Bombay Sisters @Gayana Samaja, Bangalore, on 17/03/2011

[squims]

Vocal: Bombay Sisters (Smt. C. Saroja & Smt. C. Lalita)
Violin: Smt. Usha Rajagopal
Mridangam: Sri. K.R. Ganesh
Ghatam: Sri. A. Murali
(I'm sure I've got a few names wrong. Please do correct me.)

1. Jaya jaya [S] - Naattai - Khanda Chapu - Purandaradasa
2. Brochevarevarura [R] - Khamas - Adi [2 kalai] - Mysore Vasudevachar
3. Rama ika nannu brova [R S] - Sahana - Rupakam - Patnam Subramanya Iyer
4. Orajoopu - Kannadagowla - Adi - Tyagaraja
5. Aalokaye Rukmini [R N S] - Kamboji - Mishra Chapu - Narayana Teerthar
Neraval and Swarams @dvArakApura manTapE
6. Naanenu maadideno - Mohanam - Mishra Chapu
7. RTP - Purvikalyani - Adi [2 kalai], Ragamalika: Bilahari, Vasantha, Varali, Kapi, followed by Thani
Pallavi line: madumadamOdita hrdayE, mahAdEva priyE
8. Roga harana - Bageshri - Adi
9. Bandhe bandhe - Kapi - Adi
10. Magalam - Sourashtram - Adi - Tyagaraja

A lovely concert from the great sisters.

A Nattai opener is always welcome. The swarams were brisk and effective.
A very brief Khamas aalaapanai was followed by the evergreen Brochevarevarura.
The Sahana aalaapanai, krithi and swrams were all soulfully rendered.
Orajoopu served well as a filler.
Kamboji was fantastic. Be it the raagam, the krithi itself or the unhurried neraval and swarms, they were sung with utmost care. The aalaapanai was quite extensive. Nice phrases sung around the upper shadjam especially. The swarams had some lovely kanakku(at absolutely no loss to the bhaavam).
Mohanam for a breezy filler.
Was pleased with the Purvikalyani. The aalaapanai was, once again, quite detailed and was well sung. The taanam could have lasted a while longer. I really liked the Pallavi. Trikaalam was sung with aplomb by the sisters. Raagamalika swarams were enjoyable.
The tukkuda section was kept short.
Sourashtram and Shlokam in Madhyamavathi concluded the concert.

On the accompanists:
Usha Rajagopal gave very apt support throughout. Her aalaapanais could have used some faster phrases, and her taanam left a bit to be desired, but her accompaniment for the pallavi more than made up for it.
The percussionists added lustre to the concert. The thani was really good. The nadai/gati bedham phrases were something I hadn't heard for a while.

Overall, a really nice concert. Thoroughly enjoyed my evening.

P.S. I find the lone Tyagaraj kriti(as a filler) and the lack of Dikshitar and Syama Sastri krithis interesting. A very well balanced concert even without the presence of the trinity.

[srikant1987]

Thanks for the review, squims. The Bombay Sisters aren't often reviewed (or even talked about) here!

I find the lone Tyagaraj kriti(as a filler) and the lack of Dikshitar and Syama Sastri krithis interesting. A very well balanced concert even without the presence of the trinity.

But Mysore Vasudevachar's and Patnam's compositions often create a similar feeling to T's. That is not to say that a list such as this one isn't extremely creditable!

Ghatam: Sri. A. Murali

Could have been (Trichy) K Murali.

Sometimes a google search (especially image search) can help correct identification ... if we're just missing initials etc.

[shreedarshan]

Do agree. Khambhoji was fantastic. RTP was grt.