Haunting melody
Aaanandaa' conducted a music and dance festival last week with vocal, Mandolin instrumental trio, solo dance and a BharathaNatya ensemble. Each day, compositions of different composers were presented.

U Srinivas, who presented the Tyagaraja's compositions , is one of the few child prodigies, that Carnatic music saw during the end of the 20th century. The `wonder boy’ who brought a honourable place for the Mandolin, on the Carnatic classical music platform, is known for sweet 'Naada' and fertile imagination. Srinivas has grown in stature and is naturally a crowd puller wherever he performs. He opened the programme with a sprightly invocatory piece `Srimahaganapathe’. ‘Ragasudharasa’ glowed with delectable swara, enlivening the tempo further. Each note emerging in true form, the `Durmargachara’ was pleasing. The Kiranavali Keerthana in jet speed revealed his command over the instrument and craftsmanship. `Evarura’ and `Teliyaleru Rama’ — two lovely compositions of the saint, came out with haunting melody of infinite loveliness. Kharaharapriya raga with its swaying lilt and twists was given a detailed airing, which captivated the listeners and the raga sparkled and glistened on Mandolin. `Vandanamu’ (Shahana raga) was played with great feeling. Srinivas lived upto expectations and gave a wholesome treat. H K Venkataram who provided violin support, was equally impressive. Shertalai AnanthaKrishna (Mridanga) and E M Subramaniam (Ghata) — rose to great heights in their supporting roles.

Delightful instrumental trio
Ashwin Anand (Veena) and G Ravikiran (flute), under the leadership of H K Venkata Ram (Violin)- gave a instrumental trio, in the Aanandaa Festival. All the 3 are students of Prof H V Krishna Murthy (Vijaya College of Music) and are known for their talent and hard practice. Kharaharapriya was the main raga taken for a fairly detailed exposition. Sharing themselves, the trio gradually built up a tier by tier structure of the raga. AnandaBhairavi was also delineated with the due stress on its formal contours and characteristics. The choice of `Angarakamashrayam’ suited, as it was a Tuesday. Earlier they opened the concert with a varna of Mysore Vasudevachar and followed with the `Pranamamyaham’. While `Bhogendra Shayinam’ attracted with lilting melody, the `Jagadoddarana’ is a ever popular Devaranama. In total, the instrumental trio was delightful. The double mridanga by Srimushnam Raja Rao and H.S. Sudhindra - was another added attraction of the concert.

A blend of talent
Nithyasri Mahadevan gave a vivacious yet elegant recital. She presented Shyama Sastri's compositions - few known and few lesser known. There was customary abandon when she began with a varna in Bhegade. The composition in Jarz was evocative and the Reetigowla was rendered with good feeling and in Purvi Kalyani it was further buttressed. The Chitteswara of `Parakelananu’ was attractive and `Nanu brovalalitha’ was rendered in a majestic `Vilamba Kaala’. Saveri was seasoned with rich phrases and the Bhairavi, with her striking voice, enriching its stylistic finesse, brought a distinct flavour. The Kalgada raga Krithy and the Tamil composition are infrequent Krithis and she concluded with a Mangala in Kalyani. Every composition was imbibed with the spirit of the exotic melody and the concert was a unique blend of talent and aesthetics. M.A. Krishnaswamy (violin), P. Satish Kumar (Mridanga) and S. Srishyla (Ghata) - fulfilled the needs of the occasion.

A promising dancer
Janani Iyer, who gave a Bharathanatya recital at the Aanandaa Festival, is a student of Mudrika Foundation and has completed her Rangapravesha also. Janani made an immediate impact in the opening
`Ganesha Stuthi’ itself. The Natakuranji varna was proof of her good grounding. She performed the `Ardhanareeswaram’ with different poses and concluded, with a popular Tillana of Swathi Tirunal.

With some more higher training and stage experience, Janani Iyer can reach great heights.

Minal Prabhu (Natuvanga), Bala Subramanya Sharma (vocal) Gurumurthy (Mridanga), Narasimha Murthy (flute), Chitralingam (Veena) and Prasanna Kumar (Morching) supported the dancer from the wings.