Aesthetic delight
N Ravikiran is one of the exceptionally talented child prodigies of the century. Now, he is well known not only as a chitra veena player but also as a music composer and teacher.
In his concert for the SGBS Trust, in the Gokulashtami celebrations on Thursday last, Ravikiran was well supported by Akkarai Subbulakshmi on the violin, Mannargudi Eashwaran on the mridanga and Guruprasanna on the khanjari. ‘O Jagadambha’ glowed with all its bhava.
After a quick ‘Bantureethi’, the graceful melody of Keeravani captivated the listeners. The tonality of the instrument revealed a potential to make the rendition as evocative as in a vocal! With his creativity and great command over the instrument, the concert was an aesthetic delight. The Behag and Sindhu Bhairavi pieces were also equally evocative.
Prior to the concert, a book named ‘Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi’ by N Ravikiran, and a CD of flute recitals by Chaitanya Kumar were released.
Promising dancer
Vennila Vasantha Kumar gave a Bharathanatya recital on August 31 last under the series ‘EFCEP’. She is a student of Keshava College of Music and Dance, studying BA first year. She completed ‘Rangapravesha’ under ‘Natyapriya’ in 2005.
The opening stance in Vennila’s performance itself vouched for a lively confidence. The invocatory song ‘Varavallabha’ (Hamsadwani) revealed a sound grounding, which was followed by the well-known ‘Alagiri Nanidni’. The Navaraga Maalika Varna stood out for its steady Laya. She performed the Devaranama ‘Balakrishnane Baro’ dramatising the child Krishna’s pranks.
She did the Jawadi (Chelinenu) with good expression and concluded with a fine Tillana (Mohana Kalyani). All that she needs now is experience and higher lessons to bring maturity to her performance. Padmini Ramachandran (Natuvanga), Vasudha Balakrishna (Vocal), Janardhana Rao (Mridanga) and Dr Nataraja Murthy (Violin) supported from the wings.
Melodic fare
Aishwarya Venkataraman, who gave a solo violin recital for the Bangalore Gayana Samaja on Sunday, is studying in Long Beach, California, USA. She is the daughter of Vinod R Venkataraman, a percussionist himself. Guided by veteran musician Prof T N Krishnan, she has presented concerts in many places.
In the Sunday concert, Aishwarya chose a number of well-known compositions to produce an enjoyable melodic fare. For instance, ‘Shiva Shiva’, which she fused with an array of lively swara. The Bilahari Keerthana and ‘Brovabaramma’ were rendered in quick succession. Ragalapana for Bhairavi flowed gracefully, meandering through all the salient phrases. But a few more sangathis in the original raga (Bhairavi) could have made the pallavi wholesome. With some higher training and stage experience, Aishwarya can reach great heights. Veteran Vellore Ramabhadran, and Vinod R Venkataraman accompanying on Khanjari elevated the performance.
