Hemmige S. Prashanth’s concert was rooted in K.V. Narayanaswamy’s bani

In a recital that felt like an intimate dialogue with the past, Hemmige S. Prashanth presented a concert deeply rooted in the aesthetic of his guru, the legendary K.V. Narayanaswamy. Accompanied by V.S.P. Gayatri Sivani on the violin, V.R. Srinivasan on the mridangam and Trichy Murali on the ghatam, the evening featured a remarkable line-up of songs.

Beginning with the Nattai varnam ‘Sarasijanaabha’ of Palakkad Parameshwara Bhagavatar, Prashanth went in for the less commonly heard Kedaram composition ‘Tyagaraja gurum ashraye’, composed by M.D. Ramanathan on Tyagaraja in Tisra Adi tala. Created using the Dikshitar mould replete with a madhyama kala sahityam, this kriti features both the raga mudra and the composer’s mudra.