Sanjay Subrahmanyan once again showcases his love for Tamil 

Vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyam performs at  Tamil Isai Sangam in Chennai.
| Photo Credit: AKHILA EASWARAN

Sanjay Subrahmanyan is, perhaps, the only Carnatic musician who shares the list of songs for each kutcheri beforehand. Though his admirers love this practice of his, some feel that the element of surprise in a concert is compromised. However, the best part of a Sanjay concert is the rare compositions, especially Tamil songs, he sings. 

Sanjay’s concert at Tamil Isai Sangam featured a mix of popular and less-heard compositions including a Ragam Tanam Pallavi. He was accompanied by S. Varadharajan on the violin, Neyveli B. Venkatesh on the mridangam and S. Venkataramanan on the kanjira. One of the few music venues in Chennai where artistes perform only Tamil compositions, the Tamil Isai Sangam welcomes a diverse audience that comes to savour the linguistic splendour of Tamil through the medium of Carnatic music. 

Sanjay Subrahmanyam performing at  Tamil Isai Sangam in Chennai.
| Photo Credit:
AKHILA EASWARAN

Sanjay began his concert with Papanasam Sivan’s varnam ‘Nee indha maayam’. This padavarnam in Dhanyasi is quite elaborate and explains the essence of the raga. ‘Harahara shivashankara’ in Gambhira Nattai is a composition by Gopalakrishna Bharathi set in Rupaka tala. Sanjay first presented it at a medium pace to lead up to a high-speed summary of sorts, covering the entirety of the song from the pallavi to the charanam. He retained the fast pace for his kalpanaswaras that had his signature high-octane upper octave touches. 

Dharmavathi is a raga that offers ample scope for manodharma, and Sanjay took advantage of this melakarta raga by going in for an extended alapana that contained the characteristic elements he is known for — a long stop at the upper shadjam, and breathless akaarams and phrases that traverse three octaves. Sanjay’s stamina was unmatched as he adventurously covered the entire range of the raga. He kept the audience at the edge of their seats almost throughout the alapana. A rare song by M.M. Dandapani Desikar ‘Arulvai Angayarkanniye’ in Khanda Chapu was taken up with niraval  at the line ‘Unmai uyar gunangal’ in the charanam. This song stood out for its novelty. The kalpanaswaras were customary and paved the way for the second half of the concert where the artistes had much to offer. 

The songs leading up to the RTP were chosen to bring some contrast to the kutcheri. ‘Kaalai Thooki’ is a classic in Yadukula Kamboji and came at a good place, after covering ragas somewhat serious in nature. Next, Sanjay chose a vivadi mela Shulini to sing Koteeswara Iyer’s ‘Paraamukhamadeno’. This raga can be tricky to sing, but Sanjay is known to take on challenges. 

With a spirit that never dwindled and a confidence derived through a solid song list, Sanjay then moved on -to the RTP in Sriranjani. The raga alapana was in the form of a musical conversation that Sanjay sometimes had with himself, and sometimes with Varadharajan and the audience. If Sanjay inserted a bit of ‘Maarubalka’ at the end of the alapana, Varadharajan went in for ‘Kaana vendamo’. He and Sanjay are a delightful duo onstage and they complement each other. Varadharajan’s approach to manodharma carefully mirrored Sanjay’s methods but he also added value with his inputs. 

The pallavi was an ode to femininity — ‘penmaiye shaktiyadaa adhai vanangum perumaiye buddhiyada’ and instantly made many women in the audience sing along as Sanjay explored the sahitya in detail, including a ragamalika suite at the end before the tani avarthanam. 

Venkatesh and Venkataramanan utilised this time well to showcase their percussion skills. The post-main section was full of audience favourites — ‘Angai kodu malar’ in Ragamalika, ‘Ramaswamy dhoodhan naanada’ in Bahudari, a viruttam followed by ‘Va va vel Muruga’ in Sindhubhairavi and ‘Thunbam Nergayil’ in Desh. 

Although Sanjay has a loyal fanbase, he should adopt an approach that shuns predictability and aid in reinventing himself on the concert stage.