Venue: Vidya Bharati, Bheemasena Garden St., Mylapore, Chennai

Date: 30 Dec 2006

Organizer: Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha

Vocal: Smt. Gayathri Venkataraghavan

Violin: Sri V.V.S. Murari

Mridangam: Sri J. Vaidyanathan

Ghatam: Sri S. Karthick

List of songs:

1) pAvanI ninnu nera (varnam) – janaranjani – Adi – a. sundarEsan

2) srIman nArAyaNa – bOwLi – Adi – annamAchArya

3) rAjuveDala – tODi – rUpakam – thyAgarAja (ONS)

4) hariharaputram – vasantA – kanDa Ekam – muthuswAmi dIkshitar (AS)

5) arumugA – sudha sAvEri – Adi – pApanAsam sivan

6) ninnu sEvinchina – yadukula kAmbOji – misra chApu – subbarAya sAstri (A)

7) ini oru kaNam – srIranjani – rUpakam – pApanAsam sivan

8 ) EtAvunarA – kalyANi – Adi – thyAgarAja (ANST)

9) sAgara shayana – bAgEswari – Adi – m.d.rAmanAthan

10) konDal vaNNanai (viruttam) – kApi – tiruppaNNAzhwAr

enna tavam – kApi – Adi – pApanAsam sivan

11) namAmi nArAyanA (viruttam) – suruTTi

(Key: O=raga outline, A=raga alapana, N=neraval, S=kalpana swaram, T=taniavartanam)

Smt. Gayathri Venkataraghavan, one of my favorite female carnatic vocalists of the present generation, started her concert with the varnam “pAvanI ninnu nera” composed by her guru Sri A. Sundaresan, who I think was sitting in the first row to hear her concert. Sri Thyagaraja’s composition “rajuveDala” was sung well to some very good percussion support provided by Sri J.Vaidyanathan and Sri S. Karthick. The sangatis in the charanam of “hariharaputram” in vasanta were especially well sung.

Though all the alapanas and raga outlines were good, the yadukulakAmbOji and kalyANi alapanas were especially well sung and stood out. “ninnu sEvinchina”, composed by Sri Subbaraya Sastri on Sri Parthasarathy Swami upon his visit to Tiruvallikeni, was rendered with lot of involvement. It was a really moving rendition.

Sri J. Vaidyanathan and Sri S. Karthick worked together as a team and played very well for all the songs. Sri J. Vaidyanthan used very good gumukis at appropriate places to enhance the quality of his accompaniment for the songs.

The concert ended with a viruttam in one of my favorite ragas, suruTTi.