When the veterans played together

Delightful

Sree Ramaseva Mandali celebrated its ‘Founder’s Day’ during the ongoing Sree Ramanavami National Music Festival in the City recently, where six outstanding musicians were honoured.

The event was organised in memory of late S V Narayanaswami Rao, the founder of Sree Ramaseva Mandali.

Ananth Kumar, MP, Bangalore South felicitated the veteran musicians like violin maestro M S Anantharaman, violinist T Rukmini, vocalist M S Sheela, M A Krishnamurthy, B K Anantharaman along with Dr M R V Prasad, President, Bangalore Gayana Samaja.

 After receiving the honour, T Rukmini who has been associated with the Mandali since her younger days said, “S V Narayanaswami had given opportunities to many artistes including me. I have performed many a times during the Ramanavami Musical Festival. I cannot forget those memories in my life. Today, I feel honoured on being felicitated on the same stage with which I have shared a great relationship,” she said. M S Sheela and Dr R M V Prasad also shared their experiences after receiving the award.

The Founder’s Day celebrations were followed by a violin quartet by the family members of the Parur— M S Ananthraman, M A Krishnamurthy, M A Sudareshwaran and Parur Ramaswamy.

M S Anantharaman, who is in his eighties now, was the centre of the attraction during the concert as he played the instrument with great ease and precision.

It was a wonderful experience for the audience to watch the three generation of violinists play together on the stage appreciating and encouraging each another.

Their flawless techniques and rendition were well-received by the audience. Though it was the morning concert, the hall was full. They commenced their concert with a varnam in Raag Sarang.

The composition was precise and melodious. The second musical piece was Pranamamyaham, a composition by Mysore Vasudavachar in Raag Gowla.

The piece explored the nuances of the Raga. Later the quartet played Raag Kalavati in an elaborate way.

M S Ananthraman also treated the audience to a couple of devotional compositions. M A Krishnamurthy gave a brief introduction to the compositions before the performance.

“Though M S Ananthraman is the leading violinist of Carnatic music, he is equally trained in Hindustani music genre. He has been performing for the last seven decades, but every time he performs he will have something fresh to offer. We’ve witnessed a typical Parur style concert which is vibrant and rejuvenating,” said Venkatesh, a budding violinist from the City. 

The Parur quartet was accompanied by K V Prasad on the mridangam and Amrith on the kanjira.