Though their concert is not rare in Bangalore, this programme was different in selection and presentation. They presented Hindustani ragas also in parallel to Carnatic style and a number of devotional compositions of different composers, in different languages.
‘Nada Tanumanmisham’ gave them a bright start. Parallely ‘Gayiye Ganapathe’ was heard in Shudda Sarang. The Ugabhoga (Nithya Upavasaviddu) preceded the Kannada Devaranama (Narayana Ninna) and was also apt.
Pantuvarali, the familiar raga and Purya Dhanashri proved to be a measure of their artistic insight of seasoned singers. ‘Shiva Shiva’ was briefly elaborated with swara and the ‘Payaliya’ was delightful. Well-known devotionals of Gopalakrishna Bharathi, Jnaneswar, Subramanya Bharathi, Annamachar regaled the audience. M R Gopinath's violin, Manoj Siva's mridanga and Aditya's tabla were just adequate.
A mixed fare
The Department of Kannada and Culture had arranged a cultural programme customarily, in connection with the Independence day celebrations.
Senior artiste Appagere Thimmaraju and party sang popular lyrics like- ‘Hacchevu Kannadada Deepa’, ‘Jogada siri’, ‘Vishwa vinuthana’, ‘Jaya Bharatha Jananiya’ - evocatively. Bharatha bhumi nanna thayee, Saare jahanse accha, Aakashakeddu nintha - were the choice of Shashidhar Kote and troupe. Prakash Sontakke presented a composition based on Kalyani melodiously, while Chaithra Sontakke sang ‘Yaava Nelada Gandha Gaali’, neatly.
Seasoned artiste Manju Bhargavi presented few Haridasa compositions in Kuchipudi style. She saluted to invocatory God through ‘Gajavadana Beduve” and concluded with “Yare Rangana”. Though Manju Bhargavi performed with her expertise, performance of her troupe had their limitations, undoing the impact.
But, it was the folk artistes who outshined other performers.
Thasharam Dolu (Mehaboob Subhani, Kampli), Veeragase (Niranjana Murthy, Bangalore), Pooja Kunitha (Pooja Shivanna), Kodava Kolata (Kunnaya, Coorg), Somana Kunitha (Valmiki Somana Kunitha Kala Sangha, Doddenahalli), Karadi Majalu (Mahalingappa Karadi, Bagalkote), Pata Kunitha (Kadaraiah, Bangalore Rural) and Mangala Vadya (M G Haridhara, Mysore) - regaled the audience by their colourful costumes, variety of musical instruments and sounds.
Soulful veena
Husband and wife duo Jeyaraj Krishnan and Jayasri J Krishnan, gave a veena concert under the auspices of the Bangalore Lalitha Kala Parishath, on Friday. Being students of A Anantharama Iyer and A Champakavalli, they belong to ‘Sishya Parampara’ of Muthuswami Dikshitar. They have been guided by Chengulpet Ranganathan also and are ‘A’grade artistes of AIR. They are also known for their good repertoire, especially of Dikshitar.
Jeyaraj and Jayasri chose Kalyani, the evergreen raga, for a detailed airing. The alapana brought out the ragabhava, in all its glory. The Thana with exclusive ‘Meetu’, was proof of their good training. Without overdoing, the Swara Prasthara was lively and complimentary to the raga. Earlier they opened the concert with a varna followed by “Vathapi Ganapathim Bhaje”. ‘Akhilandeswari’ in a majestic ‘vilamba kaala’ had a vintage flavour about it and the ‘Manavyalara’ had popular appeal and the Hamsanandi Thillana of L Muthaiah Bhagawathar was the concluding piece.
The couple played veena maintaining the sanctity, sans gimmicks and was soulful too. K U Jayachandra Rao (mridanga), and S Srishyla (ghata) proved a good foil on the percussion maintaining the tempo with certitude.
Mysore V Subramanya
