R Vedavalli, Nada Inbam

R Vedavalli - M R Gopinath - Manoj Siva - S Karthick

Nada Inbam, Raga Sudha Hall. 6th Nov 06. 6 pm. Chockiah Chettiar Memorial Concert.

evvari bOdana - AbhOgi - Adi - PSI (S)
eTi yOcanalu - kIraNAvaLi - dEsAdi - T
uNDEdi rAmuDu - harikAmbhOji - rUpakam - T (NS)
mari vErE - Ananda bhairavi - cApu - SS (R)
antaranga bakthi - shadvidamArgiNi - Adi - KI
tuLasi bilva - kEdAragauLa - Adi - T (RNS)
mOkshamu galadA - sAramati - Adi - T
bhajarE rE citta - kalyANi - cApu - T (RNS)
tani Avarththanam
hariyanenagE - hamsAnandi - Adi - PD
oruththi maganAi - bEhAg - Adi - ANDAL
nI nama rUpamulaku - saurAshTRam - Adi - T
svasti prajApya

The concert was a treat to a rasika of sampradaya sangeetham. What else could one expect from somebody of the caliber of Sangeetha Kalanidhi Smt Vedavalli. It was tradition all over, and yet there was something new and refreshing about the way each song was presented and improvised. Well, thats what makes a great artist.

The concert started off with a brisk rendition of the AbhOgi varNam beautifully rounded off with kalpanai svarams. The kIraNvaLi kriti was rendered nicely. And it is to be noted that the kriti was rendered in dEsAdi. The harikAmbhOji kriti was rendered well with nice neraval at 'tamasAdi guNa rahituDu dharmAtmuDu sarvasamuDu' and mEl kAla svarams.

The first elaboration for the evening was Anandabhairavi. It was an Ananda AlApanai. The kriti was rendered soulfully. The shadvidamArgini kriti which followed was nice as well. Next in line was short and brisk AlApanai of kEdAragauLa, which showcased the rAga lakshaNam very well. The kriti, a slow number, was in contrast to the AlApanai and it was refreshing to hear neraval done at ' uramuna mukhamuna shiramuna bhujamuna', the first time i heard somebody singing neraval in this kriti. After a quick round of svarams, came to the sAramati kriti, which was nicely rendered without the popular and gimmicky sangatis.

The main course kalyANi AlApanai was quite elaborate and beautiful with Smt. Sumithra singing some parts around the tAra shadjam. The kriti was rendered beautifully with neraval and svarams 'devIM shaktibIjodbhava mAtrkArNa sharIriNIM'. The post tani hamsAnandi dEvarnAma and the bEhAg thiruppAvai were nicely rendered as well.

Smt. Vedavalli was awesome through out the concert and she was well supported by the accompanists. A pallavi and/or the vedavalli-trade-mark-rAgamAlika-pAsuram would have been just tooo good. Well, one shouldn't be that selfish and ask for everything at every concert.

Sri Gopinath was exact in his replies and played well. Sri Manoj Siva was good and he played well for all the kritis meticulously following the kriti and each sangati. Sri Karthick was good as well in adding his bit to the concert effect. The tani by the two percussionsits was yet another separate treat. It was a nice concert to remember for sometime.