15 May 2010
vanajAkShi (varNam) - kalyANi - aTa (sketch)
gaNanAthAya - gauLai - Adi - ambi dIkShitar (RS)
sarasIruhAsanapriyE - nATTai - Adi (sketch)
dArini telusukoNTi - shuddhasAvEri - Adi - T
paripUrNa kAmA - pUrvIkalyANi - rUpaka - T (RS)
O jagadambA - Anandabhairavi - Adi - SS
akShaya linga vibhO - shankarAbharaNam - cApu - MD (RTNST)
kaRpagamE kaNpArAy - madhyamAvati - Adi - PS (sketch)
pavamAna sutuDu - saurAShTra - Adi - T
Who can not like kalyANi, I thought, as the varNam was being played. There can be nothing better than the vINa to introduce discipline in a Carnatic musician, I thought, as sarasIruhAsanapriyE was played. The audience was very, very thin by any standard. What a pity!

I thought the pUrvIkalyANi AlApanai was not upto Kalyani mami's usual (EXTREMELY high) standard, to which the other AlApanais and sketches lived up easily. The percussion support for O jagadambA was not satisfactory and I was rather heartbroken, since I like the song so much! The other songs were supported well.
Shankarabharanam tAnam was somewhat faster than usual, and very enjoyable.
The rendition of akShayalingavibhO was an experience by itself, in the leisurely speed chosen and maintained in a way not all artists do.
The neraval was rather short.
The swarams in this concert, as usual, so unwaveringly maintained rAgabhAva ... shuddha rAgAs like pUrvIkalyANi and shankarAbharaNam are like fractals ... looking at any region of them identifies the whole rAga for you ...
It's been a while since I've heard a concert of such class!