Nothing could have been more appropriate than dedicate a whole evening to bhajans and dhuns on the 97th birth anniversary of M.S. Subbulakshmi. The austere ambience at Kalakshetra’s Rukmini Auditorium was the most fitting platform for such a tribute by Gowri Ramnarayan and her musical group. It also happened to be the centenary of R. Vaidyanathan or ‘Remaji’ as he was known, who had played an important role in MS’s life – he had tuned a few bhajans for her besides some piano classes. Gowri said that MS had also learnt a considerable number of bhajans from Dilip Kumar Roy, A. Kanan, Siddheswari Devi, M.R. Gowtam and Srinivasa Rao, besides Remaji....


The young Nisha Rajagopal rose to the occasion and her diction was clear. “Four months of rehearsals made the singer really meet the demand. Flautist Sruthisagar and violinist Padma Shankar learnt every minute detail in linking the sahitya through musical interludes,” said Gowri.

It was a totally changed Nisha, whose slightly thick, nasal tone had indeed vanished; a voice soaked in melody had taken its place instead. Adapting to bhajan singing quite naturally with modulations, she kept the audience in thrall. The accompanying artists played their part well. Once the slightly higher volume of Arun Prakash’s mridangam was lowered in the beginning, his rhythmic support became enjoyable throughout. Anirudh, however, had no opportunity to exhibit his artistry effectively.

Nisha opened with the Tulsidas bhajan, ‘Jago Raghunath,’ and followed it with ‘Hey Govind, Hey Gopal’ by Surdas and Kabir’s ‘Bhajore Bhayya Ram Govind Hari.’ The fourth piece, ‘Dharas Bina Dhookkan Lage’ was not, according to Gowri, as it was sung in the film ‘Meera’ but had a slight variation. Ras Khan’s ‘Gave Ghun’ and the poem ‘Sochkar Chalna Musafir’ by an unknown Urdu poet, presented in an amalgam of Keeravani and Kalyana Vasantham, was another enchanting melody. ‘Bhaj Man Ram Charan Sukh Daayi’ of Tulsidas in Khamaj and ‘Prabhuji Thum Bin Kaun’ by Surdas were set to lilting tunes.

The end was of course reserved for ‘Hari Thum Haro’ and it did wonders. The poignant melody coupled with the soul-stirring stanzas left almost teary-eyed. The finishing line was so soaring that it revealed Nisha’s superb voice-range.

http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/music/saying-it-with-bhajans/article5196257.ece?homepage=true