Ranjani-Gayatri’s concert at Narada Gana Sabha on 25 December 2025 was accompanied by Vittal Rangan on the violin, Sai Giridhar on the mridangam, and Krishna on the ghatam. The duo opened by expressing their happiness at being in the heart of the Margazhi season, with music unfolding all around us.

They began with Ninne Bhajana in Nata, featuring a beautiful chittaswaram that included the occasionally permitted chatusruti daivatam. Nata’s trademark auspicious brightness came through immediately. Kalpana swarams were presented at the line Sita natha. The acoustics, however, were slightly unsettling, particularly closer to the speakers, which occasionally affected the listening comfort.

Gayatri then presented a Begada alapana that consciously avoided the typical kampitam on the madhyamam until the very end, when a striking GMDP phrase drew appreciative ‘ahas’ from the audience. This led into Ramaswamy Sivan’s Kaḍaikkan Vaittennai, rendered enjoyably, with kalpana swarams in the pallavi.

Dikshitar’s grand Dharmasamvardhini in Madhyamavathi followed, after which Ranjani launched into a regal Todi. Unusually, she began from the mel shadjam with a phrase that almost immediately hinted at the composition to come. Gayatri’s takeover of Todi at the mel shadjam truly stole the show. Her choice of phrases, flowing jarus, and expansive akaram traversals across the scale were outstanding. Gayatri also executed a grahabedam from the madhyamam, seamlessly transitioning into Hindolam, doing full justice to the raga before gliding back into Todi with remarkable ease. Koluvamare Gada was the main piece of the evening, delivered with poise. Sai Giridhar’s support remained excellent throughout, with the mridangam-ghatam interplay standing out particularly during the neraval. Gayatri’s neraval at the mel shadjam was especially striking, her voice soaring effortlessly in the higher registers. The mel kala swaras were absolute firecrackers. This was followed by Saravanabhava Guhane Shanmukhane in Kannada by Papanasam Sivan.

Known for their expansive RTPs, the most eagerly awaited segment arrived next. Ranjani-Gayatri presented an alapana spanning three ragas - Ranjani, Sivaranjani, and Sumanesharanjani, clearly pointing toward an exciting tri-raga pallavi. Each raga transition brought in guaranteed ‘aha’ moments. Vittal’s Sivaranjani was particularly impressive, with the flavour of the daivatam shining through, while Gayatri’s tara sthayi sancharas brought remarkable emotional depth. Towards the end of the alapana, Ranjani and Gayatri alternated phrases across all three ragas, offering a beautiful summation of the tri-ranjani alapana.Vittal’s tanam was scintillating, built on short phrases and rhythmically grounded patterns, with smooth and well-defined raga transitions. The pallavi, Ranjani Tribhuvanapalini, Sivaranjani Bhavatarini, palayamam Sumanasa (Ranjani), featured stunning neraval explorations in all three ragas by all three artists. Towards the culmination of the kalpana swaram segment came the most inventive element of the evening - swaradhuri koraippu, a parallel rendering of two ragas through grahabedam. Sivaranjani moved to Neelamani via Panchamam grahabedam, while Sumanesharanjani transformed into Chandrakauns again, via panchamam. Ranjani sang swaras in one of the pallavi’s ragas while Gayatri responded with identical phrases in the grahabedam-equivalent raga. These koraippus were sheer genius and arguably the highlight of the entire concert. The section concluded with a brilliant korvai across all three ragas, resolving beautifully back into Ranjani with a fitting porutham.

The concluding segment featured four compositions in four languages, all set in the same raga, each addressing different forms of Vishnu - Narayana, Rama, Krishna, and Vittala. This began with a ragamalika viruttam, Naḍiya poruḷ kai Kuḍum, in Kapi and Maand, followed by Ramanai Bhajithal, Baro Krishnayya, and the abhang Tuziya Namacha.

A Ranjani-Gayatri concert is always an experience to behold, remember, and relish. Every moment remains charged with energy, keeping the listener in constant awe. Even more remarkable is their consistency in delivering these musical highs to their audience; truly splendid.