Aishwarya Vidhya Raghunath at the Music Academy on 19 December 2025  was accompanied by R. Hemalatha on the violin, B. C. Manjunath on the mridangam, and Bhagyalakshmi M. Krishna on the morsing.

Aishwarya commenced the concert with the Ata tala varnam in Kalyani, a classic opening. She placed strong emphasis on the various gamakas throughout, with the panchama-varja phrases standing out. A noticeable aspect was her stage presence and the bright smile with which she sang. Manjunath’s mridangam support was excellent in the opening piece. However, the vocal volume could have been slightly higher - the lack of it prevented the experience from becoming completely immersive.

Upacharamu Chese in Bhairavi followed. Aishwarya seemed to truly relish presenting these classic picks. The niraval at Ekantamunanu was well handled, with the violin-morsing combination adding an interesting colour. Hemalatha’s niraval was particularly impressive. The kalpana swarams were equally engaging, filled with sarvalaghu that flowed naturally.

A short and crisp Kannada alapana came next, with the right amount of emphasis on the rishabham and daivatam, beautifully bringing out the raga’s flavour. Hemalatha mirrored this effectively. Dikshitar’s Sree Mathrubhootam followed, rendered with excellent pronunciation. Every theermanam by the mridangist fell perfectly in place, and the tuning and tonal quality of the moharsing added a pleasing layer. The acoustics at the Music Academy this season seemed noticeably enhanced, allowing the morsing to be heard with unprecedented clarity.

Mayamma yanine in Ahiri was rendered at an appropriate pace. While slightly more voice modulation in certain lines could have elevated the presentation further, the overall Ahiri bhava was beautiful, making this one of the highlights of the evening.

Begada was the main raga of the concert. Aishwarya explored the raga in depth in the mandra sthaayi, while the phrases around the mel shadjam were absolutely scintillating. A striking Begada akaram at the mel gandharam traversed the entire scale, reaching up to the tara sthaayi daivatam. Hemalatha’s Begada was equally compelling, packed with classic phrases in the S–P region that reflected her finesse and experience. The use of rishabam in several phrases created many ‘aha’ moments. Tyagaraja’s Nadopasana was rendered with grandeur and gait, supported perfectly by the percussion team. The niraval by both Aishwarya and Hemalatha, especially in the second speed, was excellent. The slow-speed swarams were filled with expressive jarus and kampitams at the madhyamam, exploring multiple approaches to the note. Hemalatha stood out once again and both had beautifully structured korvais that fit seamlessly into a vakra raga like Begada. The tani avartanam was among the most enjoyable of the season; while the morsing had a few minor slips, the overall tani was extremely engaging and well received by the audience.

The ragam-tanam-pallavi was in Gamakakriya. The tanam, especially in the tara sthayi, was impressive. The pallavi, set to khanda Triputa tala in khanda nadai, was composed by the year’s Sangita Kalanidhi, vidwan R. K. Shriramkumar. The pallavi line was Madhuranilaye Maatangatanaye Maamava Sadaye Gati Gamaka Geetaika-nipune. The ragamalika swaras, including Gamakakriya, formed a tribute to ragas handled by Dikshitar, marking his 250th anniversary celebrations. Lalitha, Narireetigowlai, Vegavahini, and Sree were among the ragas presented.

Chidvilasananda by Thiruvotriyur Thyagarajan in Athana followed - an unusual but refreshing raga choice post the RTP and main segment. This was followed by Naarimani Nikairadira, and the concert concluded with a Tulsidas composition in Sindhubhairavi.

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Vidushi K. Gayatri’s concert at the Madras Music Academy on 21 December 2025 was accompanied by vidwans B. Vittal Rangan on the violin, J. Vaidhyanathan on the mridangam, and V. Sai Subramaniam on the morsing. One of the most eagerly anticipated concerts of the season, expectations were naturally high, given Gayatri’s reputation for creativity, mathematical brilliance, and her consistent recognition at the Academy year after year.

She opened with a sloka, her voice was in excellent form. The enhanced acoustics at the Academy this season created an immersive experience right from the outset.

The concert began with Neelayatakshi Neeve in Paraju, rendered beautifully. Gayatri chose the swarakshara line Saamagaanalole for kalpana swarams and explored it. Several swara patterns cleverly ended at gana, achieving precise poruthams that highlighted the swaraksharam effectively. The swaras struck a fine balance between punchy patterns, flowing sarvalaghu, and raga bhava, making this segment especially satisfying.

This was followed by Nadadina Maataledu in Janaranjani, once again featuring swaras at the swarakshara line.

A beautiful Dhanyasi alapana followed, with both Gayatri and Vittal Rangan offering good explorations. The rendition of the composition that followed was equally compelling. The subtle brighas embedded within the sangatis were executed with finesse. The kalpana swarams in the pallavi stood out as among the best executed, preserving raga bhava while simultaneously showcasing multiple approaches to the sahitya line. The theermanams concluded with perfect alignment with the composition.

Continuing a trend from her Academy concert last year, where she had presented a sapta raga–sapta tala malika, Gayatri went a step further this year with an ashta-raga malika composed by Thodi Seetharamaiyer - Nithyakalyani. The eight ragas - Kalyani, Sankarabharanam, Todi, Kambhoji, Bhairavi, Mohanam, Bhoopalam, and Nayaki. This was yet another stellar showcase of her repertoire depth and her commitment to presenting rare yet valuable compositions.

Nikela Nayeda in Devamanohari followed, serving as a pleasant transition. The Sankarabharanam alapana that came next - meditative, deeply soaked in raga bhava, and allowed to unfold organically without haste. The composition Muttukumaarayyane by Ramaswamy Sivan sustained the momentum beautifully, allowing the raga to linger.

Kanden Kanden in Athana, composed by her guru Suguna Purushottaman, followed, offering a contrast.

The most eagerly awaited segment of her concert - the ragam-tanam-pallavi was set in Sriranjani. The ragam and tanam were neatly rendered with all the classic phrases. Towards the end, the tanam accelerated to a pace that felt slightly excessive for both the raga and vocal comfort. While Gayatri handled it gracefully, it did not necessarily add to the Sriranjani’s musical value.

The pallavi was inspired by Muthuswami Dikshitar’s Sree Dum Durge in Sriranjani and was set to khanda jati Jhumpa tala, spanning 61 aksharas. The initial tala split was structured as 3–4–5–7–9 in the poorvangam and 9–11–13 in the uttarangam. She then introduced a second split of 1–2–4–6–8–10 in the purvangam (31 aksharas) and 10–8–6–4–2 in the uttarangam (30 aksharas). Building on this, Gayatri fittingly rendered ragamalika swaras in the 30th and 31st raganga ragas from Dikshitar’s asampurna melakarta scheme - Nagabharanam and Kalavati respectively; an intellectually stimulating and musically rewarding choice. She further escalated the complexity by executing a 46-15 split of the same 61-akshara tala, incorporating angas such as guru, plutham, and kakapadam. Correspondingly, she presented the 46th and 15th raganga ragas - Stavarajam and Mayamalavagowla. The audience was visibly absorbed in the brilliance of the pallavi and its layered creativity.

Vittal Rangan was as adept and quick in responding to Gayatri’s felicity, bringing to his replies a depth of bhava and a keen, intuitive alignment with her musical flow.

J. Vaidhyanathan’s mridangam playing gave the concert a steady heartbeat. He matched Gayatri’s energy beautifully, especially during the swaras and the intricate pallavi sections, offering support that was firm without being heavy. The tani avartanam, with V. Sai Subramaniam on the morsing, was lively and enjoyable and the two shared an easy musical chemistry. The koraippu exchanges between Vaidyanathan and Sai Subramaniam were a standout.

Gayatri concluded the concert with Sa pashyat Kausalya in Jonpuri. Overall, the concert was a compelling display of skill, creativity, and repertoire depth. Gayatri not only met the high expectations surrounding her performance but once again succeeded in raising the bar.

(The author is a freelance writer and a student of Carnatic music)