The proper selection of songs and ragas go a long way in the success of a concert. And Nisha Rajagopalan proved to be adept at it. With remarkable stage presence, she commenced her concert with Patnam Subramania Iyer’s ‘Abhimanamennadu’ in a delightful Begada. Little wonder that the composer was known as ‘Begada’ Subramania Iyer. In the kalpanaswara segment, she brought out the richness of the raga through several of its vakra prayogas. On the violin, B.U. Ganesh Prasad was equally creative in his response.
After an extensive alapana in Sriranjani, Nisha rendered Tyagaraja’s ‘Marubalga’ with niraval and swaras at ‘Dari nerigi.’ This was followed by an impressive Dhanyasi raga essay for Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Balakrishnan padamalar’ (rupakam). This piece has two beautiful madhyamakala segments.
Strong training
Nisha rendered appropriate swaras for Tyagaraja’s ‘Makelara vicharamu’ (Ravichandrika). Her rendering of ‘O Jagadamba’ (Anandabhairavi, Syama Sastri) was testimony to her training under stalwarts. She maintained a leisurely pace for this kriti.
After an elaborate Kalyani raga alapana, she sang one of Dikshitar’s masterpieces, ‘Bhajare re chittha,’ with niraval and swaras at ‘Devim sakthi beejotbhava.’ Clear diction, impressive modulation and full-throated singing are her forte.
Ganesh Prasad’s elucidation and swaraprastara had emotive appeal. The thani in misra chapu between Manoj Siva and B.S. Purushothaman (kanjira) was marked by technical virtuosity and aesthetic excellence.
The true picture of several rakti ragas can be found in Kshetrajna padams. Nisha’s next was a padam in Sahana, ‘Chudare adinadeche’, with well-negotiated sancharas.
The concert concluded with the Ragamalika, ‘Ganamazhai pozhikinran,’ composed by Ambujam Krishna in Behag, Bowli and Manirangu.