It was vintage OST at the Bangalore Gayana Samaja Auditorium yesterday. OST fans who came to the concert would have returned home real satisfied.
Here are the details of the concert:
Vocal: Sri O.S. Thyagarajan (OST)
Violin: Sri H.K.Venkatram
Mridangam: Sri V. Praveen
Ghatam: Sri Giridhar Udupa
List of songs:
1) vallabha nAyakasya – bEgadA – rUpakam – muthuswAmi dIkshitar
2) birAna – kalyAni – Adi (tisra gathi) – syAma sAstri
3) Eti janma – varAli – misra chApu – thyAgarAja
4) vinatA suta – jayantasEnA – Adi – thyAgarAja
5) nI pAdamulE – navarasa kAnadA – Adi – rAmanAthapuram srInivAsa iyengAr
6) lEkanA – asAvEri – Adi – thyAgarAja
7) Emi nEramu – sankarAbharanam – Adi – thyAgarAja
8) srI rAghavam – viruttam in rAgAs sahAnA, shanmukhapriyA and Anandabhairavi
rAmabhadra rArA – Anandabhairavi – Adi – bhadrAchala rAmdAs
9) sadA yenna – behAg – rUpakam – vijaya vittala dAsa
10) nAdupai – madhyamAvati – kanda chApu – thyAgarAja
11) pavamAna (mangalam) – sOwrAshtram – Adi – thyAgarAja
followed by mangala slOkam in rAgA surutti
OST began the concert with kritis he has often rendered in his past concerts. When I just began fearing whether it is going to be another photocopy concert with songs from the same set, he started “vinata suta” …. not that this is a song that he has never sung before … but then came “nI pAdamulE” and I started feeling really happy that I am in for some not very common OST numbers. His detailed sankarabharanam rAgA AlapanA which lasted for about 17 minutes was a treat to the ears and the kriti Emi nEramu was again one that I haven’t heard OST sing before. The taniavartanam played at the end of the song by V. Praveen and Giridhar Udupa was short and sweet.
The way OST held his breath for a long time at many places and elaborated ragas and swarams using “akAram” only was a treat to the years. OST also kept encouraging his accompanists intermittently which was very good to see.
Sri H.K.Venkatram provided good accompaniment on the violin. Sri V. Praveen on the mridangam and Sri Giridhar Udupa on the ghatam played very well when considered technically. They both are very good, accomplished artists in their respective fields. However, right from the word go, Sri V. Praveen banged the mridangam so loud as though someone had told him that the more the sound came, the more would be the concert fee he would be paid. Sri Giridhar Udupa also joined in the fare soon. However in his case, it was the microphone that was actually amplifying all the stuff, though he could have distanced himself from the mic a bit or toned himself down. Both of them settled down and started accompanying peacefully only from the shankarabharanam piece onwards. Their percussion support for the main piece and the thukkadAs after that was good and pleasing to the ears.
If OST keeps the same form, audience at the Odukkatur Swamigal Mutt are in for a gem of a concert, when he sings there this Thursday.
Ramkumar R 