Music reviews

Navarathri concerts

Navarathri was celebrated not only in Mysore, but all over the State. In homes and temples, it was an occasion to rejoice. Most of the temples observed the Navarathri with various religious and cultural programmes. Decorating the principal deity with different ‘Alankara’ everyday and exhibiting dolls were the main attraction, in all places.

Bangalore being no exception, temples vied with one another to decorate beautifully and attract large gatherings. Shringeri Sharada Peeta, Avani Shankar Mutt, Vasavi Gudi, Kannikaparameshwari Temple, Vani Vidya Kendra, Sri Vidya Smart School and many other organisations and temples of the City celebrated Navarathri with much fanfare.
One such temple, Sri Avani Samsthana, celebrated the Sharannavarathri Utsava with homas, music concerts, bhajans and felicitation of senior artistes.

Chandan Kumar, who gave a flute recital here, is a scion of T Chowdaiah, the legendary violinist. He is an A-top grade artiste of the Akashavani and a recipient of several awards, including Bismillah Khan Award from the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi. He has also been invited to perform in the US, this month end. Chandan Kumar has carved a niche for himself among contemporary flutists.

During the Sharannavarathri Utsava, Chandan Kumar had good support from three seasoned instrumentalists- Nalina Mohan on violin, B R Srinivas on mridanga and B Rajshekher on morching.

He chose a number of compositions on Devi, which suited the occasion. ‘Bhuvaneshwariya Nene Maanasave’ was rendered with lilting alapana and lively swaraprasthara. ‘Ninuvina’ turned old timers nostalgic. His spacious exposition of ‘Mamavatu Sri Saraswathi’ fulfilled the expectations of connoisseurs. ‘Annapurne Vishalakshi’ was also melodious and capable of carrying his audience with him.

Budding artistes

The other institution that celebrated Navarathri for nine days was Sri Vani Vidya Kendra, Rajajinagar, which was different in many ways. When most of the organisers were competing with one another to invite celebrities and crowd pullers, the Kendra gave a platform to budding artistes, on all the days. It was a pleasure to watch young musicians- most of them below 15 years of age- perform without any fear, but with assurance.

Surakshitha Sunil, studying in 5th standard, opened her concert with a popular varna and saluted God through ‘Gam Ganapathe’. She also sang ‘Saraswathi Vidyuvathi’ with swaraprasthara in high-pitched voice. Aditya Sharma, a 2nd standard student, is also a student of Vidwan Suchetan Rangaswamy. He presented ‘Nammamma Sharade’, ‘Tunga Theera Viharam’, ‘Sangeetha Samrajya’, ‘Kayane Ninna’ et cetera. He has such a rich voice that his voice can reach the whole auditorium without the help of a mike.

H S Karthikeya, student of Prof Nagendra Sastry, presented ‘Madhura Pura Nayike’ with swara. ‘Sarorjadalanetri’, a popular composition of yesteryears, was his choice for ellaboration. His music was slightly more mature than the previous two singers. R Dayakar supported on violin and the ‘thani’ for such a small duration concert (Kartheek R and Somashekar Jois) was rather prolonged.

No doubt, all of them sang with confidence and are talented. But they have to pay more attention towards Sruthi and pronunciation. Anyhow they have bright future with continued training and experience.

Serene music

The Bangalore Lalithakala Parishat presented a vocal concert on Friday. Vocalist Madhur Balasubramanyam is a disciple of Subbraya Maani Bhagavatar and Kanchana Venkata Subramanya Iyer. He has trained a number of students at the Manipal Sangeet Parishat and has been felicitated by several prestigious organisations.

‘Valachi’ the popular varna gave Madhur Balasubramanya a pleasant start. After ‘Mahaganapatim’ with swara, ‘Teliyaleru Rama’ was pleasing. The ‘Vani Parama Kalyani’ of Saint Vadiraja was delightful and the finale was the grand keerthana ‘Kamakshee Kamakoti’.

He sang with musical involvement and serenity invested into each composition, which elevated the stature of the concert. Surprisingly at the fag end he selected a lengthy composition! Three experienced artistes gave good support on violin (T S Krishnamurthy), Mridanga (T S Chandrasekhar) and ghata (Dayananda Mohithe).