Thaalavadyotsava 

The curtain came down on the annual Thaalavadyotsava with a percussion ensemble by the Layavrusti on Sunday moming. After the Awards Presentation, the performance by the ensemble with mridangam (V Krishna), khanjari (G Guru Prasanna), tabla (Udayraj Karpoor), dolu (AnanthaKrishna Sharma), drums (B  S Arun Kumar) and konagolu (B C Manjunath) — was a fitting finale to the four-day Utsava.

They performed Trimukhi Adithala of 19 Akshara, which is a less known thala but interestingly woven.
They played for a Sloka composed by Rama Mohan, playing individually, then duet, Trio, then all of them together reaching an exciting crescendo at the end, which was proof of the talent and experience of the director Anoor AnanthaKrishna Sharma.

Mature vocal

In the same festival, on Friday, Prof Mysore Nagamani Srinath pleased the gathering with her mature vocal recital. Her concert took off on a vibrant note with a varnam in Shanmukhapriya (self composed), which was followed by  Bhuvuni Dasudane, a familiar item in her concerts. 

Then, she chose three gems from the treasure chest of three great composers - Tirupathi Narayana Swamy, Papanasam Sivan and Mysore Sadashiva Rao.

The Momujapavemi with brief Swara, reverberated with glowing cadences of the melody, while Srinivasa Venkatadodeya  was impressive with its graceful melody. Sree Pavamana Kumaram buttressed by meaningful nerval and interesting swara prasthara made it wholesome.

Nalina Mohan on violin, B Dhruvaraj on mridangam, M A Krishnamurthy on ghatam, Bharadwaj Sathavalli on morching and Uma Kumar (vocal support) - gave competent support. Before this vocal concert, there was an interesting Laya Raaga Sangamam.

In the Ghata Tharang Sukanya Ramgopal played Mohana on ghatam, perfectly tuned! Skillfully handling the instruments, she performed with good control. Ranjani Venkatesh and Bhagyalaksmi Krishna accompanied on mridangam and morching respectively.

Popular Bhajan of Tulsidas

Manjula Amaresh gave a Bharathanatyam recital on Wednesday in support of the various projects of the Thakkar Bapa grama Service Foundation. Manjula, who has learnt dance from Shyamala Muralikrishna, Revathi Narasimhan and B Bhanumathi, is now being trained by Dhananjayans.. From the initial Mallari (Gambheeranata) itself Manjula was able to carry conviction.

The Gayiye Ganapa Jagavandana is a popular Bhajan of Tulsidas. Hamsadwani  brought her potential in the right perspective. She executed the complex Theeramanams with ease and assurance. Dr. S. Ramanathan’s composition is a welcome addition to the dance repertoire. For Abhinaya, she had chosen a Kshetragna pada, in the raga Kalyani.

The Kannada Devaranama of Purandara Dasaru (Chikkavane Ivanu) was also impressive. She was well supported from the wings by Venkata Krishnan (Natuvanga), Rajesh (vocal), Karthikeyan (Mridanga), Vinod Kumar (Violin) and Jayaram (Flute).

Hachhevu Kannadada Deepa comes alive

The Shiva Narthana Natya Shale is conducting dance and music classes at the Nandini Layout and is fulfilling the needs of the young aspirants of the extension.

On the occasion of its anniversary, the students presented a programme which began with an  invocatory piece by Guru Rajaram. They revealed their good grounding right from the Pushpanjali (aadi thala) and the Ganesha Kautuam was in the Naata raga.

The next item was a pleasant surprise. 12 young girls danced to the legendary Kannada lyric, Hachevu Kannadada Deepa. With candles in the hands and with metal pots on their heads, brought their potential in the right perspective to the delectation of an appreciative audience.

It was followed by Alaripu (Tisra) and Jathiswara, which revealed liveliness unusual in beginners. Guru Srivalli Ambarish (nattuvangam), Brinda (vocal), Mahadevanna (mridangam), AhwathaNarayan (flute), Dr. Nataraja Murthy (violin) - supported the dancers.