Nisha Rajagopal
Charulatha Ramanujam
HS Sudhindra
Omkar Rao
Song List:
1. Sri Jalantaran Aashrayamyaham- Gambira Nattai
2. Nadaloludai- Kalyana Vasantham
3. Sada saaranga nayane- Ranjani- Ragam and Swaram
4. Bale Baalendu Bhooshani - Ritigowla
5. Main: Madhyamavathi- Rama katha sudha - Ragam, Neraval and swaram @ Bama mani janaki
6. Thani
7. Brovavamma bangaru bomma- neelambari - SS
8. Thodi RTP
Pallavi line: Ramachandraya Namasthe Rajeeva lochanaya varaya- Tisra triputa kanda nadai. 2 eduppu
swaram ragamalika - vasantha, mohanam, begada and one avarthanam of reverse sweep back to thodi.
9. Baro Krishnayya
10. Hari tuma haro jana kee bee- meera bhajan
11. Mangalam.
COMMENTS:
a. It was an excellent concert for me to start the new year. Due to less traffic, could reach venue in 40 minutes right at the beginning of concert.
b. Selection of lighter, customer friendly ragas at the top of the order, was immediately impressive.
c. Ranjani was a beauty. As the series is also dedicated to MS Subbulakshmi, Nisha probably chose Sadaa saaranga nayane. But it was completely original and not a carbon copy of MS. Listening to clones of MS can be tiring. People do not realise that they cannot sing like MS. Better to sing in one's own style.
d. Ritigowla in a nice viLamba kaalam was beautifully rendered.
e. Madhyamavathi ragam was quite elaborate. Charulatha gave a very good return. Neraval and swaram were relatively short but adequate. She had to accommodate an RTP, after all.
f. A nice understanding thani between Sudhindra and omkar was very enjoyable. (There is a list of instructions to rasikas at the entrance. One item is not to leave when thani starts!! I think most people did not read that
. Interestingly there were quite a few who left immediately after thani. I guess they are the ones who had read the instructions 
) g. Brovavamma was a haunting melody. Time and again, I land on Shyama sastri Kritis when I lose myself in delight. Normally in concerts we keep listening to clusters of songs by different composers and never concentrate on the composer of the ones which has a great positive influence in our minds. I have now woken up to the fact that there is nothing like SS compositions. I even predict when a song commences that it could be by SS. Brova and Kamakshi are, of course give aways!!
h. Thodi ragam was done well by both artists. Then came the thanam. When Nisha completed her sedate satisfactory thanam stretch, a greatly inspired Charulatha shot to brilliance in an outburst of creativity. Audience gave a big applause. The next round was also very good by Nisha but overshadowed by the senior violinist. Nisha herself had to clap for that charulatha's piece. Nice camaraderie. Was Nisha a bit unnerved??!! Well I don't think so.
I. Kanda nadai with an eduppu was of course a bit tricky. By and large it went well. A couple of slips by both artists was enjoyable too. The sheepish grin (Nisha) and biting of tongue (charu) were interesting to watch- these are advantage in a live concert.
j. Talking of slips in rendition, I am reminded of a Tirukkural which says that (for a hunter) it is better to try to kill an elephant and miss it, rather than to try and kill a rabbit successfully. Carnatic musicians keep trying to achieve very difficult tasks and take up challenges of spontaneous creativity. It need not be perfect like a much rehearsed western piece.
k. Being Margazhi a tiruppavai was expected from the Iyengar girl (??). That was not to be.
l. Sound system was good. An idea crossed my mind. For high pitched female voices and violins would it not be wise to reduce the "sharp" and increase the Bass as a standard setting. I am sure that the natural voices cannot be so "kar kar"to the ears. There was a little bit of the feeling, not much, of that effect in this concert too.
m. There was a bit of a throat strain from 3rd song. Probably the open air theatre could have caused it. Also Bangalore night temp is around 14. Performance was not affected.
n. Sree Rama Lalitha Kala Mandira has been conducting two series every year, one starting early Jan and the other (bigger names) starting early Feb. Huge effort by Sri.Krishna Prasad. Even this venue is decked up very nicely with all round shamianas and top covers. I am one of his many admirers. My personal thanks to him and all the people who have worked for this wonderful service.
I will close before I reach 'z'
