuthoohala, followed by Muttuswami Dikshitar's Abhogi kriti. I challenge myself to identify the raga mudra in MD's pieces and this one had it nicely wound into the lyrics. What a genius you are, Sir. MD! Both pieces were sung well, followed closely by the other artists.
The first alapana of the day was Deva Manohari. I had given up identifying the raga but when Sanjay started Evarikai, it immediately struck me that I had heard this krithi several times by various other artists but had forgotten the name of the raga. Took a lot of searching on my phone (the raga app, a pdf that lists all the janya ragas) to finally recollect the name. (I don't have a data plan on my phone, before you guys suggest). In the bargain, I quite missed out on listening to the kriti itself
.A detailed alapana of Kambhoji followed with a tamil krithi that I have not heard of before. Krithi was sung very well, with nice neraval (sorry, could not note the neraval line) and nice round of swaras. A word about the violinist here - Shrikanth-avare, bahaLa tappu maadtiralla pa?? His playing was akin to Sachin's batting over several innings. One occasional brilliant straight drive for four will be followed by an embarrassing bowled through the gate. Shrikanth played as many brilliant pieces of music as the number of mistakes he made, a very glaring obvious ones too. Somehow, he does not exude the kind of confidence a, say, Varadarajan does on stage. I have not heard him play before, so I will give him benefit of doubt and declare that it was just an off day for him.
Evvare ramayya was good and was immediately followed by the alapana in Dhanyasi. Marvelously sung, with no ambiguity whatsoever between Dhanyasi and Thodi. Sanjay tried to reach the upper octaves and went off scale. It reminded me of Parthiban telling Vadivelu "Namakku dan varalai illai" in that one movie when Vadivelu tries to do a Rajnikanth. Again, violin return was good, in parts. There was something missing in Sanjay swaraprasthara throughout the concert. That mind-boggling swara patterns that is a staple of any Sanjay rendition was missing. It was the usual sarva-laghu, which was quite exciting, nevertheless. The krithi was followed by a tani, which was fantastic. The real pwnzor in the tani was B. Rajashekar. He is an absolute master of the instrument and he showed all his tricks in the little time he got. I have heard him sevaral times, accompanying Kadri and others, and he never disappoints. Ad-bidde sir!
This was followed by another filler. I still for the life of me can't figure out if it is Hamir Kalyani or Yamuna Kalyani. Google says Y.Kalyani but the rendition does not sound like what I heard. Anyway, it was quite good.
No break only! Sama alapana followed immediately. And it was quite obvious that it was going to be an RTP. The raga and thana were no great shake, Just the standard fare. One of these days, I would really love to hear Sanjay sing an RTP in one of the major ragas. Shrikanth, here redeemed himself and did one better in the thana overshadowing Sanjay for a little bit. Pallavi was ok, with the name of the raga woven into the pallavi line. Sanjay switched between thishra and chaturashra for a brief time and the combination worked well. Ragamalika swaras were ok again, with the Maru Behag (announced by Sanjay himself) being the standout. Heard this raga once sung by TNS in an RTP but never knew the raga.
We never knew when the RTP ended and the next piece started. The RTP end was very abrupt. The PD krithi was sung well. And the fillers followed quickly before the Mangalam.
It was a good concert, not a great one! But even on an off day, Sanjay is better than most.
Now back to watching India's batting misery.