An obvious advantage of being an outsider to the city’s close-knit music circuit is that every December season you can expect some surprises by way of singers and instrumentalists. Vasudha Ravi, who sang soulfully at her recent afternoon concert, could easily have been performing in the senior slots. This remark also applies for each one of the accompanying artistes. For an hour, she showcased her virtuosity, which complemented her appealing voice. The varnam in Pantuvarali was a great opener. The easy chowka kalam, the mellow madhyamakalam and the racy dhurita kalam were delivered with poise. The improvisation that followed the charanam was energetic.
Contrasting approaches
As she approached the end of the piece, you realised that the artiste had made up her mind to make the most of the limited time she was allotted. There was also ample confirmation of the initial hint of the artiste’s long years of training. In a post-concert chat, Vasudha confirmed that she had been a disciple of Dr. Manjula Sriram for over 20 years.
The Papanasam Sivan kriti, ‘Kanda vandarul’ bore the shuddha dhaivatam flavour of Abheri, a point the artiste sought to stress. The centrepiece of the afternoon was Tyagaraja’s ‘Dorakuna ituvanti seva’.
Towards the tail end of the alapana of Bilahari, the artiste made a detour into grihabedam via the madhyamam on to raga Yamuna Kalyani. The vocalist and the violinist offered contrasting approaches to their exposition of the scale.
Asked about her relaxed approach right through the recital, Vasudha gratefully acknowledged it to her guru, who apparently advised her to clock each performance. The experience came handy on this occasion, as she zeroed in on a relatively short Patnam Subramania Iyer tillana. Brahmananda’s bhajan – ‘Jai Durge durgati pariharini,’ in raag Asavri brought to mind a Bhimsen Joshi album with the composition.
The accompanists Sai Rakshit (violin), Sai Raghuram (mridangam) and Krishna Sairam (ghatam) were brilliant in their own right.