Gurucharan’s ‘Akhilam Madhuram’ was more a blend of songs and ragas

The vocal-piano-kanjira combination makes for a novel way to engage with Carnatic music

A tribute concert titled ‘Akhilam Madhuram’ was organised by Madhuradhwani as part of the 70th birth anniversary celebrations of well-known music connoisseur Vidya Subramanian. It was presented by Sikkil Gurucharan with Anil Srinivasan on the piano and B.S. Purushothaman on the kanjira. Gurucharan began his concert with ‘Adharam madhuram vadanam madhuram’ from ‘Madhurashtakam’, composed by Vallabhacharya. It was a different experience to hear these Sanskrit verses being sung to the accompaniment of gentle piano notes. Gurucharan next sang the Tamil composition, ‘Chinnanchiru penn pole’ in Sindhubhairavi, popularised by Sirkazhi Govindarajan. It describes the composer Ulundurpettai Shanmugasundaram’s experience of seeing Durga in a little girl. Matching the song’s mood, Anil’s playing was vibrant, sometimes even striking a dominant note.