Aishwarya Shankar and Kirtan bring their pathanaram to life

A provocative ‘Undedi Ramudu’ was Aishwarya Shankar’s early work in Harikamboji, a complete raga, which JB Keertana took as the centerpiece for her concert at the same venue six days later. That was just a coincidence. The real overlap lies in their seriousness in presenting the works with clarity. Also, the two did not rush about any ideas, which is a fundamental feature of the school that both partly share.

Keerthana’s allegiance to DK Jayaraman was evident in her lyrically rich productions, a hallmark of DKJ’s Pantram. He was Dr. S. Sundar, who is primarily a disciple of DKJ. As its main piece, the kirtan took ‘Muruga Thirumal’, written by Thanjavur Sankara Iyer, one of Sundar’s gurus.

devotional performance

Iyer’s compositions are full of devotion, and the devotional element has come into the abyss of kirtan. This line, starting with ‘Karunai Kadale’, progressed in such a way that Harikamboji’s ability to perform devotion was strengthened.

KS Vijay Balaji took the cues well, also supporting the singer during the upcoming vocals. Tirucherai R. Kaushik Rajagopal’s Tani Avataranam was compact in a three-beat allegorical cycle and was in keeping with the singer’s sense of restraint.

Harikamboji Alapan illustrates the tendency of kirtan to highlight the basic colors of any raga without haste. This leisurely approach stamped the Musiri school, which the singer took from Dr. Sundar, who was also a student of TK Govinda Rao, one of Subramaniam Iyer’s frontline disciples.

The long jump that Kirtana took for her brief Kapi Alapana had clear signs of the unsavory gait that characterized Musiri (1899–1975). The fourth stanza of ‘Meevalla Gundosha’ set on Khanda Chapu ends with ‘Rajilu Sri Thyagaraja’ in the upper notes. Kirtana’s impeccably open-mouthed rendition looked shrill in some of the challenging stretches.

Not diluting the voice while moving up the register and continuing to embellish the words with loops and frills are key features of the musiri. Aishwarya’s mentor Suguna Varadachari is her disciple. Aishwarya best showcased these aspects in her opening excerpt in the nerdy ‘Kshemkarudu Tyagaraja’. Particularly majestic was the emphasis he used on certain turns. For example, the first sound in the last word of the work ‘Nindi’.

Purvakalyani was Aishwarya’s choice for the main. A late evening stay at Alapana provided ample clue to the grandeur of Muthuswamy Dikshitar’s upcoming work: ‘Meenakshi Memudum’. Violinist KV Krishna’s bowing was fine on the plains, but when the notes got louder, he did not show the same hold.

With a voice far ahead of her age, Aishwarya exposed the soft layers of Purvakalani in Niraval. , From Mandapaka Nagalakshmi, who habitually holds the mridangam in her lap, comes a neat tani avartanam. The tail-end came in the form of a playful Kavadichindu – his character given by Musiri and made popular by TKG (1929–2011).

Earlier, Aishwarya followed up with Harikamboji with Dhanyasi, which seemed a perfect choice at the time. A neat depiction of Shyama Shastri’s ‘Meenalochana’ (the gracious) set on Chapu Tala was his pick. The details came out clear in concept and execution. This was followed by a quick ‘Sarvanabhava Guhane’ (Papanasam Sivan) based on the Kannada raga, Aadi Taal.

The Kachari of Kirtan started with Ganesh Stuti in a little, followed by ‘Era Napai’ in the same raga. The Chittasvara of this Patnam Subramaniam Iyer composition took a kaleidoscope view of the melody, emphasizing the singer’s respect for the composition of any composition.

Next was Dixit’s ‘Arunachalanatham Smarami’ and the ascending notes of the kirtan on the raga were impeccable.

Tali Avartanam was followed by Tulsivanam composition in Sanskrit. ‘Nama Shravan Sukham’ was sung for Yamuna Kalyani and presented in a peppy manner contrary to the usual nature of the raga.

Overall, the two concerts highlighted the added glory that Carnatic music attains when presented with reflexes and devoid of steroids.

The Kerala-based critic focuses on music and dance.