Melodious music wafted into the night, soothing the souls in the brightly lit and exquisitely designed stage during the music concert, ‘Heartbeat Ensemble’ organised on the third day of Alva’s Virasat at Shobhavana on Friday.
The piece titled ‘Tranquility’ with the song ‘Shaantha Sangeeta Gaana Rasike’ in Jogi raga and Aadi taala composed by Dr S Karthik , who was on the ghatam, undoubtedly created serenity in the atmosphere and in the souls of the huge audience which had gathered to enjoy a thoroughly musical evening. Dr Karthik not only created rhythm with his dexterous fingers, he also sang the song amidst the rendition and enthused his team mates.
The piece ‘Ecstacy’ in Sallapam raga took the audience into a world of  melody and harmony. The solo by B S Arun Kumar on the rhythm pad during the piece was pleasing to the ears.
The piece in Maaya Malava Gowla raga was also engrossing and at a faster pace. It was an outstanding performance by U P Raju on the mandolin and Kannan on the silent violin. In fact, Kannan composed the piece titled ‘Seven Butter’ in Vanaspathi raga as the composition has seven syllables per beat. The rendition of this piece was also commendable.
Poongulam Subrahmanian on the mridangam and Sree Sundar Kumar on the kanjeera contributed to the rhythm and beauty of the rendition. Superb co-ordination and enthusiastic performance by the team kept the audience spellbound throughout.
It was a superb team work from Dr Karthik and team from Chennai. The foreigners, dignitaries and music lovers who had gathered here undoubtedly had an entertaining and satisfying evening at Alva’s Virasat. In a nutshell, it was a treat to the ears for all.
Sri Lankan dance
It was a treat of grace from Sri Lanka with dance forms. The event began with Mangul Bera and pooja followed by Naga Raksha Gurula Raksha, which is considered to be a dance with therapeutic value. This was followed by Thelma, the devil’s dance, then Naga Wannama, a dance depicting the movements of the snake and then Gajaga Mannama, a dance showing the graceful movement of the elephants.
Then there was Uddekkie Panther and lot many more folk dances from the island.
It was a combination of graceful steps and acrobatics, a treat for the eyes and senses one will never forget.
The dance forms presented prove that a rich culture thrives in Sri Lanka too which can match any worldclass dance forms of the world.