The rewards of a leisurely cross-country trip are numerous – changing landscapes, breathtaking viewpoints, meeting new people, sampling local cuisines, and most tantalizingly, exploring without a predetermined itinerary. Unlike taking a flight from point A to point B, with these road trips, it is literally the journey that is the destination. Of course, this requires an unhurried approach to travel and the willingness to go with the flow, both of which are sadly rarities today! 

These were some of the same delights afforded to attendees of Utsavi and Vaibhavi James’s Carnatic vocal arangetram on August 18^th 2019 at Norwood High School Auditorium. As Guru Tara Anand’s welcome address indicated, the recital of four hours was designed to showcase all aspects of the girls’ training over the past decade and more. 

Vaibhavi and Utsavi have a charming stage presence and opened their recital with the weighty Ata-tala varnam in Ritigowlai ragam. It was rendered in not just the customary 2 chatusra tempos, but also in 2 escalating tisra tempos, underscoring their understanding of laya (rhythm). The variations in the charana-sahithyam were sprightly and sweet. We travelers had embarked on a promising journey… 

The Ganesha invocation was Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Mooladhara Moorthe’. The kalpanaswaram forays by the sisters and talented Yash Ravish on the violin were joyful, exploring the hilly terrain of Hamsadwani in all three octaves. Dikshitar’s popular kriti, ‘Akhilandeshwari’, followed like the calm after a thunderstorm – languorous yet majestic. 

Vaibhavi and Utsavi alternatingly explored the joys of Kalyani in their raga alapanai – one taking the ascent and the other the higher octave and descent. There was a judicious mix of well-established phrases as well as original new ones. Tyagaraja’s ‘Rama Ni Vadu’ in tisra gathi (gait), was vibrant and presented with imaginative neraval and swaram essays. ‘Yedhayya Gathi’ that followed was soulful and sung with feeling. It felt like we had driven into a misty landscape – cool and mysterious, and that hid something grand beyond. 

That premise was a sound one, for what followed was Syama Sastri’s magnum opus ‘Ninne Nammi Naanu’ in Todi ragam. We had arrived at sweeping plains with wide vistas on every side! The alapanai was measured and thorough, covering the contours of the gamakam-laden ragam with poise. The sisters took turns with superb fast phrases to give it a rousing finish. Yash was delightful in his solo response, taking his time to linger on notes that brought out the essence of the ragam. The kriti followed with sangatis laden with the ardent devotion inherent in Syama Sastri’s lyrics. The neraval at “Kamakshi Kanjadalayadakshi” was searingly emotive and a high point of the concert. It suddenly felt like we had had a vision of the early morning sun on a snowcapped mountain! The tani-avartanam by veteran vidwans Sri Jayachandra Rao on the mridangam and Sri Vaikom Gopalakrishnan on the ghatam provided a resounding and memorable crescendo to this central masterpiece in the recital. 

“Amba Paradevate” sped by like a flash, drawing attention to the well-trained felicity of the sweet voices. 

Nattaikurinji is yet another quintessential Carnatic ragam and the lovely Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi delivered with precision and finesse was a true testament to the stellar guidance of Guru Tara Anand. To see her three students – Vaibhavi, Utsavi, and Yash pull off feat after feat in their delivery must have surely gladdened Tara’s heart not to mention that of the audience. The Ragamalika play in the kalpanaswarams where each of the trio started where one left off and then meandered unobtrusively and gracefully into the next ragam was simply enchanting. What imagination and virtuosity! It was spellbinding, much like the multi-hued trees in the fall, lining a scenic lake. 

The girls simply excelled in their delivery of the tukkada pieces – ‘Reena Madhanutha’, ‘Kaatriniley Varum Geetham’, ‘Vande Mataram’, and ‘Hari Tum Haro’ leading into the Darbari Kanada tillana, each shone like a jewel. These lustrous crowd-pleasers were a treat to listen to when sung as a duet because the sisters were a perfect complement to each other in tonality and range. We had come to the end of a fulfilling, memorable journey, one we would continue to savor long after it concluded. 

The effort in presenting a performance of this quality and depth is a mammoth one involving innumerable hours of learning and practice and the audience rose as one to applaud Guru Tara Anand and her young proteges - Vaibhavi, Utsavi, and Yash. The sisters were truly blessed to have the support of stalwart percussionists for their debut recital. 

My very best wishes to the young artists for many more decades of learning and performing.

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