Spirited saxophone
The Saxophone recital of Kadri Gopalnath gave an excellent start to the annual music conference of the Karnataka Ganakala Parishat on Wednesday. Kadri was in an ebullient mood and naturally the concert became an aesthetic treat.

The Swara Manasa Vignesham an infrequent kriti, was impressive. A Pancharathna Kriti (Jagadanandakaraka) and the familiar swarajathi helped to build a fine musical atmosphere. Of course, a Pallavi set to Adi Thala, was the piece de resistance of the evening. A tuneful alapana, crisp thana, rhythm oriented swara prasthara helped Gopalnath to lend a well reasoned imagery to Brindavana Saranga, Valachi and Shekhara Chandrika ragas.

A Kanya Kumari and percussionists (Pathri Satish Kumar, N Amrith and B Rajasekhar gave spirited support.

Haunting melody
Sursagar celebrated Gandhi Jayanthi in a different manner—with a morning concert. It was a propitious start for the auspicious day, the warm morning air freshening up with the strains of a wholesome Aahirbhairav.
Venkatesh Kumar's Sandish was highly evocative, a cascading array of Sangathies, haunting sargams and a titillating Layakari heightening its structure.

A detailed airing of the raga in both Vilambith (Eka Thala) and Druth (Teen Thal), which had a reverberating lilt in it. A distinct imagery emerged in Deshkar also. Silas Khani Todi stood out for its emotional sensitivity.
The Meera Shajan was pleasing while the lyrical appeal in the Devaranama (Ondu Saari Smarane Saalade) accented its instant like ability. Ravindra Yavagal and Vyasamurthy Katti gave inspiring support on tabla and harmonium, respectively.

Lilting vocal
K Vageesh, who gave a Carnatic vocal recital last Sunday (RalMV Sangeetha Sabha) is a gold medallist (M Mus) from the University of Mysore and is serving the All India Radio, Tiruchi, as a station director. Pari Pahimam was sustained by a robust alapana and meaningful nerval.

Mohana flowed gracefully, meandering over all the salient Sancharas, the Pallavi emerging on a steady gait. The Kannada Devaranamas (Satyawantarigidu Kalavalla and Sundara Mooruthy) stood out for its emotional sensitivity. R Dayakar on violin, Nanjunda Murthy on mridanga and Raghavendra Prakash on ghata — accompanied the vocalist.

Kalakshetra’s Krishna
The "innovative eyes" presented two dance programmes by the reputed Kalakshetra (Chennai) Troupe. Dasaru Kanda Srikrishna was based on the Kannada Devaranamas of Haridasas. Well known compositions like Jagadoddarana, Yadavaraya, Jaganmohanane Krishna etc — were rendered with good feeling.

Artistes danced with ease and professional touch, bringing their respective characters come alive convincingly. Dance and music coalesced soulfully to make the dance drama a successful one. Choreographed by Leela Samson and S Rajaram and vocal by Saishankar and Jyothi Pathi —were the special attractions.