Sanjay's Shankarabaranam

Sanjay - Vocal; Mysore Nagaraj - Violin; Trichy Harikumar - Mridangam; T Rajaganesh - Kanjira; Rahul Krishna - Tampura

There is always something different and special in Sanjay's concerts. He makes listening a pleasurable experience. No doubt that he attracts huge crowd. It was one such evening at the Narada Gana Sabha. The concert that went for almost 2 hours 45 minutes was a power packed performance.

The concert started bang on time with a Sahana raga varnam composed by Patnam Subramanya Iyer. The mood was perfect for the evening. He took the audience to another world by singing Saint's composition "Meru samana" as the next in Mayamalavagowlai set to adi taal. It was rendered in a soft tempo decorated with an evocative neraval and brilliant kalpanaswaras at "gaLamula Shobillu Kanaka bhushana". The swaras were just as beautiful as the smooth flow of a river.

The next krithi was in the royal court Durbar. Sanjay gave the majestic flavor of Durbar and presented a well known composition of Thyagaraja, "Ramabhirama" in Misrachapu where in Saint pleads Rama to have a compassion on him. The raga lakshana was punctuated deeply and Ramabhirama turned out a classic one.

When there is a Durbar(royal court) there needs to be justice as well. Neetimati came in the form of "Mohanakara Muthukumara"

Interestingly, there was a lady sitting next to me who kept on singing Ramabirama in her own sruthi and her own lyrics. Guess there should be an amendment in the Sabha that sitting on the opposite side and singing along with the artist during the concert should be banned. For a second, I felt like requesting Sanjay to stop to listen to her.. Sigh! :-(

Sanjay chose to deliver Shankarabaranam as the main for the evening. It definitely was not Shankarabaranam.. Hang on.. It was Sanjayabaranam. He rendered Dikshitar's third navavarna krithi Sri Kamalambikaya eliciting with its melody blended with the poet's lyrical beauty. It was rendered in Rupaka taalam. The kriti gave a real meditative feel. His kalpanaswaras at "Sri Kamala" was slow and steady and it looked like teaching a baby to keep tiny steps and hold hands to walk. Such a lovely presentation. 

The next in the line was "Solla vallayo", in Reetigowlai by Bharatiyar. He then moved on to RTP in Brindavani. The pallavi was from yet another Subramanya Bharatiyar line, "uNmai arindavar unnai kaNippAro mAyaiyE mAyaiyE". A soft touch to render a Hamir Kalyani, Begada and Brindavana Saranga were a delight to listen to. 

Since, I was seated in the balcony, I had a nice view of the hall. The view from the top looked like a dolphin show where lots of sparkling heads were seen shaking appreciatively. I turned my head to see the sides of the dias to see only Gen Next happily sitting and enjoying. Smart guys!

His concluding pieces for the evening consisted of 2 Bharathis..  Subramanya Bharati and Suddhanandha Bharati. There was a javali - "Emandu ne muddu" in Kapi. He concluded the concert and ensured the patriotism is in tact with a virutham "Paaril uyarntha nilam" by Suddhanandha Bharati followed by "En thaai vaazh enum" The virutham cast a spell on the rasikas. The audiences left the hall with their hearts and soul filled with full of patriotism.

Mysore Nagaraj's violin support was soft and melodious. Trichy Harikumar and Alathur Rajaganesh provided excellent percussive support and were well within decibel limits.

An excellent evening spent at Narada Gana Sabha!