A vocal concert by VR Dileepkumar, which was dedicated to compositions of Swathi Thirunal, was held in Thrissur recently in connection with the 205th birth anniversary of the king-composer.
He began with ‘Sarojanabha dayarnava ma mava’ in Chakravakam, Adi. After painting a short image of the raga, he entered into the composition. The sahithya and diction captivated the audience. Taking ‘Sarojanabha’ for the niraval, Dileep exhibited remarkable virtuosity in the swara prasthara, which was prolonged and melodious. ‘Vande deva deva thava’, a composition in Begada, Roopakam, is one among the nine compositions of Swathi on the nine paths to bhakti. Not a very popular composition, Begada received an impressive treatment from the singer. It was followed by an elaborate presentation of Hamsanandi.
Vigorous was the rendering, typical of Dileep, especially his staying on the higher octave for long. An invocation to mother goddess, the composition entails three charanams. Niraval at ‘Sarasa krita nilaye’ in the third charanam was exhaustive. Dileep rolled out packets of swaras and most appealing was the myriad combinations that ended with ‘ni’. The rendition lasting for almost thirty minutes was so exhaustive that one mistook it for the main raga of the concert. ‘Paramapurusham hridaya bhavaya tham’ in Lalithapanchamam, Khanta chap, was short and it came as a reprieve to the heavy number that preceded it.
Signature style
Kamboji was the main raga of the evening. The alapana explored all shades of the alluring raga. A demarcating feature of Dileep’s rendition is that the identity of the raga reveals itself more prominently towards the end. The composition was ‘Padasa nati munijana sugama paavana’ in Misra chap. An invocation to Padmanabha, it is specially noted for the swarakshara prayoga of which Swathi was a master. The composition begins with the three notes pa, dha and sa. He took the same for niraval and all the sachets of swaras ended in the three notes.
Viju S Anand’s accompaniment on the violin was noteworthy for the clarity of the raga and the tani. Guruvayur Sanoj followed the musician on the mridangam and the absence of ghatam did not prevent him from presenting an amazing tani.
The Hindi bhajan ‘Ramchandra prabhu thum bina’ in Sindhubhairavi, Adi created an ambience of devotion. Dileep concluded with the Mangalam, ‘Bhujangasayino nama mangalam’.
Except for the bhajan, the musician seemed disposed towards Sanskrit compositions of Swathi. A padam was expected from the musician.
The concert was the first programme organised by the Regional Centre of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (INGCA).