Ballet on Adi Shankara
|
The excellently presented ballet depicted all the important stages in the life of Adi Shankara making it thoroughly enjoyable.
|
The blistering summer heat of Vijayawada did not deter the public, particularly the dance lovers attending in large numbers to enjoy the Kuchipudi dance drama Sarvagna Shankara choreographed by reputed Kuchipudi dancer Swathi Somanath of Hyderabad.
The programme was sponsored by Andhra Bank and organised by `Brahmana Vivaha Uchita Samachara Kendram of Vijayawada at Kshetrayya Kala Kshetram with the District Collector, K. Prabhakar Reddy, as the chief guest on the occasion was Shankara Jayanthi.
Reverential involvement
The programme got underway with the ballet Sarvagna Sankara written by Acharya Tirumala. Swathi's choreographic skill was evident in every scene. The dance drama which began with the Sandhya Tandavam of Lord Siva and his consort Parvathi, went on to depict all the important episodes in Adi Shankara's life. The well-trained team led by Swathi Somanath showed devotional fervour in presenting the episodes.
The female singer Swetha Ravindranath impressed with her melodious voice but the male singers did not match her quality. Murali was very good on the flute.
Swathi Somanath deserved praise for producing the ballet with great reverence towards the subject. She was brilliant as Parvathi, Lakshmi, Sarada and Durga. Musical score by Srivalli was good. Fine portrayals also came from Srinivas (Adi Shankara{rcub}, Vaishnavi (Bala Shankara), Mahendar (Chandala) and Sonam (Krishna).
Srinivasan marvels
Swarajhari's' monthly programme this time was a scholarly vocal concert by Maharajapuram S. Srinivasan of Chennai. Hailing from a family of great musicians, he is the son of late Maharajapuram Santanam and grandson of Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer.
He inherited not only a rich musical heritage but also the same voice that made his father and grandfather famous. Starting with Kanada varnam Srinivasan rendered Sidhivinayakam in Shanmukhapriya, Raghunayaka in Hamsadhvani with some crisp swaras in quick succession and then rendered a fine alapana of Pantuvarali before singing the kriti Sarame gani. Next, Srinivasan sang the majestic kirtana Dinamani Vamsa in Harikambhoji in a sumptuous manner.After the kirtana Nannuvidachi kadalakura in Reetigowla, he executed a Misrachapu Pallavi Bhava tarana,- Venkata Ramana - Padmavathi Ramana in Kalyani explicitly showing his scholarship . The raga elaboration, the tanam and swaras were of high order.
He had a good team of accompanists in M.Satish on violin, Konerirajapuram Varadarajan on mridangam . Srinivasan's son Viswanath provided vocal support.
P.SURYA RAO
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Entertainment
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
