A tribute to a worthy soul

The Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha put together an interesting mix of select classical pieces. 

The concert was organised in memory of late Ammu Warrier, one of the founder members of the Sabha.  The concert was attended by close associates and friends of Ammu Warrier.

The concert began with a performance by Bharat Sunder, a young artist who has won many an accolades as a musician.

The programme began with a Varnam in raag Hamsadhwani where the aalap was soothing interspersed with some great variations.

He then moved on to a kriti, Siddhi Vinayakayam in raga Shanmugapriya, an invocation which was truly mesmerising.  The next piece was a composition by Papanasanam Sivan. It was a keerthanam in raga Sahana, a piece about the divine attributes of Lord Shiva and how the name of the Lord delivers us from our sins and liberates one from the materialistic bindings of the world.

This piece held the audience spellbound. This was followed by Tyagaraja keerthanam in Hamsanandi raga. Next, was a song in Keeravani raga, a composition by Tyagaraja, Kalaku Undey Kamala Phala Daayikey, where the intricacies of the raga and the swara were brilliantly presented by the artist.

In the latter half, Bharat rendered a ragam thanam pallavi in Ragamalika raga, a blend of Poorvi Kalyani and Hamir Kalyani which received immense appreciation from the audience.
The concert ended with Jagadodharana, a composition by Purandaradasa in praise of the almighty.

Bharat was accompanied by Parur M S Ananthakrishnan on the violin, Kumbakonam Swaminathan on the mrudangam and Phanindra Bhaskara on the ghatam.

Those in the audience seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed the concert. Uma Ashwath Narayan said, “I am a regular at this place for all cultural events and this one proved to be special because it is dedicated to Ammu Warrier. I liked the invocation on Lord Ganesha, it was very well rendered by the artist.”

Vatsala and Bala Warrier, the organisers said, “Ammu Warrier was great music lover and we organised this concert as a mark of respect and a tribute to her timeless contribution.”