The starting piece of a Ranjani-Gayatri decisively places the concert at that higher plane of energy, music, joy. How can anyone go wrong with Rama Bhakti Samrajyam! A cascade of swarams in the beautiful Suddha Bangala followed.
Pantuvarali. Ranjani ma’am. One more fantastic alapana to substantiate this match made in heaven. Perfect “sub-main” ragam. With her rich voice she made us pensive, sit upright in attention, and soak in the bliss of her journey to discover anew those glides, runs, gripping turns and twists. After a wonderful alapana by Vid Vittal Rangan came the most favourite Ninne Nera Namminaanura. Their absolute marvel of a rendition is to be adored, worshipped in all its detail. That bang-on kalapramaana all through kalpita and kalpana. That evocative, emotive slow neraval at Veda Shaastra Puraana that belied the power that was going to be packed in the second speed. That transition that Gayatri ma’am does, to keep our very hearts on edge (and break any necks trying to keep up). A raga-cloud-burst of 1 avartanam swarams, each with something different to showcase. A gripping long round of swarams. Just Carnatic music gold.
Oh Heavens the next piece. I had heard the RTP but not the inspiring composition.. Kalangaadhe Maname. In oh-so-precious Ragavardhini. In their sweet voices, the rendition made my ears want to leave my body and go and sit on the speakers. No amount of proximity will suffice to devour such heart-melting music. Koti Pranaams to the composer and these musicians for giving us this gem at its finest.
Last concert was an unusual pentatonic in RTP, so this one had everyone’s favourite more-than-pentatonic raga. Mohanam! Gayatri ma’am’s alapana. She truly makes you forget anything you know about Mohanam, while constantly reminding you why you love it so much. Paradoxical, but it’s how it is. How can every phrase contain so much surprise. Does it take only 5 notes to defeat all sorrows? We humans have complicated the concept of happiness so much, but looks like all you need to do is to listen to her sing! We found all our strings attached and gave them to the puppeteer. And the patterns she knit! Especially in the higher octave after she introduces that Antara Gandhaaram.. Well, looks like even one note is enough for happiness if it comes from this voice! Soared all the way up to Dha, Sa, to create some jaw-dropping, raga-rich phrases fearlessly. The violinist created a rich, colourful portrait of the raga, full of joy. The exquisite Narasimha Aagaccha was the kriti taken up, rendered in full gusto, that fast charanam! Swarams ensued, soaked in the raga, with a beautiful koraippu in second speed woven around Ga, in two octaves! So so Mohanam. The two ever-so-awesome percussion wizards Vid Manoj Siva and Vid S Krishna played an enjoyable Tani. A brisk Vasantha flowed, in a Purandaradasa composition before the RTP.
Last concert had the grand Bhairavi as the main piece, while this concert had RTP in… Mukhari! Aha! In a way, if last concert was a Bilahari, this concert was its Garudadhwani 😀 Ranjani ma’am began a quintessential Mukhari alapana, full of rakti phrases, filled with poise and pause. A raga known to make listeners cry, and you could see, hear why. Vid Vittal Rangan played a wholesome alapana that tugged and played with the contours of Mukhari beautifully. Gayatri ma’am took the raga and soared in the higher notes where the intensity automatically rose to a whole other level. Those contrast moments when she’d come down for a bit, to inevitable Aha’s! Those phrases from iconic kritis that make Mukhari what she is… How she leverages her limitless voice to extract all the emotion of a raga! Handpicked ideas from a vast canvas. How she launched into the Taanam! In the rounds of Taanam for a raga like this, in between pouring notes in syllables came those delectable phrases, time and again… What an art! What amazing artistes!
Kandrin Kural Kettu Kanindidum Pasupol –
Endran Kurai Neekka Vaa Vaa Mahesha!
Half the job was done just with the pallavi, the words, that tune. On top of that they created such new flavours of pathos and yearning… Those words dropped and picked up so effortlessly. When they take you into that zone, the talam, syllable positions all take care of themselves – you hear only the words enunciated in perfect diction, with the ragam drowning them in escalating levels of emotion. The second speed neraval beckoning the Almighty in increased urgency. And then in swarams you become more present to the talam and then in the second speed pallavi you realise nothing was simple, ever. Luckily we don’t have to enter that ring of fire, just listen happily. Even playing with fire seems so much fun when THEY do it! As if to reiterate the fireworks imagery came Shyam Kalyan. Ranjani ma’am crafted a beautiful exposition in this priceless raga, before Gayatri ma’am began Nagaswarali. Okay, we knew Hamsadhwani would perhaps spring but apart from that, from Pa emerged… Gorakh Kalyan! Time to rest the jaw on a hand (lest it drop inevitably) and just gasp and grin in awe.
The concert concluded with one of their Abhangs in the lovely Bhimpalas.
At the end of the concert when you just take stock of all you experienced in a span of 2.5 hours you understand why crowds throng and fight at the thresholds to attend their concerts. What a vast gamut of emotions, ragas we get to witness, experience! Truly they condense years into a few hours. And those hours, will leave you thinking and feeling for days to come. Like me, writing two days too late. But still reeling, still reliving, still enjoying ❤️
Notes on Ra-Ga 