Friday Review
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Of melodious music
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Vocal and instrumental concerts were the highlights of the Sangeetha Ksheerasagaram’s annual festival.
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In performance Kokkonda Subrahmanya Sarma and R.A. Ramamani
Sangeetha Ksheerasagaram, a noted music Sabha and Thyagaraya Gana Sabha jointly celebrated the Music Sabha’s Fifth Anniversary at its Auditorium, last week. Concerts given by vocalist R.A. Ramamani of Bangalore and violin solo by veteran Kokkon
da Subrahmanya Sarma were the highlights of the festival. Ramamani was in the company of Poosarla Manorama on violin and her husband T.A.S. Mani was on mridangam. Mani is the principal in Karnataka College of percussion arts, Bangalore. P.V. Ramanamurthy accompanied on ghatam.
Ramamani started with Natakuranji varnam -Chalamela. Bhakti Bikshameeyave in Sankarabharanam of Thyagaraja in Roopaka talam was rendered by her later with good expression after she delineated the raga impressively. However, Varali was her main raga exposition to which she gave good time for expansion into three octaves, in a methodical approach. Her choice kirtana in this was Mamava Meenakshi. Ninnu Pogada Tarama in Kuntalavarali, GNB’s composition, she sang later, was an enjoyable piece.
Octogenarian violinist, Kokkonda Subrahmanya Sarma made his solo in the festival sound very young with his performing acumen. All his experience as staff artiste in AIR, where he spent his active life, gave such a momentum to his solo that it became a memorable event of the festival. K. Krishna Prakash on mridangam and M. Haribabu on ghatam added youthful verve to the veteran’s show. His play of the main raga Thodi was full of melody. The way he added nuances here and there, sticking to the grammar of the raga, reflected his experience. Every note was clear even in his breezy play. Koluvamaregada of Thyagaraja was the choice kriti, he presented with expressionist touch, with neravu and swarakalpana. The swaraprasthara part was done in raga chain with Sahana, Ranjani, Behag, Kapi and Sindhu Bhairavi and three more ragas marking it.
The first part of the concert too had choice numbers like Sudhamadhura Bhashana in Sindhunamakriya, Telisirama Chintanato in Saraswati Manohari and a rare Garudagamana in Nagaswaravali of Patnam. Mahalakshmi of Deekshitar in Madhava Hindola, Manasa Yetulorthune in Malayamarutham and Bantureethi in Hamsanadam were other notable numbers. Annamacharya’s philosophical kirtana Nanati Batuku Natakamu in Revathi completed his show.
Veteran’s veena
On the following day veena player Ambujavalli, a veteran in this field figured along with her young and talented disciple Katyayani, rendering it as a veena duet. The concert in general was in low key and yet Katyayani revealed her playing skills on the string instrument. The duo opened the show with a traditional Darbaru Varnam and an invocation to Vinayaka of Deekshitar - Siddhivinayakam in Shanmukhapriya. Meenakshi Mudamdehi in Poorvikalyani , Mamavatu Sri Sarswathi in Hindolam and a couple of other numbers were also presented by the duo, before they took up Hamsanandini as pallavi raga. Paramahamsanandini was the Pallavi line. A ‘Utsava Sampradaya’ kirtana of Thyagaraja and Anamayya composition figured in the end.
Srinivasa Gopalan on mridangam and T.P. Balasubramanyam on ghatam lent good support.The final concert of the festival was an instrumental ensemble titled as ‘Nadamanjari’. On the occasion a ‘Dolu’ vidwan Ramavarapu Arjuna Rao of Denduluru was felicitated.
G.S.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
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