Reviews

Margazhi Concert Review - Ranjani & Gayatri

Harmony and Nuance: Ranjani and Gayatri in Concert


Evocative, embellished, and nuanced are words that crop up when we listen to vidushis Ranjani and Gayatri. Their recent Krishna Gana Sabha concert on 22 December 2024 was true to style and they raised the presentation to a higher plane with a ragam-tanam-pallavi in  Gangeyabhushani.

 

Accompanying them were  L.Ramakrishnan (violin), Delhi Sairam (mridangam), and K.V.Gopalakrishnan (khanjira). 

 

The Margazhi flavour was to the fore as the duo began with Koodarai Vellum Seer Govinda (Poorvi Kalyani), the Tiruppavai that struck a chord with listeners as it is the season. The sublime pace and swaraprasthara to this song added flavour.

 

Next, Ranjani sketched Mukhari alapana, deftly weaving in the innovative phrasings of the raga. While L Ramakrishnan played a succinct Mukhari essay, one must emphasise that he enhanced every raga elaboration as well as creative suite with expertise and taste throughout the concert. The kriti Sangeeta sastra gnanamu (Mukhari, Tyagaraja) bristled with emotional appeal and rasa bhava as the singers began niraval-swaram at the line Prema bhakti sujana vathsalyamu. The audience especially enjoyed Gayatri’s imaginative inputs in the upper octave sancharas during this module.

 

Following this was the kriti Jambhupate mam pahi (Yamuna Kalyani, Muthuswami Dikshitar). The performers raised the ante with the melodic and Hindustani musical overtones that this raga evokes often. This invocation of Siva, the Panchalinga Bhoota prabu, whose temple is famous in Thiruvanaikaval was evocative. 

 

It was time then for launching one of the major presentations of the concert. After Ranjani laid the foundation for a Chakravagam raga elaboration, Gayatri followed suit rounding off the proceedings by giving an the immersive feel to the raga. The kriti Yadukula Tilaka (Chakravagam, Garbapurivasa) culminated in a slow and fast swara suite, where the duo brought in a beautiful, creative grahabedam at the  madhyamam. As they alternated in swara singing in Chakravagam, a grand korvai completed the colourful creativity that was a lesson in spontaneity. When grahabedam is done at Madhyamam in raga Chakravagam, it brings up raga Sarasangi, Gayatri said

 

Delhi Sairam on the mridangam and K.V.Gopalakrishnan on the khanjira then launched a tani avartanam full of intricacies that gave the listeners the feeling of a neatly packaged tala elaboration.

 

A filler, Oothukkadu Venkatakavi’s Velli nilavinile  (Athana) breezed in before the pallavi.



 

Pallavi in Gangeyabhushani

 

The most impressive part was the concluding ragam-tanam-pallavi and tukkada section followed. While the raga essay flowed richly from the duo with the aesthetics of melakarta Gangeyabhushani, the pallavi that they took up in this raga Yevvare Ramayya Raghukula tilaka avanitha manohara nee sari (tisra jati Ata tala) was high on emotional and intellectual appeal. During the ragamalika swara segment of the pallavi, the vocalists skillfully juxtaposed the ragas Sri Ranjani and Bagesri, creating an engaging interplay that captivated the audience and drew spontaneous applause.



 

Tukkada

 

In conclusion, Ranjani and Gayatri presented a viruttam by Kalamega Pulavar, vividly expressing the devotee’s profound bhakti towards Siva and Vishnu. The ragamalika treatment of the viruttam showcased a tapestry of ragas, including Maand, adding depth and texture to the rendition. This served as a prelude to the Ambujam Krishna kriti, Hariharanai Nidam (ragamalika).

The recital concluded on a high note with a soulful Namdev abhang, leaving a lasting impression on the audience.

by

Renuka Suryanarayan

(The author who holds a doctorate in journalism from Ohio University, USA, worked as professor of journalism at California State University in Los Angeles. She is also a Carnatic musician.)

 

 pc: Akira Io

 

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