The theme of the concert was 'Krishna Guha' and with the exception of one song in praise of the presiding deity at the Minnesota Hindu temple, all the selected compositions were in praise of Lord Krishna or Muruga. Initial technical snags notwithstanding, Nirmala began the concert with a beautiful varnam in the ragam Nalinakanthi (by Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman). This was followed by a few relatively short pieces, namely Sri Varadarajaswami (in Ragam Saraswati), Dikshitar's exquisite Purahara Nandana (in Ragam Hamir Kalyani) andThygaraja’s Samaja vara gamana (in Ragam Hindolam). Papanasam Sivan's Senthil Andavan (in Kharaharapriya) which was next was enunciated superlatively. The violinist did a very commendable job on the raga alaapana as well. The main piece for the evening was a scintillating Ragam Thanam - the Thanam was a Ragamalika (Varali, Kanada, Chakravaham, Kapi and Madhuvanti) and the song was the Tamil song Ka Va Va. Under Tanjore Murugabhoopathy's magical hands, the Mridangam always comes alive, and this particular song seemed to bring out the best of the artiste. Marcus Wise's Tabla blended in beautifully with the music and it was a nice addition to the usual list of percussion instruments at a Carnatic concert.
While the 2 preceding pieces were mind-blowing, no one was really prepared for what came next - the most jaw-dropping rendition of Krishna Nee Begane Baro in Yamuna Kalyani! One can only conjecture about the nature of her Guru's blessings here - Nirmala is a disciple of veteran Veena vidushi Smt. Kalpakam Swaminathan and vocalists Shri TRS and Sitaram Sarma - and of course all the hours of sadhana involved. It is no mean feat to present an extremely popular song, that too one seemingly tailor-made for the flute, in so novel a fashion that it seemed as if it were a brand new piece being presented to the world! Muralidhara (in Mand), Muruganin Maru Peyar Azhagu (a composition of Guru Suraajananda in Behag), and Arunagirinathar's 'Madhiyaal Vithaganaagi ' in Surutti were the last compositions for the day in a concert that had the audience eating out of her hand!
Nirmala is one of those rare musicians who captivate the listener at the very beginning, and one doesn't really snap out of her spell till long after the concert ends. This particular concert was no exception. Her music is sublime, soaring to extreme creative heights, while never compromising on the 'Patanthara'. The artiste's ever present smile makes every concert of hers an audio-visual treat. This particular concert was further enhanced by the fact that all the artistes on stage were clearly enjoying themselves.
Don't miss her performances during the upcoming music season in Chennai! (Details regarding her concert schedule can be found at www.nirmalarajasekar.com and in various websites for the season).
