JOIN USCreative choreography
The Kalapremi Foundation presented a dance recital last week at the Seva Sadana Auditorium. Senior dancer, choreographer and teacher Indira Kadambi is also the director of “E Ambalam” - a online college for music, dance and yoga.
Indira Kadambi presented ‘Varsha Ruthu,’ a solo thematic Bharathanatya recital. Rain has been inspiring our musicians, dancers, poets from centuries. Indira too presented a feature on monsoon divided into three parts: Varsha Aagaman, Rathi Varsha and Aathma Varsha.
First, the rain God is appeased and invoked by chanting the Veda mantras. She also used verses from Thiruppavai, Kamba Ramayan, lyrics of Subramanya Bharatiyar; second, meeting of the earth with the rain (union of ‘Aathma’ and ‘Paramathma’) with lyrics of Meera Bai (Hari Awan Ki) and thirdly, Rain and Soul - its cycle, with ‘thana’ in the background. Indira performed with impactful ‘Abhinaya’ and she displayed depth in both the aspects. Her choreographic skill, creativity came to fore and T.V. Ramaprasad’s vocal suited the theme and and he shared honours with the dancer.
Cultural tributes to H N
Bangalore Lalithakala Parishat, the cultural wing of the National College conducts two cultural programmes [every first and third Fridays] every month at Dr H N Kalakshetra, Jayanagar. So far it has conducted 900 such programmes. The Parishat also holds Dr H Narasimhaiah (H N) Memorial Cultural Festival annually under the joint auspices of the Rama Sudha Charitable Trust. With dance, drama and music performances, this year’s festival provided a variety of cultural programmes under the leadership of Dr A H Rama Rao. Ramakrishnan Murthy, who gave a vocal recital in this year’s festival, started his music lessons from Padma Kutty (USA) and continued with Delhi Sunderarajan. He is currently under the tutelage of R K Shriram Kumar. He has been declared an ‘outstanding vocalist’ from the Music Academy (Chennai) for four years consecutively and also an ‘A’ grade artiste of All India Radio.
‘Kanchi Kamakshee,’ the swarajathi of Syama Sastry was in a grand ‘vilamba kaala.’ It was rendered like a royal elephant walk and gave a dignified start to the concert. Bahudari for ‘Brova Baramma’ was pleasing. The old-time favourite ‘Parama Pavana’ acquired a lilting flavour making the recital a delightful one. A meaningful ‘nerval’ (Karunanvitha Sura Kanakambara) and different permutation and combination in swaraprasthara - elevated the concert stature. He sang the old devaranama “Kandu Dhanyanade” with good feeling. Finally, when listeners were expecting a thillana, he sang “Endaro Mahanubhavulu.”
Without overdoing anything, Murthy gave a classic picture of the haunting melodies. Vittal Rangan on violin, K U Jayachandra Rao on mridanga and G Guruprasanna on khanjari - rose to great heights in their supporting roles.
Impactful solo violin
Violinist R K Sriram Kumar is most sought after accompanist who has performed in and outside India in prestigious Sabhas a number of times. He hails from a well-known musicians family of Rudrapattana and is recipient of several awards.
In the current solo violin concert for the Bangalore Lalithakala Parishat, Sriram Kumar was well supported by Arun Prakash and N Guruprasad on mridanga and ghata respectively. Even as he intonated the opening piece, it was evident that he was in fine fettle. It was followed by compositions in Naata and Umabharana. “Marubalka,” which brought nostalgic memories in old timers. Kalyani was more reposeful for Shyama Sastry’s composition, while Brindavana Saranga was evocative. Bhairavi acquired a delightful presence, bringing out the ‘ragabhava’ beautifully for Tyagaraja composition “Koluvaiyunnade.” In the final stage he presented devotionals (Kandu Dhanyanade) and Thirupavai (Sindhubhairavi). The impact of Sriram Kumar’s solo violin bristled with an enduring quality.