The next raaga-- 'Janaranjani'-- came as a pleasant surprise to me. This raaga is not often elaborated at length. As a violinist myself, I enjoy playing this raga but find it very challenging, as some phrases often tend to repeat themselves. However, Ravikiran’s ideas were brilliant, and touched upon some phrases that were just remarkable! Indeed, he brought some fresh perspective to my own comprehension of this raga. This is a vakra (non-linear) raga,  derivative of the parent raaga 'Shankaraabharanam'. The scale of Janaranjani is S R G M P D P N S: S D P M R S *. The phrases MPD MPMR in the middle octave, RPMPMR in the middle and upper octave and PMPDP with the rolling slides between the notes, were like perfect ripples formed when one drops a pebble in a pool of water. The sound was so clean, so precise with perfect intonation! I did wonder all along about the somewhat curious exclusion of the plain N...and that’s when he concluded the raaga with a single prayoga (phrase) incorporating the plain N in a dramatic fashion. I feel that a chowka kaala (slower tempo) krithi may have complemented the previous fare of the evening better than the performer's pick, 'Paahimaam Sriraajaraajeshwari', composition of Sri Mahavaidyanatha Sivan.

The post-interval session commenced with a 'Raagam Taanam Pallavi' in Raaga 'Todi', one of the ghana raagas of Carnatic Music. Ravikiran played the Raagam magnificently, devoid of plain notes and brisk brighas (ornamentation). It was a very classical rendition that brought out the artist's maturity and depth of musical knowledge. It was a steady progression of notes with lot of 'azutham' (gravitas) in each note. Subhalakshmi’s raaga rendition was pleasant, and her attempt to be in conformance to the pace set by Ravikiran was truly noteworthy. Having listened to and being somewhat spoiled by the Karaikudi baani through Sreevidhya’s Veena, I was expecting Ravikiran to ease into the Taanam phase in the same pace that he set for the raaga elaboration. I also felt that the raagamaalika section in the taanam, diluted the mood he had created while playing the raaga. The pallavi was set to Adi Taalam, 2 kalai with the refrain beginning two aksharas from the samam.

Ravikiran concluded the concert with two beautiful short compositions- a Jaavali in Raaga 'Behag' and a Tillaana of Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar in Raaga 'Paras'.

 

Mridangam accompaniment by veteran Sri Guruvayur Dorai was lively. He, along with Ravi Balasubramanian on the Ghatam, played the role of accompanying percussion perfectly. Their rhythmic conversation during the tani-aavarthanam was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. With deft strokes, Sri Dorai was able to produce crisp and powerful sounds and at the same time, play sensitively to the music. His rhythmic interpretation of the anupallavi and the second line in the charanam in the Janaranjani composition was outstanding! I could see Ravi enjoying the experience of playing Ghatam, soaking in the feeling of sitting next to a vidwan of the stature of Sri Dorai. Ravi played with vigor and displayed great sensitivity to the music as a whole.

Ravikiran’s strumming of the strings was perfect, as evidenced from the 'clean' sound he produced. Subhalakshmi is indeed a competent violinist and provided adequate accompaniment, even though the violin has a markedly different (slightly aberrant) tonal quality compared to 'plucked' instruments like the Saraswati Veena or the Chitraveena.

Overall, it was a very well balanced presentation. The Chitraveena's sound came through with great clarity despite the amplification. The overall balance was also very comfortable, thanks to our audio engineer Elmo Rajah. The pure and classical sounds of the concert still linger in my mind as I write this review.