Pranamamyaham - Gowlai - Adi - Mysore Vasudevachar
Ranganayakam - Nayaki - Adi - Dikshithar
Saadinchane - Aarabhi - Adi - Thyagaraja
Seshachalanayakam - Varali - Rupakam - Dikshithar
Bhajan - Aahir Bhairav - Surdas

Parur M S Anantharaman is one of the leading artistes of our times. That he has brought out an album in memory of his father, Brhamashree Prof. Parur Sundaram Iyer is something creditable. From the septugenarian Anantharaman you can't expect anything but the purest form of Carnatic music. His sons, M A Sundaresan and M A Krishnaswamy, both artistes in their own right do have an impactive talent. Its there in the genes, no doubt.

A lover of Carnatic in its most antique, sampradayic form, will find this album a worthy buy. Tradition is bountiful. Alapanas and swaras would fill the air at the slap of the button. However, of all the pieces presented here, what deserves the highest praise is the Varali. Varali -- others may have a different opinion here -- is a raga that lends itself to better handling by instruments than by the vocal chord. Pranamamyaham, Ranganayakam and Saadinchane have been presented with a finesse that befits the artistes' stature. The Aahir Bhairav piece, the sole non-core-Carnatic element in the album, is again very laudable.

The inlay card, which gives a brief biography of Parur Sundaram Iyer makes for interesting reading. It describes his early life, his training in Hindustani music, the recognitions he earned and his stint as a faculty member of Madras University's music department. It says that he was the creater of the 'Parur style', though of the salient features of the style, there is no mention. But what is interesting is the comment that "now this style is established and the mantle is kept aloft by his son Prof. M S Anantharaman and grandsons, M A Sundaresan and M A Krishnaswamy". Of Parur Anantharaman's more famous sibling, M S Gopalakrishnan and his daughter Narmada, there is no mention.

Do they not "keep aloft" the Parur style ?