A scintillating vocal performance by Vignesh Eswar at Ragapriya’s 58th anniversary concerts in Madurai.
| Photo Credit: R. ASHOK
Vignesh Eswar rendered a soulful and scintillating vocal concert at the Ragapriya’s 58th anniversary concerts. Beginning with the Thiagaraja’s only pancharatna kritis in Sanskrit - “jagadananda karaka” naattai, in which Thiagaraja revered Lord Rama as the cosmic creator of joy and essence of Veda.Then he moved on with “deva deva kalayamite” in Maayamaalava gowla, by Swati Thirunal, on Lord Padmanabha. The unique structural characteristics of the raga was perfectly brought out by the vocalist.Niraval jatarupa nibhacela janmarcitam (obliterate the sins), was well received. He then rendered the Viruttam from Abirami Anthathi “Nayenaiyum ingu oru porulaga” for “Meenalochana brova in Dhanyaasi by Shyama Sastri on the presiding deity of Madurai.This Navaratnamalika series kriti was soul-stirring with traditional purity, with the singer unfolding the raga through his extensive use of gamakas.“ Enneramum Undan” by Gopalakrishna Bharathi in Devagandhari (part of the Nandanar Charitram) was rendered in an expressive way displaying the devotee’s deep yearning to eternally stay in the divine presence of Lord Shiva.Vignesh’s next choice was “sarasa saamadaana” in Kaapi Narayani by Thiagaraja, pleading to help him as he only knows how to use the saama, daana, bedha and dhanda methods at the appropriate time..The violinist H N Bhaskar shadowed and responded to the vocal lines, while Praveen Sparsh on the mridangam kept the time cycle (talam) with perfection. The main raga of the day was Kharaharapriya for “Chakkani Raja” by Thiagaraja Swami.The rendition witnessed an expansive alapana, neraval, swarakalpana and showcased Vignesh’s range, emotional depth (bhava) and command over fast and slow passages across multiple octaves. The solo tani by mridangist focused on clear tonal nuances and balanced sound production with structural clarity and acute mathematical precision.Final pieces included Thirupavai to coincide with Andal’s birthday on Friday, Hamir Kalyani, Nenjukku neediyum in Sindu bairavi by Subramanya Bharathi and Ramachandraya Janaka (Mangalam). Published - August 15, 2026 07:49 pm IST
