A fitting tribute to a class vocalist

CHENNAI: Vocalist TV Sankaranarayanan, presented in a deep sonorous voice, encompassing all the three octaves, a memorable concert, on the eve of the centenary year of his uncle and mentor, legendary vocalist Madurai Mani Iyer. He presented the concert for the Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha.He exhibited great dignity in presentation of all the kirthanas, very dear to his uncle and mentor, as the concert itself was dedicated to him.Beginning with (Vathapi Ganapathim) of Dikshitar in Raga Hamsadwani, a favourite kriti of his uncle, he brought out, envisioning a heightened state of being, through the portrait of Raga Hamsadwani. He hopped on next to Raga Umaparanam (Janyam of Hari Khambodi) and took up (Nijamarmamulanu), with alternating swaras, between him and his son Mahadevan Sankaranarayanan with great emphasis, on the Bani and melody, kept up the tradition.As he took up the Keerthanas, mostly handled by his mentor, his presentation of Raga Vasantha and often repeated Keerthana (Seethamma Mayamma) of Thyagaraja, with swara showers, kindled the audiences’ nostalgic memories to savour, the ‘eternal fragrance’ of the legendary vocalist’s rendition. The laya nirnaya enhanced the impact of the nuances of presentation.The ‘pyrotechnique’ of abundant swaras, to some extent, failed to showcase the ‘traditional delineation’, the concert was meant for.The presentation of Raga Khambodi (Ma Janaki) of Thyagaraja by his son was rendered with purity of musical lines. His intuitive perception, in swara passages, came to the fore. His son proved to be a worthy successor to a great musical tradition. His presentation was good in ‘Layam’, yet lacked in ‘Nayam’ as the ‘Sukhan’, in his voice was missing.In a nutshell, the powerful voice of TV Sankaranarayanan, seemed to have acquired mellowness and a delicate texture. These made his music colourful and glorious, reminding audiences of the soft and gentle quality, of the legend Madurai Mani Iyer’s voice.While VV Ravi (Violin) with his master strokes, opted for the ‘Violin’ techniques, to register, as an ace accompanist, Prasad (Mridangam) and Suresh (Ghatam) embellished the concert with breezy laya patterns.