I have heard about this uncle-nephew performances but this is the first time I've heard them together myself. Nagai Murali Sir has played Robin to Sanjay's Batman many a times and I guess to numerous others. It was great to hear him talk and sing to the audience as well. That wry humour was always hidden when he quietly smiled as he accompanied many a star, but today it found expression. Now, Nagai Sriram.... he's the one you say 'Not a hair out of place, not a foot wrong, not a finger wavered' Well, he had a couple of slips yesterday-not major, still slips. Maybe because he was happily playing second fiddle to his Uncle and Guru. And I thought 'Ah!!!! The man is human after all' That Poorvikalyani alapana all by himself was .... (you can fill in the superlative).
The class and authority of the duo was evident right from the first note. The KS throughout with all the nadai changes, the 1/4, 1/2s parleyed between each other with a knowing smile was sharp as tack.If you blinked, you'd miss the show
NM then sang the Charanam for GKB's poorvi Kalyani 'Balakrishnan pAda, Piraman thAlam pOda, Nandi mathalam kooda' And he said, noone is singing, but he pointed to Balaji and said 'Nandi'. Well, the violins did sing all evening. Bhairavi was beautiffuly played but I thought Balaji and Radhakrishnan provided a very nuanced percussion support for that masterpiece.
NM then said there are 2 MD Dwijavanthis, which one would you like. The hall was divided, or maybe not. Because, they said play both. So, the Chethasri quietly morphed into Akhilandeshwari
NM took off with Bilahari and again the duo showcased all aspects brilliantly. It then culminated in an explosive Thani. Either I haven't heard Balaji before or he has grown in stature. He was on fire. Radhakrishnan on Ghatam was the star adding great dimensions to the thani. As they came together for the theermanam, the Ghatam was thrown in the air 3 times (Balaji has shared the video on his fb page) Unfortunately, the full magic can only be felt when you have heard the 20 minute thani with that aerial display
The duo then wound down with some select tail pieces. In the end, what was on display was hours of practice, years of stage experience and a lot of drama. It was not about playing the scale of a Bilahari or Sriranjani or a structure raga alapana. There was pomp and aplomb. A bit like a Royal Wedding. The naysayers may say Why? And I say, Why not!!
