Good improvisation holds listeners

For those who have heard a giant like K V Narayanaswamy the expectations are naturally high while listening to his daughter. He was moulded by Ariyakudi  Papa Venkataramiah and Palghat Mani Iyer.

His daughter Anuradha Krishnamurthy is groomed not only by her father and mother Padma, but also by T Vishwanathan, T Brinda and M S Subbalakshmi. One can find the traces and outlines of all these images that have shaped her.

Anuradha Krishnamurthy sang under the aegis of Sri Krishna Gana sabha Trust on March 7 at the Alwar Kala Bhavana. She was accompanied by H K Narasimhamurthy on the violin and Tumkur B Ravishankar on the mridanga. She is comfortable in the middle octave and stunningly clear in lower octave notes. But her voice refuses to cooperate in the higher octave. This void is filled by singing that is emotionally charged.

The Bhairavi Atta tala Varna ‘Viriboni’ in two speeds gave a good start for the concert. The popular ‘Vathapi Ganapathimbhajeham’ in Hamsadhwani was decorated with crisp and attractive Kalpana Swaras. 

‘Endaromahanubhavu’, the Pancharathna Keerthana of Tyagaraja was rendered with bhakthi bhava. The two ragas she elaborated were Panthuvarali and Todi. 

They were charged with raga bhava and a good improvisation held the listeners.

‘ApaRamabhakthi’ had a variety of kalpana swaras added to it.

After ‘Janani ninuvina’ in Reethigowla, raga-thana pallavi blossomed with fineness in every phrase. “Ramanane thiruvannamalayane arunachalanathane sharanam” confirmed her scholarship. H K Narasimhamurthy’s raga delineation was also very good. Ravishankar’s contribution was commendable.

Moonlight music at JSS Math

The beautiful ambience of JSS Math under the foot of Chamundi Hill was buzzing with music in the moonlight . Young and energetic Saketharaman enhanced its beauty with his lively and lovely music. This young bundle of talent is capable of transmitting his vigorous music to every listener’s heart. The spontaneity of his music is contagious. Charged with energy till the end, his concert makes one feel worthy of listening.

 Accompanied by Mysore Nagara j(violin), B C Manjunath(mridanga) and S Manjunath(Ghata), he needed no warming up and dived directly in to ‘Inthaparaka’  in Mayamalavagowla. A neraval for the opening number was like a hallmark  of his music. Reethigowla, a vakra raga known for its limited sancharas was proved wrong with a brilliant display of manodharma. The bold and clear approach was identifying. The phrases displayed his confidence and brilliance.

The kruthi ‘Paripalayamam’ , a composition of Swathi Thirunal was shining with sangathis . The kalpana swaras brought his fertile imagination to forefront. He opted for an Ashtapadi in the raga Hamsanandi. 

The listeners were swept off their feet with its impact. That was the kind of elaboration of this lovely raga. ‘Kisalaya shayana’was the ashtapadi he chose to sing. The main raga of the day was Madhyamavathi . Nagaraj and Saketharaman handled it brilliantly with their wonderful manodharma to satisfy every rasika. Tyagarajas ‘Rama katha sudharasa’ with a neraval at “Bhamamani janaki soumitri”was very satisfying. Nagaraj’s violin was  inspiring.

The tani avarthana between B C Manjunath and S Manjunath  was short and sweet. The tail pieces like a Thillana by Lalgudi Jayaraman and a Devaranama of Purandaradasa ‘Ramarama Rama enniro’ were also good.