Kalpakam Swaminathan, Nada Inbam

Smt. Kalpakam Swaminathan - Veena
Smt. S R Padmawathi - Veena
Melakaveri Sri Balaji - Mrudangam

Nada Inbam, Raga Sudha Hall. 3rd August 2006. 5 pm

sAmi daya jUta - kEdAragauLa varNam - Adi
varasiddhi vinAyakA - kAnaDA - Adi - HMB (RS)
vina nAshakoni - pratApavarALi - Adi - T
eTu nammina - sAvEri - Adi - PSI (RNS)
kamalAmbA - Anandabhairavi - misra cApu - MD (RS)
kOrina varamu - rAmapriyA - rUpakam - RSI (R)
ikanE tALajAlanurA - guharanjani - Adi - HMB
rAma rAma guNasIma - simmEndramadhyamam - Adi - ST (RTNS)
tani Avarththanam
iTu sAhasamulu - saindavi jAvaLi - Adi - ST
tillAnA - paras

I just am not able to express my feelings about this concert in words. Such was the stature of the Smt Kalpakam Swaminathan at Raga Sudha Hall. It was just flowing from the first kEdAragauLa phrase till the curtains drew. It is believed that, with artists advancing in age, each concert one gets to listen is an opportunity to draw more out of their musical knowledge. That way, the 70 odd people sitting in Raga Sudha Hall last evening were blessed with some real good music and display of vidwat of high stature.

The varNam was well rendered. The kAnaDA AlApanai was beautifully done and the kriti, a not-so-often-heard piece was good with nice svarams. The pratApavarALi kriti was good also.

The first major AlApanai taken up was sAvEri. The rAgam was well elaborated, showing essential phrases. The kriti was well rendered with neraval and swarams. Smt Padmavathi's Anandabhairavi AlApanai was short and sweet. She did a crispy good AlApanai of the rAgam and the kriti was beautifully rendered with swarams at the pallavi line.

Up next was a AlApanai of rAmapriyA which was another short and sweet one. The kriti was well rendered also. The guharanjani kriti which followed was rendered well. The main AlApanai in simmendramadhyamam was really good. The tanam with Smt Swaminathan played, supported by Smt Padmavati, was one to cherish for sometime. The kriti was played beautifully with neraval and svarams at 'munimAnasa dhama mrugamada sulalAma'.

The concert was rounded off with a nice jAvaLi in saindhavi played in madhyama sruthi and the tillAna.

Smt Swaminathan gave a real good concert. Smt Padmavati supported her ably with good playing.

Sri Balaji was good in many parts. It was nice to hear him playing synchronously with the sounds that were heard from construction work somewhere nearby during the initial parts of the concert. The tani was good as well, the usage of the thoppi was very evident.