SOULFUL BLEND: Modumudi Sudhakar and his team performing at Maris Stella College in Vijayawada on Saturday. - PHOTO: RAJU V.

VIJAYAWADA: Carnatic music in Western tunes! The concert by Modumudi Sudhakar and his team enthralled the audience on Saturday. The flexibility of native ragas and kritis of saint composers was demonstrated in ample measure and the show brought out the ease with which classical music would fit in Western mould.

Spellbinding

Lilting tunes such as `Paratatva meruga tarama' (exploring ultimate reality) and `Raminchu Varevuru Raghottama Ninu Vina (drawing inspiration from the lord) cast a spell and left the venue at Maris Stella College echoing with the music.

A moderate use of violin, keyboard and rhythm pads in addition to mridangam added a touch of modern flourish to the tunes. The show left music lovers wondering at the genius of saint composers and their foresight in creating timeless tunes that surpass modern ones in a variety of aspects.

With vocal support from Modumudi Anjana and Sishtla Bharati, Mr. Sudhakar selected several tunes from the treasure troves of Tyagaraja, Patnam Subrahmanyam Iyer and Ramdas.

Palarathi Nageswara Rao played violin while K. Sai Giridhar accompanied on mridangam, Vikram on keyboard and L. Ratnakar Das on rhythm pads. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sudhakar said that the effort was to showcase the richness of classical music. "Ours is the only music which has a facility for extempore experiments," he said.

Noted gynaecologist and Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Trust Board member Chadalavada Sudha, who was chief guest, underlined the importance of classical music and Sanskrit learning for transformation of an individual.

"My father Pinnamaneni Venkateswara Rao was instrumental in establishing Maris Stella College. He used to ask me to learn Sanskrit. But I paid little heed. I later realised its importance and began learning it," she added. C. Nageswara Rao of Pinnamaneni Poly Clinic, Maris Stella correspondent Sr Bala, Principal Theresiamma and others were present. Sanskrit lecturer D. Ramakrishna offered a vote of thanks.

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