Ramakrishnan Murthy brings training and technique in equal measure to his concerts

Ramakrishnan Murthy’s concert featured a palette of ragas, talas, composers, tempos and, most importantly, a fine balance between Kalpita and Kalpana Sangitha.

‘Amba kamakshi’ (Yadukula Kamboji, Syama Sastri, Misra Chapu) provided a good anchor to the mood Ramakrishnan may have sought to create. Being the opener, it was at a briskier pace than usual.

Ramakrishnan Murthy’s concert showcased diverse ragas, composers and tempos.
| Photo Credit:
B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM

The Nayaki kriti, ‘Nee bhajana’ by Tyagaraja, with crisp swaras in second speed, had a vintage stride — a brisk Tyagaraja kriti in the early phase used to be the unwritten norm. ‘Paarka paarka’ by Gopalakrishna Bharati in Harikamboji is a rare composition that Ramakrishnan inserted for language and composer variety. ‘Ninnu juchi’ in Sowrashtram (Patnam Subramania Iyer) had a short teasing alapana and peppy swaras.

The concert yielded to a more pensive line with a Dhanyasi raga alapana. Oscillations in Ni and Ga were deployed tellingly for poignancy. As always, violinist Vittal Rangan added depth to the melody. ‘Ni chittamu nischalamu’ by Tyagaraja in Misra Chapu is the composer’s version of a vilambakala kriti, and Ramakrishnan fully exploited the lilting course. Mridangist N.C. Bharadwaj aligned admirably to the lyrical spacings. Niraval at ‘Gurude bathrudu’ had a pleasing appeal. ‘Appan avadaritha’ by Papanasam Sivan in Karaharapriya was deployed as a tempo break.

Mohana raga had elegant passages in the middle octave with flute-style soft phrases, and Vittal Rangan’s response was equally sensitive. ‘Mohana Rama’ by Tyagaraja in Adi is a majestic kriti with a flourish of melodious sangathis in the pallavi and anupallavi.

Ramakrishnan Murthy accompanied by Vittal Rangan (violin) and N.C. Bharadwaj (mridangam).
| Photo Credit:
B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM

Ramakrishnan’s swaras were tasteful and there was an interesting duel between the vocalist and the violinist in kuraippu. There was no niraval, perhaps, due to the long alapana and the gait of the kriti itself. Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Kaa vaa vaa’ in Varali made a surprise entry at the fag end, and even more surprising was the short niraval at ‘Sri padmanabhan maruga’ that seemed spontaneous.

The Behag virutham of the shloka, ‘Shanthakaram bhujagasayanam’ was followed by ‘Saramaina mata’ in a quintessential swaying tempo. Ramakrishnan rounded off the concert with a bhava-filled short piece in Pilu.