Aishwarya Shankar and Keerthana bring alive their Patantharam

Both Aishwarya Shankar and J.B. Keerthana focused on clear and unhurried rendition

A stimulating ‘Undedi ramudu’ was Aishwarya Shankar’s opening kriti in Harikamboji, a sampoorna raga, which J.B. Keerthana took up as the centrepiece for her concert at the same venue six days later. That was mere coincidence. The real overlap lay in their earnestness in presenting the compositions with clarity. Also, both did not rush through any idea, a basic trait of the school that the duo partly share.

Keerthana’s allegiance to D.K. Jayaraman was obvious in her lyrically rich presentations, the hallmark of DKJ’s patantaram. She has been learning for 22 years under Dr. S. Sunder, who is primarily a DKJ disciple. As her main piece, Keerthana took up ‘Muruga thirumal’, penned by Thanjavur Shankara Iyer, another of Sunder’s gurus.