Trained by P. S. Narayanaswamy, a prime disciple of Semmangudi, Sunil turned emotional when speaking at the beginning of the performance about his guru’s gurubhakti. A short recording of Semmangudi’s alapana was played to show how the very first phrase of the elucidation would bring out the core of the raga. Sunil also spoke of Semmangudi’s deceptively simple sarvalaghu swaras, his Patanthara shuddham, and how brevity marked his music. The raga alapana by Sunil brought out his creative instincts. Unhurried alapanaAfter Tyagaraja’s bhavapriya kriti, ‘Srikanthaniyeda’, Sunil chose Semmangudi’s favourite Sriranjani kriti ‘Marubalka kunnavemira’, again by Tyagaraja.

Source: The Hindu August 12, 2021 11:02 UTC