Sudha Iyer and Srivdhya Iyer's musical offering to Purandaradasa

The Hindu

05-05-2025

With endearing candour, Purandaradasar addresses Vittala: 'What if I am crooked, will your name lose its worth when uttered by me?', 'What if the river twists and turns, will the water shed its sanctity?', 'What if the flower is plain, will its fragrance be any less?', and so forth. An emphatic 'no, not at all' underpins each of these rhetorical questions. Srividhya R.S. Iyer and Sudha R.S. Iyer rendered this soul-stirring devaranama 'Naa donka aadharenu' in their vocal recital for Sri Thiagaraja Sangeetha Vidwath Samajam when it celebrated the saint-composer's Jayanthi recently.
So, what if the siblings' concert leaned more toward the austere than the flamboyant? It did serve its purpose as a fitting tribute to the 'Sangita Pithamaha' and his deep-rooted devotion. The diligent offering was ably supported by Anuthama Murali on the violin and Nagai Narayanan on the mridangam.
Rich raga contours
The Iyer sisters began with 'Sakala graha bala neene' in raga Atana, Khanda Chapu tala, topping it off with crisp swara exchanges. They followed it up with the aforesaid reflective song bearing the refrain 'aadharenu?' (what if?) in Hamsavinodhini, a shadava-shadava raga (a hexatonic symmetry, omitting the panchamam), derived from Sankarabharanam. The raga suited the philosophical depth of the lyrics set to Rupakam. While the swarakalpana was tidy, a little more anchoring on the ga-ma-dha and ma-dha-ni phrases and their retrogrades would have better revealed the raga's contour.
Srividhya delineated Kanada, riding its mood-laden curves, ahead of 'Naa ninna dhyana doliralu' in Misra Chapu. Another classic composition, it highlights the value of unwavering faith and the invincibility of Vittala's devotees. 'Just as ants cannot touch fire, the jealous cannot touch me, thanks to your grace.'
Nattai made an unusually belated entry, as the fourth song, in the form of the Sanskrit composition 'Jaya jaya jaya janakikantha' in Khanda Chapu. The sprightly madhyama kalam passages enhanced the appeal as the duo breezed through the song.
Kalyanavasantham came up next, with Sudha tracing its emotive shades in an alapana that preserved its intrinsic plaintiveness. 'Innu dayabaarade', again in Khanda Chapu, brought out Dasar's spirit of subservience and surrender, and the sisters rendered it with poise.
Kalyani was chosen as the centrepiece of the evening. Having sung in Hamsavinodhini earlier, opting for another raga might have offered more tonal and structural contrast. Nevertheless, Sudha expanded the raga methodically before passing on the baton to Srividhya, who navigated the upper octave with some absorbing phrases. The yearning of the soul for divine grace found voice in 'Dayamado ranga' (Adi), and the sisters infused the song with the requisite bhava. The niraval at the charanam opening 'Ihapara gati neene' was particularly touching, and the swarakalpana with nishada nyasam was gripping. Anuthama's sensitive playing augmented the melodic appeal throughout. The tani by Narayanan was brief, but vibrant.
The devotional journey continued with 'Rama mantrava japiso' in Jhonpuri, 'Jagadodharana' in Kapi, and 'Kandena govindana' in Chandrakauns, before the siblings signed off with 'Bhagyada lakshmi baramma' in Sri.
The repertoire offered a commendable thematic variety, though the rhythmic spectrum remained lopsided. While the Chapu-s and Rupakam held sway in the first half, Adi tala made its first appearance only in the main kriti and stayed on till the end, casting a shade of monotony. Juggling the order a little would have averted the imbalance.