Sanjay Subramanian once again shows his love for Tamil

Singer Sanjay Subramaniam performing at the Tamil Isai Sangam in Chennai. , Photo Credits: Akhila Easwaran

Sanjay Subramanian is, perhaps, the only Carnatic musician who shares the list of songs for each Kachchari in advance. Although his fans love his practice, some feel that the element of surprise at a concert is compromised. However, the best part of Sanjay’s concerts are the rare compositions sung by him, especially Tamil songs.

Sanjay’s concerts at the Tamil Isai Sangam included a mix of popular and less heard compositions including Ragam Tanam Pallavi. S. accompanied him on violin. Varadarajan, Neyveli B on Mridangam. S on Venkatesh and Kanjira. Venkatramanan. One of the few music venues in Chennai where artistes present only Tamil compositions, Tamil Isai Sangam welcomes a diverse audience who come to taste the linguistic splendor of Tamil through Carnatic music.

Sanjay Subramaniam performing at the Tamil Isai Sangam in Chennai. , Photo Credits: Akhila Easwaran

Sanjay started his concert with Papanasam Sivan’s varnam ‘Nee Indha Mayyam’. This padavarnam in Dhanyasi is quite detailed and conveys the essence of the raga. ‘Harhar Shivshankar’ in Gambhira Nattai is a composition by Gopalkrishna Bharati set in Rupaka Taal. Sanjay first presented it at a medium tempo to create a high tempo summary, covering the entire song from Pallavi to Charanam. He maintained a fast tempo for his phantasmagoria with his signature high-octane upper octave touch.

Dharmavati is a raga that offers ample scope for manodharma, and Sanjay took advantage of this Melakarta raga to use an extended alapana, incorporating the characteristic elements he is known for – a long pause on the upper shazam. , and breath akram and phrases that cross three octaves. Sanjay’s stamina was unmatched as he courageously covered the entire range of the raga. He kept the audience glued to their seats for almost the entire alapana. A rare song ‘Arulvai Angayarakanniye’ by MM Dandapani Desikar in Khanda Chapu was taken with Niraval in the line ‘Unmai Uyar Gunangal’ in Charanam. This song stood out because of its novelty. The fantasias were customary and paved the way for the second half of the concert where the artists had much to offer.

The songs that reached RTP were chosen to bring some contrast to Kucheri. ‘Kaalai Thukki’ Yadukula is a classic in Kamboji and has come to a good place after covering ragas of a somewhat serious nature. Subsequently, Sanjay chose a controversial Mela Shoolini to sing Koteshwar Iyer’s ‘Paramukhmadeno’. This raga may be difficult to sing, but Sanjay is known to rise to the challenges.

With a spirit that never waned and confidence gained through a solid song list, Sanjay then moved to RTP in Sriranjani. Raaga Alapana was in the form of a musical conversation that Sanjay would have sometimes with himself, and sometimes with Varadarajan and the audience. If Sanjay added a little ‘marubaalka’ at the end of the alapana, Varadarajan used ‘kana vendamo’. She and Sanjay are a delightful pair on stage and they complement each other well. Varadarajan’s approach to Manodharma carefully mirrored Sanjay’s methods but he also added value with his inputs.

Pallavi was an ode to womanhood – ‘Penmaye Sakthida Adhai Vanangum Perumaye Buddhiyada’ and had many women in the audience singing along immediately as Sanjay explored the literature in detail, including the Ragamalika suite at the end before the Thani Avtaranam. Was.

Venkatesh and Venkataramanan used this time to showcase their rhythm skills. The section after the main post was filled with the audience’s favorite films – ‘Angai Kodu Malar’ in Ragamalika, ‘Ramaswami Dhudhan Nanada’ in Bahudari, a Viruttam followed by ‘Va Va Vel Muruga’ in Sindhubhairavi and ‘Thunbam Nergayil’ in Desh. Were included.

Although Sanjay has a loyal fan following, he should adopt an approach that avoids predictability and help him re-establish himself on the concert stage.