JOIN USM S legacy
Now, Kumari S Aishwarya is not a stranger to Benglauru’s connoisseurs of music. Great granddaughter of Dr M S Subbulakshmi, Aishwarya is just 21 years young and is a student of BA. She is continuing her music lessons under Smt Jambu Kannan, apart from her grandmother Radha Vishwanathan and also taking guidance from Dr Nagaraj Hawaldar.
M S Subbulakshmi's daughter Radha Vishwanathan received the Veene Raja Rao Memorial National Award on Wednesday. Her granddaughter Aishwarya gave a vocal concert after the award ceremony.
Aishwarya prayed Dakshina Murthy in the beginning and sought blessings, followed by the familiar varna “Ninukori.” “Vachamagochara” was another fine selection. For a detailed elaboration, she chose Kalyani, the ever-green raga. Though it is a commonly heard raga, she made it interesting with lively phrases.
The choice of “Nambi Kettavarillavo,” the stately devaranama of Purandara Dasa, anchored well to the lilting gait to leave a lingering effect. With crisp nerval (Garudagamana Sri Purandara Vittalana) and swara prasthara, the Dasara Pada was wholesome. With a prelude of Ugabhoga (Ninnane Paaduve) the “Naneke Badavanu Naneke Paradeshi,” popularised by M S - is also a favourite of music lovers.
B Raghuram on violin, Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma on mridanga and Sunad Anoor on khanjari supported with good understanding. Though there is a long way to go, Aishwarya, with her good voice and good training, has a bright future in the years to come.
Hindustani vocal
The Sapthak presented two concerts - a vocal and another instrumental concert, in collaboration with Sri Akhila Havyaka Mahasabha under the banner “Shubha Sangeetha Sandhya.” Sri Kiran Hegde gave a melodious flute accompanied by Udayraj Karpur.
Kumar Mardur, who gave a Hindustani vocal recital, hails from a musicians family of northern Karnataka. He learnt from his father Somnath Mardur and is taking guidance from Pandith Ullas Kashalkar. He is on the staff of SRA, Kolkata, as a junior faculty member.
As Kumar Mardur meditatively started to intonate Rageshree his searching mind surfaced. Though it is not a rare raga, we are not hearing it frequently. A facile, tuneful voice enabled Mardur to sing with ease. Rag Saraswathi was compact but pleasing and concluded with a meaningful bhajan of Kabir Das. He was supported by Keshav Joshi on tabla and Sateesh Kolli on harmonium. With some more concert experience, Kumar Mardur will be able to reach great heights.