Sikkil Gurucharan @ Music Academy

Sikkil Gurucharan performed at the Music Academy Mini Hall in Chennai on Sunday in a 4 hour long Carnatic Classical Vocal Concert organized by Sarvani Sangeetha Sabha. He was accompanied by S. Varadarajan on the violin, K.V. Prasad on the mridangam and Vaikkom Gopalakrishnan on the ghatam. The (partial) list of songs rendered is as follows:

1) ninnukOri (varnam) – vasanthA – Adi – tAchUr singArachAri
2) vakratunda mahAkAya (viruttam) – kAnadA
mahAganapathE – kAnadA – rUpakam – kOtIswara iyer
3) paralOka – mandAri – Adi – thyAgarAja
4) kAmAkshi – bhairavi – misra chApu – syAma sAstri
5) nAdha sudhA – Arabhi – rUpaka – thyAgarAja
6) anjezhuthinai – rAgavinodhini – Adi – m m dandapAni dEsikar
7) mAravairi ramani – nAsikAbhUshani – Adi (tisra As) – thyAgarAja
8) ambA nIlAyadAkshi – nIlAmbari – Adi – muthuswamy dIkshitar
9) kaligiyuntE – kIravAni – Adi – thyAgarAja
10) kAnavEndAmO – srIranjani – rUpakam – pApanAsam sivan
11) rAgam tAnam pallavi – kalyAni – misra triputa
(pallavi words: un thiruvadiyinai, anudinam thudikka nI, varamarul shanmugA, guruparA, sharavanabhava)

Had to leave during the pallavi rendition to catch the train back to Bangalore.

Sikkil Gurucharan is said to be one of the rising stars in Carnatic music today. He stood true to his reputation delivering a good performance once again. I feel it is just a matter of time before he is recognized in the same league as Sanjay Subrahmanyam and T.M.Krishna, who incidentally are my favorites among the present day singers.

S.Varadarajan (violin), I think stole the show. All his experience, having played for so many concerts in the recent past, showed in the way he accompanied Gurucharan during the songs as well as in the way he played raga alapanas, neravals and kalpana swaras.

K.V.Prasad and Vaikkom Gopalakrishnan provided good support on mridangam and ghatam. Vaikkom Gopalakrishnan, in some places, played in sync with K.V. Prasad and in others, complemented him well, which made their accompaniment for the songs very pleasing to the ears.

All in all, a good kutcheri experience for the rasikas.