Ramakrishnan Murthy performing at Sri Parthasarathy Swamy Sabha’s December 2024 festival.
| Photo Credit: M. Srinath
The tanam segment of an RTP seldom gets its due. Perhaps, it is the challenge of singing and playing it while preserving raga lakshana. Vocalist Ramakrishnan Murthy and violinist Vittal Rangan (violinist) conducted a veritable masterclass on tanam, not just in one raga, but an assortment of them, switching effortlessly and melodiously.
Ramakrishnan began the Yadukula Kamboji kriti, ‘Ninnu sevinchina’ (Tyagaraja, Misrachapu) at the anupallavi, ‘kanakangi sri rukmini’ to bring Parthasarathy early into the concert. Even though it was the first piece, Ramakrishnan sang with the necessary bhava the kriti demanded. ‘Ninnu cheppaga chalamemandari’with quickfire swarams warmed up the proceedings.
Ramakrishnan Murthy’s music stands for purity in sruti, swaram and bhakti
| Photo Credit:
M. Srinath
‘Abhimanamu ledha’ in Hameer Kalyani (Tyagaraja) had moments of serenity without stalling the concert momentum. Ramakrishnan came close to the Dhanammal school’s patented blueprint of the raga. He preferred restraint than clobber.
Ramakrishnan Todi alapana was a waterfall of trademark sangathis. It is hard to impress with a Todi alapana as all versions have been sung and heard. Yet, Ramakrishnan’s had a few, impactful phrases. Vittal has the perfect combination of an active mind and calm demeanour (rather than the other way around). His Todi essay was equally laudable, showing elegance in varjam flights around ‘pa’ and ‘sa’. ‘Kaddhanu variki’ in good kalapramana appended with a bright niraval at ‘Baddu thappaka bhajiyinche’ that starts attractively at the upper shadjam made it more aesthetic. The lines extol the virtue of purity in sruti, swaram and bhakti – the growing apathy towards these in general is the irony. Ramakrishnan however, remains a torchbearer of such values and this concert was no exception.
Swaras are now part of Kalpita Sangitha, especially the korvais, and Ramakrishnan, Vittal and Delhi Sairam (mridangam) took the audience on a rollercoaster ride. Sairam’s tani had a good ‘static’ first part and the mandatory hyperbolic strokes in the finishing part. It has now become hard for percussionists to resist the temptation, due to the competitive landscape.
Ramakrishnan’s Gowlai landed on ‘ri ga ma ri’, to signal Gowlai as the chosen raga for the Ragam Tanam Pallavi. The raga alapana was par for the course, but engineered softly by both Ramakrishnan and Vittal. The creative spirits took over and both presented a grand tanam that preserved the raga shades and went beyond Gowlai. The vocalist sang Nalinakanti and Varali while Vittaln tapped into Nattai and a very melodious Subhapantuvaraali that swept the crowd by its feet. The two produced a terrific effect in the tanam, switching ragas seamlessly.
Mridangam vidwan Arun Prakash’s creation in kanda triputa ‘Mozhi pala irundum vizhigalal kathai koorum anbe’ was the interesting Pallavi sung by Ramakrishnan. Tamil seems to be the order of the day.More ragamalika swaras flowed from both the vocalist and the violinist (Khamas, Ragesri, Brindavans Saranga) but nothing could erase the wonderful memory of the tanam. Vittal was in his element in Ragesri.
Ramakrishnan Murthy enjoys the rendition of tukkadas as much as the business end of the concert. He topped them with a beautiful Behag tillana. Vittal was as much the star that evening as Ramakrishnan, playing brilliantly and creatively in tandem. Sairam has a healthy respect for kriti structures and played alongside the vocalist like the parallel railings of a train track. Ramakrishnan Murthy sings with the maturity and understanding of what makes anything a good concert.
Published – December 29, 2024 11:14 pm IST
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