Seamless flow of melody

By Dr. Padmavathi Narasimhan

Bombay Jayashree’s concert at the JSS Music Conference stood out for its seamless flow of melody and sahitya bhava. Jayashree’s music has a meditative tone.

Jayashree combined technique and melody in her concert. The very first number ‘Sami ninne kori’ the varna in Shri raga, established her vast experience as a vocalist. Swati Tirunal’s ‘Deva Deva Jagadeeshwara Jaya Bhujagasana’ found a richly crafted nerval at ‘Paavananubhava nija bhuja vikrama,’ followed by well-designed swaras.

Begade was majestic, where Jayashree tapped the raga’s majestic contours. ‘Neeve ra kula dhanamu santata’ by Tyagaraja came with sobriety and lore.

Before launching the Thodi Alapana, Jayashree sang Tyagaraja’s ‘Baagayanayya’ in Chandrajyoti, which was suffixed with swaras rich in raga-bhava. Thodi came with a feel of comfort. Both the alapana and the song brimmed with emotional appeal. The charana part of Kaddanu variki kaddu’ provided ample space for nerval at ‘Needu ra nirakarinchi mudduga tambura batti.’ Violinist Mysore Srikanth followed the vocalist’s vision and presented his versions with insight. Patri Satish Kumar on mridanga and Giridhar Udupa on ghata won tremendous applause from the audience.

The Behag tillana by Lalgudi Jayaraman was treated with equal seriousness and devotion. What marked the concert was the way the artiste enjoyed her own music, lost in piety.