On a Devotional Music Journey
CHENNAI: These days, music is becoming more decorative either by the way of excessive brigas or the repetitive sancharas that the vocalists present. But when Gayathri Venkatraghavan performed for Narada Gana Sabha, she created an elaborate ‘Vinyasa’, which had a rare combination of idealism and competance, stirring the admiration of the listeners.
She commenced her recital with a Naatai varnam (Sarasija Naba) and descended on the exquisite Raga Mayamalavagowla kriti of Purandaradasar (Smaraneonde Salade).
The niraval in ‘Sakala Theerthe Yatra’ revealed her creative imagination with her eagerness to capture the Raga Swaroopa. Then, she took up Janaranjani Raga alapana, making the listeners spellbound with her voice, which was invigorating.
When she delved into Nannu Brova Rada of Syama Sastri in Misrachaapu, her ability to bring out the flawless vision of classicism was evident, which evoked great admiration among the audience.
When she portrayed Pattnam Subramania Iyer’s kriti Nee Pada Mulae in Raga Bhairavi with torrential swara sequences, there were alluring and authentic sketches of the fine aesthetics and amazing traditional stature. The number proved that she would be reckoned as a one of the top artistes with a commendable measure of classical sustenance.
During the rendition of Dikshitar Kriti in Raga Lalitha (Hiranmayam), audiences were exposed to the intrinsic melodic structure of the song. It was obvious that the artiste wanted to give a personal identity to her technique when she proceeded with a pallavi (Brindavana Saaranga) in Kanda Jathi Tripuda Talam descending on to a Ragamalika that had ragas like Chandrajothi, Charukesi, Mayamalavagowla, Vasantha, Saaranga and Neelambari with gliding and vacillating variants, stole the hearts of the rasikas.
RK Shriramkumar on violin communicated the nuances of the kritis as usual, adopting the style of his grand father violin maestro RK Venkatrama Sastri. Displaying their robust stamp of classicism, Vaidyanathan on mridangam and Anirudh Athreya on kanjira added content to the perfomance.