Kalyani always seems to be busy, with a tendency to run away instinctively. Equally, its restrained treatment always gives beauty. s. Mahathi chose to hold the bull by the horns, packing its center piece with immense power. This approach led people to yearn for the cool punctuation marks that could make Carnatic music still beautiful.
In her hour-long concert at the Madras Music Academy, the young singer sought to showcase Hustle as her specialty. His constant rendering of works at a frantic pace curtailed the possibilities of enhancing the listening experience, even though the selection of ragas was varied. In fact, his Kalyani Alpana even resorted to a modal shift, conjuring up a streak of shuddhanyasi. Apparently not satisfied with the Bhedam practice, Mahati hums the opening line of ‘Himagiri Tanaya’, which is famous in the pentatonic scale.
elements of classicism
The 14-minute Kalyani Alapana had some elements of classicism that some of his gurus like TN Seshagopalan, OS Thyagaran and Mangad K. were embellished by Natesan. Nevertheless, a faster tempo refined the upper registers, whose high phrases were punctuated by repeated oscillations that sounded like bell-metal tolls. At this stage, violinist Shreya Devnath was practically kicked out of her bid to reproduce the tail-ends of Mahathi’s high-tempo strikes. The singer’s round-off slip happened to be bearable. Shreya, in her solo turn, plays another stray note. Moreover, Shreya’s chivalry brought Kutchi a great deal of peace.
‘Talli Ninnu Nera’ composed by Shyama Shastri was a work in which Niraval was very soft. The melody was briefly rendered at different speeds during the solfa passage, but not acrobatic. Tala, being Mishra Chapu, ensured an impressive quality to Rohit Prasad’s calm Tani Avartanam on Mridangam.
Mahati started her presentation from Bilahari. The crisp clarity was predictable, already beginning a trend of crowding the presentation with ideas. The vocals were neat, which suited the tempo of Tyagaraja’s ‘Inta Kannanandam’. Only in the pose of the musician found a strange accent.
Muthuswamy Dikshitar’s ‘Markatha Lingam’ further illuminated the curriculum. The tendency to spread the freshness of spring further set the mood of the Kachri which was anyway heading towards the Decisive Suite. Adi Taal’s pre-main kitty wasn’t impressive In fact, but four minutes acted as a spritually filler.
Mahati has a stellar voice which has enabled her to make a mark as a Carnatic musician and playback singer and perform songs in different genres with ease. This skill was demonstrated in Kapi in ‘Sothnai Sumakkam’ (Papanasam Sivan), which took place after Tani Avataranam. A Thilana in Sindhubhairavi, another raga with Hindustani leanings, maintains the vibrancy till the end.
Kerala based reviewer
Focuses on music and dance.
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