Saitejas performed at Vyalikaval Sri Rama Mandir on 23rd March 2010 as part of the Sri Rama Navami concert series.
The concert started off with a Varna in Todi (Eranapai) at a brisk pace. Telisi rama chintanato (Poornachandrika) was lively and took the minds of the audience to a different plane. The place in the kriti selected for svarakalpana (Rama eni chapalakshula) was innovative and the svaras tumbled out one after the other in melodious waves. A serene alapana in Simhendramadhyama was followed by Maharaja Swati Tirunal's ever-glowing gem Rama rama gunaseema. The neraval at Munimaanasadhaama brought out more facets of the raga, followed by contemplative svarakalpana. Sri Thyagaraja's Sompaina manasuto was an unhurried Ahiri. This was followed by a blitzkrieg Garudagamana (Nagasvaravali).
The main raga of the day was Manirangu (Mamava pattabhirama- Dikshitar). The artiste set out on a meditative exploration of the raga starting from the mandrasthayi and traversing all three octaves. His treatment of the 'ni' deserves special mention. Manirangu is a tough raga to sing, when one aims to sing it without shades of any other raga. Saitejas was successful in maintaining the pristine purity of Manirangu, while simultaneously bringing out its glory layer by layer. The kriti sung at a leisurely tempo had a majestic gait. His clear enunciation only added to the mystic atmosphere he created. Strands of Svaras at the end served to further decorate the already beautified Manirangu. Sri J.K. Sridhar supported him ably on the violin. The tani avartanam by Sri Phanindra Bhaskara on Mridangam and Sri N S Krishna Prasad on Ghatam was enjoyable.
The latter half of the concert consisted of Innu daya barade in Kalyanavasanta, Darsan deejo- a Meera bhajan based on raags Hemant and Bhinn Shadj, Sita kalyana vaibhogame in Kuranji. The concert concluded with a mangala in Surati (Janakiramanage jayamangalam).
The artiste's effort in bringing out the best of Manirangu was commendable. Overall, it was a very good concert.
