 Music CDs released
 It was indeed a defining moment for
Navarajakulam Muthucumaraswamy to release a couple of CDs, 'Atmanandham' and 'Panchapuranam', in her alma mater - Music Academy. It is true that music transcends barriers of time, country and religion in the case of Navarajakulam. A person of Sri Lankan origin, her unquenching thirst to swim in the ocean of Carnatic music made her seek the guidance of stalwarts in
Chennai.
 Navarajakulam’s passion for Carnatic music has been nurtured by titans of music Sangeetha Kalanidhi Mudicondan Venkatarama Iyer, Sandhiya Vandhanam Srinivasa Rao and Sangeetha Kalanidhi D K
Jayaraman.
A product of good tutelage, she has held distinguished posts in Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation. She is the first Tamilian to be awarded the Commonwealth Relation Trust Scholarship by BBC. Navarajakulam attributes her success to D K Jayaraman who channelised her potential and honed her skills. Music Academy is a musical edifice which patronises musicians and Navarajakulam’s sojourn here made her obtain a distinction in advance course in Carnatic music. Migrating to Toronto, Canada, did not deter her from pursuing music.
 The Saturday soiree at Kasturi Srinivas Hall, Music Academy, witnessed celebrities from different streams felicitating Navarajakulam on the occasion of her CD release. She remembered her guru D K Jayaraman by honouring his wife Jayalakshmi.
‘Atmanandam’ is a collection of songs of vaggeyakaras ranging from Tyagaraja to Subramania Bharati. Her soulful rendition of every piece is commendable and provides anandam (happiness) to the atma (soul) and perhaps that is why it is named
‘Atmanandham’.
Panchapuranam shows her versatility in singing spiritual hymns from Tamil classics, the Thevaram, Thiruvisaipa, Thiruvasakam, Thirupallandu and Thirupuranam with
bhava.
 The function was followed by a concert by Navarajakulam. She invoked Lord Ganesha’s blessings by rendering ‘Gajavadhana’ in raga Sriranjini. The piece de resistance was Palinchu Kamakshi in Madhyamavathi. She brought out the contours of the raga vividly. The cascade of swaras highlighted her ingenuity. After a couple of songs, she concluded her concert by singing thaalatu in Pahadi raga. This lilting piece lifted the audience to sublime heights.
 Mullaivasal Chandramouli on the violin, who is a shining star in the musical firmament, had a steadfast partnership with the vocalist. His alapana of Madhyamavathi will be etched in our memory forever. J Vaidyanathan, the mridangist, the son of the illustrious D K Jayaraman, had impeccable laya control. Trichy Murali on the ghatam is an artist of rare genre. A S Krishnan on morsing enhanced the concert by his appealing style. The thani avarthanam was a rich, wholesome, musical fare.
The atmosphere was suffused with gentle, harmonious music. Mullaivasal Chandramouli played a pivotal role in organizing the function which was a grand success.
Mail ID of Mullaivasal
Chandramouli: mullaimouli@hotmail.com
Usha Raja
usharaja60@hotmail.com
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