A disciple of P.S. Narayanaswamy, Akshay Padmanabhan’s strengths are his strong voice and clear diction. Akshay began his concert in Narada Gana Sabha with Paalimpa raavadelara in Arabhi, a composition of Pallavi Seshayyar in tisra nadai Adi tala followed by a vibrant alapana in Pantuvarali and Tyagaraja’s composition, Ninne nera. The shadja and panchama varja prayogas in Pantuvarali could have been used sparingly to enhance the beauty of the raga. Evarikai in Devamanohari and Janaki ramana in raga Shudda Seemantani followed.

The Khamboji alapana was both lucid and elaborate, and Akshay rendered Koniyaadina naapai of Veenai Kuppaiyyar with appropriate gait and fervour. The tani avartanam was skillfully delivered by Calutta Aravind and H. Prasanna. Kamalakiran on the violin was excellent throughout the concert.

In her concert for Naada Inbam, Shakthi Muralidharan exhibited a lot of competence and confidence. Sree Mahaganapati in Gaula of Muttuswami Dikshitar was followed by a vibrant Chaala kallalaadu in Arabhi. Both the chittaswarams and kalpanaswarams were presented with a lot of clarity. The raga alapanas rendered by Shakthi in Pantuvarali and Bhairavi were splendid and soaked in bhava. Niraval and swaras for Ninnu nera and Sari evaramma were adorned with colourful expressions and intricate swara patterns.

Sandeep Ramachandran on the violin was a great accompaniment and showcased his talent throughout the concert. S. Kavichelvan helped in bringing out the contours of all the kritis beautifully. His tani avartanam was a feast to the ears. Overall, it was a well-planned concert, rounded off with Karuna jooda in Sree raga and a nottu swaram. Winner of the Times Tyagaraja award in 2022, Shakthi is a disciple of vidushis Amritha Murali and  Sattur Lalitha Santhanam.

 At Sri Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha, Sankari Krishnan, a reputed vocalist, drew a lot of inspiration from kritis of different composers. Beginning with a varnam in Bhoopalam of her guru Lalgudi G. Jayaraman, she rendered swaras for the composition Makelara in Ravichandrika raga. Raga alapanas of Ananda Bhairavi, Ramapriya and Neelambari were soaked in bhava.

A soulful and soothing rendition of Keeravani was followed by a rarely heard kriti of Syama Sastri Brovu brovu manine with niraval and kalpanaswarams, which brought out the colour of the raga. Her raga delineations were confident, and her neatly woven swaras accented the concert. Dandaayudha paanim, Korina vara, and Amba neelambari were rendered with ease and imagination.

The tani avartanam by Arjun Ganesh and Sunil Kumar was thoroughly enjoyable, and they displayed the sollukattus with precision.

Nanditha Kannan opened the kutcheri at Naada Inbam with a lively and brisk pada varnam in Khamboji raga, followed by an excellent rendition of Ora jupu in Kannadagaula, a composition of Tyagaraja. Swift kalpanaswarams rendered by both Nanditha and Haritha Narayanan on the violin added to the gait of the kriti. Raga alapanas in Kalyani and Todi were neatly presented with bhava-laden phrases. Birana varaalichi (Syama Sastri) and Endhuku dhaya raadhura (Tyagaraja) were the compositions rendered in Kalyani and Todi with appropriate niraval and swaras. The kalapramanam for Amba neelayataakshi in Neelambari was well adhered to by all the musicians. Nanditha concluded the concert with a javali, Saaramaina (Swathi Thirunal) in Behag, a tarangam in Dwijawanti and Bharata desam (Subramanya Bharati) tuned by her guru vidwan R.K. Shriramkumar.

A promising youngster, Nanditha has a mellifluous voice with a slight nasal tinge. Some attention to breath control would help with completing words or splitting phrases appropriately. S. Kavichelvan’s tani in misra chaapu was rendered ably. 

by

Pa. Su.

(A Sruti Reviewer)