01 smaraNe ondhe sAladE malayamArutha rUpaka p.dAsa
02 tanavAri tanamu lEda tArakAdhipanana vada bEgaDa Adi tyAgarAja
03 pAvana guru pavana hamsAnandi rUpaka lalita dAsa (A, S)
04 akhilAndEShwari rakShamAm dhwijAvanthi Adhi m dhIkShithar (A)
05 sudhAmayi sudhAnidhE amruthavarShiNi rUpaka m bhAgavathar
06 tukkiya tiruvaDi tuNai shankarAbharaNa Adi ShuddAnanda bhArati (A, N, S, T)
07 uLLuvavaru shivAlaya mADuvaru miSra ShivaranjanI basavaNNa
08 rAga tAna pallavi madhyamAvati misra triputa
09 Adum chidambaramo ayyan kuTTadum bEhAg gOpalakrishna bhArati
10 Innu daya bAradE kalyANavasantha K chApu purandara dAsa
11 tillana miSra shivaranjani Adi LGJ
12 nI nAma rUpamulaku mangaLa sourAshtra Adi tyAgarAja
A Concert That Unfolded Like a Carefully Woven Musical Tapestry
There are concerts where the repertoire is merely a list of compositions, and there are concerts where the choice and sequencing of each piece seem to create a larger musical narrative. The concert of Vid. Saketharaman, accompanied by Vid. H. K. Venkatram on violin, Vid. Arjun Ganesh on mridangam and Vid. Bhagyalakshmi Krishna on ghatam, belonged to the latter category. Presented as part of the Kalotsav, the concert offered a fascinating journey through a remarkably varied selection of Carnatic compositions, moving effortlessly between familiar territory and less frequently encountered melodic landscapes.
What made the evening particularly enjoyable was the sense of musical discovery. The programme did not appear to be constructed around a predictable succession of stock choices. Instead, it moved through Malayamaruta, Begada, Hamsanandi, Dhwijavanti, Amrutavarshini, Sankarabharana, Mishra Shivaranjani, Madhyamavati and Behag, with Purandara Dasa, Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar, Lalita Dasa, M. Bhagavatar, Shuddhananda Bharati, Basavanna and Gopalakrishna Bharati finding their places naturally within the architecture of the concert.
The opening “Smarane Ondhe Saalade” in Malayamaruta, set to Rupaka tala and attributed to Purandara Dasa, was an attractive way to begin. There is something immediately appealing about starting with a composition that places the listener in a devotional frame without sacrificing the classical character of the concert. The Malayamaruta canvas is itself distinctive, and the opening set the tone for what was to become an evening of contrasting ragas and devotional moods.
The transition to Tyagaraja's “Tanavari Tanamu Leda, Tarakadhipanana Vada” in Begada, set to Adi tala, was particularly interesting. Begada is one of those ragas whose identity is inseparable from its characteristic phrases and nuanced movement. It possesses grandeur, but also an unmistakable elegance. Its placement so early in the programme gave the concert a more firmly Carnatic centre after the devotional opening.
The next item, “Pavana Guru Pavana” in Hamsanandi, by Lalita Dasa and set to Rupaka tala, brought another striking change in colour. Hamsanandi has an almost luminous quality, and its inclusion after Begada created a vivid contrast. The programme was already beginning to demonstrate one of its greatest strengths: variety without musical disjointedness.
This was followed by Muthuswami Dikshitar's “Akhilandeshwari Rakshamam” in Dhwijavanti, with an alapana. Dikshitar's compositions are particularly rewarding in a programme such as this because they bring an unmistakable weight of classical architecture. Dhwijavanti itself has an intriguing, sophisticated personality, and the alapana before the kriti provided the opportunity to establish its melodic identity before entering the composition.
Then came “Sudhamayi Sudhanidhe” in Amrutavarshini, in Rupaka tala, attributed to M. Bhagavatar. The sudden appearance of Amrutavarshini after Dhwijavanti was another delightful change in sonic atmosphere. The raga has a brilliance and immediacy that can brighten an otherwise contemplative sequence. This was a programme that seemed unafraid to move between very different emotional temperatures.
The central weight of the concert came with Shuddhananda Bharati's “Tukkiya Tiruvadi Tunai” in Sankarabharana, set to Adi tala, presented with alapana, neraval, swaras and tani.
Sankarabharana is perhaps the ultimate test of musical imagination precisely because of its familiarity. There is nowhere to hide behind novelty. Its enormous melodic territory is known intimately to generations of listeners, and yet it remains capable of revealing something new when approached with conviction and sensitivity. The decision to give this composition the full manodharma treatment made it the natural centre of gravity of the concert.
The inclusion of neraval and swara kalpana within this piece also gave the programme a welcome expansion after the succession of composition-led items. The tani that followed allowed the rhythmic dimensions of the concert to come forward, with Arjun Ganesh and Bhagyalakshmi Krishna taking the stage. The mridangam-ghatam combination brought a complementary texture to the ensemble, and the tani served as a satisfying punctuation mark to the main classical section.
The post-tani section was especially interesting in its choice of repertoire. Basavanna's “Ulluvavaru Shivalaya Madhuvaru” in Mishra Shivaranjani shifted the emotional register considerably. The choice brought Kannada vachana tradition into the concert, adding a layer of cultural and devotional depth to what had already been a wide-ranging classical presentation. Mishra Shivaranjani itself carries an inherently evocative character, making it an apt vehicle for such poetry.
The concert then arrived at its Raga-Tana-Pallavi in Madhyamavati, set to Misra Triputa tala. This was another significant point in the evening. Madhyamavati is a raga that can be majestic without being ostentatious, and its placement as the RTP raga gave the concert a strong structural sense of arrival. The RTP format also provided the natural culmination of the manodharma-oriented portions of the programme.
One of the most attractive aspects of the concert's latter half was how it subsequently relaxed into lighter and more devotional territory. Gopalakrishna Bharati's “Adum Chidambaramo Ayyan Kuttadum” in Behag offered a graceful change of mood. Behag has a wonderfully sensuous and lyrical quality, and this composition is particularly well suited to bringing out that aspect of the raga.
The next selection, “Innu Daya Barade” in Kalyanavasantha, by Purandara Dasa and set to Khanda Chapu, continued the devotional thread. Kalyanavasantha is a raga of considerable charm, and following Behag it allowed the concert to move further towards intimacy without losing its classical character.
The Mishra Shivaranjani tillana in Adi tala, attributed to Lalgudi G. Jayaraman, provided an energetic and graceful penultimate flourish. A tillana at this stage of a concert naturally changes the pulse of the evening. After the substantial exploration of Sankarabharana and Madhyamavati, it offered rhythmic sparkle and a sense of celebration.
The concert concluded, appropriately, with Tyagaraja's “Nee Nama Rupamulaku” in Saurashtram, the familiar mangalam that has served generations of Carnatic musicians and listeners as a graceful closing offering.
Looking back at the entire programme, what strikes me most is its remarkable breadth. The concert did not depend on one raga or one composer's repertoire for its impact. Instead, it moved through a succession of carefully chosen colours. Malayamaruta and Begada established the opening; Hamsanandi and Dhwijavanti expanded the melodic palette; Amrutavarshini added brilliance; Sankarabharana supplied the substantial central core; Mishra Shivaranjani brought in the voice of Kannada devotional poetry; Madhyamavati provided the RTP; and Behag and Kalyanavasantha gradually brought the concert towards its concluding devotional mood.
This is where the role of Vid. H. K. Venkatram becomes particularly important in a concert of this nature. His long association with the Bangalore concert circuit and his distinctive musical voice make him an ideal accompanist for a vocalist who allows considerable room for musical interaction. The violin in such a concert is not merely a shadow of the voice; it becomes part of the unfolding musical argument.
Likewise, Vid. Arjun Ganesh and Vid. Bhagyalakshmi Krishna brought the rhythmic dimension into focus. The presence of mridangam and ghatam gave the concert a richly textured percussion foundation, particularly when the programme moved into swara-oriented and tani sections.
Ultimately, the greatest strength of this concert was its musical generosity. There was something for the rasika who enjoys the grammar of classical raga exploration, something for the listener drawn to rare compositions, something for the devotee who responds to Purandara Dasa and Basavanna, and something for the connoisseur who appreciates the structural possibilities of an RTP.
The programme also demonstrated that a concert need not be relentlessly intense to be deeply satisfying. The evening had its substantial moments, its introspective moments, its devotional moments and its moments of rhythmic exhilaration. The emotional arc was therefore as important as the individual compositions.
And perhaps that is the best way to describe the experience: a carefully woven musical tapestry. Each raga contributed a different thread, each composer another colour, while the vocalist and accompanists supplied the musical craftsmanship that held everything together.
The final Saurashtram mangalam brought the evening to its natural conclusion, but the musical aftertaste was considerably more lingering. The concert had travelled through devotion, classicism, manodharma, rhythm and poetry without allowing any one element to dominate the others.
For the rasika, that balance is precious.
Saketharaman, H. K. Venkatram, Arjun Ganesh and Bhagyalakshmi Krishna gave an evening that was intellectually engaging, melodically rich, rhythmically vibrant and emotionally rewarding. It was a concert where the repertoire itself became the narrative—and where each turn in that narrative offered another reason to keep listening.
A beautifully curated programme, an accomplished ensemble, and a musical journey that lingered well beyond the final mangalam.
