Ramakrishnan Murthy’s Tyagaraja Aradhana concert at Vani Mahal, February 19, 2023. With RK Sriramkumar on violin, NC Bharadwaj on mridangam and N Guruprasad on ghatam. , Photo Credit: Raghu R
Ramakrishnan Murthy’s vocal concert on the occasion of Tyagaraja Aradhana 2023 at Vani Mahal was a significant tribute to the great bard. There was a notable, interesting change in the presentation of the young and popular singer – without an elaborate raga essay, but with a shloka in raga thodi, the dominant raga and a regal Kriti opening number. The composition was the popular ‘Koluvamare Gada’ with striking accompaniments galore in the anupallavi and charanam. A swara khanda was established on the pallavi, covering both the lower and upper art ranges.
The choice of main raga was Jaganmohini. Ramakrishnan Murthy’s raga interpretation of Jaganmohini achieved substantial merit touching the salient features of the raga. The composition here was the beautiful ‘Mamav Sattam Raghunath’ and the singer chose to go for the unique and swarakalpana on the Pallavi phrase itself. After a few rounds of notes at two different speeds, the fifth-centered notes culminate in a fitting ending.
The concert was an interesting amalgamation of some lesser known and familiar works by Saint Tyagaraja. Before this, a short prelude of Raga Sudha Dhanyasi introduces the famous ‘Enta Nerchina’ with some vocals, and ‘Narad Gana Lola’ with soft touches in Attana. The list of songs includes a piece ‘Vishnu Vahan’, another piece hailing Garuda in Shankarabharanam, the sombre ‘Eti Janmam’ in Varali and the subtle ‘Veena Rada Na Maanvi’ in Devagandhari. The conclusion was prefixed with a sloka – Poorvikalyani, Nilambari and Kapi – in the Ragamalika and ended with the ‘Shobhane’ song ‘Vadana Dyuti’ in the Pantuvarali.
Ramakrishnan Murthy’s performance was bolstered by RK Sriramkumar on violin – his performance was classy and his impeccable raga texts and vocals showed finesse.
NC on Mridangam On Bhardwaj and Ghatam, N. Guruprasad reinforced the concert with a rhythm matching the tone of the concert. His gentle opening of Thani avataranam ends with great enthusiasm through fast and impactful rhythmic exchanges.
A tip: Many times, singers add a Tamil Virutham or a Sanskrit sloka before the krithi to enhance the value or beauty. The audience may not be familiar with it or understand its significance. Hence, the singer could have mentioned a few lines about the specialty and importance of adding it in his presentation. This will help the enthusiasts to appreciate it better.