On the third day of the music series of Bhagini Sangeethotsava, a vocal duet by the duo Lakshmi Nagaraj and Indu Nagaraj, popularly known as Chilkunda Sisters, was arranged but due to reasons unknown, Indu Nagaraj did not show up and Lakshmi had to manage the show all by herself and she did it with confidence and vigour.

The accompanists were all from Mysuru — Aditi Krishna Prakash on violin, H.L. Shivashankar Swamy on mridanga and M.R. Manjunath on ghata.

Lakshmi has a very powerful voice that is both melodic and robust, which makes her music very attractive. Her deep-rooted training, inherited from her father Vid. C.A. Nagaraj, was evident throughout the performance. It was heartening to see the hall overflowing with her fans and the organisers had a tough time managing  space and chairs for all.

The concert opened with a brisk varna in Shahana ‘KaruNimpa idi manchi’ by Thiruvottiyur Tyagayar set to Adi Tala. Dikshitar’s ‘Swaminatha paripAlayaashumAm’ was suffixed with swaras at ‘VAmadeva pArvati sukumAra,’ the latter part of the Anupallavi section. After the rendition of ‘Mokshamu galada’ in Saramati by Sri Tyagaraja and ‘GaruDagamana samayamidE’ by Patnam Subramania Iyer in Nagaswaravali, Lakshmi took up the sub-main piece of the evening. 

It seems to be the Kharaharapriya season. The alapana was good but could have been more expansive. Aditi too explored the emotive possibilities of the raga. The composition was ‘RAma nee samAnamevaru’ by Sri Tyagaraja. Lakshmi can work more on lower notes. The rendition also saw a niraval at ‘Paluku Paluku’ followed by spontaneous swaras.

Lakshmi remembered her Guru Sri Venkata Narayana Shastri through his composition ‘Praseeda janani’ in a rare raga Budhamanohari. The centrepiece of the concert was Kalyani. Kalyani is such a bewitching raga that it sounds different by each artiste in each presentation. The raga, the presentation of the kriti ‘EtAvunnarA’ by Sri Tyagaraja set to vilamba Adi tala, the niraval at ‘SeetAgowri’ and the swaras centring around ‘p’, were treated with creative imagination drawing appreciative nods from the seasoned listeners in the audience.

The concert was farther enriched by the adept accompanist of the supporting artistes, adding layers of melodic and rhythmic depth. Seasoned mridangist Shivashankar Swamy vibrant taniyavartanam with Manjunath’s ghata was appreciated greatly by the listeners.

The tukdas towards the end of the concert included ‘RAma mantrava japiso he manuja’ by Sri Purandara Dasaru and a Balamurali Tillana in Brindavana Saranga.

—Dr. Padmavathi Narasimhan