Melody was the core of Aditya Madhavan’s music

Aditya Madhavan’s vocal concert at Kedaram’s 8th anniversary festival held in July 2023.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Aditya Madhavan’s concert for Kedaram’s eighth anniversary music festival at Raga Sudha Hall followed a unique traditional pattern. The Karaharapriya that he rendered brought out the beauty of its structure. The elaborate alapana itself was of immense depth and curves, characterising the raga. On the violin, Madan Mohan proved his ability to stand up to every challenge of the singer.

Aditya’s creativity and intellectual approach were evident in Tyagaraja’s popular composition, ‘Rama ni samanamevaru’. Niraval and swaras were at ‘Paluku paluku’. Swaras ending ‘pa ni da’ have a charm about them. On the whole, his Karaharapriya was a harmonious blend of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Sanjay Subrahmanyan’s styles. Little wonder, as he had his training during his formative years under Mumbai-based Radha Namboodiri, a student of Semmangudi, and is now training under Sanjay Subrahmanyan.

The thani by Guru Raghavendra (mridangam), disciple of mridangam maestro Thinniyam Y. Krishnan, and Hari Kishore (kanjira) in Rupaka tala was a connoisseur’s delight, with captivating thisra and khanda nadais.

Aditya’s Surutti alapana was endearing for its vintage appeal. Here too, Madan Mohan did not lag behind. Aditya rendered Arunachala Kavirayar’s ‘Kana vendamo’ in Misra Chapu in a melodious slow pace, making it a stand out piece. Yet another ultra slow-paced composition was Dikshitar’s majestic ‘Jamboopathe mampahi’ (Roopakam; two kalai). It describes the attributes of Shiva in one of the Panchabhoota shrines at the Jambukeswarar Temple at Tiruvanaikkaval — ascribed to the water element. Dikshitar has appropriately chosen Yamuna Kalyani, a raga named after a river.

Aditya commenced his concert with Tyagaraja’s Mayamalavagowla kriti, ‘Meru Samana’. Elaborate niraval and swaraprasthara were at ‘Galamuna shobhillu’. The raga bhava was brought out in full. Another Tyagaraja composition he offered was ‘Makelara vicharamu’ in Ravichandrika, in a brisk pace, for a change.

Aditya Madhavan concluded with Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Sodhanai sumaikku ivvezhai aala’. The Kapi raga in this kriti creates an ambience of devotion and poignance. The artiste brought out the mood effectively.