Veteran Carnatic singer Alepey Venkatesan took listeners back in time -OxBig News Network

Alepey Venkatesan with B.U. Ganeshprasad on the violin, Shertalai Ananthakrishnan on the mridangam and Suresh Vaidyanathan on the ghatam. Shruti Jayaraman provided vocal support.  
| Photo Credit: B. Velankanni Raj

The theme of Devi kritis added lustre to veteran singer Alepey Venkatesan’s recent concert for Sunaadalahari at Indira Ranganathan Trust in Chennai. 

Alepey Venkatesan celebrates 60 years as a performing musician, and his impactful presentation reflected his guru Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar’s style.

Alepey Venkatesan filled his recital with viruttams, an astonishing repertoire of compositions and manodharma segments. Particularly impressive to today’s generation were his swaraprastharas, full of intricacies learnt from the great mridangist Palghat Mani Iyer.

B.U. Ganeshprasad on the violin, Shertalai Ananthakrishnan on the mridangam and Suresh Vaidyanathan on the ghatam enhanced the performance. Venkatesan’s  disciple Shruti Jayaraman provided vocal support.   

The initial part of the veteran vocalist’s concert stood out for ‘Sri Kanchi nayike’ (Asaveri, Annaswamy Sastri), in which he laced the kriti with swara segment at ‘Navapallava komale’.  

Alepey Venkatesan’s thematic presentation at Indira Ranganathan Trust in Chennai
| Photo Credit:
B. Velankanni Raj

Next came ‘Lalithe mam pahi’ (Yadukula Kambhoji, Cheyyur Chengalvaraya Sastri). This piece was emotionally binding and elegantly paced. 

 Following this, a viruttam on Karpagambike  preceded ‘Himachala tanaya’ (Anandabhairavi, Syama Sastri). The line ‘Uma hamsagamana tamasama  brova dikkevvaru’ was chosen for neraval. 

The vocalist then launched a Mooka Pancha Sathi viruttam before the composition 

‘Kamakshi nannu brovave’ (Varali,  Syama Sastri), which has a beautiful swara sahityam. The neraval enchanted the audience as it highlighted the words ‘Saswata rupini’  in the charanam that describes the goddess.

The other compositions presented by the vocalist included ‘Sarasijanabha sodari’ (Nagagandhari, Dikshitar); ‘Kavave Kanyakumari’ (Sahana,  Balamuralikrishna); and ‘Shankari  neeve’ (Begada, Subbaraya Sastri). 

Venkatesan next  launched a Kalyani raga alapana in two stages, which the violinist matched in every manner possible.

The kriti chosen was Tyagaraja’s ‘Sive pahimam’ with neraval at ‘Kaverojattara teera vasini katyayani.’  The last part of the swaraprasthara, which anchored on ‘ga’, came off with verve, and there was a korvai before the tani began.

Mridangist Shertalai Ananthakrishnan and ghatam Suresh were at their best in this percussion suite.