Rich rendering
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A Carnatic concert and a Bharatanatya recital were the highlights of the Nadajyothi festival
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A rare combination of mother-and-daughter vocalists Nagavalli Nagaraj and Nagaranjini regaled the audience at Sri Kannika Parameshwari temple, Malleswaram, with their unique talent and concert craft.
The Carnatic vocal duet held under the aegis of Nadajyothi Sri Thyagaraja Bhajana Sabha during its 42nd music festival brimmed with vidwath and artistry. Nagaranjini's diction, articulation of voice and feelings, thought and execution of laya, seemed to be a replica of her mother and Guru Nagavalli.
There was oneness in the rich music when they sang together. The fine duo began with a demanding Shahana varna "Gajavadana" (Hamsadhwani) with a crisp and shared swaraprastara that created an enjoyable musical ambience. The rendering of Shyama Sastry's Bhairavi swarajathi highlighted the hold over laya enjoyed by the vocalists. The ragaalapana in Mohana was a wholesome exercise spiced with graha-bedha and a cascade of kalpanaswaras adjoined to the krithi "Evarura ninnuvina". The tempo of the recital was kept up with a moving rendition of "Sharasharasamaraika shoora" (Kuntalavarali).
Nagaranjini excelled in her mapping out of the raga Kambhoji starting from mandra and covering taara and ati-taara sthayis too. A glimpse of shruthi-bedha caught the ears. "Sri Subramanyaya Namasthe" in vilambakaala was followed by sahitya and swara vistara in "Vasavaadi sakal deva". Nalina Mohan (violin) and C. Cheluvaraju (mridanga) in particular excelled in their accompaniments.***
The Nadajyothi music festival concluded with an impressive Bharatanatya performance by young and talented Ishwarya Nithyanand. A disciple of veteran Guru Radha Sridhar, Ishwarya was at home in all aspects of the classical dance. If her nrithya and abhinaya were elegant, the nritta was of a high order in which varieties of aduvus and other technicalities matched with the jathis and swaras of the compositions.
With support from Guru Radha Sridhar (nattuvanga), Bharathi Venugopal (vocal), Narasimhamurthy (flute) and Harsha Samaga (mridanga), Ishwarya unveiled her tantalising abhinaya and neat technique.
One of the finest krithis on Lord Ganesha by Thyagaraja "Sri Ganapathini" (Sowrashtra) brought to the fore her grasp of sathwika abhinaya. Her nritta, jathis, matching aduvus and a lively dialogue between her feet and the mridanga enriched her Bharatanatya recital.
"Chandrachooda" (Ragamalika, started with nritta) was an example for her abhinaya excellence. The "Amritha manthana" and "Drowpadi maana samrakshana" episodes had a touch of class. Ishwarya dazzled in "Elliruvano Ranga" (Ragamalika), "Kanjadalaayataakshi" (Dikshitar, Kamalamanohari raga) and the concluding Pharaz tillana. Earlier, Guru Radha Sridhar (nrithya), M. T. Selvanarayana (vocal) and Venkataramanappa (mridanga) were felicitated with "Kala Jyothi" titles and seasoned singer M. S. Vidya received the Nadajyothi Puraskara.
M. SURYA PRASAD.
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