For old times' sake
Veteran vocalist N.L. Cheluvaraju's vocal recital under the Sanskrithika Vaibhava monthly concerts for the Department of Kannada and Culture at Sri Devagiri Sangeetha Sabha was nostalgic. It revived the memories of the grand old world of Carnatic music when artistes gave long duration concerts. The septuagenarian singer sang one krithi after another without a pause. There was strict adherence to the tradition and classicism of Carnatic music. He was good in tarastayi too. "Pranamaaymyagam" followed by "Swaminatha" (Nata) was adorned with scholarly swaras. The rendition of "Seethamma maayamma" (Vasantha) was profound. T.Chowdaiah's "Prasanna Parvathi" in Bilahari had the tag of chittaiswaras.
The singer did full justice to the krithi. He was happily accompanied by C. Madhusudan (violin), Nagendra Udupa (mridanga) and Ravishankar (ghata).
Great scholarship
Seasoned singer T.S. Vasanthamadhavi is well-known for her multi-faceted contribution to Carnatic music. As a performer, teacher, composer, patron and organiser she has left an indelible imprint. At the Bangalore Gayana Samaja she impressed the audience with her scholarship.
The strains of Kapi and a shloka by Adi Shankaracharya ("Sathyagnanamanantham") filled my ears. A rarely heard krithi by Swati Tirunal "Pari paahi nrihare" sustained the tempo of the recital. Karaharapriya ("Rama nee yeda") and a raga, tana and pallavi in Amrithavarshini ("Anandamrithavarshini") set to a tricky two-kalai chaturashra matya tala were the highlights. She rounded off the pallavi with a chain of swaras in Shivaranjini, Behag, Bageshri and Revathi ragas. Nalina Mohan was the competent violinist. H.S. Sudheendra excelled in his role as a mridanga accompanist. Guruparasanna (khanjari) was a strong collaborator.
M. SURYA PRASAD
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Entertainment
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
