Jayakrishnan Unni today is at a different place from where he was a couple of years ago. Much like his guru Neyveli Santhanagopalan, he uses his virtuosity to embellish the ragas. The recent afternoon recital was proof of this.
He could accommodate six songs in the hour-long performance, sometimes with breathtaking speed. ‘Paramapurusha’ of Swati Tirunal, perhaps, exemplified the general accent of the session.
The opening varnam and the main piece gave something to mull over in terms of their relative currency in the concert circuit. Veena Kuppiyer’s composition in Narayanagowla is not instantly recalled among the works in the 14-beat, Ata tala.
Contrast that with the varnam in Bhairavi, arguably the most famous among the Ata tala compositions, or those in Khambodi, Todi and a few others.
Again, only a trained ear could tell Narayanagowla from Kedaragowla, which is also a derivative of Harikhambodi.
The ‘anthara gandharam’ tends to lean towards the ‘sadarana gandharam’ in the former, while the ‘chatusruthi rishabham’ is the jeevasvaram in the latter.
Madhyamavati piece
Says Jayakrishnan, “To attempt an elaborate essay in Narayanagowla would ordinarily be like courting disaster.”
‘Yevarichirira Rama,’ drew attention to the variety of compositions Tyagaraja has written in Madhyamavathi. The delivery also demonstrated Jayakrishnan’s dexterity in the treatment of a scale.
Following the invocation in Gowla, with Muthuswami Dikshitar’s ‘Sri Mahaganapatiravatumam,’ the composer’s ‘Arunachalanatham’ in Saranga was an enjoyable song that coincided with Karthigai Deepam.
The Surdas bhajan in Desh gave a melodious conclusion to the recital.
Jayakrishnan’s accompanists, M. Vijay on the violin and Praveen Sparsh on the mridangam were a worthy match to each other, as well as to the lead artiste.