Rithvik Raja came across as a sensitive artiste, in a concert that was part of the Ramnad Krishnan Centenary celebrations, held at Raga Sudha Hall recently. He had worked to reproduce the stylistic nuances of a great master. Singing to a full hall, Rithvik rendered a selection of ragas in a carefully put together repertoire.
Interestingly, Rithvik that evening used Ramnad Krishnan’s tambura. In a fine gesture, the maestro’s American student had offered to return the tambura to R.K. Ramanathan (Krishnan’s son) decades after he had bought it from his guru, who taught at Wesleyan University, U.S.
Rithvik began with Dikshitar’s ‘Tyagaraja Palayamam’ in Gaula. This was followed by ‘Palukavemi’ in Poornachandrika, after which the vocalist presented a brief Saveri sketch and Syama Sastri’s composition ‘Sankari Sankuru’ with niraval-swaram on ‘Syama Krishna Sodhari.’ In the Tamil padam, ‘Ini enna pechirukku,’ the artiste raised the bar of aesthetics after etching out a beautiful Sahana. Violinist R.K. Sriramkumar provided unstinting support throughout.
The Mukhari alapana, a precursor to Tyagaraja’s ‘Karubaru,’ reminded many in the audience of the elan with which Ramnad Krishnan used to render it. Rithvik also sang Tyagaraja’s ‘Srimanini’ in Poornashadjam. The singer, however, reached creative heights with a Begada RTP in Adi tala. Melodiously weaving ragamalika in both the tanam (Begada, Kiravani, Varali, and Sriraga) and the swara rendering (Begada, Yadukulakhambodi and Kanada), he came up with interesting swara patterns. Manoj Siva on the mridangam and B.S.Purushottaman on the ganjira played a vibrant tani.
The concert ended with Ramnad Krishnan favourites such as ‘Modi jese,’ a Khamas javali, ‘Rama Rama,’ a Bhairavi padam, and a Poornachandrika tillana.