CHENNAI: It was an interesting violin duet by ace violinist Meera Sivarama Krishnan and her son Kaushik when they played with commendable classical thrust for Hamsa Vinodhini recently. They began with a Raga Darbar varnam and moved on to the Raga Mohana Kalyani. Siddhi Vinayagam, a kirtana composed by Harikesanalllur Muthiah Bhagavathar, was delivered with exchange of swaras. Meera’s skill in handling the kriti with a clear perception was evident and the swara passages were elegant and devoid of excessive rhythmic intricacies.
The appreciable delineation of Raga Charukesi by her son Kaushik, who is also an IIT graduate, indicated his innate consciousness in bringing out the best in him. Song aadamodi, a composition by Thyagaraja (wherein Thyagaraja beseeches Rama not to neglect him, but to talk to him), really captivated our heart.
The song nagumomu rendered in Raga Abheri and the number gana murthae in the Raga Gana Murthae (the only kriti in this raga composed by Thyagaraja) were pleasing to the ears. When Meera descended on oh rangasayee delivered in Raga khambodi, her emphasis on raga bhava, with mastery over layam was evident. And the exchange of swaras was indicative of her tutelage she had under her mother Radha Narayanan, a disciple of Dwaram Venkataswami Naidu. The richly-flowing sanchara designs brought out the grandeur of the composition. Their rendition of maithreem bajatha and maestro Madurai Mani Iyer’s notes were lively and drew distinct praise from the audience. The concert proved that this duo was capable of enriching the music with their ‘bhava laden’ approach. Swara prastharas displaying their keenness to maintain the clarity of sahithya with bhava.
Nellai Balaji (mridangam) KR Sivarama Krishnan (kanjira) H Sivarama Krishnan (ghatam) and Ramaswamy (morsing) provided admirable rhythmic support.