The Magic created by T.M.Krishna

There were about 400 people under that roof. And within an hour into the programme, all the souls were united with that of the vocalist, and resonated with Lord Shiva’s favourite ornament, Shankarabharanam.
The hall was abuzz with people and as a result of not getting an autorickshaw on time, we had the liberty of sitting on the carpets they had spread out on the floor, as they ran out of chairs, and that was all the auditorium could take. He came in Turquoise blue with the rest of the gentlemen and he showed signs of being in an extremely happy mood. The show took some time to start and we waited with every iota of patience that we could gather and finally, the wait was justified as he shot his swarams that conveyed Maya Malava Goula to our ears, and that was the first treat of that evening. Mayateetha swaroopini- The one with a form that is beyond all illusions….One of the disciples of Muthuswami Dikshitar, Ponnaiah had composed this. The ragam told us of devotion and faith.
Vaa muruga vaa in Begada came as a change from the climate left behind by Maya Malava Gaula. He sang in praise of Lord Muruga, of his power and sought his blessings, his pity.
Kalavathi arrived and brought with it a mood of strong attachment and yearning. The kalpana swaras in the beginning were sung with a beautiful demarcation from the very closely structured Chakravaham(it’s Melakartha). The immensely explorative kalpana swarams left the audience speechless.
Then came the ragam of the evening “Shankarabharanam”. T.M.Krishna is a stalwart. And his manodharmam on the ragam spoke out all the nuances of the ragam and exemplified its beauty, and his emotions. The thani aavartanam was brilliant. And as it came to an end, and he started the swarams again, the applause was deafening!
Awesome performance. T.M.Krishna and Shankarabharanam had become one single entity, during those 60 minutes.
Tyagarajaswamy’s Teliyaleru Rama bhaktimargamunu in Dhenuka and Oru dharam shiva Chidambaram in Ragamalika lifted spirits, here again the Sindu Bhairavi part was excellent.
The final song, a Thillana in Ravichandrika closed the performance with such joy, that the audience were taken into a different, heightnened level of bliss, and of course, invariably, we ended up yearning for more.
Music will continue to bond souls to each other, and to happiness.