CHENNAI: The faultless vision of classicism, which Malladi brothers Sri Ram Prasad and Ravi Kumar posses, emulating their father Malladi Suri Babu, was pervasive in their vocal concert at Krishna Gana Sabha, when they performed along with their father.
Their gaze of gnanam at Raga Sankarabarnam (Brighedees waraya Mamastae) of Dikshitar and (Bahi Sri Gururaja Sudhae) of Syama Sastri in Raga Ananda bhairavi, was pure and intense. To put it short, these ragas yielded their jeevan to them.
They proved to be experienced singers with roots in traditional classical music, compressing details of finer aesthetics, particularly when they drew an alluring sketch of Raga Mohanam (Mati- Matiki) of Thyagaraja, in which the composer beseeches for His grace to alleviate his problems.
When they drew a captivating sketch of Mohanam, the immensely classical stature of the kriti was exposed by the trio effectively. Their imaginative rendition, with graceful swaras and rhythmic sequencing (alternating between the trio), attracted our attention. One needs to appreciate their manodharma for their lovely delineation of Raga Suruti, before embarking on Ragam Thanam Pallavi (Brahmananda Mandavae Manesa Natha Loludai), with Kalpanaswaras. The sequencing and carrying the charm of the raga effectively showed their eloquent expression. The ending pieces — be it in Raga Durga (Jaya - Jaya Durga) of Narayana Theerthar or Sarvam Brahma mayam) of Sadasiva Brahmendra in Raga Maduvanthi — were heart warming and insightfully dwelt on their emotive deeds.
Lalgudi Vijyalakshmi (violin), J Vaidyanathan (mridangam) and Rajganesh (ganjira) strained every nerve to catch up with the grandeur of presentation.