The South Side Story, is organizing their annual South Indian music festival in Delhi this weekend. I went yesterday and caught Sithara of Project Malabaricus, TM Krishna and Agam performing live. Sithara was hands-down the highlight of the evening. With her rustic, folksy voice she really got my attention. Towards, the end she sang a few of her popular film numbers – Wow from Godha and this number.
TMK, the main reason I attended, dazzled and then fizzled out. He started off with an alapana in Jog, shifted to Ranjini and then ended in Nalinakanthi (Thyagaraja’s Manavyala). Just when he was looking to be in peak form, he switched on his activist mode – spoke about the ‘times we’re living in’, asked about the number of Mallus in the crowd and then sang a verse of Sree Narayana Guru and Subramania Bharati, ending with Dikshitar’s Nottu Swarams.
Agam started off with their most famous track– Dikshitar’s Rangapura in Brindava Saranga and then performed in Hamsanadham, Ahiri and Nalinakanthi (again).
Despite having heard most of the days’ songs online, the live experience of the acoustics, lights and crowd made up for the effort to go. Even with my concrete legs, I ended up tapping my feet and swaying a bit.
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