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Metro cultural round-up
The Ukkunagaram Gana Sabha organised a three-day Sastriya Sangeethotsawam, captioned Ganaramaneeyam, Vaadya Hemantham and Vaayuleena Vaibhavam recently. Inaugurated by the Chairman cum Managing director of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, B.K. Panda, it started on a grand note with the vocal recital by Pantula Rama. A rarely heard composition, `Chetasri Balakrishnam' in Dwijavanthi, `Smarajanaka' in Behag and elaboration of `Chakkani rajamargamu' (Kharaharapriya) stood out. M. Sreenivasa Narasimha Murty on the violin, showcasing his mastery and indepth knowledge, lent excellent support. Young Kotipalli Ramesh on the mridangam proved his mettle.Off-beat, the programme on the second day, was an ensemble music made up of veena (D. Srinivas), flute (V. Nagaraj), violin (P. Srirama Murty), mridangam (M.L.N. Raju) and ghatam (N. Somayajulu). Commendable synchrony in playing the krithis and excellent rapport even while displaying individual prowess in the expression of manodharma, marked the recital. The piece de resistance of the entire fete was the violin duet by the maestro on the instrument, M.S. Gopalakrishnan and his daughter Narmada which fully justified the title Vaayuleena Vaibhavamu on the final day. Besides the simple but beautiful elaboration of compositions in Anandabhairavi and Lathangi, the expansive expatiation of the item in Mohana remained an ever haunting melody. Vankayala Venkata Ramana Murty presented a picture of a personification of a blend of scholarship, sweetness and mastery on the mridangam.
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The 11th annual awards function of the Kurella Someswara Rao Trust and its offshoots Sahitya Seva Samithi, Sita Music and Dance Trusts was held at Kalabharathi recently. A grand variety programme comprising music, dance, magic and karate show by child prodigies slated for awards this year comprised the prelude.
The District and Sessions Judge, N. Vidya Prasad, who presided over the function along with guests of honour, Munuganti Srirama Murthy (editor-publisher of `Ganakala', Kakinada) and the Chairman of CBSE Sahodaya, K.S. Anand, felicitated and presented awards to S.V.N.L. Jhansirani of the AU High School, P. Mariyadas (headmaster of St. Anthony's High School) and B.V. Ramana alias Kedar Mastaaru (headmaster of V.B.V. Upper Primary School) under the category of best teachers for the year.
A. Gopala Rao, an accomplished Netraavadhaani, K.S.Chandrasekhar, Aakashvani's music composer, Sappa Durga Prasad, dance master, K.G.R. Gandhi, theatre doyen, B.S. Raju, cartoonist, Asapu Appa Rao, stage artist, B.K. Agarwal, photographic maestro, and P. Bobby Vardhan, journalism teacher, were also honoured. Born on April 24, 1949, in a family of agricultural labourers at Bhimavaram, `Sangeeta Ratna' Chandrasekhar had opportunity by choice to act, sing and play harmonium along with stalwart dramatists of those days, Surabhi Purni, Pulipati, Kanakam, Shanmukhi and the likes even while he was a tender child of 7. He came in close contact with Ghantasala in 1965 and became his chosen accompanist on the harmonium in concerts. He also worked with the noted cine music director, Ramesh Naidu, who introduced him for singing playback (Bantrothu Bharya). Sekhar lent voice for about 30 films not only in Telugu but also in Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam. He had worked with Chakravarthy, Malayala Shyam, Kannada Veena Ranga Rao and even Lakshmikant Pyarelal composing music for more than 100 pictures in all. No wonder, he became an independent music director working for `Yamakinkarudu' in 1983 and went on successfully with the job for about 30 pictures in Telugu besides a couple in Hindi. `Udayam', `Hantakudiveta', `Aanimutyam', `Adigo alladigo,' `Atmabandhuvulu' and `Aadabomma' fetched him high acclaim. `Akkoyo-akkoyo', `Boorulondeda', `Sandhyareyi', `Eliyello-yeliyello' and the likes were some of the hits rendered by him at the same time. Winner of many a laurel from an young age of 11, many more like the Vamsi, Nephzu, Kalidasaniketan awards to name a few came his way. Happily married to Prameela, blessed with three daughters and known for his own niche in singing ghajls, bhavageetaalu and folk songs on one hand and a guru of many an enthusiast in the fields on the other, Chandrasekhar is a vert popular artiste.A highly laurelled actor, director and producer at the theatre (mythological, historical, folk and social both in the prosaic and poetic idioms in Telugu), K.G.R. Gandhi was born in 1947 in Thotapalem village of Vizianagaram district.A post-graduate in public administration, he also holds the diplomas in acting and direction of the AU Department of Theatre Arts. Involving himself soulfully in theatre activity from the age of 16, he founded Kalaa Tarangini, a body of theatre artistes in 1979. Since then he directed and produced plays like `Gandhi Nannumannimchu', `Ambedkar', `Sampradayama Neeku Johaar', `Vemana', `Maya Bazaar' and classics like `Varavikrayam', `Mudrarakshasam' and `Ramanjaneya and Krishnarjuna Yuddhams' winning accolades not only at the parishads but also in the media. Some of the plays were also selected by the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi for staging at its zonal festivals. A listed artiste of Akashvani and Doordarshan, he directed the mini film, `Simhachalam' for telecast on the small screen. A Nandi Award winner many a time, Gandhi is one of the very few who command high esteem at the theatre all over.
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Rewarding merit: The young but highly acclaimed mridangam vidwan and Akashvani staffer, Vankayala Venkata Ramanamurthy, has been slated along with the renowned flautist, S. Sasank, to render a recital under the senior category by the prestigious Music Academy, Chennai. The concert will be held at Chennai on December 31.
A. RAMALINGA SASTRY
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