S on Veena Nityashree, B on Mridangam. Sivaraman and Trivandrum on Kanjira with D. Rajagopal. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
S. Nityashree’s veena playing was a subdued presentation. The highlight of Nityashree’s veena playing was the extensive ragam Tanam Pallavi in raga Simhendramadhyam. Raga is an absolute beauty and the artist understood the nuances of the raga and explored it softly in his alapana. Tanam also adopted a soft tone. The pallavi set in Adi Tal went as ‘Muruga Guha Shanmuga Arul Tha’ in Adi Tal Do Kalai. The pallavi and trikalam are followed by the swara khand. Here, after a few rounds of swaras in Simhendramadhyam, Nithyasree presented a surplus of ragamalika swaras in Revathi, Begada, Saraswati and Sahana in quick succession.
This was followed by the restrained tani avataram by B. Sivaraman on the mridangam and Trivandrum by D. Rajagopal on the kanjira.
Other interesting pieces in Nityasree’s concerto were ‘Abhishtha Vara Sri Maha Ganapathe’ by Tyagaraja in raga Hamasadhwani, with vocal suite in two movements, Muthu Thandavar’s ‘Sevika Vendum Ayya’ in Andholika and Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Karapaga Manohara’ in Malayamarutham. .
S. Veena performance by Nityashree. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
These two fast pieces were followed by a slow and steady rendition of Saveri raga. The image of the melody was created with several delicate phrases. Shyama Shastri’s ‘Sankari Sankuru’ rendition is a perfect accompaniment to the alapana. Shyama Krishna Sodari’s Niraval and vocals had enough poignancy. After this the swarakalpana embellished the singing.
It was a pleasure to watch Nityashree making announcements after rendering ragas and kritis.
The final section of Nithyasree includes ‘Maynai Mannu Vada’ Thiruppavai by Sri, ‘Marven Ennalilume’ by Kalki in Raga Paras and ‘Karapageme Kan Parai’ by Papanasam Sivan in Madhyamavati.