Nirmala Rajasekar’s raga-rich tanam struck a chord with the rasikas

There was never a dull moment at senior vainika Nirmala Rajasekar’s concert for Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha. Performing alongside senior accompanists — Trivandrum Sampath on the violin, Thanjavur Murugaboopathy on the mridangam and N. Guruprasad on the ghatam — Nirmala exuded energy through out the concert.

She began with the popular Sahana varnam ‘Karunimpa’. and followed it up with Tyagaraja’s ‘Sri ganapati’ in Sowrashtram. Gopalakrishna Bharati’s sombre ‘Vazhi maraiththirukkuthe’ in Nattakurinji brought a bit of languidness. Nirmala picked up tempo with ‘Varanarada narayana’ by Tyagaraja in raga Vijayashri.

Nirmala rendered Tyagaraja’si ‘Rama nee samanamevaru’ in raga Karaharapriya, in all its grandeur. The swarakalpana at ‘Paluku paluku’, with several rounds of Rishabam-centric swaras sustained the momentum.

The main piece of the concert was Muthuswami Dikshitar’s ‘Meenakshi memudam’ in Purvikalyani, which was rendered in an elaborate manner with the mandatory pauses. The tanam seamlessly segued into the kriti. Nirmala’s playing stood out for its rich and intricate swara passages.

In an engaging interaction, Nirmala invited the audience to suggest ragas for inclusion in the Purvikalyani tanam. Ten ragas were suggested, out of which she played five, including Dhanyasi, Kedaragowla and Hamir Kalyani with brief essays.

Murugaboopathy and Guruprasad showcased their rhythmic prowess and maturity in their well-crafted tani avartanam.

Nirmala concluded her recital with ‘Jayathi jayathi bharatamatha’, composed by Mayuram Viswanatha Sastri in raga Khamas.