Friday Review
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Masterly movements
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Senior dancers and scholarly musicians made it worthwhile for the audience
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EXPERTISE Prathibha's clarity of nritta and abhinaya were remarkable
The vastly experienced and
dynamic Bharatanatya exponent
Pratibha Prahlad's
recital on the third day of
the Rageshree Sammelanotsava
at Sri Vidya Auditorium of Our
School, Banashankari, was
nothing short of a master
stroke. It was a fitting finale to
the festival, successfully held
under the direction of vocalist
T.S. Vasantha Madhavi under
the aegis of Sri D. Subbaramaiah
Fine Arts Trust. Piercingly
pointed in clarity of nritta and
hand gestures, her abhinaya approach
steered clear of any cluttering
of the rendition. She had
a winning satwikaabhinaya. The
delineation of the Vachaspathi
varna was a class by itself. With
resonating nritta, nrithya and
abhinaya it was a visual delight.
She gave words to the agony of
the nayika through her abhinaya.
Jayadeva's Ashtapadi ("Keli
madanamudaram", Shuddha
Saranga raga) was yet another
outstanding rendition. Pratibha
could deliver the import of the
lyrics in her comprehensive enactment.
Brilliant in the visualisation
of the motherhood was
Pratibha, who presented the
time-tested "Jagadodharana aadisidaleshode".
The Khamach
javali was endearing.
Pulikeshi (nattuvanga), P. Rama
(vocal), Balakrishna (mridanga),
Jayaram (flute) and
Prasannakumar (rhythm) were
in their elements.
* * *
Though visually impaired,
young singer S.R. Maruthi Prasad
presented a chaste and unalloyed
Carnatic music at Sri
Kannika Parameshwari Temple,
Malleswaram, for Sri Nadajyothi
ThyagarajaswamyBhajana Sabha and Malleswaram
Arya Vyshya Sangha, in
connection with Karthikotsava.
Maruthi, blessed with a rich
and resonant voice and an intense
sensitivity, displayed his
hold over bhava, raga and tala.
Enrichingly accompanied by
Achyutha Rao (violin) and Ravishankara
Sharma (mridanga),
Maruthi had a bagful of authentic
and rare ragas and krithis. He
adroitly projected them with finesse
and in their appropriate
atmosphere.
A rare krithi by Mysore Vasudevacharya
"Varanasyam" set to
Kaanada and Dikshitar's "Sri
Parvath Parameshwaram" in
Bhouli evoked the listeners' interest.
He enlivened the tempo
of the concert by singing swaras
for the Bhouli krithi. Kanakadasa's
"Japava maadidarenu"
(Hindola) brimmed with emotions.
The most familiar ragamalika
composition
"Chandrachooda Shivashankara"
once again drove home the
fact that Maruthi is a soulful
singer.
* * *
The vocalist-duo, R.N.Thyagarajan
and R.N.Taranathan, wellknown
as Rudrapatnam Brothers,
showered love, care and
dedication into their music at
Sri Vani Vidya Kendra, Rajajinagar,
for the Chintalapalli Parampara
Trust. They always
uphold the high standards of the
tradition and classicism of Carnatic
music. Their concerts never
tend to be run-of-the-mill
variety. Each time they sing the
audience is exposed to one or
two new ragas and compositions.
The audience was subject to a
lengthy inaugural function, before
the concert. However, at
the end of it, it was a treat. There
was perfect understanding and
unity of thought and execution.
Even the voices blended together
creating the effect of oneness.
With Chandrasekhar (violin),
TAS Mani (mridanga) and ASN
Swamy (khanjira) adding luster
to the concert it was virtually an
audio delight.
The opening Kedaragowla
varna had all the presages of a
classical concert. Rarely heard
Jayachamaraja Wadiyar's "Sri
Jalandhara" (Gambheera Nata)
and Dikhitar's "Vishwesharo
rakshatu maam" (Kaanada)
were delightful, brisk and intense.
The systematic and gradual
progression of notes created
the apt mood and the alapana
and swaras in Saama ("Shantamuleka")
and Kalyani (Shyama
Sastry's "Talli ninnu nammi
naanu").
The highlight of the concert
was undoubtedly the delineation
of Kalyani. The above krithi
was rendered in the challenging
viloma chapu tala. If usually
chapu tala has the pattern of
takita tak dhimi, viloma chapu
tala has in it the reverse of it,
that is, taka dhimi takita. The
singer-duo exhibited their immaculate
laya mastery by rendering
the krithi in the latter
pattern and starting the krithi at
dhimi beat.
The line "Shyama Krishna paripalini"
was elongated into a
myriad sangathis. Patnam Subramanya
Iyer's javali ("Samyamide")
provided an enjoyable
contrast.
M. SURYA PRASAD
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
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