Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad   

Balu casts devotional spell

By Shanti Nanisetti

HYDERABAD, NOV. 28. There was one thing about the show. Despite it being too Telugu, for non-Telugus.

The show, titled `Sivapadam-Sivasankeertana Yagnam,' on Sunday evening reiterated the fact that the name S.P. Balasubrahmaniam (Balu) still holds magic and pulls crowds... even if it isn't film songs-based musical nite.

Organised by Rishipeetham and held at Hari Hara Kala Bhavan, the devotional music programme had audience of all age groups - from eight months to 80 years - in the packed auditorium. People who were fortunate and, well, punctual got to sit. The not-so-lucky ones had to either be on toes to watch the show or plonked themselves on the carpet laid in front of the huge screen arranged at the entrance.

And what better and auspicious time to organise a devotional music show than the holy `Karthika masam'? So, amid the heavy-duty police vigil outside and the restless little ones' cries and wanderings inside, Balu journeyed through songs like `Eswarudani etulandunu ee veshamu choosi' (which both praises and criticises the Lord), `Kanakanaga Kodanda dhari,' `Kanula eduta o kantipunjama,' `Bham bham bham bham vande sambam' (which received the maximum applause), `Thollinti vadavu thandri' (which shows the Lord in the perspective of a `grihasthu' (married man)), `Aadi boyadu veedu' and `Malapu malapulalona malachi naa thodunna' eulogising Lord Siva.

Samvadam's show

Commentary by Samvadam Shanmukha Sarma was a stealer... of the show. Balu shared the stage with his singer-sister, S.P. Sailaja, who rendered songs like `Nee maata kaadanadamma' and `Idi pradosha samayam... ' Time just flew by but the auditorium remained packed.

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