At Sri Krishna Gana Sabha (Gokulashtami Sangeetha Utsavam) on 5th September

Accompanists:
Varadarajan – Violin
Neyveli Venkatesh – Mridangam
Govindarajan – Ghatam

Concert Duration: 2 hrs 55 min

List of Songs:
1. evvare (varnam) – sahAnA
2. sivalOka nAdanai – mAyAmAlavagowlai – neraval & swarams at arpa sugattai ninaindOm
3. vande sadA padmanAbham – navarasa kannadA – AlApana
4. kANa kaNNAyiram – nIlAmbari
5. endukOni manasu – kalyANi – AlApana; neraval & swarams at SaraNAgata vatsala nammiti tArakanAma
tani Avartanam
6. vA vElavA – tAnarUpi
7. manasulOni – hindOLam – rAgA outline, swarams at manasulOni
8. rAgam tAnam pallavi – rAgESrI
pallavi: varadA venkataSaila gOvindA – misra cApu
swarams in Ananda bhairavi, bEgaDa, husEni
9. eppaDi manam tuNindadO – husEni
10. ninnaye rati - paTdIp – rAgam outline
11. paniyin viNtuLi – harikAmbhOji
12. mangaLam – sowrAStram

With the opening sahANA varnam (I love the muktAyiswarams of this varnam) of the concert itself, needless to say, making me instantly happy :) , the second song sivalOka nAdanai with some superb fast-paced swarams only made me more happy. Isn’t it always a pleasure listening to Sanjay sing any song on the Dancing Lord and other songs from nandanAr caritram? :)

The absolutely wonderful AlApanai of navarasa kannadA that Sanjay sang next was one that will definitely make you completely lose yourself in it! I loved Varadarajan’s playing for this. Sanjay’s voice was in such a good form that every second of the AlApana and the lovely song vande sadA padmanAbham was so blissful. Contrasting to the brisk pace at which he sang vande sadA, was the unhurried rendition of kANa kaNNAyiram that got me completely immersed in the beauty of nIlAmbari.

kalyANi is definitely not there in my list of preferred rAgams for main, but Sanjay’s AlApana and the swarams, especially the fast-paced ones, were so beautiful that I am eagerly waiting to listen to an elaborate kalyANi from him again! Varadarajan’s AlApana, though good, wasn’t as special as Sanjay’s.

After vA vElavA, one of my favourites, and manasulOni, which isn’t my favourite, came the part that I was looking forward to ever since I came to know the date of this concert – rAgam tAnam pallavi. Chennaiites’ wait to listen to Sanjay’s rAgESrI finally came to an end. And my own almost 8 loooong months wait to listen to an RTP of Sanjay live finally came to an end! As always, the RTP including the rAgamAlikA swarams was excellent! pallavi was varadA venkataSaila gOvindA and the accompanists for yesterday’s concert were Vardarajan, Venkatesh and Govindarajan. :) Sanjay pointed out each of them as he sang the words varadA, venkatashaila and gOvindA of the pallavi. :)

The only disappointment in this otherwise unforgettable concert was Sanjay not singing ninnayE rati in bhAgESrI. :( That was one of his best pieces during the last Season.

Neyveli Venkatesh’s playing was like how it usually is. Anyway, I am not a big fan of his playing. I thought Govindarajan played well.

I am sure yesterday’s concert will be one that will be remembered for a long, long time by all fans of Sanjay! :)