The first day of Mudhra’s Chithirai Music Festival featured a concert by promising young vocalist Sai Vignesh, supported by Pappu Gyandev on the violin and Melakkaveri Balaji on the mridangam.

The festival’s objective is to promote Tamil compositions. Sai Vignesh, winner of several music shows and contests, is also known for performing at live retro film music shows.

Blessed with a pleasant voice, his renditions carry verve and clarity. He opened his concert with Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Karunai seivai’ in Hamsadhwani, dedicated to Ganesha. The swara section was brief yet engaging. He took up Poorvikalyani for alapana, focusing mostly on kaarvais rather than brigas. The raga is so versatile that it allows musicians to explore its beauty. His choice of Sudhananda Bharati’s ‘Kaaranam kettu vaadi’ was a pleasant surprise. This kriti was popular in the days of gramophone records because of M.L. Vasanthakumari. The legendary vocalist’s alapana, kriti rendition, and kalpanaswaras on ‘Poorana dayavulla’ remain unforgettable. Sai Vignesh’s rendition of the kriti was was enriched with well-knit swaras on the pallavi.

The singer’s brisk ‘Mal maruga shanmuga’, in Vasantha, served as a prelude to the elaborate raga alapana of Sankarabharanam. A weighty raga, it demands ingenuity in navigating its contours to bring forth its grandeur. he vocalist demonstrated a firm grasp of the raga’s nuances. His portrayal gave him ample scope to prove his mettle. The upper-octave sancharas were carefully chosen and unfolded without any overshoots or vocal aerobics.

Here too, Sai Vignesh’s choice of Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar’s ‘Manadirkisaintha Manalan’ was a novel one, as the piece is rarely given centre stage on classical music platforms.. Doing full justice, he dwelt on the line ‘Samarasa saravanan sarguna bodan’ for niraval and followed it with interesting matrices of kalpanaswaras. The swara suite was pleasing with several permutations and combinations landing on ‘shadjam’. The richness of the kriti and Sai Vignesh’s rendition stood as a testimony to his understanding of the values of Carnatic music.

Pappu Gnanadev’s violin support was balanced and his responses in raga alapanas, niravals, and swara sallies matched the singer’s enthusiasm. Melakkaveri Balaji, known for bolstering the zeal of young vocalists, did the same. His ‘tani avaratanam’ was brief but impressive.

The final segment featured popular songs such as ‘Eppo varuvaro’ in Jhonpuri by Gopalakrishna Bharati, ‘Kaana vendamo’ in Sriranjani by Papanasam Sivan, and Andal’s Tiruppavai ‘Chitranchirukaale’ in Madhyamavati. This Tiruppavai was sung in different ragas earlier; but the verses fit beautifully into any raga format — a testament to its poetic brilliance.