Jayalakshmi Sekhar’s concert was themed on Devi

Chennai music news: Jayalakshmi Sekhar's veena concert featured a diverse selection of kritis and ragas

Jayalakshmi Sekhar’s veena concert was interesting with the choice of kritis and ragas. The performance was backed by excellent percussion support — B. Ganapathyraman on the mridangam and Trichy Murali on the ghatam. The concert was held at Arkay Convention Center, under the aegis of Madhuradhwani.

What added to the overall impact of the performance was Jayalakshmi’s meticulous introduction to all the pieces. She also sang some passages of the compositions.

As the concert was held during Navaratri, Jayalakshmi chose songs on Devi. She began with Tyagaraja’s ‘Tulasi dalamulache’ in Mayamalavagowla, choosing ‘Sarasiruha punnaga’ for detailing. Then came Dikshitar’s Kamalamba Navavarnam. Set in raga Sahana, Jayalakshmi played ‘Kamalambikayam’, the seventh avarnam, at a leisurely pace, which defines Dikshitar’s works. Jayalakshmi prefaced it with a short raga treatise and a tanam.

In Syama Sastri’s timeless swarajati ‘Raave himagiri kumari’ (raga Thodi), the vainika conveyed bhakti rasa in the lyrics. After such heavy compositions, Sankarabharanam, with its ability to evoke a sense of joy, came as a breather. Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Mahalakshmi jaganmatha’ set in Misra Chapu was the choice here. The niraval and swaras on ‘Paarkadal tharum kripakari’ added sparkle to the performance. Jayalakshmi switched back to a sober piece with Syama Sastri’s ‘Kanakasaila viharini’ (raga Punnagavarali), which deals with the composer’s emotional connect with goddess Kamakshi.

A mature artiste knows how to structure a concert with a sense of balance. Hence, came the lively Hemavati. Jayalakshmi’s raga treatise emphasised on the bhava, serving a perfect prelude to the one and only kriti of Muthuswami Dikshitar’s ‘Sri kanthimatim’ in the raga. Dikshitar’s mastery comes through in the way he brings out the raga’s intrinsic qualities in this piece. The vainika chose the line ‘Shuka shounakadi sadaaraddhitam’ for the niraval and swaras. The swarakalapana felt like a river flowing seamlessly through diverse terrains. It culminated in Ganapathyraman and Murali’s rhythm play. When seasoned percussionists play for instrumental concerts, especially the veena, they know how to not overshadow the sound of the strings. Nevertheless, the mridangam and ghatam engaged in a robust dialogue during the thani.

Jayalakshmi concluded the concert with the popular Madhyamavati song ‘Karpagame kan paarai’ by Papanasam Sivan.