Vidya and Vinaya’s musical ode to Chennai

Vinaya and Vidya came up with an impressive line up of Tamil songs for their Chennai Day concert

On Chennai Day, a thematic concert was presented by Vinaya Karthik Rajan and Vidya Kalyanaraman under the aegis of Hamsadhwani in association with CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) and Sri Krishna Sweets at the Youth Hostel, Adyar. R. Sundar, secretary, Hamsadhwani, spoke about what makes Chennai unique, highlighting how the city patronises and promotes classical arts.

Vinaya-Vidya’s concert featured Tamil songs that paid a tribute to the city. The duo, blessed with a pleasant voice, came up with a brief preface to each song.

The concert began with the shloka ‘Gajananam’, an invocation piece by Vinaya followed by Agathiyar’s ‘Prabho Ganapathey’ in raga Tilang, and ‘Eppadi padinaro’ in raga Bhimplas, a composition by Suddhananda Bharati, and popularised by D.K. Pattammal.

Since the singing of Thiruppavai and Thiruvempavai hymns are an integral part of the Margazhi Music Season, Chennai’s landmark annual event, the duo also included verses from each in their repertoire. They sang ‘Oruthi maganai pirandu’, (Behag), Thiruppavai, and a Thiruvempavai verse in raga Khamas. Periyasami Thooran’s popular kriti ‘Thaye tripurasundari’ in Suddha Saveri, in praise of the Thiruvanmiyur temple deity, came up next.

Following the concert format, Vinaya elaborated Latangi raga in the madhyama and lower range, and Vidya presented the tara sthayi sancharas eloquently. The raga treatise was impressive as the forays were meticulously handled by both the singers.

When a concert features exclusive Tamil kritis, can one forget Papanasam Sivan, who is known for his Tamil compositions? The duo sang ‘Pirava varam tharum’. There were brisk swara sallies on the pallavi. Karaikkal Venkatasubramanian lent able support on the violin.

A precise tani avartanam was executed by Ganapathy, who was on the percussion. Ramalinga Adigalar’s ‘Orumaiyudan ninathu thirumalaradi’, which has reference to Kandakottam, in raga Hindolam, was followed by ‘Karpagavalli nin porpadhangal’, the popular song in praise of goddess Karpagambal of Mylapore, composed by Veeramani in ragamalika. Thiruvallikeni, the birthplace of Mahakavi Bharatiyar, was their next stopover. The duo remembered the poet with his song ‘Theeradha vilayattu pillai’.