Kallidaikurichi Sankaranarayanan presented a refreshing alapana of Hamsadhwani at his performance for Raga Tarangini Trust. Saint-poet Vallalar's ‘Thaayagi Thandhayumai' (tuned by T.M. Thiagarajan in this raga) followed, bringing out the ennobling spirit of the song.

The tunesmith here has intelligently assigned each phrase compactly to each avartanam of Khanda Chapu, and the singer gave due emphasis to this aspect.

The niraval at ‘Vaayaara Vazthugindrom' with its nuances created an atmosphere that was devotional.

Sankaranarayanan's raga designs for Shanmukhapriya (‘VaddaneVaru' - Tyagaraja), Hindolam (‘Maa Ramanan' - Sivan) and Sahana (‘Evasudha Nee Vanti' - Tyagaraja) showcased his imaginative skills that were structurally varied yet aesthetically uniform.

Each raga was essayed such that its individualistic style and unique charm were highlighted, without becoming stereotyped.

Niraval and swaras at ‘Dhari Theliyu Deivamu' were brief but adequate and had an element of spontaneity.

It came as a bit of a surprise when the Hindolam song, sans niraval or kalpanaswaras, was handed over to the mridangam vidwan for his thani.

The concert itself began with three less-sung numbers -- a varnam in Behag (by T R Subramanian), ‘Sri Gananadham Bhajamyaham' (Kanakangi-Tyagaraja) and ‘Vanajaksha Ninne Nammithe' (Mysore Sadasiva Rao).

It is held by scholars that the Tyagaraja kriti in Kanakangi was in circulation only within a certain section of his disciples.

Other numbers included in the recital were ‘Karpaga Manohara' (Malayamarutham-Sivan), ‘O Rajeevaksha' (Arabhi-Tyagaraja) and ‘Kamala Charane' (Amritha Behag-GNB).

In its final phases, one also had the pleasure of listening to a ragamalika slokam, ‘Vandhe Matharam Ambikam Bhagavatheem' (Kalyani, Saveri and Hamsanandhi) and a Thirupugazh in Andholika.

T. Rukmini, who provided violin support, had her say in the alapana and swaraprastharas, allowing her experience to cast its magical influence on her approach, style and method of carving out raga phrases and swaras.

Delhi Sairam on the mridangam quietly adjusted his playing and volume levels and played with a comfortable degree of nonchalance without getting overawed by the senior musicians on stage. His thani had artful and well-conceived korvais that were guided by a well acquired laya sense. Prashanth provided vocal support to Sankaranarayanan.