Jayanthi Kumaresh’s veena strings offer diverse expressions

Jayanthi Kumaresh’s performing at The Music Academy’s December Season festival, 2022.
| Photo Credit: SRINIVASAN K.V.

Artistes who perform regularly overseas, especially with co-artistes from other genres, need a reset to the Chennai expectations of tradition. Veena exponent Jayanthi Kumaresh wears that hat adeptly. Her concert at The Music Academy had a diverse fare with different raga silhouettes, talas, composers and well-judged manodharma quotients.

The list ran from Kamakshi to Kamakshi. ‘Kanchadalayadakshi’ in Kamalamanohari (Dikshitar) was a good warm-up to set up a nice segue into the middle segment that was crowned by an outstanding Kalyani. Ritigowla alapana was soothing, at a slower kalapramana, sans the panchamam for the most part. ‘Nannu vidaci’ (Tyagraja) set to Mishra Chapu also coasted nicely at an even tempo with sweet glides. GNB’s ‘Nee padame gathi’ in Nalinakanti with attractive chittaswaras, was a buoyant choice as the filler before Kalyani alapana.

Jayanthi’s treatment of the raga was unconventional but pleasing, with Hindustani overtones and a liberal dose of varjam, including a quaint ‘ni ri ma’ (double varjam) phrase that was a good high point. A couple of whisper phrases thrown into the mix also evoked audience appreciation. Jayanthi reverted to a more traditional account of ‘Amma ravamma’ (Tyagaraja) in Khanda Chapu that energised the percussionists to jump to fast sarvalagus. A well-manicured alapana does not need a niraval (which sometimes can sound the same in an instrument), but the swaras cannot be done without in modern concerts. Jayanthi engaged the rhythm players in a kuraippu duet that had a popular flavour. As if the Kalyani’s grandeur was not enough, she launched into an interesting raga – Vasanthabhairavi – for her pallavi.

Jayanthi Kumaresh
| Photo Credit:
SRINIVASAN K.V.

The raga sketch again had some Hindustani touches with haunting stops and sustains at ‘ga ma da…’ The raga has a melancholic character and that threatened to bring down the cheer of the moment, but a brief well-crafted thanam was quickly followed by the pallavi ‘Sariga nee padamule gathiyani’ set to Adi (with quarter shift start) by Abhishek Raghuram.

The purvangam of the pallavi is itself in a trikala structure, a good novelty. Jayanthi’s niraval and trikalam in half avarthanams were breath-taking and made up for the sombreness that the raga brought. Ragamalika swaras built with Sriranjani, Nattai, and Ravichandrika pepped up the proceedings even further.

Muthu Thandavar’s ‘Theruvil varaano’ in Khamas added more melody towards the back-end of the concert that was finished off with the Hamsanandi thillana by Lalgudi Jayaraman and ‘Kamakshi lokasakshi (Syama Sastrí) as the mangalam. Jayanthi ensured that every section of the audience had something to take back home, without over-packing technical aspects beyond the equilibrium.

Percussionists Jayachandra Rao and Trichy Krishnaswamy (ghatam) enjoyed the madhyamakala pulse that suited their safe style and capped the evening with a trendy slant to the tani.