For his concert at the Madras Music Academy on 24 December 2025, Sandeep Narayan was accompanied by H. N. Bhaskar on the violin, K. Sai Giridhar on the mridangam, and Tripoonithura Radhakrishnan on the ghatam. The Academy’s acoustics amplified Sandeep’s voice beautifully.

Sandeep opened with Santana Gopala Krishnam in Khamas - a bright choice for the opening piece, both in terms of raga and the pace at which it was rendered. It immediately set the tone for the evening. Sai Giridhar’s mridangam support was excellent from the outset. The niraval at the line “Sri Rukmini Satya Bhama” was thoughtfully developed, with both mridangam and ghatam providing sensitive and energetic support. The final mel kala neraval was ovation-worthy. The kalpana swarams at Nartana Muraḷi Dharam featured creative poruthams to the sahitya, with several flowing jarus that were beautifully complemented by Bhaskar’s violin responses.

This was followed by Ettanai Kettalum in Bhairavi, offering a pleasant contrast. Vinaradana in Devagandhari came next - a flavourful and well-etched rendition that brought out the raga’s delicate contours effectively.

The raga elaboration of Rishabhapriya unfolded in a traditional, systematic manner, gradually ascending through the octave. After reaching the mel shadjam, Sandeep launched into one exceptionally long phrase that traversed the scale repeatedly, offering a complete picture of the raga, a striking showcase of his akaram, breath control, and vocal strength. This drew spontaneous and prolonged applause from the audience. Bhaskar followed with an equally engaging Rishabhapriya, marked by fast phrases and brighas, mirroring many of Sandeep’s highlight patterns, including distinctive SS-PP-SS movements. The composition was ghananaya dEshika, whose line Shadja Rishabha-Priya gandhara..” descriptively places each swara in context. On the second round, Sandeep creatively rendered the shadjam and rishabham in the tara sthayi and the daivatam in the mandra sthayi, enhancing both musical interest and raga flavour. The kalpana swarams at Saptaswara concluded with an explosive korvai, fittingly ending on the phrase SRGMPDN-SNDPMGRS-RGMPDN. The tani avartanam that followed was excellent, with the mriangam-ghatam koraippus by Sai Giridhar and Radhakrishnan were particularly well received.

Without a pause, Sandeep moved into a grand Begada. Both he and Bhaskar explored the raga with abundant classic phrases. The tanam was especially noteworthy. For a raga that thrives on heavy kampita gamakas, their use of plain notes, jumps, and patterned phrases added a refreshing dimension while retaining Begada’s gravitas. The pallavi, Sagari kanaka Varṣiṇi Sree Mahalakshmi karuṇa, set in tisra jati Triputa talam, was structured with the opening word Sagari as a swaraksharam. Sandeep also presented swaras in khanda nadai. The ragamalika swaras in Anandabhairavi and Nalinakanti were refreshing, both in choice and execution.

One of the major highlights of the concert followed - a viruttam, Shakti Shakti endru solli, seamlessly leading into a Bhageshri tillana. The tillana was soaked in Bhageshri’s warmth and soulfulness. The tillana itself felt unfamiliar at first, with the reveal arriving in the charanam line Bhageshwari daSAN DEEPam isaiyil, indicating that this was Sandeep’s own composition. It was immensely enjoyable and received with appreciation.

He then presented the abhang Abhir gulana udalita rang,” followed by a mangala sloka on Muthuswami Dikshitar, inspired by Sangita Kala Acharya Shyamala Venkatesan’s lec-dem the previous day, which focused on compositions on Muthuswami Dikshitar in the context of his 250th birth anniversary.

Overall, this was an absolutely enjoyable concert, with Rishabhapriya and the Bhageshri tillana standing out as enduring highlights.