Veteran musician Shri T K Govinda Rao performed at
HTCC Bothell on September 8, 2007. The accompanists were
Nishanth Chandran on the violin, Shriram Bhramanandam on the mridangam and Ravi Balasubramanian on the ghatam.
The concert started with the popular varnam (Ninnu kori) in
Mohanam. It was amazing to hear Shri Govinda Rao render the pallavi, anupallavi and chittaiswaram in 5 speeds including tisram and mel-tisram! It demonstrated his innate mastery over layam and was flawlessly executed.
This was followed by a brief alapana of
Nattai and the Tyagaraja composition "Ninne bhajana". The line "Seetaanaatha sakalaloka" was chosen for neraval and swaras. I really enjoyed the bhaava-oriented neraval singing-- a trademark of the Musiri school. The next piece was, in my opinion, one of the highlights of the concert. The song was "Ika Naina" in
Pushpalatika, a composition of Tirupati Narayanaswamy. I fail to understand why this beautiful composition has not received much attention in the concert circuit. The neraval and swaras at "Karuninchi vega kaapaada leda" were exquisite. I particularly enjoyed the "PNM" and "RGS" prayogams used in the swaraprastaara. This piece was followed by an alapana of
Poorvikalyani and the composition "Iniahilum ninai maname" by Ambujam
Krishna in Roopaka talam, which was elaborated with swaras at the pallavi line. Next up was Tyagaraja's "Evarani" in Raga
Devaamritavarshini-- a Musiri favorite. It was a pleasant surprise to hear him render swaras; I have not heard musicians elaborate on this piece in this manner.
Before a detailed alaapana of
Kambhoji, Shri TKG presented another rare krithi-- "Ananda saagara", a Thyagaraga composition with a beautiful chittaiswaram, in the ragam
Garudadhwani. The krithi chosen for Kambhoji was the Dikshitar masterpiece, "Shree subramanyaya namaste". While I was expecting this to be the main piece of the concert, the song was not elaborated with any neraval or swaras. He then presented "Nagumomu" in
Abheri ( immortalized by his guru Musiri Subramanya Iyer) after a short alapana. I was a bit disappointed in not hearing a neraval for "jagamella paramatma", but I understand the artists had to comply with time constraints and close in time for the temple pooja. The concert ended with a
Ragamalika piece of Purandaradasar and a
Thillana.
Nishanth Chandran on the violin performed creditably. There were a few instances where he seemed tentative (especially during the swaraprasthara of Evarani), but he rallied really well during the swara prastaara of the Poorvikalyani piece and presented a good alapana of Kambhoji.
The percussion duo of Sriram and Ravi provided lively support throughout the concert. I was hearing Sriram for the first time and I was impressed with the way he sensitively accompanied the songs and the neraval singing. The Tani was well executed with forays into tisra and khanda nadais with Ravi matching Sriram every step of the way.
One the whole, it was a very enjoyable concert, brimming with classicism. Shri TKG's krithi selection was excellent. The presentation of rare krithis, the depth of his musical ideas and his nonchalant mastery of rhythm was self-evident. I look forward to more artists of his stature in Seattle.