Dhanush Anantharaman lends a refreshing touch to the Thodi alapana

With his distinct style Dhanush Anantharaman brought out the myriad shades of the raga

It cannot be gainsaid that formal training under a guru immensely helps an aspiring musician appreciate the intricacies of classical art. Twenty-year-old Dhanush Anantharaman gave ample evidence of his sincere, decade-long tutelage under vocalist Amritha Murali in his concert for Naada Inbam. He started learning music at the age of five from Prof. Vijayalakshmi Sivakumar.

Dhanush commenced his extensive Thodi alapana in a refreshing manner. He successfully attempted an essay of the raga’s swaroopa in his own style. The violin response by Sandeep Ramachandran, disciple of R.K. Shriramkumar, was impressive. Dhanush rendered Saint Tyagaraja’s ‘Dasarathe ni runamu theerppa’ in all its grandeur. The niraval was at ‘Prakashimpa jesina’, an atheetha eduppu. Charming phrases marked the wide-ranging swaraprastara. The tani by Sunaada Krishna, disciple of Mannargudi Easwaran, was enjoyable. His mridangam playing with its subdued richness was an asset to the vocalist.

In the Begada alapana, Dhanush made full use of his voice, rich in timbre and melodic appeal . He followed it up with yet another Tyagaraja kriti, ‘Nivera kuladhanamu’. The bard of Thiruvaiyaru addresses Rama as his kula dhanam (family treasure) and his Jivanamu (very life). Niraval and swaras were at ‘Tyagaraja vara hrudaya’. The final swara korvai was woven aesthetically.

Dhanush handled Dikshitar’s Hamir Kalyani composition, ‘Parimala ranganatham bajeham’ (Rupakam) with finesse. This piece is on the deity at Thiruvindalur, Mayiladuthurai. His manodharma and sense of laya came to the fore in the rendering of the kriti and kalpanaswaras of the Kannadagowla piece by Tyagaraja, ‘Orajupu chuchedi nyayama’.

The Navaragamalika varnam by Patnam Subramania Iyer offered a good start to the concert. Syama Sastri’s Paras composition, ‘Triloka matha’ was a breezy rendering. Dhanush wound up the recital with a Virutham, ‘Ulakelaam unarnthotharkariyavan’, from Sekkizhar’s Periya Puranam in Ragamalika (Sahana, Behag and Nilambari), followed by Muthu Thandavar’s ‘Kanamal veenile.