Sarvepalli Sisters wove a rich tapestry of kritis themed on Devi

The vocal duet by Sarvepalli sisters, Sreya and Rajalakshmi, who performed at The Music Academy’s Radel mid-year concerts, was built almost entirely around compositions on Devi. They were supported by Pantula Vennela on the violin and S. Srivatsa on the mridangam.

The concert opened with ‘Arunodayame anbin vadivame’, a varnam by Lalgudi Jayaraman set in Bowli — a raga known for its serene and meditative quality, makes it a demanding curtain-raiser. The sisters’ coordination held firm through the piece.

‘Vandi suvadadiyali’, a Purandaradasa composition in Nattai, came up next. A few sangatis at the anupallavi showed minor mismatches between the two voices. However, the kalpanaswaras at ‘Gananathana’, were rendered with confidence that compensated for the minor lapses occurred in the anupallavi.

Rajalakshmi’s alapana in Saranga Tarangini was the first major exposition, which was matched by an assured violin response from Pantula Vennela. ‘Samana rahethe amba’, a G.N. Balasubramaniam composition, followed, with kalpanaswaras cast in tisram. Through out this segment, Srivatsa’s mridangam prayogams were well-rounded.

‘Vararagalaya’ by Tyagaraja, in Chenchu Kamboji at melkala arrived as a spark. The kriti was popularised by GNB.

Sreya and Rajalakshmi were accompanied by Pantula Vennela on the violin and S. Srivatsa on the mridangam.
| Photo Credit:
M. Srinath

Sreya’s Thodi alapana — the day’s centrepiece — incorporated grahabedam passages into Mohanam and Hindolam; Vennela’s violin response explored Mohana Kalyani instead, explicitly placing a phrase from the Mohana Kalyani thillana. ‘Koluva maregadha’ (Tyagaraja) carried a niraval at ‘Sri karuniki sritha’. The kalpanaswara that followed bore the stamp of their guru, Sudha Ragunathan. Their deliberate off-beat phrases resisted settling into either tisram or chatusram, a hallmark of the bani, that demands considerable rhythmic control and precision. The structure followed a five melkala alongside five madyama kala cycle with a kuraippu that closed the section to six aksharams (1+5 beats). The tani that followed gave Srivatsa room to explore different patterns.

‘Prasarathu devi’, a melkala composition by Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swami in Atana, offered rhythmic vitality. The Tiruppugazh virutham ‘En thayum ennarul’, from Arunagirinathar’s Kandhan Anuboothi, seamlessly transitioned into Lalgudi Jayaraman’s Behag thillana. The concert closed with ‘Devi viratrupa’ another kriti by Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swami in raga Revagupti.

The highpoint of Sarvepalli Sisters’ concert was the imaginative Thodi alapana.
| Photo Credit:
M. Srinath