BVB Mylapore, 7 pm, Dec 9th 2008
Chalamela - Nattakurinji Varnam
Srikantanee - Bhavapriya - T (S)
Karpagambike - Bilahari - PS (R, N at pallavi, S)
Orajupu Juchedi Nyayama - Kannadagaula - T
Chethashri - Dwijavanthi - MD
Palinchu Kamakshi - Madhyamavati - SS (R, N, S, T)
Madhava Maya - Hamsanandi - PS
Enakkum Unakkum - Senjurutti
Tillana - Behag
Mangalam
Jampacked, standing-room only crowd, I barely managed to squeeze into the aisle and got a seat only after the usual 8.15 Mylapore exodus! Great, heavily classical concert with her trademark azhuttam, enunciation, etc that make her one of today's few stars worth emulating. A heartening aspect of the crowd was the large number of younger, music-student types liberally sprinkled all over the hall. I also spotted a few sishyas of some noted contemporary artistes... def'ly a welcome trend. Highlights of the concert for me: easily the alapanas of Bilahari & Madhyamavati. Sowmya always manages to bring out / highlight some subtle aspects in her alapanas and these were no exception. The accompanists performed creditably, though I felt the percussion could have been more emphatic at certain points (e.g. during Dwijavanti) to enhance the overall impact. JV's heavy kappi mridangam and his quiet style tended to dampen things a bit. Maybe an upapakkam would have been helpful (just an honest thought, no disrespect to Sri JV). I hope to go to Sowmya's concert tonight at BGS. Starts at 6, so it will hopefully last 3 hrs...
