K. Gayatri brought out the best shades of Kamboji

K. Gayatri performing for Kartik Fine Arts at Narada gana Saba iin 2022.
| Photo Credit: RAGU R

The vocal recital by K. Gayatri was full of energy. From Tyagaraja’s ‘Nada tanum anisam’ in Chittaranjani to the concluding ‘Maravene en nalilume’ in Paras, by Kalki Krishnamurthy, she presented all the songs with grace and verve.

Gayatri gave special attention to two ragas — Varali and Kamboji. While the former portrays the bhakti rasa, the latter is known for its vitality and grandeur. Gayatri did justice to both in her own style. In Varali, she traversed the karvais and phrases with care. The kriti she chose was Syama Sastri’s piety-laden ‘Karunajoodavamma’. Gayatri’s niraval and swaras at ‘Nee padambujame sada’ carried well the sahitya and raga bhava.

K. Gayatri performing for Kartik Fine Arts music festival 2022, at Narada gana Sabha.
| Photo Credit:
RAGU R.

Her next major was the Kamboji alapana. This particular raga shines well in the upper register sancharas. Gayatri’s sonorous voice, which is capable of traversing the different sthayis with ease, brought out the best shades of this raga. She sang Papanasam Sivan’s magnificent ‘Aadum deivam arulvai’ and the extended niraval and swarakalpana were centered on the pallavi line, taking various combinations of ‘aadum deivam’ and ‘idathu padam thooki aadum’. The extensive swaras were combined to elevate the appeal of the raga as well as that of the lyrics.

Gayatri was supported by R.K. Shriramkumar on the violin, who made his significant presence felt — be it in the raga essays, niraval or swara sessions.

K. Arun Prakash (mridangam) and S. Krishna (ghatam) were the other experienced artistes who accompanied her. Their contribution was conspicuous without being overpowering. Their thani was also a brief but calculated exercise.

Gayatri’s concert also featured ‘Varuvaro varam tharuvaro’ in Sama (Gopalakrishna Bharati), ‘Arunachala natham’ in Saranga (Dikshitar), ‘Kandaen kandaen thiruvayatrile’ in Atana (by her guru Suguna Purushothaman), and ‘Apara karuna sindhu bairavisam’ by violinist R.K. Shriram Kumar in raga Sindhu Bhairavi.