Lavanya Sundararaman in VANI MAHAL (23/12)

[Vocalist]

I just realised I hadn't posted this yet. I'll start with a word about the artists: Lavanya Sundararaman (LS) is the great grand-daughter of D. K. Pattammal and is the student of Lalitha Sivakumar, who is Nithyasree Mahadevan's mother. She is a young and emerging artist, and is very talented. She has been deemed a "Gaana Kuyil" from a tender age; her voice still sounds very young but is vibrant and very capable. Violinist Neela Jayakumar is the student of M. Chandrasekharan. Mridangist V. R. Jayakumar was the student of Palghat Mani Iyer. Ghatam player G. Ravichandran is a student of Sri N. Govindarajan.

Lavanya Sundararaman - Neela Jayakumar - V. R. Jayakumar - G. Ravichandran
23rd Dec, 4:00pm

Nee Dhaya (Varnam) - Andolika - Adi - GNB (o)
Shri Parvathi - Bhowli - Adi (2 kalai) - MD
Vinatha Sutha - Jayanthasena - Adi - T
Smarane Sukhamu - Janaranjani - Adi - T (S)
Gnyanamosagaradha - Poorvikalyani - Rupakam - T (R,N,S)
Ennalum Bhagyam - Mukhari - Adi - PS (o)
Vanchathonuna - Karnaranjani - Adi (tisra nadai) - HMB (o)
Parakela Nannu - Kedaragowla - Adi - SS (o)
Innamum Sandhega - Keeravani - Misrachapu - GKB (R,S,T)
Govinda Enbom (Bhajan) - Ahirbhairav - Adi - Traditional Sai Bhajan
Poonkuyil Koovum - Misrakafi - Eka - Kalki Krishnamoorthy
Thillana - Nalinakanthi - Adi - K. S. Raghunathan


LS opened the concert with a smile showcasing G. N. Balasubramaniam's beautiful Andholika varnam. The accompanists did seem to sound very much louder than her until the end of the piece, but she maturely took the initiative to have a short word with the sound engineers before the next item. She sang Dikshitar's composition in Bhowli very well (and good thing too, seeing how well DKJ would sing this composition in his time). I have no doubt DKJ sir would have been proud; it was pitch-perfect (though I felt it could have packed just a bit more punch at places). The akara sangathis and brigas-filled Jayanthasena composition of Thyagaraja was handled exceptionally well. In fact, there was a fast but long briga sangathi she sang in the pallavi which was too good. Next, I was surprised by the fast speed with which she managed the Janaranjani composition, and before I knew it, she was also singing pitch-perfect swaras at the same speed with apparent ease for the most part (tiny slip in the final round of swaras). Violinist Neela Jayakumar was evidently working very hard in an effort to keep up. The percussionists were very pleased and they gave an enjoyable performance during this high energy phase of the concert.

Poorvikalyani slowed things right down again, but this was not at all bad. LS presented stunning stand-out sets of brigas during her alapana which were appreciated by everyone, including the violinist (who was in those moments vocal with her 'ah's and 'bale'). LS really was in top form. Neela Jayakumar's alapana of the raga was competent and she handled the higher octaves particularly well. I was expecting a krithi with a slower kalapramanam than the Thyagaraja composition which followed, but that wasn't to be. The krithi anubhavam was a bit average. Still, niraval and swaras were taken at the line starting "Paramaathmudu", and again, the violinist vocally (but quite naturally) appreciated the complex swara portions sung by LS. Overall, I was impressed with the engaging presentation of the artists; my only disappointment was that half of the concert already passed at this point (and it would have been nice if the female artists did have malligai flowers in their hair).

I must mention the next moments in the concert which I can only describe as very cute. LS started humming a couple of phrases in Mukhari to herself with her eyes closed, a bit away from the microphone (while the accompanists were presumably to be getting ready for the next composition). Even this quiet humming sounded wonderful, and everyone's attention (including the accompanists) was fixed on LS at this point. LS opened her eyes after a couple of short phrases, and she seemed to suddenly realised everyone was listening avidly and that the violinist was "hanging on" to see if this was the next raga for the kutcheri. Young LS then moved closer to the microphone, and with a smile, sang the outline of Mukhari. Cute is all I can call it. After the outline, she moved onto Sivan's "Ennaalum Bhaagyam" - a composition synonymous with her great-grandmother, DKP (both because DKP learnt the composition directly from Papanasam Sivan, and because DKP's renditions of this krithi was always stellar). A very good presentation of the song. Karnaranjani was rendered a bit faster than I would have liked and the outline in Kedaragowla could have been more effective; I could not help but remember the way her aunt NM would render these two compositions in previous years.

LS then moved into the serious portion of the concert with Keeravani. The brigas and akara sangathis were fairly impressive in the alapana, but some of the other phrases could have been more pronounced I felt - but that will come with time as her vibrant voice continues to mature further. Quite remarkably, she touched lower octave, middle octave, and higher octave panchamam without any strain. I remember hearing LS competently sing Gopalakrishna Bharathi's composition in this raga as a main krithi in 2010. She chose it again and sang it better this time I felt. I was looking forward to swaras in the slower speed at the line "Ponnambalam Thannil" but was mildly disappointed in this regard - she went straight to the second speed. The swaras that she did sing (and that Neela Jayakumar played) were done with what I felt was even more deliberate precision than in the previous krithis. LS strongly reminded me of her aunt NM singing swaras all the way through to the end of the swaras. The thani avarthanam by V. R. Jayakumar and G. Ravichandran was very enjoyable.

Post-thani, LS presented a lovely Ahirbhairav composition bringing together several religions and deities - Muslim/Allah, Buddhism/Buddha, Zorashtrian, and Hinduism (Govinda, Ram, Sai, etc). The slightly bhajan-style composition expressly reminded us that all of these deities we worship, respect or acknowledge are ultimately one, and in the same way, all of us are one and the same - humans. Very lovely sentiments in the lyrics, and her rendition of the composition was just super! She followed this with a rendition of Kalki Krishnamoorthy's famous kuyil song popularised by DKP. Despite a couple of slips in this, it was presented well and her voice modulations were very good. A couple of times when she sang "Maa Mayil", it sounded like a younger DKP. She then concluded the concert with a Thillana in praise of Devi Kamakshi (though I felt she sang this better in the 2010 concert I referred to earlier).

Overall, very impressed, would recommend others to give her performances a try, and definitely look forward to hearing her again.

[Vocalist]

Incidentally, I'd heard LS sing the post-thani items from this concert once before on Makkal TV, in the show "Thenamudhu" which telecasts many renditions of songs by LS supported by a small orchestra (including the same violinist and mridangist in this concert). The telecast version were a bit more on the lighter classical side due to the orchestra, but were enjoyable. That said, I prefer the concert versions of these songs personally.

[Lakshman]

gOvindA enbOm is a Sai bhajan

[Vocalist]

Thanks Lakshman. I heard Nithyasree Mahadevan sing this bhajan before, but I think Lavanya's rendition was better.

[HarishankarK]

Of all the Kedaragowlai songs i like Parakela the best. Listening to the other kedara gowlai songs like Saraguna or Venugana, Antha Rama Saundaryam or Dikshitar krithis, one would presume that this raga is not suited for fast paced songs. But see what Syama Sastri did - he created such a beautiful fast-paced song in Kedara Gowlai which is such a hit !! And how the words fit the tune -That is his greatness - so unusual and so innovative !

Best wishes to Lavanya for this good concert.