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Metro cultural round-up
Medasani Mohan, Satavadhani, giving a discourse on `Ramayana' at Kalabharati Auditorium — Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam
Kalabharathi is currently witnessing a series of discourses on the Ramayana on every evening. The nine-day Ramayana Pravachana Yaagam is organised by Soundaryalahari (an organisation founded and managed by women) under the aegis of the Adhyatmika Pravachana Committee comprising Annamraju Satyanarayana, Lakshmichand Garg, Narendra Goel, Sanjeev Agarwal and Surendra Singhal, all businessmen, in association with the Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanam.The Bar Council of India Chairman, D.V. Subba Rao, who inaugurated the fete, the Annamacharya Project Director and the celebrated philomath, Medasani Mohan, who is here on TTD's deputation to deliver the lectures, Padma Rao who was in the chair and the VUDA Vice-Chairman, D. Srinivasulu, the guest of honour, said that the importance of such events needed no emphasis. In a nut-shell this was what they said. ''Such events act as the vital force triggering the much needed self-introspection which thanks to the bizarrerie of the jet speed way of life with all selfishness ruling the roost all over, has become a bygone attribute of the human beings. Not only that, they empathetically reveal the uniqueness of our concept of the God-Supreme (Aham Brahmasmi) that ensigns our culture and hence the elated sagacity at its core which in turn carries on and on the aura of an amiable secularism of all time relavance all over.'' Valli Ramgopal, one of the founders of Soundaryalahari, recounted the strides made by the association since 1995. The 'Pravachanasiromani', Dr. Medasani startrd with the story of the evolvement of Valmiki from a bestial state into an exalted seer after being besprinkled with the divine grace in the form of an induction of reflex reform by the Saptarishis, and went on lucidly explaining how the sages' rendering of the entire story in seven slokas (one each), inspired Valmiki to script the epic. #''Siva and Kesava or Narayana are the only two forms of manifestation of the Supreme. Rama being the Narayana incarnate and as He is the only one who is possessed with full knowledge of the Shivatatwa, His counterpart Siva alone is 100 per cent cognisant of the Ramatatwa and not even Brahma constituting the Trinity along with them. Valmiki pioneered an ever effulgent vista of explication revealing that Rama was the very personification of the quintessence of the Vedas which evolved from Himself. Hence, the soulful reading or even the listening of the epic will be as much revealing as that of the divine wisdom embedded in the Vedas,'' said Dr. Medasani in his prelude.
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The Ivaturi Charitable Trust, known for its highly regarded events like Eswara sataavadhaanam, Bhuvana and Avadhaana vijayams, Haasyavallari, Aasukavitha triveni and so on, came out with a variety programme, Yuvakadambam, at Kalabharathi recently. Inaugurated by the VMDA founder-president, C.S.N. Raju, the evening had the eminent educationist, Alluri Murthy Raju, and Dr. Nandivada Srinivasa Rao as guests of honour. The trust's founder, Dr. Ivaturi Venkata Rao, welcomed the gathering.The cultural events got off to a grand start with a delightful Kuchipudi recital by young D. Chudamani, disciple of guru Akundi Ramakrishna. Vinayaka koutham in Naata, Sivathandavam in raagamalika and Devistuthi in raaga-thalamalika, among other numbers, found exquisite expression both in the design of choreography by the guru and sprightly execution of the same by the sishya, Chudamani. Expert nattuvangam by the guru herself was well supported by Vijayasri (vocal), Satyavishal (violin) and Yedukondalu (mridangam).Then followed an absorbingly melodious recital of compositions of Annamayya and Ramadas, interspersed with a few bhajans by Saripalle Sodareemanulu of Vizianagaram, now settled at Mumbai.The Bharatanatyam recital next by young danseuse, Ch. Neelima Satyanand, marked the evening. She seemed to have embodied a fine blend of perfection in laya, footwork, gesture, mudra and movement surfacing commensurable expression in her fluid eyes. The stuthipancharatnam in ghanaragamalika, a composition of Annamayya depicting the Nrisimhavathaara, the traditional Dasaavathaara varnana of the Kuchipudi format typifying the graceful briskness of the tradition and Mayuranrityam which in particular reflected plentiful of popular appeal were the highlights.Nattuvangam by her guru Avasarala Rukmaji Rao, supported by M. Venkata Rao (vocal), Y.P.S. Madhubabu (mridangam) and K.V.S. Prasad (violin), and K. Raja Rao (flute), constituted the excellent musical backdrop.The magic show by young V. Ravikanth from Vizianagaram, who displayed facile charm executing even the tough tricks, marked the grand finale of the evening.
A. RAMALINGA SASTRY
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