Bharat Narayan showcased a good grip over laya

Bharath Narayan.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Bharath Narayan started his recital for Mudhra with the Kamboji Ata tala varnam ‘Sarasijanabha’. He showcased a good grip over laya when he navigated the chiselled charanam and chittaswarams of this piece. This was followed by C.S. Krishnaswamy Ayya’s ‘Namami vighna vinayaka’ in Hamsadhwani. The exchanges between Bharath and R. Raghul (violin) were sharp and firm when fast swaras were sung at ‘Kumara sodara’. The sub-main that Bharath chose was Tyagaraja’s ‘Paraloka sadhaname’ in Purvikalyani. The raga alapana was creatively constructed by minimising certain oft-heard phrases. The niraval and kalpanaswaras at ‘Tanayadi baandhavula’ were brisk. Raghul was able to match Bharath’s speedy brigas by executing the swaras with precision.

‘Paridanamichite’ in Bilahari was sung as a filler before proceeding to the main piece in Thodi. At this point, fitting in a chowka kala kriti instead of a medium-paced one could have added some variety to the performance.

A fairly exhaustive delineation of Thodi was presented by Bharath — the rishabam to daivatam section of the madhya sthayi was explored in detail. Long-drawn phrases in Thodi were handled well by Raghul during the alapana. The main kriti of the evening was ‘Gati neevani’ from Tyagaraja’s Lalgudi Pancharatnam. It was a suitable choice to demonstrate the musician’s potential.

Throughout the recital, a fine balance was struck between the essential phrases and the inventive aspects when exploring the manodharma. Kishore Ramesh on the mridangam and Kottayam Rohith Prasad on the ghatam complemented the other artistes admirably during the kalpanaswara sections.