BVB 8/12/2007
K Gayatri
L Ramakrishnan (Violin)
Arjun Ganesh (Mrudangam)
Era Napai – Thodi Varnam – Adi
Sree Mahaganapathi – Attana – Adi (S) - ??
Karunajoodavamma – Varali – Misra Chapu – Syama Sastri (RNS)
Kripajuchutakuvelara – Chayatarangini – Adi – Thyagaraja
Sathatham – Kharaharapriya - Adi (RNST) - ??
Ranjani & Gayathri
HN Bhaskar (Violin) ???
Arun Prakash (Mrudangam)
S Karthick (Ghatam)
Brihandambika – Vasantha – Misra Chapu – Deekshitar (S)
Kanugonu – Nayaki – Rupakam – Thyagaraja
Kanthachoojumi – Vachaspathi – Adi – Thyagaraja
Thyagaraja Yoga Vaibhavam – Ananda Bhairavi – Rupakam – Deekshitar
Ninnada – Kannada – Adi – Thyagaraja
Enneramum – Thodi – Adi – Marimutha Pillai
Thanks to the superstar sisters scheduled to grace the stage after her concert, K Gayatri found herself singing to a full house. The crowds may not have to listen to her but her music deserved all those ears and hands and some more. The opener in Thodi revealed a strong voice that was in solid control even in the second speed. Both the alaapanas were well handled with her adventurous streak especially evident in the Kharaharapriya essay - this also led to the occasional slip as when a desired landing on the panchamam after some tara sthayi phrases overshot the runway. The rendition of the krithi was also an ordinary patch for the 3 artistes, all of whom had played their exceptionally well until then. Arjun Ganesh seemed somewhat insensitive to the structure of the krithi while Ramakrishnan appeared to be groping in the dark. Both however made up in the swara and tani avarthanam sections respectively. Gayathri is one of the juniors well on her way to prime-time as I suspect are her accompanists yesterday
Ranjani and Gayatri began brightly with a brisk krithi in Vasantha, sauteed with some quick swaras. The young woman on the tanpura nodded repeatedly, as if to convey the appreciation of her instrument - the sisters' enunciation is almost perfect leaving nary a blotch on the critic's book...The alaapana in Vachaspati continued the good work and while Thyagaraja Yoga Vaibhavam had a little more helium than appropriate, the mellifluous swirl of the resultant balloon was not without its charms. Kannada was yet another example of dazzling speeds handled with impeccable diction and absolute tonal fidelity but was should have been the launching point for the summit assualt turned out to be a gentle slope earthwards - the main piece needed more time and while I have nothing against abhangs one wondered about the advisability of setting apart 45 minutes for tukkadas in a 2 hour concert. The megh/megh malhar(??) was enchanting enough (prompting me to remark that the siblings would do well to make formal forays into HM - this is meant as a genuine compliment and is not to be construed as sarcasm) but the truncated Thodi and tani left one with a saccharine aftertaste where there should have been the full bodied headiness of draksha-rasa
The violiniist's Thodi was brilliant and Arun Prakash bamboozled the hands with his trademark brand of mathematical witchcraft which his partner on the Ghatam, the freshly minted Doctor, resonantly reproduced. Doubly disheartening then, to see such extraordinary skill being wasted on a dhinchak jhaptal that is more the bailiwick of the street drummer...The audience response was expectedly disproportionate with the tail-pieces fetching the maximum applause.
